Wednesday 22 April 2020

I'VE STARTED SO I'LL FINISH - THIS BLOGPOST

I’d always been a bit of a quizzer. Right back to primary school when I was booed off the park by my own classmates for scoring the own goal that knocked us out of a local cup competition but redeemed myself in the inter-schools quiz contest by being the highest scorer – this time in the right direction – as we won the competition.

So some ten-fifteen years later when pub quizzes became popular all over the country I was a keen participant. Most of the contestants– where I was on Teesside at least – had been, like myself, made redundant and in an area where male unemployment bobbed along just below the 50% mark it was a useful distraction from the dole and the opportunity to win a few quid or at worst a couple of pints.

It was a team of mates, not chosen for any particular expertise. The regulars were myself, a redundant steelworker, an officially unemployed but occasional taxi driver and one guy who actually had proper job – a docker. I’m not claiming we won everything in sight but we did okay. We’d go to two or three different local quizzes each week and generally won enough to pay for the night out.

Some took it more seriously. There was one team – two unemployed brothers and a couple whose occupations (if any, I forget) I can’t remember. They were assembled on different lines. The brothers were reputed to stay up at night reading encyclopaedias and spend most of the day in the reference library – this being the 1980s and the nascent Internet another decade away. The couple had a handy general knowledge too. They were our greatest rivals and to be honest usually emerged victorious.

But it was a friendly rivalry and one of the brothers told us about this new TV quiz he was going on. It wasn’t so much the TV appearance that attracted our team but the cash. Auditions took place in Newcastle. Anyone could turn up. Train fare was paid and £15 expenses. Think about it. Fares paid and the equivalent of £40 in today’s money tax-free, in your hand in cash, no questions asked. As would later become the phrase it was a no-brainer.

So off we trooped. The audition consisted of a few personal questions and a general knowledge test. To my surprise I was one of the lucky ones selected for the programme. Later I found out this was not as great an achievement as at first sight as the programme was ‘Fifteen-to-One’ which must by now have a six-figure total of contestants over the years.

Over the course of the next year I appeared on it four times, winning two, losing two and reaching one grand final – which was won by Kevin Ashman, later to win ‘Mastermind’ and now a familiar face on shows such as ‘Eggheads.’ On the first occasion my mother told me of a neighbour racing across from the other side of the street and banging on her window telling my mum to ‘switch your telly on, your oldest boy’s on it.’

As if there was a mother in the country who wouldn’t have had their video set to record half an hour before the programme started!

It was from the comparative success there I started to think about ‘Mastermind.’ I’d seen an old teacher of mine appear on it some years previously and reach the semi-finals and like most of the country liked to try and answer the general knowledge questions at least each week.

I was invited to audition – again, if I recall correctly, in Newcastle. I forget what the expenses were but I think on this occasion it was fares only. Certainly the BBC were nowhere near as generous as Channel 4 had been.

It was a similar set of questions and answers – a bit about your personal life and a few general knowledge questions. I left thinking that would be the end of it. White men in their thirties wasn’t exactly the smallest pool for the BBC to fish in.

But I was selected and it was off to the University of Sheffield for the programme. Presenter Magnus Magnusson was amiable and spent a good deal of time chatting with contestants. Two shows were recorded the same day and it was there I met David Steele who was on the other show. David was a keen football fan, programme editor at Carlisle United and we struck up a friendship that has held to this day – even if only at times via Xmas card.


First round. Click to enlarge

It was football that brought us together. David’s subject was  ‘The life and career of David Lloyd George’ while mine was ‘The History of British Football from 1863’ So came about my fifteen minutes of fame, thirty years ago today (date of posting). Contestants were introduced to each other beforehand and there was no real rivalry between us. ‘Mastermind’ is like golf. You can only post your own score. You can’t affect anyone else’s. A total that wins one week might be last the next. That particular week – for the programme to be broadcast on April 22nd 1990 – my score was enough to win.

The BBC impressed on everyone the importance of secrecy over the result. Not even closest family members were to be told. So the next few weeks were a bit of a trial as obviously I was delighted to have won and keen to let the world know. But I held out and after the programme was broadcast people on the whole were very kind and congratulatory. I’ll be honest. There were a few whose noses were out of joint and the temptation to give a Father Ted-style ‘Golden Cleric’ award speech was strong. But fortunately I was able to resist.

Many commented on how modest I seemed in triumph. They thought I’d be more excited at the prospect of the upcoming semi-final than I appeared to be. It wasn’t modesty. The semi-final had been recorded in Colchester at the University of Essex a few days prior to the first round broadcast and I already knew I was out. Of course I couldn’t reveal that and had to go along with the pretence that I was looking forward to it, and thanking everyone for their good luck wishes.

Round One L-R Mike Humphrey, Magnus Magnusson, myself, Kenneth Goodridge. Seated: Josephine Levine. Click to enlarge.


I’ll say a word here about the BBC. While in general they treated everyone very well the old establishment air still hung about them. The format was that in the grand final contestants were allowed to revert to their first round specialist subject but I was told in no uncertain terms was football was infra dig and if I won the semi-final I’d have to find a totally new subject for the final. I wouldn’t be allowed to use my semi-final topic ‘European political history 1870-1945’ either. I’d have to start from scratch. It wouldn’t happen nowadays but back then the BBC thought they were taking a bit of a risk including such a ‘lowbrow’ topic as football (then at its lowest ebb in the UK, post-Heysel and Hillsborough and with English clubs still banned from Europe) on what was their most prestigious quiz show. The other finalists’ subjects were the lives and works of Verdi, Mary Wollstonecraft, James Clerk Maxwell, and Cicero. Knowing the outcome of, say, the 1929 Scottish Cup Final was not considered of equal merit.

In case you’re remotely interested Killie beat Rangers 2-0 in 1929. Couldn’t resist using that as my example. 

Of course defeat in the semi-final (with the same score as when winning if memory serves) meant that was no longer an option but I knew before the semi-final was taped I had no chance of being the eventual winner. Taking up an entirely new subject while others reverted to their first choice (and no one gave their best subject as a semi-final option because no one could guarantee winning the first round) was, I knew, a bridge too far. David Steele was in the same semi-final but the winner was Paul Webbewood who took the history of the Labour Party since 1900 as his final topic (thus ruining what would have been my ‘third’ choice). The final itself was won by David Edwards who later went on to win £1,000,000 on ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.’

The pretence that I was in with a shout was kept up until early June when the semi-final was aired.
Semi-final line-up. Click to enlarge.

There were some consequences, one distressing, one amusing. The first was that I was more or less forced into ‘retirement’ from pub quizzes. Having now appeared six times in total in both quizzes over fifteen months I was now recognised by other contestants locally. Mutterings of ‘that cunt was on Mastermind’ became commonplace and I was politely requested by a few pubs and clubs to stop competing as some teams stopped turning up fearing they had no chance of winning and takings were being hit.

It was a nonsense. Again, knowing the 1929 Scottish Cup Final outcome or the year the Kaiser dismissed Bismarck – 1890 - wasn’t going to have a great effect on pub quizzes. But the psychology was strong so after a few months I packed it in. I still went out with my mates and I encouraged them to find a new team member but after a while they too stopped competing. A group that had quizzed together for around a decade split up though we continued to meet socially.

There was, as mentioned above, also the amusing. I was in Middlesbrough bus station one day and a woman approached me asking if I was the guy she’d seen on ‘Mastermind.’ We struck up what I thought was just a polite conversation that took a strange turn when out of the blue she said ‘I bet you watch ‘Morse.’ That’s the most intelligent show on TV.’

I had to confess that while I knew of the programme I’d never actually seen it. To which her rejoinder was ‘Oh, you must come round and have a drink sometime and we can watch it together. You’ll love it. I know you will.’

At this juncture my bus arrived. Fortunately it wasn’t this lady’s bus too. I managed to get on it just as she was about to give me her phone number.

It was several months before I ventured into the bus station again on that particular day, at around that time and at that platform.

That, I thought, was the end of my quiz days.

Until some years later a cousin of mine rang me to ask if I’d seen this programme called ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ He intended to apply for it and wanted me to be his ‘phone a friend.’ I hadn’t seen the show but started to watch it and like most of the country became hooked. My cousin wasn’t selected and despite applying for several subsequent series neither was I.

It was a couple of years after that I happened to catch a teatime quiz called ‘The People Versus.’ The concept was that members of the public would phone in and try and catch out contestants on their chosen topic. If the contestant was successful they could win big money. If they gave a wrong answer the challenger replaced them. Seeing people rack up winnings of as much as £70,000 was a tempting prospect. So when a second series was announced I applied. I was successful at audition but found when I went to the recording that the format had changed. The powers-that-be had decided that people were winning too much too easily. This time it would be a harder slog to win and the prize money would be much smaller.

But I can’t complain. I did well enough to be still standing at the end of the show and ‘return’ the following day. Or two hours after the first show was recorded. Presenter Kaye Adams had a change of clothes to foster the illusion it was a new day but contestants obviously wore what we came with, leading some to query how dirty we were turning up the next day without so much as a change of shirt.

Eventually I got an answer wrong. I think I had managed to get over fifty correct before it happened, leading me to win a total of £9,502 (don’t ask me where the odd £2 came from). It wasn’t ‘Millionaire,’ it was nowhere near the sums won on the first series but it was a damned good lift nonetheless and the first and last time in eight appearances on TV quizzes that I actually won money.

This was in 2001 or 2002 and I ‘retired’ from quizzing after that, content with my lot. It’s now well over a quarter of a century since I’ve taken part in a pub quiz. These days I don’t even watch on TV. I can’t recall the last time I saw ‘Mastermind’ and I didn’t even know ‘Millionaire’ had been revived until someone told me recently on Twitter.

I had my fifteen minutes of fame – eight times actually – and I’m happy with the memories. In any case I don’t think that at 64 years old my responses would be anywhere near as sharp as they were back then. I wouldn’t want to be like a punch-drunk boxer taking on one contest too many. I enjoyed it at the time as I have recalling it all while writing this. But like the quizzes themselves this article has to have a beginning and an end. This is the point for me to say I’ve started so I’ll finish.

In the famous chair with the man himself, Magnus Magnusson. Click to enlarge.

Thursday 1 August 2019

Killie 150 - How the 125 book came about

I've spent a good part of the past four weeks putting my 1994 history of Kilmarnock FC online as the book has long been out of print and changes hands for extortionate prices (wish I'd kept a few back for myself now). The aim was to bring the history of Killie's first 125 years to a generation born or growing up past that point. No one under thirty years old can remember Kilmarnock as anything other than a top flight club or Rugby Park as a place where you stood to watch football. I hope fans have enjoyed reading the history for the first time, or in some cases, maybe the second or third time. Like writing the book itself, posting it online chapter-by-chapter has been a labour of love.

As I write, it is August 1st 2019, the 25th anniversary since publication. It was also the first book I ever wrote and its generally favourable reception motivated me to continue writing. I am currently working on my fourteenth book which will be a return to my roots in the form of a history of Kilmarnock FC managers.

Today I'm going to mark the anniversary with a spot of self-indulgence by reminiscing about how publication came about and posting some photos from the book launch that mean a lot to me personally. Lesley Gore sang "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to." I'm saying it's my blog and I'll wallow in nostalgia if I want to. Come and join me if you feel like it. If you don't then head back to the beginning and read the Killie story from the start.

It was in late 1992 that I first began to think of Kilmarnock's 125th birthday, due to take place in 1994. I approached two specialist football publishers with the idea for a full annual and statistical history of the club. One of them rejected the idea out of hand, the other was interested but made publication contingent on getting the club's blessing and on promotion to the then Premier Division.

That left me with something of a dilemma. Did I wait until the end of the 1992-93 season to see if Killie won promotion or take a chance and start to research. I opted for the latter. This involved travelling to the National Newspaper Library in Colindale in North London from where I was living in East Dulwich. Train to London Bridge then tube to Colindale. It took approximately ninety minutes to get there and obviously another ninety to get back. The library itself was only open Mondays-Fridays, 10am-4.45pm. I quickly learned that it was essential to order newspapers the day before I intended to consult them.

I would write everything up when I got home and in those pre-internet days this was on an electronic typewriter that had a one-line character read-out that allowed me the luxury of up to fourteen characters that could be deleted before I had to reach for the Tippex (Google, kids).

Each page had to be photocopied at the local newsagent's and rather than trust to mail I hand-delivered each chapter to the publisher. That involved travelling to and from Uxbridge and made the sojourn to Colindale seem like a stroll to the local shop by comparison.

At the same time I made an initial approach to the club. I sent a copy of an article I'd had published elsewhere to the board. Official endorsement was important on several counts. First, it made getting access to club records and illustrative material that much easier. Second, it encouraged more supporters to buy the finished product, knowing it had the club's approval. Third it provided a direct outlet for sales via the club shop (at that time situated in Bank Street, Kilmarnock) and through advance subscriptions.

When I met with the board the then Chairman Bobby Fleeting told me he'd laughed his head off when he read the article I'd submitted. Fortunately for me that article had been intended as a humorous piece. The board agreed to give the still putative tome official approval.

I should make it clear that I had full control over the entire project. I had read far too many anodyne club histories presenting a picture of sweetness, light and constant harmony. I didn't want to do that. I wanted a 'warts and all' history. No airbrushing contentious moments out of history. No glossing over disastrous defeats. Kilmarnock DID tour racist Rhodesia. They did it for the money. Full stop. Humiliating cup losses to Brechin City, East Stirlingshire and Inverness Thistle WERE the most important games of their respective seasons. Pretending they never happened wouldn't alter that.

None of this, in my view, could or should be ignored. If this were simply my own book there wouldn't have been any problem. But this was carrying the imprint of Kilmarnock FC. It was an OFFICIAL history and it was possible there may have been aspects with which the club might have been unhappy. I outlined what my general approach would be while letting the board know I wasn't prepared to be censored in any way.  Fortunately Bobby Fleeting and the other directors were in agreement and happy to give me free rein.

All that was needed now was promotion.

I'm not going to go into details about that great event itself, as it's covered extensively in the book and is available to read any time you like. Suffice to say that there was a gathering of the clans at opening time in the bottom shop in Dundonald and while football supporters singing and stamping their feet on a bus on the way to a match is not exactly a rare occurrence, it wasn't often that those exercising their lungs were all aged between 30-50, as was the case that day.

I still had to juggle time between going to Colindale and travelling to Scotland. Both my parents were still alive and I was in the habit of taking my son to see them three times a year during school holidays and half-term. Somehow or other those visits always seemed to chime just right with the fixture list - happy coincidence, eh? This gave me the opportunity to speak to people, select material for inclusion. Again, all of this is on the acknowledgements page so I'm not going to repeat it here.

Everything proceeded apace. The only potential blot on the landscape was if Killie were to be relegated. It would be invidious to say the least to try and celebrate a birthday in such circumstances. Again, no need to go into detail here but that glorious afternoon when Killie left Easter Road with the point that secured Premier Division status seemed to confirm the stars were in alignment for a successful book launch.

Then the sky fell in. Once everything was done and dusted and it was too late to make changes the manager - Tommy Burns - walked out to take over at Celtic. Tommy had been nothing other than a gentleman in the dealings I had with him. Always willing to take time out to talk and happy to help in any way he could. But now not only was he gone, there was a foreword with his signature on it that couldn't be changed. And in that foreword it stated how happy he was at Kilmarnock and how much he was looking forward to the future at Rugby Park. Worse, Tommy had been scheduled to join me at the launch!

In the previous blog entry I said that history is what you've just witnessed when the whistle blows at the end of a match. Here was proof positive. Tommy Burns was now part of Kilmarnock's past before a book - in which he himself was proclaiming he was not only part of the present but intended to be in the future as well - had even seen the light of day.

It was too late to remove the foreword and too late to include anything from the new manager Alex Totten. As it turned out the managerial change did no harm. Ayrshire folk well understand "the best laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft agley." In fact if anything it was the reverse as the controversy surrounding the move ensured a higher Scotland-wide profile for the book than would normally have been the case.

Although officially published on August 1st, the actual launch took place on August 6th, seven days before the start of the season. The last 'football-free' Saturday was the ideal occasion as before the days of internet banking and online payments it was at this time that fans renewed their season tickets and - so I hoped - picked up a book at the same time.

Club captain Ray Montgomerie stepped into the breach, taking over Tommy Burns' role at the launch in the club shop. And as anyone who's seen Ray 'in action' in club hospitality will know this turned out to be an inspired substitution. For me everything seemed to pass by in a blur. I was excited but nervous, afraid it would all go wrong. But it didn't. If memory serves I spent over two hours signing books and chatting with supporters. Some faces were well-known to me, others were total strangers but all were friendly. Eventually I had to be dragged away in order to do a Radio Scotland interview with Gordon Smith.

All media publicity had been arranged in advance but when the opportunity suddenly arose to do a live interview it couldn't be turned down. It did present a couple of problems however. First, while I wouldn't say I was a regular in a TV or radio studio, I wasn't exactly unfamiliar with either. In the mid-1970s I received a piece of advice about interview techniques that has served me well from that day to this. 'If you're stuck for an answer then swear.' It's not as daft as it sounds. In those primitive times of cassettes the interviewer had to stop recording, rewind to ensure the offending word had been deleted then ask the question again. This allowed the interviewee time to collect their thoughts and prepare an answer to a question they now knew they were about to receive. It's worked wonders for me for decades.

Unfortunately it's of no use whatsoever in a live broadcast.

This increased the pressure of an already nerve-wracking occasion as I was acutely aware that one slip of the tongue could create disaster.

The second problem was the question of actually doing the interview in the first place. Under normal circumstances it would be in Glasgow but Gordon was - if I remember correctly - in Inverness as that city prepared itself for the imminent arrival of Scottish League football for the newly-merged club then known simply as Caledonian Thistle. Nowadays that would be no problem. Find a quiet corner and establish contact via Skype or mobile phone. Not so in 1994. The nearest 'studio' was in Ayr. I use the quote marks deliberately.

I don't drive so I had to arrange a lift to Ayr then call in at the railway station to pick up the 'studio' key and hope whoever was on duty knew the difference between that one and the one people sometimes had to ask for if they needed to go to the lavatory.

The exact details are dimly remembered but there was somewhere I think in the council offices with a pokey room, equipment that looked like it had come from a NASA jumble sale and a handbook of instructions for use that ran to about twelve pages. All for a couple of minutes airtime.

But it went off okay. The only time I felt like I needed the swear technique was when he asked me who was the best player I'd ever seen play for Killie. Not because the answer was difficult. It was easy. Tommy McLean. And anyone who saw wee Tam turn out at Rugby Park and gives any other answer is wrong. End of. No, the problem was I knew it couldn't be just a two-word answer or even one qualified with an exposition of McLean's abilities. I knew I had to mention other 'contenders' first, outline their qualities then settle on McLean. But as it was obvious the interview was nearing the end I didn't know how long I had left. And with me in Ayr and him in Inverness there was no chance of a 'wind it up' signal or a hand gesture indicating how long I had left as there would have been face-to-face. There wasn't even a clock to go by.

So I hurriedly rushed through players before my time, name-checked some of the 1965 championship-winning squad, gave a mention to some players after that era - Eddie Morrison of course being the first that came to mind - then awarded the accolade to McLean. It was only then that I realised I really should have said something about the guy sat in Inverness asking the questions. So, again I'm relying on memory from 25 years ago here, I blurted something along the lines of "you weren't all that bad yourself, CASPER."

It's second nature, isn't it? Fans of every club refer to players by their nicknames. If an Old Firm fan talks of 'Jinky' or 'Super Ally,' everyone knows who they mean. No further qualification necessary. But how many beyond the confines of Rugby Park would be familiar with the sobriquet of the cartoon friendly ghost awarded to Gordon Smith during his time with Kilmarnock?

I was convinced I had just made myself sound like a rank idiot in a live interview. That people listening would think I was some clueless clown who had no idea who he was speaking to.  Fortunately the man himself came to my rescue informing his co-host (I forget who) that was indeed the name he was known by at Rugby Park. He also agreed with my selection of McLean.

That was the last formal event. After that it was off to the Dundonald Highland Games for the remainder of the afternoon and the chance to finally relax in the company of some old pals. The rest of the weekend is a blur. There are reasons for that and you'll probably be able to guess them without me pointing them out. Suffice to say there have been other books, other launches, some supposedly more 'prestigious.' But nothing can or ever will compare to the sheer thrill of the first. And for it to have been the official history of the club I have supported all my life was something so special there are no words in the English language capable of adequately expressing how I felt that day. I felt that in writing Killie's history I had become part of it myself. That even if I never wrote another word in the rest of my life this was an achievement no one could ever take away from me. I was and remain grateful to all who helped this book see the light of day.

I will forever be in your debt.

At my parents just before the launch

My father and his brother, my Uncle Wullie, at the launch

With Ray Montgomerie at the launch


Anyone wishing to use any of this material should contact me via my email address or Twitter feed. Links on the top right of the page

Wednesday 31 July 2019

Killie 150 - The Legends

'Everygame' updated figures for those who had made the most appearances and/or scored the most goals as a Kilmarnock player. This was further updated by Richard Cairns in 2006. Regarding the 'Basic Seasonal Statisics' of average crowd, top league goalscorer and most appearances, I include in this post not just an update from 1994 but all league seasons from 1895 onwards. This is because new information came to light between 1994-2001 which necessitated occasional changes to earlier details. Where there is a difference between numbers given here and on this page then the latter should be regarded as more accurate. Again, Richard Cairns has provided updates from 2001-2006. I have added details for 2006-2019. During these years Jim Jefferies led Killie to another (losing) League Cup Final but most seasons saw the team struggling at the wrong end of the league table. Once Jefferies' long reign came to an end a club that had been a byword for managerial stability stumbled from one short-term gaffer to another, appointing and dismissing managers with the same alarming frequency as Italy does Prime Ministers. On two occasions top division status was only preserved by way of the play-offs. The one shaft of light through the gloom was in 2012 when, under Kenny Shiels, Killie finally won the League Cup - the one major trophy that had eluded them.

Renaissance came with the arrival of Steve Clarke as manager, culminating in a third place finish in 2018-19 - the best for 53 years - and a return to European football after an absence of 18 years. A return which, alas, turned out be of the briefest duration, ending in a shock defeat by Welsh club Connah's Quay Nomads.

In 'Everygame' I gave details for all those who won international caps during their time at Rugby Park and this is also included in this particular post. While many statistical errors that appeared in the 1994 book were corrected by 2001 (the reason why all seasonal statistics reproduced throughout are from the latter) some still slipped through the net and Richard Cairns was kind enough to correct them in 2006, details of which are provided here.

Nothing in football is static and since 2006 there have been players whose names would appear below if the story is continued until 2019. Garry Hay and James Fowler would be included among those with over 300 appearances and Kris Boyd retired this year with 136 goals for Kilmarnock, making him fifth top all-time goalscorer. The 121 he scored in the league left him joint second with Eddie Morrison, behind only Willie Culley. 2019 also saw Eamonn Brophy and Greg Taylor become the latest Killie players to be capped by Scotland. And in 2016 Josh Magennis played for Northern Ireland in the European Championship finals, the first Kilmarnock player to take part in a major finals - though Jim Stewart was part of the Scotland squad for the 1974 World Cup finals in West Germany.

In football, history isn't just what happened 100 years ago or even last season. The moment the final whistle blows, before you've even left the ground, what you've just witnessed is in the past. It's an old cliché to say someone has watched 'history being made.' In truth you're doing precisely that every time you walk through the turnstile. Or, as is increasingly more likely these days, scan in your phone.




Next How the 125 book came about

Anyone wishing to use any of this material should contact me via my email address or Twitter feed. Links on the top right of the page

Killie 150 - The 2006 update

Five years after the publication of 'Everygame,' Kilmarnock match programme editor Richard Cairns compiled a statistical update taking the season-by-season record up to the end of 2005-06. Each season is covered in two parts, match-by-match details then seasonal totals for each player.

Jim Jefferies succeeded Bobby Williamson as manager and took Killie to fourth place again in 2003-03, though this time that wasn't good enough for European qualification. Although there were occasional scares the club's position in the top echelon of the Scottish game was usually secure.



Anyone wishing to use any of this material should contact me via my email address or Twitter feed. Links on the top right of the page

Killie 150 - What Happened Next

A regular feature of 'A Question of Sport' right from the start was the teaser 'What Happened Next?' In Kilmarnock's case what happened next after the 125th anniversary was the club's longest and most successful spell in the top flight since the glory days of the 1960s. After taking a couple of seasons to establish themselves back in the big time Killie went on to win the Scottish Cup in 1997 - their first such success since 1929 and the club's first major trophy since winning the league in 1965.

Tommy Burns left to join Celtic in controversial circumstances shortly after the end of 1993-94 (and before publication of 'Killie 125') to be succeeded by Alex Totten who in turn was replaced by Bobby Williamson. Just five months after taking over - initially on a caretaker basis - Williamson led the club to that glorious Scottish Cup triumph. For three of the next four seasons he took Killie to fourth place in the league,  a position not reached since 1969 and not surpassed until 2019. It was under him too that Killie returned to European competition after an absence of 27 years. In 2001 Kilmarnock played in the League Cup Final for the first time in 38 seasons. Players of the stature of Ian Durrant and Ally McCoist signed up, and crowds rose to a level not seen for decades. Williamson was always keen to give youth a chance and several talented young players came up through the ranks. The latest of these - Kris Boyd - emerged as Killie took part in European club football for the fourth time in five years in 2001-02.

2001 was also the year I wrote another Killie history - 'Everygame.' It wasn't just an updated version of the earlier book. This time I approached it in an A-Z format of clubs Kilmarnock had played in competitive football. From Abercorn to Zurich. From the start of the Scottish Cup in 1873 until the end of the 2000-01 season, plus UEFA Cup opponents for 2001-02.

Reproducing that book here in its entirety is a task for another time but the statistical details - results, half-times, scorers, attendances and line-ups for the seven seasons between publication of the two books are given below.

Next The 2006 update

Anyone wishing to use any of this material should contact me via my email address or Twitter feed. Links on the top right of the page

Monday 29 July 2019

Killie 150 - The Intro and the Outro

Having set myself a deadline of August 1st, the 25th anniversary of publication, to put this book online, I concentrated on the text and seasonal statistics - the meat of the book. So it's not strictly page-by-page as I left out those areas not strictly part of the season-by-season account. As I've managed to post it all online a few days before the deadline I'm including the 'topping and tailing' here.

On this page you will find Acknowledgments, Dedication, Bobby Fleeting's 'Afterword' and a list of advanced subscribers. Who knows? If you're over thirty years old your name might be here.

Because the date I'm posting this is July 29th 2019, which would have been my parents' 70th wedding anniversary, I've taken the liberty of including my inscription on the copy I gave to them 25 years ago come August 1st.

Finally, there's the front and back cover with an explanation of illustrations used.

As promised, I'll include stats up to and including 2005-06, hopefully in the near future.

This has been the story of Kilmarnock FC - now 1869-2019 - as it was from 1869-1994.


If you've reached this stage of the Kilmarnock saga then you have two options available. Either

Back to the beginning

Or What happened next?

Anyone wishing to use any of this material should contact me via my email address or Twitter feed. Links on the top right of the page

Killie 150 - the records to 1994

I included a list of memorable players up to the end of 1993-94. Many more will be eligible for inclusion in the quarter of a century that has since elapsed and it is for the reader to add their own favourites to this list. Bill Donnachie's 'Who's Who' of Kilmarnock players has since been superseded by the superb 'Killie Til' I Die' (2011) by Richard Cairns and Gordon Allison, ISBN 978-0-9541653-1-4. For a more in-depth look at ten of the best, representing each era of the club's history, there is my own 'Killie Greats' (2006) ISBN 0-9541653-1-4. Don't worry, you're not lining my pockets if you buy a copy. All proceeds since 2008 go straight to the club and only to the club, aimed at youth development.

The stats here are as of the end of 1993-94 and should be self-explanatory. Later, I'll add stats as they were up to the publication of 'Everygame' which takes them up to the end of 2000-01 and after that an update to the end of 2005-06, kindly compiled by Richard Cairns at the outset of the 2006-07 season.


Next Killie 150 - The Intro and the Outro

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