Kirkcaldy Connections

By Kevin Stirling

George McNicol may never been a player that will find his way into an Aberdeen Hall of Fame but the diminutive centre forward certainly made a huge impact in one of the first ever Aberdeen sides to appear in Scottish football. Aberdeen had eventually gained admission to the league in 1904 after their amalgamation a year earlier. Disappointed as the club were to only find themselves in the old Division Two, their stay in there was a brief one, and it was mainly due to the efforts of McNicol that they were successful in getting accepted into the top flight in 1905. Of course it is a position the club has retained ever since. It was in the Scottish Qualifying Cup that McNicol made his name. Back then that competition was only secondary in importance to the Scottish Cup itself and doing well in these competitions was crucial for Aberdeen in their bid to raise the club profile. McNicol had previously won the Qualifying Cup with Port Glasgow before making a major impact with Aberdeen in 1904 after he signed for the club earlier that season.

It was in the 1904 final against Renton at Dens Park that McNicol scored both Aberdeen goals to take the club's first ever trophy in their history. A sizeable Aberdeen following made their way down for the final bedecked in the new Black & Gold colours that Aberdeen were wearing for the first time that season. It was McNicol who pounced 15 minutes into the second half when he met Ritchie's corner to fire the ball into the net. McNicol scored his second goal minutes later as Aberdeen revelled in what was seen as a crucial stage in their hopes of gaining admission to the top division in Scotland. McNicol went on to join Raith Rovers in 1906 and his love affair with cup football continued as he scored nine goals from nine Qualifying Cup ties at Starks Park. McNicol went on to become a player/coach with Raith and his 22 goals from 35 matches in 1906 was an impressive return.

Tom Niblo was a Scottish international before he began to wind down his career with a move to Aberdeen 1908. Niblo played only 15 times for Aberdeen before moving to Raith in August 1909.

After the Great War and all the consequences that came with returning to civilian life, football clubs made many changes in their squads as rebuilding became a necessity. Bobby Archibald made his Aberdeen debut on the left wing against Dundee at Dens Park in August 1914, and after two seasons with Aberdeen in those troubled times he was not to return to the club until after the war in 1919. Bobby made 40 appearances in season 1919.20 before joining Raith Rovers in May 1920. Described by many as 'bandy-legged', Archibald was a real favourite at Starks Park and went on to play 193 games for Raith before signing for Third Lanark in 1924. It was after a spell with the Glasgow club that Archibald went on to distinguish himself in England with Stoke City.

The first player to make the switch from Kirkcaldy to Aberdeen was Dave Galloway who spent four seasons with Raith before joining up at Pittodrie in April 1931. Unfortunately for Galloway his time at Pittodrie was to be forever tainted with his involvement in the club's Great Mystery' of 1931 when five Aberdeen players were wrapped up in a betting scandal that proved to be a dark episode in Aberdeen FC history. Galloway and those involved would never play for the club again.

Walter Grant had the distinction of scoring four of the Dons 13 goals in their record Scottish Cup win over Peterhead in February 1923. Grant was a prolific scorer for the club after joining Aberdeen immediately after the war ended in 1919. Grant went on to play 85 games for Aberdeen, scoring 11 goals before he signed for Raith Rovers in July 1925. Former Keith manager Harry Oliphant began his career at Pittodrie without making the breakthrough to the first team and he was another ex-Don that played for Raith after he joined them in June 1933.

During the war years when the hurriedly arranged league and cup competitions were played, the regional nature of these matches meant that many players were shifted between clubs at short notice. Aberdeen came up against Raith in several competitions back then with great success. Willie Bruce is believed to be the oldest living Aberdeen player today and Bruce joined Aberdeen in 1947 and made his debut against Hibernian at Pittodrie in August 1947. At the same time Aberdeen had their established No1 in George Johnstone who was the first Aberdeen keeper to play for the club in a Scottish Cup Final in the epic 1937 final against Celtic. Johnstone was also in the Aberdeen side that took their first Scottish Cup ten years later against Hibernian in 1947.While Johnstone remained at Pittodrie, Bruce realised his chances of first team action were limited and he moved around and also played for Raith during the war years.

Tom Brady and Doug Westland were two Aberdeen players who also made their mark with Raith as they emerged as side of real quality in the years after the war. Brady joined Aberdeen from Hibernian in 1937 before moving to St Mirren two years later and eventually at Raith in 1947. Part of that Raith success was down to George Johnstone who had kept Bruce out of the Aberdeen side. Johnstone went on to enjoy six seasons at Starks Park. It was Johnstone who took over in goal from Westland in 1949. Another of the Dons 1947 cup final heroes was Joe McLaughlin who joined Raith in 1949 after spending three years with Aberdeen.

Another centre half with an Aberdeen Scottish Cup pedigree was Jim Clunie. The big defender started out with Raith as a youngster but failed to make an impact in the side. After three seasons in Fife Clunie was signed by Dave Halliday at Aberdeen in 1953. Clunie went on to play in a surprise advanced role in the Dons side that lost the 1954 Scottish Cup Final to Celtic after the Dons had humbled Rangers 6-0 in the semi final. Later in his Aberdeen career, Jim was in the side that lost the 1959 final to St Mirren where he would later join as a player and became the Saints manager in his coaching career. It was a surprise that Clunie did not make more than 11 appearances for Raith as he was seen as a readymade replacement for Alex Young in the Aberdeen defence. Clunie went on to coach Southampton in the 1970's and he at the south coast club when they won the FA Cup in 1976.

In 1959, Aberdeen signed Bernie Kelly who made his debut for the Dons in a struggling Aberdeen side against Airdrie at Broomfield in September 1959. Kelly was a casualty of the change of manager at Pittodrie as Tommy Pearson took over from Dave Shaw that season. After only four top team appearances, Kelly re-joined Rovers in 1960, by which time his better days were behind him. After Aberdeen had replaced Tommy Pearson with Eddie Turnbull as manager, several of the younger players at Pittodrie were discarded with some of them ending up in Kirkcaldy. Inside forward John ward was perhaps the first as he failed to make it as a first team player with Aberdeen and he was followed by the likes of Brian Cooper who went on to become Raith captain, Ian Lister who had two spells at Raith after being released by the Dons. Pat Wilson was a fringe player at Pittodrie although he did play his part in the Dons epic 1967 Presidents Cup run in the USA before joining Raith Rovers in 1968. Left winger Willie Watt was another who was eventually released by Turnbull and played for Raith for a year after leaving the Dons in December 1968.

In 1972 it was Aberdeen manager Jim Bonthrone who agreed a £35,000 fee with East Fife for winger Bertie Miller. Back then that was a sizeable transfer and Miller went on to become a favourite at Pittodrie and was well known for gaining several penalties for the Dons; the most prominent came in a 1973 UEFA Cup tie against Tottenham. Miller went back to his native Fife after leaving Aberdeen in 1974. It was not until he was in the closing stages of his career that he enjoyed a short spell with Raith in the early 1980's.

Raith received a large transfer fee for young striker Andy Harrow in September 1980 when he signed for Luton Town. Several months later it was Alex Ferguson who paid Luton £65,000 to take Harrow back to Scotland. As Ferguson was building his side of the early 1980's it was a huge challenge for Harrow to break into the side. After making his debut in a Scottish Cup tie against Morton in Greenock, harrow scored his first Aberdeen goal against Celtic at Parkhead in March 1981. Two years later Harrow was sold along with Andy Dornan in a double transfer deal with both joining Motherwell.

In more recent times Peter Hetherston was signed by Aberdeen manager Willie Miller for a £175,000 fee from Raith Rovers in the summer of 1994. Although Hetherston went on to win a League Cup winners medal at Aberdeen in 1995, he was never seen as a first team regular for any sustained spell. Steve Crawford began his career with Raith under the successful period when former Dons assistant Jimmy Nicholl was player/manger at Starks Park.

Crawford was the subject of intense transfer speculation on more than one occasion and after turning down two bids from Aberdeen in the past, Crawford eventually joined the Dons in 2006 as he teamed up with his former manager Jimmy Calderwood at Dunfermline. Crawford forged a great partnership with Craig Brewster who was another short-term Calderwood signing when he joined Aberdeen at the age of 40. Brewster was at Raith between 1991-1993 before moving on to several different clubs including a spell in Greece.