1979 to 1985 George Best at Hibs and Big Frank Liddell at Hearts !

Season 1979-80 was a great season for me personally. Football dominated my thoughts, morning nooon and night. Like the previous season my Dad and I, in most cases, were going to Hibs home games one week and Hearts home games the next. This was the last season that this was to happen as our differing new allegiances in Scottish football took root. For some time my Dad had been a big Hibs fan and he had started to feel a wee bit of the animosity towards Hearts that is almost obligatory amongst the Hibs following. Similarly I was now fully committed to supporting the Gorgie Boys and was beginning to feel increasingly uncomfortable about attending matches at Easter Road and cheering on Hibs. Almost 40 years later I must be one of only a handful of season ticket holders at Tynecastle who has a soft spot for out great rivals from across the city.

One of the attractions of embarking on the Road to Wembley from Scotland is to take myself (mostly) out of the tribal nature of Scottish football for a season. Most Saturday mornings I play golf with Les Cranston a great pal of mine, a kind and reasonable man with a sympathetic nature -  and a big Hibby. Recently I told him that I bear Hibs no ill will and that when the chant goes up at Tynie ‘stand up if you hate Hibees’ I can be spotted as the one guy in the Gorgie Road stand sitting down. He told me that when the same chant goes up at the other end of the ground with ‘Hibees’ deleted and ‘Jambos’ inserted that he is the one leading the singing!  A timely reminder of the deep held and heartfelt divisions between the two clubs. So season 1979-80 was the season after which me and my Dad went separate ways on a Saturday.

Possibly a contributory factor to this ‘amicabale split’ was that Hibs had a totally wretched season in 1979-80 and finished bottom of the league winning only 6 games, although George Best signing for Hibs and playing in a number of matches brightened up things for everyone (see pic below). In the Scottish Cup Hibs hobbled into the semi final where they were walloped 5-0 by Celtic. 

Meanwhile over at Tynecastle Hearts, following their relegation the previous season, were in the process of wining the Division One Championship to secure promotion back to the Premier Division at the first attempt. The final game of the season saw them thrillingly snatch the title from league leaders Airdrie by defeating them 1-0 at Tynecastle with a powerfully headed goal in the last couple of minutes from Frank Liddell. I was delirious with happiness – an almost religious experience. When Frank Liddell led the team out arms aloft (see pic below) for a lap of honour shortly after the final whistle I wept with joy. Surely this was what football was all about. My Dad applauded in a very matter of fact way and it was clear from this point on he was Hibs property and my heart belonged to Hearts. From this point on when we met up to go to the football it was to see various minor Scottish teams on the Road to Hampden.

From my earliest memory (see the South Bank v Shldon post early in this blog) my Dad had been fascinated by the plight of the minnow in the cup competitions. This fascination has been transmitted through the genes to me. From 1979 to 1985 my old man and I saw some great early round David and Goliath Scottish Cup ties together – taking a break now and then from the Hibs and Hearts devotion. The games between Stenhousmuir and Spartans January 1981, Vale of Leithen and Stranraer February 1982, East Stirling and Fraseburgh January 1984 spring to mind. However, one Scottish Cup game in this era sticks in the memory. On the 8^th December 1984 me, my wife Anne, my Mam and my Dad went up to Stirling for a bit of a day out – a pub lunch followed by some Christmas shopping for the women and an afternoon at the football for the men. All good gender stereo-typical behaviour in the 1980s. The men witnessed Stirling Albion 20 Selkirk 0. I believe this is still a record score for the Scottish Cup in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. When we were walking out the ground and making our way back to the centre of Stirling three old guys all donning the traditional flat cap were walking in front of us. It was clear that the middle of the three was a man who was difficult to impress and liked a good moan. The old guy on his left pleaded ‘come on Tam even you must be happy with that’ and the guy on his right noted ‘Tam, £1 to get in and 20 goals – that’s 5p a goal’. Tam was unimpressed and after a couple more cock-a-hoop and euphoric rejoinders from his pals he finally spoke: “Christ ! It should have been 40 !” . 

The following season I was to attend a Scottish Cup tie between Hamilton Accies and Hearts at Douglas Park. That night was the first time I met Graeme Ogilvie and great times were ahead watching football with Graeme, Davie Greig, Richard Greig and Mike Mellis.