Chorley have a rich Scots heritage: Maybe they should be known as the Mac-Pies!

I received a great email from Paul Brennan a volunteer for Chorley FC pointing me in the direction of Chorley's rich Scottish heritage. The link with Bella Caldeonia goes back over 120 years.

In 1894 Chorley signed a Scottish goalkeeper called Archie Pinnell. Before signing for Chorley Archie played for Everton and his career at Chorley spanned four years through until 1898.

Archie Pinnell: Goalkeeper for Magpies in the 1890s

In the 1920s the Magpies had a number of Scots donning their famous black and white jersey. They included William Aitken, Alex Donaldson and George Waddell.

William Aitken was a forward who played for Chorley in 1926. William had an incredibly colourful career and exceptionally for the era played professional football in continental Europe. William played for Juventus and also for AS Cannes in France where he helped them win the French Cup. In the UK he also played to flight football for both Rangers in Scotland and Newcastle United in England. Poignantly, with Chorley visiting Dunston at the weekend, Gateshead was William's final resting place and he passed away in 1973.

William Aitken: played for Rangers, Newcastle, Juventus, Cannes ... and Chorley!

Alex Donaldson was a speedy winger who represented Scotland 6 times scoring 1 goal. Alex played club football for Sunderland, Man City and Bolton Wanderers before joining Chorley in the late 20s.

George Waddell was another Scot who played for the Magpies in the 1920s. George was a wing half born in Lesmahagow but played almost all of his professional football career south of the border. After a brief spell as a youth with Rangers he made his mark with first Bradford and then with Preston North End. He joined Chorley in the twilight of his career in the mid 1920s.

Last on Paul Brennan's Roll of Scottish Honour is Bobby Williamson who played for Chorley in the late sixties. Not to be confused with the Rangers / Kilmarnock player of the same name from the 80s and 90s. Chorley's Bobby signed for Chorley in 1968 and the agile goalkeeper had previously represented Arbroath, St Mirren and Barnsley with distinction. Before making the professional ranks Bobby played youth football for the now defunct Rosewell Rosedale who were based a mere 4 miles away from my home here in Penicuik Midlothian.

Many thanks to Paul Brennan for signposting me in the direction of this rich seam of tartan links. Unfortunately Paul can't make the match on Saturday at the compact UTS Stadium. I feel sure that the Dunston v Chorley tie will end in a draw so I look forward to meeting Paul at the more voluminous Victory Park Chorley for the inevitable replay.