Yet more from Dumbarton FC’s 150th Anniversary Exhibition.

Notable former players from before my time:-

I don’t remember John Rowan. Hughie Gallacher was the star of of the late 1950s Sons side which came close to promotion. He’s still top scorer for DFC. John Hosie was the club’s Secretary for donkeys’ years. Robert Robertson was the chairman who was in place when the Sons regained their place in the top flight of Scottish football in 1972. Johnny Graham was a brilliant midfield maestro and holds the record for most appearances for the club:-

Chairman Robertson features in this caricature of Dumbarton worthies:-

Daily Record record of 1926 Scottish Cup Tie. Dumbarton 1-1 Buckie Thistle:-

The replay involved a marathon midweek journey and was followed by Sons’ biggest ever defeat:-

Ephemera. I have one of those 1991 -92 Second Division Championship mugs:-

I have just noticed on the club website that Johnny Graham, midfield maestro of that famous Sons promotion team of 1972 has passed away. I can’t convey the sadness I feel at this news.

Johnny’s total of 385 games for Dumbarton FC is the most of anyone who has played for the club, as is his 99 cup ties.

As the club tribute says he scored 29 gaols for the side but assisted countless others. I well remember him scoring a beauty against Falkirk at Boghead in 1970. He got the ball at the edge of their box and flicked it over a defender’s head, whom he ran round to hit the ball on the volley into the net. Sublime.

He also had the unique trick of seeming to let an opposition clearance go over his head in midfield before extending his superb left peg back behind him and without being able to see the ball using the back of that foot propel it forwards again – usually to a team mate. I’ve never seen anyone else do that.

Johnny Graham: 30/12/1947 – 28/06/2022. So it goes.

I was profoundly sad to read from the club’s website that the midfield inspiration of the Sons Second Division title winning team of 1971-72, the side which ended a fifty year absence from top flight football, Charlie Gallagher, has died. It is safe to say that without his promptings from midfield Sons may not have won promotion that year.

He was probably past his best when he joined the Sons from Celtic, with whom he’d been in the Lisbon Lions squad, mainly as an understudy to Bertie Auld, but was, according to the grey sage Bob Crampsey, much underrated. Nevertheless he gave that Sons team a creative midfield presence essential to its eventual success.

His displays included a magnificent performance in a 3-3 draw away at Partick Thistle in the League Cup quarter-final of 1970. We won the second leg 3-2. In the semi-final we drew 0-0 with Celtic (a team which had reached the European Cup final less than six months before) after extra time before losing the replay 4-3 in extra time after being 2-0 down in the 90 minutes. (In that extra time, at 2-2, one of their goals ought to have been disallowed for a crossed ball going out before coming back in. The linesman raised his flag but put it down again when the ball went in the net. After that goal they scored again and started to try to play keep ball. Once we got it back we did the same but then launched a counter attack up the left which ended with us scoring in a supreme get-it-up-ye moment.) Charlie played so well that it is said during the game Celtic’s manager Jock Stein told his team to “break that bastard’s legs.”

From that 71-72 promotion season I remember in particular Charlie’s free-kick against Alloa at Recreation Park – my first ever visit to the Recs. The goalie had lined up his wall and the ref was striding away towards his vantage point when Charlie carefully moved the ball aside about six inches. He then blasted it past the wall and the keeper for the only goal in a 1-0 win. (Vital at the end of the seaon, but all those wins were.)

This photo (taken from Pie and Bovril) shows Charlie about to score from a free-kick against Celtic in the Drybrough Cup (remember that?) Sons players also in frame are Johnny Graham and Kenny Wilson. Great days.

His skill from free kicks meant they were almost as good as penalties. In all Charlie scored 29 goals for the club.

He will forever be remembered as a club legend.

Charles Gallagher: 3/11/1940 – 11/7/2021. So it goes.

I was in a junk/second hand warehouse place today and spotted an issue of Goal magazine.

Thumbing through it I came across the Sons’ league placing that week in November 1973.

Eighth. In the top Division.

Those were the days, eh? I believe we finished tenth that season.

The previous Saturday’s results were given towards the end. Dumbarton 3-0 Motherwell.

The Sons team was given as Williams, C McAdam, Wilkinson, Menzies, Cushley, Ruddy, Coleman, Wallace, McCormack, Patterson, Heron. John Bourke came on as a sub for Peter Coleman and Johnny Graham for Brian Heron. Scorers were Heron, Bourke and McCormack.

I must have been at this match (I was a season ticket holder at the time) but confess I can’t really remember it. Unless that was the day John Bourke scored his first goal for the club which was a thumping header from a corner at the Turnberry End of Boghead.