Hi everyone. I'm Neil from Edinburgh and have just joined the forum. I'm a Hibee fan so as you can imagine, I'm quite happy just now! However, always been fascinated by the history of such a great club as Third Lanark. In a year when Celtic became the first British team to win the European cup, and Rangers reached the final of the European Cup Winners cup, it has always baffled me how such a famous name and institution of Scottish football came to be lost to us. I always felt cheated that I didn't have the chance to see Thirds, in their famous scarlet shirts, play at Cathkin. The first time I visited Cathkin Park, I was about 13 and going to a Scotland international game at Hampden in 1972. Having some time to kill, me and a friend decided to find the legendary park where Thirds used to play. Being only 5 years after the Thirds went defunct, the stand, a small building to the left which I assume were the changing rooms, the large terracing shed and of course the famous terracings all around were pretty much intact, although naturally showing signs of 5 years of neglect. Having not been watered or taken care of, the pitch was a bit dry and sandy but there was still grass and visible white marking lines probably remnants from Thirds last home match. I stood in the centre of the pitch and could only imagine the famous names who had trodden these same steps and the excitement this natural amphitheatre must have generated with 15 to 20,000 fans inside. It was an emotional experience as these clubs such as Third Lanark, Accrington Stanley ( gladly reborn ), Bradford Park Avenue, in my area, Leith Athletic ( run as a juvenile and ameteur age group club these days ) etc, provided the substance to the history of our football with their personalities, particular football culture ( e.g. the way they played the game ), and the communities they represented. I just hope, in the not too distant future, a nice 6000 seater stadium at Cathkin, ( I would personally like to see some of the terracing saved in situe as a reminder of past indiscretions ), will play host to a reborn Third Lanark as there does seem to be a lot of goodwill and affection for the club even 40 years after the fall. Would love to hear other recollections of Cathkin and Thirds from fans. Long live the Hi Hi !!
Hi Neil welcome to the forum mate. My Hibbees mad cousin and uncle got me a ticket for last sundays game which I enjoyed immensley and fantastic Hibbees support. Now why cant the Jags play like that?
Your right mate there are many people regardless of their football allegiances who would dearly love to see a return of Thirds and couldnt agree more about Cathkin being turned into a 6000 seater stadium but in aprticualr retain the terracing at either end, would be so cool!
Meant to ask, does the Leith Athletic amateur and youth team that play in Edinburgh have the same emblem as the grand old Edinburgh team? Also when reading through various Amateur league tables in a copy of the Edinburgh Evening News a couple of years back I noticed a team in one of the leagues was called St Bernards, is this any link to the former Scottish Cup Winners who used to play in the Capital?
A warm welcome to our Thirds site - It must be a great feeling of euphoria to have watched your Team comfortably win the CIS Cup last Sunday - Sadly this is not a possibility to us Thirds fans.
Onbviously the site is open to everyone, and thanks for your super contribution.
Ironically on the last day of season 1960/61, Thirds lined up at Cathkin against Hibs, needing only six goals for their century. Within three minutes Gray & Hilley had put thirds 2 up, with Harley making it three just before the break. Two Harley penalties, including the "century"conversion, and a slick Reilly goal, gave Thirds the magic scoreline 6- 1..
Harley's hat trick indeed made him Scotland's top scorer with 42 goals, and Thirds finished third top of the First Division. A never to be forgotten day for us.
I acknowledge that Hibs more frequently beat us, but we prefer to forget these games.
Hi Matt and Bert, So sorry for the massive delay in getting back to you. Haven't got a computer at home and too busy to pop into Internet cafe! Its not laziness or a sore head after the League Cup Final, honest! Thanks for your replies. Matt, I'm sure in the fulness of time the Maryhill Magyars will return to their rightful place in the higher echelons of Scottish football. I remember being at Easter Road for a Hibs home game in 1971 on the day of theeeee famous League Cup Final between Partick Thistle and Celtic. Can you imagine the astonishment when we all saw the half time score? 4 goals for Thistle. Wow. Jags had a great team at that time - McQuade, Rough, Gibson, Rae to name a few. I'm sure Thistle regularly were scoring 7 or 8 goals in games after coming up from the First Division ( 8 -3 against Ayr United if memory serves me well ). A well loved club and part of the rich cultural heritage of Scottish football. As for your questions regarding Leith Athletic and St Bernards, I'm not sure if the badge is exactly the same regarding Leith Athletic, but they still play in black and white colours although it seems only some age groups play in the famous black and white stripes. Whats not in doubt is the fact that they are the heirs of the old club and its traditions. With regard to St Bernards, its hard to get much information, but I will try to find out. My gut feeling is their probably will be some connection probably from the part of the city in which they play their games. If your interested, Edinburgh City, who play in the East of Scotland League, are the modern heirs of the former club Edinburgh City, although something like 20 years passed until they were reconstituted again. They play in the old lily white colours and still have a famous social club situated down from the Playhouse Theatre here in Edinburgh which spans the era of old and new. Bert, thanks for your kind words and welcome. I dearly wish the Hi Hi were playing also and I just hope there will be a time when Thirds fans can see their team in action at Cathkin Park again. I reiterate, there seems to be a lot of goodwill to the club and knowledge of the clubs history, note how even if there is a rumoured chance of financial help or a chance to resurrect the club it makes the national news 40 years after their last game. I still think, given major restucturing of Scottish football will surely be coming soon ( i.e some sort of pyramid structure being put in place ), a junior type of operation a la Clydebank in the Central league, if Cathkin could be brought up to scratch that is, would allow a new resurgent Thirds to grow. Remember, from small acorns! Thanks for reminding me of the 6 - 1 score! Were you there? It shows how good a team Thirds had at that time. Its unbelievable to think that within six years of the successful 1960/61 season Thirds were bankrupt. I'd love to here some descriptions of actual games, the colours the fans wore, where the away fans went, the songs the Hi Hi fans sung, what were the size of crowds like season after season, the type of atmosphere that was generated etc. Anyway, bye for now and hope to hear more Thirds anecdotes. Thanks With regards to Thirds, Ive always thoufgt
I was at that Hibs game when Harley scored to make it an even 100 goals for the season! As I remember it Ronnie Simpson was in net for Hibs and he had a reputation for saving penalties! No problem for Alex!!
Also recall a Scottish cuptie at Cathkin vs Hibs where we won 2-1 in pouring rain infront of 26000 fans. I believe wee Joe McInnes was sent off ( by Tiny Wharton?) for swearing! Changed days now with lots of use of the F word without any red cards!!
Great memories hihibear ! It must have been some game and Thirds must have had some team. I wonder what the attendance was and if many hibbee fans travellled through. The tradition in Edinburgh, pretty much up to the late fifties / early sixties, was for fans to go to Easter Road one week and Tynecastle the next, so have always wondered if there ever was much of an away support at provincial games in this era. Did Thirds fans go to away games or was their a tradition of supporting that other great southside institution Queens Park on alternative weekends? Also, was wondering what year the Scottish cup tie at Cathkin would be? Bet it was some atmosphere with 26000 fans inside the ground. Must have been quite intimidating for away teams. Think if the legendary Tiny Wharton was referreeing today, the swearing and precocious antics of the players would stop toute suite! In my Scottish Football books of the sixties and seventies, there are lots of pictures of him refereeing Old Firm matches and there's a look of fear and trepidation on the faces of players like Jimmy Johnstone and Willie Henderson et al!!
hihibear 2-1 game v Hibs is in Bob Lairds book 'Fifty of the Finest matches'. Played on 14 March 1959 Scottish Cup 1/4 final attendance 35,000 with a couple of pics showing the capacity crowd. Davie Hilley with 2 and Willie Ormond replying for Hibs. Thirds went out in the semi v Aberdeen 1-0- after a 1-1 draw. And this was only 8 seasons before the demise
Thanks for info hihibear. Sorry for delay in getting back to you. Yeah, its crazy to think that Thirds were doing relatively well in the late fifties/early sixties yet within six or seven years they were defunct. I've said it before, its a travesty, at a time of unprecedented success for Scottish football ( Celtic winning the European Cup, Rangers in the final of European Cup Winneres Cup, Kilmarnock in the Fairs Cup semis, Scotland cuffing England at Wembley ) that neither the big clubs nor the SFA lifted a finger to help Thirds, a club with such a long tradition and, indeed, a founding member of the Scottish league I do believe. Still, lets hope that one day a plan can be hatched to resurrect the Hi Hi! Read my notions on a possible Third Lanark revival elsewhere. Neil
