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partick thistle lad


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The guilty cluprits
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Who do Thirds fans feel was to blame for the terrible running into the ground of this great club?


From what I have read one of the main cluprits has to be the then Chairman Bill Hiddelston.  I also have read elsewhere a couple other names mentioned though am trying to remember their names.  Shame on them.


I also heard that Hiddelston at no point expressed any regret about what happened to Thirds again nothing short of a disgrace with his actions.



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Long live the HiHi and the Jags

Ian McCalls Red and Yellow army

The Hi-Hi are back
GroundsKeeper Willie


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Please don't hold me to this as it's only hearsay (from my dad who's now gone ahead to the HiHi in the sky) told to me (only a wee lad at the time).


My dad always insisted that Bill Hiddleston was THE reason that Thirds folded.  According to dad, Hiddleston was a director of the club, who was sacked when he was caught with his fingers in the till.  Aparently, bitter and twisted because of all the bad publicity he got from this, Hiddleston later once again gained control of the club and set about intentionally and methodically destroying it by selling off players, etc.  My dad also said that Hiddleston wanted to rip up the ground and build flats on it but this obviously never happened.


As I said in the first paragraph, this was my dad's story, and I'm happy to hear any other version - preferably the real truth of the matter if anyone knows it.


Cheers,


Willie.



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Pulchy Pilgrim


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RE: The guilty culprits
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Suggestions that Bill Hiddleston must carry a lot of the blame for the way in which Third Lanark AC was allowed to fold can be seen in the following articles:


 


“Another Third Lanark?” (BBC-Sport, 7th March 2001), viewable at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/1199371.stm


 


“Cautious path right for Celtic” (BBC-Sport, 21st August 2003), viewable at http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/3172277.stm


 


“Clubs in trouble must learn from Thirds” (article from the Glasgow Evening Times, 16th January 2004), viewable at http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/sport/6010693.html


 


 


Full bibliographic details of the Third Lanark Athletic Club investigation under section 165 (b) of the Companies Act 1948, referred to in the second of the articles listed above, can be found at



http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopall/ref12794.html


 


With reference to the Glasgow Evening Times article, it is interesting to see that the name of Baillie James Reilly crops up again in an article about the Celtic supporters’ publication ‘The Shamrock’ on the ‘Not The View’ Celtic fanzine website


 


The relevant lines in the article are:


 


“ ‘The Shamrock’ was a supporters' publication aimed directly at the real grassroots Celtic fans, and although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when it first appeared, its heyday seems to have been between 1961 and 1963.


 


“…. It was published by the Shamrock Celtic Supporters Club in Edinburgh totally unofficially and was sold outside the stadium on the approaches to Celtic Park.


 


“…. Articles and letters condemning the youth policy and the club's unwillingness to spend money on players appeared regularly while the magazine also championed the cause of a certain Baillie James Reilly, a noted critic of the directors in his day, who wanted to usurp power within Parkhead and actively encouraged fans to join the fledgling Celtic Supporters Association, which at that time was perceived as a potential pressure group for upholding the interests of ordinary supporters. ….”


 


You can view the full article at: http://www.ntvcelticfanzine.com/history%20corner/history%20the%20shamrock.htm


 


 



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partick thistle lad


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RE: RE: The guilty cluprits
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quote:
Originally posted by: GroundsKeeper Willie
"Please don't hold me to this as it's only hearsay (from my dad who's now gone ahead to the HiHi in the sky) told to me (only a wee lad at the time). My dad always insisted that Bill Hiddleston was THE reason that Thirds folded.  According to dad, Hiddleston was a director of the club, who was sacked when he was caught with his fingers in the till.  Aparently, bitter and twisted because of all the bad publicity he got from this, Hiddleston later once again gained control of the club and set about intentionally and methodically destroying it by selling off players, etc.  My dad also said that Hiddleston wanted to rip up the ground and build flats on it but this obviously never happened. "

Thanks for the responses Groundskeeper willie and Pulchy Pilgrim.


Reading Bob Crampseys book on 100 years on Scottish football the blame is put with Bill Hiddelston and some assistance in part from a John Lough who may have been the club secretary or something.  Also BErt did a recent feature on the last Third Lanark team to be photographed for "The Sunday Times", I dont have the link offhand but those players gave a pretty graphic account of some of the stunts he was pulling during those years. 


So while he may have had assistance from a couple of others, all the evidence points to Hiddelston as the absolute main reason for the HiHi demise.  Id say your father was absolutely spot on with his view point on him.  I wonder if anyone tried to interview Hiddelston just after the club went into liquidation to find out how he could justify his actions.  Surely without doubt the name of Bill Hiddelston must go down as one of the biggest villans ever in football



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Long live the HiHi and the Jags

Ian McCalls Red and Yellow army

The Hi-Hi are back
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