Dropped by Albion but a star in Scotland
IN the edition of The Bugle dated 7 October some Albion fans may have been puzzled to see Andy Goram (not Goreham as per the caption) in the photograph of the Albion cricket team that played their annual match against West Bromwich Dartmouth way back in 1980.
Supporters may have searched their memories to try and recall Goram playing for the football team. Well although he never appeared in the first team Andy did begin his career at The Hawthorns but was released by them as a teenager.
However he went on to have an eventful career. Leaving Albion he joined Oldham Athletic where he made almost two hundred appearances and was voted into the PFA Team of the Year for the English Second Division in 1986-87.
Medals
Transferred to Hibernian he later moved to Rangers making one hundred and eighty four appearances for them and in the process won Premiership and Scottish Cup Winners medals as well as appearing in the Champions League.
During his footballing life it was certainly a case of “have boots will travel” as he appeared for eleven different clubs. As well as those mentioned above Andy also guarded the net for: Notts County, Sheffield United. Motherwell, Manchester United, Hamilton Academical, Coventry City, Queen of the South and Elgin City, also returning for a short second spell with Oldham.
Caps
He was also capped by Scotland on forty three occasions and was in the squad for both the 1986 and 1990 World Cups.
Did Albion perhaps act a lit
tle hastily in releasing the youngster too early?
A more than useful cricketer, which may be why Albion roped him in to play against Dartmouth, Andy is the only person to have played for Scot
land at both cricket and football.
Although he had been born and raised in Bury (for whom his father, Lewis, played) he regarded himself first and foremost as Scottish.