The day Swifts flew off with cup
50 years since glory day
It was one of the biggest matches Burnbank Swifts would ever play and the team had a very special guest to impress.
A larger-than-life man who was brought up in the small village, this VIP spectator wanted to see his local football side make history – just like he did three years earlier.
That man was Jock Stein, the legendary Celtic manager who guided the Hoops to becoming the first British side to lift the European Cup.
Stein was among a crowd of 3000 spectators who crammed into Hamilton Accies’ old Douglas Park in June 1970 for the Scottish Juvenile Cup final.
Burnbank Swifts defeated Dundee Fairfield that day, and finished the season with a record-breaking SIX trophies, as well as playing 50 games without a defeat.
“The then Celtic manager Jock Stein came in to congratulate our manager Bobby Murray after our Scottish
Cup final win,” said Kim Queen, who captained the Swifts. “Being a Burnbank man, he knew Bobby and was delighted for him.”
This week marks the 50th anniversary of that remarkable Scottish Cup win, which was played over two legs at the beginning of June 1970.
The Swifts won 1-0 in Dundee with a header by winger Jim Mcgowan, while the home leg was won thanks to goals from Billy Docherty and Hugh Mcmillan.
After going on to win six trophies without conceding a single defeat that season, the juvenile side were recognised by the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden.
Juvenile football was a level between junior and amateur up until the late 70s, and the standard of competition was high with many ex-professionals playing every week.
Kim Queen, who was born in Burnbank and lives in Hamilton, is still pals with his ex-team-mates half a century on.
The 73-year-old said: “The memories
Memories of that season are all still fairly fresh for me Kim Queen
of that season are all still fairly fresh for me. The year before we had reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup but then John Shearer came in to coach us and brought in five or six new players.
“The whole team gelled very well and we stuck together throughout all of those games that season.
“Out of a squad of 16, three players are no longer with us. To this day, the others still keep in touch.”
Juvenile football was restricted to footballers of 27 and under, but clubs could field players who had previously been on the books of professional teams.
Over the years, Swifts teams included ex-rangers, Accies and Clyde player Stan Anderson, John Paton, who was signed by Dunfermline, Rab Brown of Accies, and Neil Douglas, who had a Spurs connection. Hamish Pickering played for Swifts after injury wrecked his Rangers career.
The then Burnbank Swifts manager Bobby Murray was a former Swifts goalkeeper and 1970 cup-winning team were trained by John Shearer, brother of
Rangers great Bobby Shearer. John, who played for Clyde, brought a professional approach to the Swifts’ preparations.
And that was one of the reasons they didn’t lose one of the 50 matches they played in 1969-70. The team dropped just one point in their Lanarkshire League campaign.
Kim paid tribute to John and said their success was largely down to his professional approach, tactics, and ensuring high fitness levels for a juvenile team.
The Swifts won every competition they entered, including the Scottish Juvenile Cup, West of Scotland Juvenile Cup, Lanarkshire Juvenile Cup, Richmond Trophy, Alan Anderson Cup and Lanarkshire League.
The team scored 154 goals that season and conceded only 29 in all competitions. Star strikers Jimmy Smith and Hugh Mcmillan scored 96 goals between them.
It was a feat never previously achieved in the history of Juvenile football, and with the demise of First Class Juvenile football (under 27 for amateur and former professional footballers) it will never be repeated.
The Swifts achievements were recognised by a civic reception given by Hamilton District Council, as well as the Scottish Football Museum display cataloguing their season and bringing back the history and memories of juvenile football.
Kim said: “If it wasn’t for the virus situation, the players would have had a reunion.
“We hope to arrange one sometime later this year.”