That’s me in the spotlight
In last Wednesday’s From the Achives features, we looked back at Stirling Albion’s fantastic play-off win over Airdrie back in May 2007.
One of the pictures showed what we thought was a member of the backroom staff - and this week we can reveal it to be fan Tom Young, who sent us an email from his home in Dalgety Bay, Fife.
“I write to thank you for your feature of‘From the Archives’. My brother Bob in Alva sent me a copy and it brought back memories and a smile to my face at a time of not only personal difficulties but those of global proportions,” wroteTom.
“In the photo of the Stirling Albion players celebrating their win in the playoffs of 2007, I’m the very fortunate fan in the centre, in red, with tammy, holding my scarf aloft. The story of my inclusion in the photo is as follows.
“I was at the match with both of my older brothers, Bob and Jock. We all hail from Cowie with my dad Jock being one of the original Stirling fans who took us to matches from the age of five onwards.
“After the final whistle and from several rows up in the stand, I was determined to get on the pitch to celebrate with the players. At the time I was recovering from a triple heart bypass operation, undertaken a couple of months previous. As I climbed over row after row of seating and the fence at the pitchside, my brothers - concerned about the exertion and panting to get there - did their best to stop me but I ignored their advice.
“Once on the pitch I went over the other side to hug and congratulate the players, eluding the efforts of the police to stop people doing such.
“Having congratulated several players, I was on the way back when David O’Brien (directly behind me in photo) started to push me into the line-up. He had his arm around me and I couldn’t get away.
“I thought‘I better get out of here before a policeman grabs me but I realised by this time I was in the centre of the line up and surrounded with about a dozen photographers in front of me. I used an expletive and thought‘I better just stay where I am’.
“After the photo was taken a friendly policeman approached me and escorted me off the pitch, explaining to me that my brothers had spoken to him, informing him of my name and about my recent heart operation. He did comment on how lucky I was to get in the snapshot.”
Tom went on:“Over the next two days my face appeared in several newspapers with friends contacting me about the photo.
“I tell people that I got Robert Snodgrass’s spot. If you look closely he is absent. He was just out of shot, hugging his girlfriend in the celebrations.
“The caption under your photo read,‘Players, staff and fans celebrate’. On close examination I am the only‘lucky fan’as I know that all the others were players, subs, coaches or backroom staff. As I say, very fortunate me and a copy of the original photo is displayed proudly in my living room.
“Incidentally a few years later when Stirling won in the playoffs at Brechin, I took a copy of the photo to that match. At the end and during the celebrations on the pitch, I showed the photo to the captain Andy Graham, who - guess what managed to get me in the line up again. Sadly I was at the side rather than centre stage.”