The Hi-His and lows of a team full of talent
league, essary. ches for next month at Hampden. This will raise further funds as we continue to pursue our dream of seeing the team back where we feel it belongs in Scottish football.
“The dream is to get back in the senior leagues. The old ground is not far off derelict now but the support we are getting has been unbelievable. There is real potential.
“Myself and other fans started an amateur team in 2007 and things have grown from there. Our aim is to use Cathkin as a ground for a team which could aim for the Lowland League, which offers a route into the league via the new pyramid set-up in Scotland.
“We are doing well with funds and have fans all over the world.” The death of Third Lanark in 1967 sent shockwaves around Scottish football.
The club were founding members of the Scottish League and won the top division in 1903-04. They also lifted the Scottish Cup in 1889 and 1905.
Famous stars included Jimmy Mason, who played seven times for Scotland and scored against England at Wembley in 1949. Former Scotland manager Ally MacLeod also started his playing career there.
The club were nicknamed the Hi-Hi. The name is rumoured to have started – and stuck – after a player in the late 1800s kicked the ball so high it left the ground.
Thirds played in the League Cup final in 1959-1960, just seven years before their demise. It was alleged Bill Hiddleston, chairman in the 60s, wanted to run the club into the ground and sell Cathkin for housing.
Fifty years on, the ground remains intact, albeit the terracings are overgrown and the main stand is gone.
But interest in the club has remained strong. They were re-founded a decade ago and play their Greater Glasgow amateur league fixtures on communal pitches in Toryglen.
One trivia fact savoured by fans is that three ex-players went on to play in European finals – Ronnie Simpson (Celtic 1967), Evan Williams (Celtic 1970) and Hugh Curran ( Wolves 1972).