Waddell was out of order
The 1973 Scottish Cup Final will be remembered for
Tom Forsyth’s scuffed winner from all of six inches but Archie Macpherson’s most vivid memory of the day was a humiliation heaped on Rangers manager Jock Wallace by the man he’d replaced in the dugout, Willie Waddell. We at the BBC were trying something new. We had brought Billy Connolly into the scheme of things, a lover of Celtic.
From the other side was ex-Rangers captain Bobby Shearer, who was something of a wit himself. They were beside me to offer us their thoughts before, at half-time and at the end of the game.
I had turned my back to the pitch at least 20 minutes after the final whistle to interview Connolly and Shearer as the winning manager Jock Wallace was hauled in for an interview.
Wallace was never the most loquacious but he had an obvious sincerity.
Midway through the interview his eyes seemed to glaze over and he was looking past me, not at me. He rose from his seat to end the interview prematurely, so I swivelled around to look towards the pitch. There was an enraged Willie Waddell on the track, pointing to the ground in front of him, like a dog owner demanding a pet bring the stick to his feet.
My interpretation of his lips moving and body language was, ‘Get your arse down here’, omitting expletives.
He was intruding on Wallace’s moment of triumph, in having taken the trophy away from the man Waddell continually obsessed over (Jock Stein). The Rangers manager was acting with enormous selfrestraint as he apologised to us, then sloped off.
Waddell was looking for him to be presented to Princess Anne, who had been in attendance. When I approached Waddell later, to explain he had interrupted an interview going out live to the nation, he snapped.
I recall him hissing that I had become too close to Stein to offer neutral views about his club. He dragged me into his obsession.
Our relationship never recovered but I regard him as one of the most influential figures in the game.