Leading team was ‘greatest’ honour

It was the glittering 32nd Academy Awards ceremony which saw epic drama Ben Hur win what was then a record breaking 11 Oscars.

But as Hollywood golden couple Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis sashayed on to the stage of the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood on April 4 1960, to announce the winner of the Best Adapted Screenplay award, any hope that the Ben Hur team had of winning a 12th trophy was about to be shattered – by the work of a former Dundee United football captain.

Ripping open the coveted envelope after describing how there could be “no cake and no frost” in a movie if the screenwriter didn’t “create a recipe” first, Tony Curtis announced that the winner was Neil Paterson’s screenplay for the 1959 film Room at the Top.

In true awards-ceremony style, Neil, who captained Dundee United during the 1936-37 season, could not be present.

However, the prize was collected by the film’s British director Jack Clayton, who said: “On behalf of Neil, I can only say to all of you, thank you very much indeed!”

Ahead of last year’s 91st Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, a treasure trove of fresh information emerged after Neil’s son and nephew, who live in England, donated a scrapbook of his footballing years to Dundee United, which the club have now put on permanent display.

The fascinating collection of newspaper cuttings and anecdotes was lovingly collated by Neil’s Buckie-based mother in 1935-36 when he played for Leith Athletic and also records the day in July 1936 when he signed on at Tannadice.

Choosing to remain an amateur player, Neil went on to score nine goals from 26 league appearances, including a hat-trick.

After his football career finished, he became a writer – initially a sports journalist with Courier publisher DC Thomson & Co Ltd in Dundee – and went on to pen a number of well received novels, short stories and screenplays.

He also served as a governor for the British Film Institute, National Film School and was an executive for Grampian Television.

However, his family say that in spite of everything, Neil always considered his “greatest achievement” as captaining Dundee United.