At least Willie didn’t miss Andy, Ella and Diana Ross
Scottish footballers are already reporting back for pre-season training.
They don’t get much of a break these days, and long summer tours overseas are a thing of the past.
Aberdeen have a friendly scheduled against Falkirk in just 10 days’ time.
Back in 1967, the Dons’ were only halfway through a six-week tour of the USA.
They were playing as the Washington Whips in the North American Soccer League.
Clubs from Europe and South America were taken over to represent cities across the States.
Winger Willie Watt thought he might be heading back to Aberdeen early, though, when his second experience of artificial turf, on June 20, landed him in plaster.
Fortunately, he was allowed to continue on a memorable trip across the country and got the chance to see some very famous names in concert.
Willie recalled: “I made a substitute appearance against the Italians of Cagliari, and was then picked to start a match against Wolves.
“The stadium in Washington was normally used for baseball. You could still see the mound where they pitched the ball from!
“It was a really hard surface and I went down with a clatter in the penalty area during the first half. I found I couldn’t close my hand and had to be replaced at half-time.
“They sent me for X-rays and discovered I had a broken hand. That was me out of the rest of the tournament.
“I had a plaster cast put on the hand. That meant I could only do a little training to keep a bit of fitness.
“I half-expected them to send me on a plane back to Scotland, but I was allowed to stay on.
“Although I couldn’t play, it was a great experience to see some great sights in America.
“We also got to see the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Andy Williams, The Platters and Diana Ross and the Supremes perform.
“I hadn’t been sure about going on the trip because I wasn’t too keen on heights back then.
“I had never been on an aeroplane. But it proved to be a great experience.
“We got to the final against Wolves, and only lost 6-5 in overtime. It was a game that seemed to go on forever.”
Willie’s earlier match appearance against Wolves – when he broke the hand – had to be replayed because the English side were found to have illegally used a third substitute.
Although an Aberdeen lad, Willie’s career started in England with Preston North End.
He said: “I was spotted playing for Aberdeen Schools against Dundee Schools by Preston’s Scottish scout, Jimmie Scott.
“Just after I agreed to go to Deepdale, Aberdeen manager Tommy Pearson came to the house, asking if I’d join them,
“I’d probably have gone to Pittodrie if I hadn’t already signed for Preston.
“I was only 15 at the time, and I was quite homesick at first, although everyone at the club was very good to me.”
Willie broke into the Preston first team before returning to the Granite City in 1966.
He went on: “My debut for the Dons came against Rangers at Ibrox. It was a strange game because we set up quite defensively and were holding Rangers at bay.
“But at half-time, manager Eddie Turnbull said: ‘We can beat this lot’, and told us to start attacking more.
“Within a couple of minutes of the restart, they had scored and we lost 3-0!”
Willie signed for Raith Rovers in 1969, but decided to look for a life outside the game after a single season.
He said: “Raith went part-time and I reckoned it was time to get another job. There wasn’t the money there is now in football, just a decent wage.
“I ended up moving to play for Ross County in the Highland League and did a wee bit of coaching.
“I got a job in the oil industry that took me abroad quite a bit. I retired from that two-and-ahalf years ago.”