Injury agony followed Tommy’s debut hat-trick
DUNDEE UNITED play their first home game of the season against Cowdenbeath on Tuesday night.
The Tangerines need to create a feeling of optimism among their fans after suffering relegation last term.
Back in 1960, they were a club heading in the opposite direction.
United were about to embark on their first top-flight campaign for 28 years and manager Jerry Kerr had uncovered a new scoring sensation.
The team went from strength to strength. But the man hitting the net would have a frustrating end to his time at Tannadice.
Tommy McLeod was recruited from Ayrshire Junior side Ardeer Thistle in the summer of 1960.
He hit the headlines by scoring a hat-trick on his competitive debut.
The chance to make an immediate impact came thanks to a bit of help from a goalkeeper.
Tommy recalled: “There was a trial game between the first team and the reserves.
“I scored three past Lando Ugolini, the veteran keeper who had just joined the club.
“He said he would speak to the boss, Jerry Kerr, about me.
“I think that probably helped to get me a start.
“I played against Stenhousemuir and scored three times in a 3-3 draw. “It couldn’t have been a better start to my time at United.”
It seemed a new star was about to take Scottish football by storm.
Tommy went on: “We then played a friendly against the Combined Services. We beat them 5-1 and I scored four.
“Jim Baxter and Max Murray were playing for the opposition.
“I then scored against Hibs and that was our first goal in the First Division.
“It wasn’t long after that when I suffered a groin injury.
“I tried to play on with it when I really should have rested.
“I could run for 20 minutes and then they’d put me out on the wing because there were no substitutes.”
Tommy was taken out of the team after a 6-1 defeat away at Third Lanark.
Last week he went back to revisit Cathkin Park where he played one of his last games in Scotland.
He said: “I really wanted to play against Rangers at Ibrox the following Saturday, but I was dropped.
“I played one more match, against Dundee later in the campaign, but got a free transfer at the end of the season.”
There followed a whistle-stop tour of clubs around the UK before Tommy settled in Canada.
He said: “I played for Bath City and Cheltenham Town, before spending the summer with the Polish White Eagles in Toronto.
“The following season I played one game for Morton and also turned out for Inverness Caley against Ross County.
“That day the snow was so bad that my train didn’t arrive back in Glasgow until 4am.
“That made my mind up to go back to Canada.
“I then went to America to play for the New York Ukrainians.
“I was also in Hartford for a while before returning to Canada to join Hamilton Steelers.
“I got more money from the part- time Canadian teams than I was on in Scotland.
“My brother, Eddy, played in Canada, too. He’d been given a free by Stoke City.”
Now 78, Tommy is a well-known lollipop man in Toronto.