Fall out at Fir Park led Jimmy to a life in Bury
The demise of Bury is an event that will sadden football fans around the country.
It’s a source of great anguish for those who have now lost their local club.
Former midfielder Jimmy McIlwraith arrived in the town nearly 44 years ago after falling out with the then manager of Motherwell.
He reckons it was the best thing that could have happened to him.
Football and a snowball shaped the life he now enjoys in and around Bury.
He recalled: “I was playing for Kilwinning Rangers in 1973 and had scored over 60 goals.
“There was a knock on the door of our house in Troon one night, and standing outside was Motherwell manager, Ian St John.
“My mother just about fainted because he was always her favourite player.
“He offered me a trial for the reserves against Celtic at Fir Park the following week.
“Three weeks later, I was making my debut for the first team.
“St John had young lads like me and Willie Pettigrew doing the running for older guys like Bobby Graham and Bobby Watson.
“I was part-time at first while I finished my engineering apprenticeship in the shipyard.
“I loved playing for Motherwell, and enjoyed sharing a flat in Airdrie with Willie Pettigrew.
“But Willie McLean took over as manager and things took a different direction.
“He wanted to play me wide left and I wasn’t happy about that.
“We were travelling to play Hearts in November, 1975, when he said: ‘Netzer, I’m putting you on the bench’.
“We had a fall out and I was told to find myself another team.
“There were five or six offers, but Bury appealed to me because I had an auntie and uncle in Bolton.”
Jimmy made a quick impact at Gigg Lane, on and off the field.
He went on: “I signed on a Wednesday and the following day I was walking down a snowy road in Bury when I saw a pair of red trousers ahead of me.
“I threw a snowball at them. It turned out to be Ann, who has now been my wife of 43 years.
“Things went well at Bury and I made a lot of good friends that I still see.
“I scored one of the goals when we beat Middlesbrough, who had Graeme Souness in their side, in the FA Cup in 1976.
“The club has been a massive part of my life.
“Most of the associations I made inside and outside the game have been because of Bury.
“Two of my daughters were born there, and I’ve had a season ticket at Gigg Lane for more than 30 years.
“My portrait hangs in the boardroom and I’m hoping I can buy it following the club’s liquidation.
“I play golf with four other ex-players every week and, as you can imagine, there were tears in the eyes when we heard Bury had gone out of business.”
Jimmy’s goals from midfield inspired Portsmouth to buy him in 1978, but he only stayed for one season.
He said: “I got off to a bad start with Pompey. “I went out with Steve Foster and there was a punch up with some Southampton fans. “That wasn’t great publicity.
“I got a couple of man-of-the-match awards but the move to Fratton Park didn’t really work out for me.
“What it did do was help me grow up. “Strangely, I had a short spell on loan at Ayr United under Willie McLean.
“I had offers from clubs like Brentford and Charlton, but my wife and I decided to go home to Bury and rejoin the local club.
“We’re still in the same house we bought when we first got married.”
Jimmy later played for Halifax Town before having a three-year stint at Highlands Park in South Africa under Scot, Joe Frickleton.
It was then back to Bury.
His early days in the shipyards helped Jimmy with a career in engineering.
He’s due to retire on Halloween this year.