Lights, action...on the pitch

A cold, frosty night in November, 1961, was the occasion of a milestone in the history of Stirling Albion’s former Annfield ground.

It saw the first ever floodlit game played there when Albion entertained a Birmingham City side which included Celtic great and Lisbon Lion Bertie Auld in their line-up.

Before kick-off, Albion chairman Archie Gourlay told the near 6000 crowd the four-pylon lighting set-up heralded a new era in football in the town.

He thanked Albion Social Club for contributing most towards the cost of the lights and it was one of its members, a Mrs McFarlane, St Ninians, who performed the official switch-on.

According to the Observer, Birmingham showed more pace than Albion and won the game with something to spare.

But Albion contributed to an enjoyable occasion and the best shot of the game was a 25-yard `rocket’, from Binos’Willie Sinclair, which thundered against the bar but failed to find the net.

Scorers for Birmingham in the 3-1 victory were Harris, Auld and Leek while Sinclair got one back for the home side. One of the Stirling players who came on as substitute that night was Cattanach, a former St Modan’s schoolboy.

Teams (before substitutions ) were

– Albion: Brown, McGuinness and Pettigrew; Rowan, Weir and Johnstone, and Kilgannon, Maxwell, Sinclair, Spence and Lawlor.

Birmingham City: Schofield, Lynn and Sissons; Hennessey, Smith and Beard, and Hellawell, Orrit, Harris, Leek and Auld.

Bertie A uld made 126 appearances for Birmingham between 1961 and 1965, when he returned to Celtic for a second spell at Parkhead. Defender Terry Hennessey played 178 times for Birmingham and won 39 caps with Wales. Season 1961–62 was

Birmingham’s 59th in the Football League and their 35th in the First Division. Albion were in Scottish League Division One that season which ended for them in relegation.

* The evening was, however, not an unmitigated success for Albion. In the early hours of the day that followed a fire broke out in a coffee stall on the west side of the ground, according to the Observer. Mr D Jannetta, Central Cafe, Friars Street, Stirling, owned the timber and asbestos structure which was destroyed along with its contents.