Invading fans hit Bobby on the head with a corner flag
SCOTLAND host Canada in a friendly on Wednesday, and it’s fair to say the visitors don’t come with a big reputation.
They’ve already failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup but are looking to regain a bit of momentum under interim coach, Michael Findlay.
Many observers felt there was a lack of fight under his predecessor, Spaniard Benito Floro.
There was certainly no lack of aggression in Canadian football when Bobby McCool had a spell over there.
But it was a painful experience for the Scot when he encountered the Latin temperament in North America.
The winger was spending a summer with Hamilton Steelers while trying to bounce back from a badly-broken ankle, sustained while playing for Third Lanark.
He recalled: “We were playing Montreal Cantalina after beating them 1-0 earlier in the season.
“They had a lot of Italian fans and didn’t take kindly to losing another match.
“A riot broke out after their supporters invaded the pitch.
“I was on the wing furthest away from the tunnel, and ended up being smacked on the top of the head with a corner flag.
“There were 32 fans arrested by the police and I ended up in hospital getting eight stitches.
“Despite that, I actually enjoyed my time in Canada.
“I was then offered double what they were paying me to go and play in California, but I was only 19 at the time and a bit homesick.”
Bobby had already travelled around the USA during a summer tour with Third Lanark the year before.
They visited cities such as New York, St Louis and Chicago.
The young striker was on the fringes of a team that finished third in the Scotland’s First Division and scored 100 goals.
He said: “I’d had a trial with Rangers when I was a kid, but was then signed by Thirds.
“Their manager, former Rangers captain George Young, persuaded me by saying I could be as good as Hibs’ famous winger, Gordon Smith.
“I played three first-team games at the end of the season. One was a defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle. That was a difficult one for me because all my family were Hearts’ supporters!
“Unfortunately, my career in Scotland really came to an end when I broke my ankle.
“I was challenging for the ball with an opponent and got caught on my right leg by one of our own players.”
Bobby decided to move south and join Cheltenham Town after returning from Canada.
He went on: “Their Scottish manager, Archie Anderson, came up to Edinburgh to persuade me to sign for them.
“I turned down Dunfermline and Hastings United. My mother advised me to spend a season with Cheltenham and then come back to Scotland.
“But I had three years with Cheltenham and then spent 10 years with Gloucester City.
“I scored more than 50 goals, although I mostly played on the wing.
“I got a reminder of where it started for me when we played Wealdstone in a Southern League match.
“It wasn’t until we’d kicked off that I thought I recognised their centre-half. It was my old Third Lanark team-mate, John McCormick.”
Bobby, now 75, took a job with Smiths Aerospace in Gloucestershire and eventually became a manager.