Well old boys’ call goes out to Mcfadden
Ironically, Scottish football’s oldest former players’ society was born at a funeral.
But it’s in danger of folding unless they can persuade more recent stars to join them. Motherwell legend John Martis was a founder member when the Steelmen officially started their FP club in 1988.
But he admits that the likes of James Mcfadden, Scott Mcdonald and Stevie Hammell signing up would help to keep them going.
Former Scotland centre-half Martis spent 12 years at Fir Park, and now lives two streets away from the ground he graced.
He said: “We were the first club in Scotland to have something like this. “But we need younger members otherwise we’ll be in danger of – quite literally – dying out.
“I understand that it’s different nowadays.
“When I played, you tended to be with one club for a decade or more, whereas now players move around much more and perhaps don’t form the same attachment to clubs like we did.
“Even so, it would be great if we could attract people like James, Scott and Stevie – players who have had a strong connection with Motherwell. “If they joined, it would raise our profile among other more recent players who wore the claret and amber – and it might even generate more sponsorship for us.
“Any organisation needs fresh blood. “Last year Tam Forsyth and Cammy Murray – who had one season as a player at Motherwell but coached at Fir Park for 14 years – joined the committee.
“The current chief executive, Alan Burrows, has promised to give us a list of telephone numbers for some of the ex-players. So we’ll contact them, and I hope they’ll want to join us.
“Whenever we get together, there’s always good banter and great football chat – and the oldest guys usually have the best stories.”
Motherwell icons Ian St John, Pat Quinn, Willie Pettigrew and Bobby Graham are members, and Martis – one of the Ancell Babes and who is also a shareholder in his old club – believes it’s vital that the club survives.
“It started over 30 years ago in unfortunate circumstances,” he continued.
“Two members of the 1952 Scottish Cupwinning side – Johnny Johnston and Willie Redpath – had died, and their funerals were on the same day, Willie’s in Motherwell and Johnny’s in Bo’ness.
“John Chapman was the chairman at Fir Park at the time, and he laid on a bus so that ex-players and managers were able to go to both funerals.
“On the way back from Bo’ness, the late Wilson Humphries came up to me and said: ‘I know it’s been a sad occasion, but it was really good to see all the boys again.
“‘Why don’t we arrange to do something like this on a regular basis?’
“From that, we set up the Former Players’ Club. Mr Chapman gave us 15 season tickets and the club still honours that today. “We choose four games each season where we meet up and have lunch in the Centenary Suite at the ground.
“We also have a sportsman’s dinner to raise funds, and there is an annual golf outing at Wishaw, which is free of charge. “The money we raise allows us to donate to the Well Society on a monthly basis, and every Christmas we give £50 to the widows of former players, as much to remind them that we’re thinking about them as for the financial help it might provide. “Kilmarnock have held talks with us about forming a similar association of their own.
“I think every club should have one.”