Joe’s dramatic escape from a USA rebel league
The transfer market is in full swing, with a few players looking for a fresh start in a new country.
Some moves abroad are riskier than others.
Joe Gilroy was weighing up a massive gamble 50 years ago. Success on the pitch was great, but it didn’t pay the bills.
It had been a season to remember for the Clyde striker. His club finished third in Scotland’s top division and reached the Scottish Cup semi-finals.
Joe was a part-timer, keen to try his luck in full-time football, and the chance of a lucrative move came from an unlikely source – a rebel league being formed in the United States.
The Chicago Spurs had already signed Pat O’Connor of Kilmarnock and Aberdeen’s Ernie Winchester.
Joe recalled: “After the great season Clyde had, it was well known I wanted a transfer.
“Out of the blue, a telegram arrived, asking me to contact Al Kaczmarek of Chicago Spurs. I was invited to have a look at the setup and thought: ‘ Why not?’.
“I was working as a P.E. teacher in Paisley but there were only two days of the school year left and few pupils present.
“I sent a letter to the Education Department, requesting leave of absence for the two days to make sure I would get wages over the summer.
“The Spurs claimed I had signed for them, and the press were at the school looking for me.
“The headmaster said he’d no idea where I was and Clyde said the same.”
Joe settled in at Chicago’s famous La Salle hotel and phone calls from home started coming. The SFA and the player’s union advised him not to sign, as the National Professional Soccer League was not recognised by FIFA and the players were running the risk of a ban.
Joe went on: “I trained at Soldier Field and they offered me £20,000 for a three-year contract. I was on £14-a-week teaching and £12 playing for Clyde.
“They put a lot of pressure on me to play in a game against Philadelphia Spartans. So I was trying to weigh up the temptation of £20,000 against a ban by FIFA. So I refused to play.
“Danny Blanchflower was doing broadcasting work at the game and I sat beside him. After 10 minutes, a man waved a red flag and a player kicked the ball out of play – it was time for the adverts!
“I asked Danny if the league would succeed. He said it could if they kept the television rights but that was unlikely.
“Things came to a head when I went into the office to find a secretary in tears because there was no money to pay fees and salaries.
“I asked for my passport. She said: ‘I can’t give it to you, but that drawer may be open while I leave for a few moments . . .’
“I quickly found it, packed my things, picked up my return ticket and went to the airport.”
Joe, now 75 and living in Australia, arrived back in Scotland to find he’d been sacked from his job as a teacher and sacked by Clyde!
He said: “I had to re-sign with Clyde for an income – and then suddenly Fulham made a bid for me.
“The signing-on fee paid the mortgage. My basic wage was £85-a-week, £20 appearance money, £ 20 a point, and £ 10 for every thousand over a 10,000 crowd.
“I was so, so, lucky and I wondered if it was because of all that publicity about a move to the USA?”