From the Gable Endies to facing Pele, Best and Moore
Some players currently without a club might be thinking it’s all over for them in football.
But Davie Kemp is living proof that it’s never too late to revive your career.
Aged 21, he was a former Junior footballer who’d been rejected by Montrose.
It seemed his dreams of becoming a full- time footballer were over.
That was painful because his two older brothers had both graced the professional ranks.
In 1971, he left these shores for a new life in the USA – and ended up playing against superstars such as Pele, Bobby Moore and George Best.
By the summer of 1975, Davie was a team-mate of Celtic legend Jimmy Johnstone.
He recalls how he found the road to San Jose Earthquakes.
“I started life in a wooden hut at the sawmill in the Angus village of Eassie,” said Davie.
“At 16, I became aS-form signing with Montrose but things didn’t go well for me.
“The manager, Norman
Christie, left and his replacement, Bill Ogilvie, made it clear his didn’t want me.
“He would play himself in a practice match rather than give me a game.
“I don’t know if it was because he’d played with my brothers, Jimmy and Bobby, at Montrose.
“I ended up playing in the Juniors while I did an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer.
“My sister moved to California and I decided to follow.
“My life changed when Milan Mandaric, who was later the
owner of Portsmouth and Leicester City, bought the Sunday league team I was playing for.
“He then bought the San Jose Earthquakes franchise for the NASL.
“He only took three or four of us with him. I had to pinch myself that I was now competing with and against some of the great names in football.
“When Pele came to play for the New York Cosmos, it really gave the league some credibility.
“I had to mark George Best when we played LA Aztecs.
“I got on really well with him afterwards, despite having bits of his shirt and skin on my boots!”.
Having Jimmy Johnstone as a team- mate was a thrill, even though it wasn’t a particularly happy time for the Lisbon Lion.
Davie said: “I think he could relate to me because I was another Scot taking on the big boys.
“He was brilliant in the first training session.
“But after that, it seemed like he’d lost a bit of confidence. I think being released by Celtic had hurt him.
“The fans at opposition grounds would give him stick and he never really put it together like he was capable of.
“There were some funny times though. We were in a basement swimming pool and Jimmy’s clothes got hidden.
“We pushed him in the lift and pushed all the buttons.
“He emerged at the lobby, bright pink and with just a wee towel to protect his modesty.”
Davie hung up the boots in 1983 after a couple of seasons with indoor teams.
Now 66, he’s retired from a successful career in business and lives in San Diego.