Michael Temlett

It’s not every day one of the greatest players ever to kick a ball descends on Fir Park but on October 11, 1981, that’s exactly what happened.

Now 35 years on, we open up our archives to revisit the day George Best brought his San Jose Earthquakes side to play Motherwell in front of the Fir Park faithful. The Steelmen won 5-2 on the day, with goals coming from Joe Carson, Ian Clinging, Alfie Conn, John McKeever and John Gahagan but the main attraction was the 35-year-old former Manchester United star. To make the fixture even more unique, Motherwell had faced Ayr United one day earlier at Fir Park — on Saturday, October 10 — which ended in a 1-1 draw with Gahagan scoring against the Honest Men. However, the visit of Best prompted good luck for Well as they visited Clydebank one week later and won 7-1 and went on to win the First Division title in the same season. Debate has raged over the years as to whether or not Best pulled on a Motherwell jersey to play for the Steelmen. However, our sister paper the Daily Record reported in 1981 that Best was due to switch sides at half-time but failed to re-emerge due to an ankle injury. However, it was a day which would not be forgotten by supporters as they had the chance to witness one of the game’s greats at Fir Park. The Motherwell squad which played that day at Fir Park comprised of: Clelland, McLean, Carson, Sproat, Mills, Samerof, McLaughlin, Wark, McKay, Conn, McLeod, Irvine, Forbes, McClair, Williams, McClelland, Gahagan, Clinging, Souter, Rafferty McKeever, Healey.