CLUB

Pictures removed at the request of Maisie Love

Pictures removed at the request of Maisie Love

The Benburb club provided many players for Celtic in the 1890's the beginning of that decade they were at the peak of the Junior game while Celtic were in their infancy. Of the Benburb club of today, one of those who made the step up to Parkhead in the 1950s was Mike Jackson.

Born in 1939, he signed for Celtic in 1957 from the Bens but could've become a Busby Babe when he spent two weeks on trial at Man United. Homesick Mike was invited back to Scotland by a telegram from Celtic asking him to play in a match with Dunfermline and he jumped at the chance signing after the game.

He made his debut after Celtic's demolition of Rangers in the League Cup of 1957 and went on to play 74 times for Celtic, scoring 30 goals before moving to St Johnstone in 1963. He was frustrated at his lack of first team action in what was a barren spell for the Parkhead club in the pre-Stein era.

Back Row:
Dunky McKay, Billy McNeill, Pat Crerand, Dick Beattie, Phil Lynch, John Divers

Front Row:
Bobby Carroll, Mike Jackson, Eric Smith, Jim Conway, Bertie Auld

Mike Jackson joined Celtic having been with non league club, Benburb. Jackson was at Celtic for six seasons and contributed 23 goals from his 57 league appearances. However he did not firmly establish himself as a first team regular.


	The Cup has been competed for since the 1886–87 season, when Fairfield OF Govan became the first winners of the competition. The SJFA purchased an exact replica in 2007, to replace the original which was showing its age. The record attendance for a Junior Cup Final is 77,650 for the 1951 final between Petershill and Irvine Meadow XI. In 2010 Linlithgow Rose lifted the Scottish Junior Cup for the 4th time in their history and 3rd in a decade. They now join a small group of teams that have managed to lift the cup more than 3 times.



				Frank Dunlop and George Johnstone who featured in the Bens 1936 Scottish Cup win over Yoker before signing for Aberdeen. Both would return to Hampden in 1937 to face Celtic in the 1937 Scottish Cup Final in front of 137000 fans. Defender Dunlop would go on to captain Aberdeen and went into the history books when he led them to victory in the Southern League Cup in 1946 and the Scottish Cup a year later. He played 185 times for Aberdeen and left Pittodrie in 1948, emigrating to South Africa.



		Goalkeeper Johnstone, who had featured in one of Junior football's most famous photographs clutching a giant Good Luck Bens horseshoe prior to the Scottish final, went on to make 220 appearances for Aberdeen. A favourite keeper of the Aberdeen support he appeared in the two Scottish Cup finals and the League Cup win. He moved on to Dunfermline in 1949 and then Raith Rovers.




	For when the history of Benburb F.C. goalkeepers is written, I’n sure the Number one will undoubtedly be Alex Forsyth. When the Bens vice president Harry Lightfoot was asked in a small article, recalling his own 30 years service with the Bens, of 'the best players he had seen wearing the Benburb colours', he replied 'Ted Swift, Alex Forsyth John McFetridgem and Alex Mathieson.' Two trial games for the Ibrox club preceded his arrival at Bens but when a move to the Seniors didn't materialise he had no hesitation in committing himself to the Benburb cause. And what a commitment it was for over 17 seasons.


	John 'Eric' Smith made his way to Celtic Park earlier in the Fifties. He signed for Celtic in 1953 and played for the Parkhead club until 1960 when Don Revie tempted him south to join a struggling Leeds United side. Born in 1934, when the Bens were at their peak, he was a highly rated junior with a will to win. His ability to get stuck into the fray made him a popular name on the teamsheet whether at Tinto, Parkhead or Elland Road. A player who relished the physical challenge, his career at Leeds was ended in 1962 when he suffered a double leg break in a home game to Chelsea. He moved on to Morton in 1964 spending a couple of seasons there, and later managed the Cappielow side and Hamilton Accies in the 1970s. Eric also coached football abroad and died in Dubai in 1991.


	Like all Junior clubs, the Bens are proud of the players they developed and moved on to Senior clubs. The successful sides of the 1930s saw a notable exodus of Johnstone, Dunlop and Devers to Aberdeen. Tiger Shaw and Ronnie Mackinnon ended up at Ibrox although in Ronnie's case the Bens can't claim all of the credit. The Bens moved him on to Dunipace who provided the stepping stone. For those who are not familiar with the Scottish Junior scene, Benburb FC lie in the shadow of Ibrox Park and have hosted several testimonials against their near neighbours. Although the Benburb F.C. ground is obviously now not in the best of condition you can still get an impression of what it would have been like back in the 1950′s and 60′s when large crowds attended Junior fixtures.






The record crowd for Tinto Park I think was around 10,000 and it is easy to see how that could have been achieved prior to the safety guidelines we live by today. A part of me finds it sad that despite all our best efforts Junious Football will never again reach the popularity it had then. As the reports from the 1890s show it appears almost certain that the Benburb Football Club that ended season 1897-98 at Benburb Park (the name given to the former Hibernians or Braehead Park) are the same club that re-formed in October 1898. Did they begin playing in the Govan area before finding a more permanent home at Govandale in 1900. I think the main stumbling block was how to reconcile the original Benburb born out of Irish nationalism and migration, named in remembrance of an Irish victorious battle over Scottish settlers in the 1600s with the club in Govan, which in 1900 was a predominantly Protestant Unionist area. With the reliance on the shipyards and major employers like Harland & Wolff which opened in 1912 with an influx of Ulster workers, the area became exposed to the politics of Ireland and separatism.



	Harland and Wolf’s to the left of the picture. Centre is Govan Ferry Dock to the right is Mc Kechnie Street and the wee swing park at the bottom of McKechnie Street, Govan.

		As the workplace and communities became politicised so did the football as Rangers became the focus of Union and Protestantism. The Bens in Govan drew from the same population and although the club has always had Catholic players and supporters the perception in Govan and football in general is that the Bens and the Ants formed the Govan 'Old Firm', even though the Ants played deeper in the shadow of Ibrox than the Bens ever did! But the change in the Bens appears to have happened way before 1900 as a snippet in the Evening Times reveals. The edition of Saturday August 24, 1895 details the failure of the merger with Crown Athletic to form Oatlands FC as the players had 'mutinied' before the match with Jordanhill and contains the throwaway snippet: 'In future "no Irish need apply at Benburb Park".' The Bens/Crown Athletic merger seems to have been as much about a schism in the members of the Benburb club as much as Crown's impending demise through homelessness. As usual in the West of Scotland of the time, or perhaps anytime, the split seems to have divided down religious or Scottish/Irish lines. The Bens prior to 1895 were certainly perceived to be a product of the Irish immigrant community as McGlone/McLure's 'The Juniors 100 Years' contains a report of the 1890 Scottish Junior Cup Final between Bens and Burnbank Swifts at Hamilton. As the Bens' supporters train makes its way through Blantyre the local 'St Joseph's were out in full force' with cries of' play up, Bens, there's money on you' and when Hamilton was reached the cry all around the train was 'I say where's my ticket? O be jabbers - O here it is.' obviously from a lot of Eton educated Irishmen who couldn't sustain the deception! There are no differences between the Benburb Football Club of May 1898 and October 1898 other than individual committee members or players and probably the likeliest explanation for the short break in the club is the loss of their ground at Benburb Park. From Green To Blue: The team uniform of today is a direct contrast to that of 1898. Blue now, green at that time. Green jerseys, white pants, and green-topped stockings. That part of the business in order, the new Benburb had to set about the job of securing a ground. A difficult job. For a year and a half the team had to play on "sufferance" on the grounds of Helenslea, Southcroft, Saracen and elsewhere. With Willie McOustra: Then they secured Govandale Park, the ground of Linthouse, who had gone out of the game. Outstanding players in the old lot were Henderson, who went to Aberdeen and then to Manchester City in the days of Hynde and Willie McOustra, and Ben Flynn, a winger who also went to Aberdeen. Benburb's colours were changed from green to Royal blue.


	Thomas "Tommy" Burns started out as a goalkeeper for non-league side Benburb F.C. Burns eventually became a midfielder, and was signed by Celtic in 1973 from his second club Maryhill, a junior team from Glasgow. He made his debut against Dundee United on 19 April 1975, and he was a vital part of the side which won the league and cup double in the club's centenary season, 1988. In total, he made 352 league appearances and scored 52 goals. The following year, Burns moved to Kilmarnock, where he became player-manager in 1992, winning the club promotion to the Scottish Premier Division in season 1992/93


	CLICK HERE FOR CELTIC HONOURS LIST


	Burns moved to become manager at Celtic at the start of season 1994/95, in acrimonious circumstances as he was still under contract to Kilmarnock as both player and manager. Kilmarnock refused to release him from his contract and the Scottish Football Association subsequently fined Celtic £100,000 for 'tapping', or speaking to Burns without obtaining Kilmarnock's permission. Kilmarnock were also permitted to retain his playing registration, effectively ending his professional career as a player. On 15 May 2008, Burns died at home. His funeral mass was celebrated at St Mary's, Abercromby Street (the church in whose hall was held the inaugural meeting of what was to become Celtic FC) in his native Calton on 20 May 2008 followed by interment at Linn Cemetery Castlemilk.


	TOMMY BURNS PLAYING HONOURS Winners Scottish Premier Division : 1976–77, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1987–88 Scottish Cup: 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989 Scottish League Cup: 1982–


	At five feet eveven inches, McKinnon was not exactly the typical towering, overpowering centre-half of the time. However, while still competent in the air, thanks to a good sense of timing, he was even better on the ground. The fact that he had started out in Benburb Juniors F.C. and as what modern fans would call a “midfield man” meant that McKinnon had an awareness of what was happening around him, that he had a greater mobility coupled with a composure that enabled him to make use of the ball in a more constructive way while playing it out of defence.


	In the 30 year spell from 1956 to 1986, from George Young to Terry Butcher, most Rangers fans would agree that the best centre-half the club had was Ronnie McKinnon. One of the few Govan boys to have played for Rangers, he grew up supporting the team and dreaming about playing for the Gers. He started with the Juniors playing for Dunipace before joining the local side near Ibrox, Benburb F.C. or “The Bens” as they were known to the Govan natives. When he signed in 1959 it was as an inside-forward but he played as a wing-half in the Reserves at the start of his Ibrox career. However, with players like Jim Baxter, Harold Davis and Billy Stevenson already trying for these two positions his prospects seemed remote. Rangers decided to try him out as a centre-half and he never looked back. CLICK HERE FOR RANGERS TROPHY ROOM PICTURES AND VIDEOS Rangers and the Scotland national team. MacKinnon, a defender, made his Rangers debut against Hearts on 8 March 1961 in a 3–0 win at Ibrox. He went on to make 473 appearances for Rangers between 1961 and 1972, winning two League championships, four Scottish Cups, three League Cups and a Cup Winners' Cup. He also won a total of 28 caps for Scotland, making his debut in the famous 1-0 win over Italy at Hampden Park in 1965, in which Rangers team mate John Greig had scored a late winner. He also played in the famous 3–2 win over England at Wembley in 1967. His only goal for Scotland came in a 3–2 win over Wales, also in 1967. McKinnon also represented the Scottish League XI. His final Rangers appearance was in the 1972 Cup Winners' Cup second round match against Sporting Lisbon where he suffered a broken leg. Rangers went on to win the Cup Winners' Cup that season.




	Taken from On Tinto's Slopes By:mercedes bens.

		Fifty years ago in January 1958, Bens' season suffered a triple setback as they were knocked out of three cups on three consecutive Saturdays. On the 4th of January the Tinto side were first foots at New Kilbowie Park to face Clydebank Juniors in the Fourth Round of the Scottish Junior Cup. But it wasn't a happy start to the New Year for the Bens side which read- Smith; Young, Cairns; McCormick, Nicolson, McKay; Syme, Drummond, Stevenson, Gregal & Taylor- as the home side progressed with a 2-0 victory.


	A week later Bens headed for Johnstone Burgh in the West of Scotland Cup and although they were on top for long periods of the first half they couldn't take any advantage. The Burgh ran out 5-1 winners with Patterson, Cassidy & Tobiason sharing their goals and Alexander the Bens counter in a side that read- Kelly; Young, Cairns; Thomson, Nicolson, McKay; Alexander, Drummond, Syme, Anderson & McKinnon. On Saturday January 18th, Bens hosted Strathclyde in the League Cup in a match blighted by rain, sleet and snow. Bens were left further under the weather with a 2-0 defeat. The Bens side which completed the terrible treble was- Kelly; Young, Cairns; Thomson, Nicolson, McKay; Cresswell, McKinnon, Stevenson, Cooper & Taylor. The Bens had obviously suffered from the unsettled nature of the side during those early weeks of 1958 but they had tried to give some new younger faces a chance at Junior level. Among them was a 17 year old Ronnie McKinnon who had played at inside forward and on the wing, but as he recalled those times in a recent visit back to Tinto Park he concluded he was too small at that age to make any impact against tough-tackling seasoned Juniors. The following season Ronnie moved on to Dunipace Juniors and by 1960 the local boy had returned to Govan signing for Rangers. The Ibrox Hall Of Fame considers him the best centre-half since Willie Woodburn and he made the first of 473 appearances for the club in March 1961 in a 3-0 victory over Hearts. His Scotland debut in the 1-0 defeat of Italy in 1965 was the first of 28 caps including the 'world-beating' 3-2 Wembley victory in 1967. His early Cup calamities with the Bens didn't deter him from collecting 4 Scottish and 3 League Cup medals as well as 2 League championships. Ronnie's Rangers playing career ended in November 1971 with a double fracture in his right leg sustained in Lisbon as Rangers won en-route to the Cup- Winners Cup in Barcelona 1972.




		Not for nothing was Jock Shaw known as "Tiger". His tackling had bite and his uncompromising style made him a feared and respected opponent. Jock, like so many players of his time, missed out on countless honours and international caps because of the war. He started out with Benburb but his 287 games spread with Rangers over 15 years do not begin to tell the story of his time at Ibrox.


	Legendary manager Bill Struth signed Shaw for £2,000 for Rangers in July 1938 from Airdrie and he made his debut at left back on the opening day of the league season in a 3-3 draw with St Johnstone. He won the title in his first season, but the Second World War forced the abandonment of the Scottish League fixtures until 1946.




		Jock “Tiger” Shaw being held aloft with cup. Shaw had won four Championships, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups by the time he gave football up. Undoubtedly, but for the war, there would have been more.


	Shaw played 28 of the 30 League games as Rangers won the first peace-time Championship. He also got a winners' medal in the new League Cup as Aberdeen were beaten 4-0 in the Final. Shaw won the first of his six Scotland caps - all of them as captain - in a 1-1 draw against England at Wembley in April 1947. That year marked another milestone for Tiger. At the age of 34 he scored his first official league goal for Rangers with a penalty against Airdrie. His first Scottish Cup winners' medal also came at the end of that season in a 1-0 win over Morton. Shaw's finest moment, however, came in 1949 when he led Rangers to a domestic Treble for the very first time as captain. After retirement he became a trainer, managing Rangers' third team, and also worked on the groundstaff at Ibrox. Future stars such as the young John Greig, Sandy Jardine and Willie Henderson all came under his charge.


	All pictures and articles have been kindly allowed to be used on this site by Jock "Tiger" Shaw's Grand Daughter Elaine Campbell of JockShaw.com. Elaine Campbell (C) Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved.


	As Scotland Captain, at Wembley, introducing Prime minister Clement Atlee to his team mates.


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		DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER ... Margaret and Jock "Tiger" Shaw recently celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. The couple, pictures above were married on July 15th 1938, by Rev Gunson at New Monkland Parish church Glenmavis. Jock was a footballer and played with Ardrie for five years from 1933 - 1938. He then signed for Rangers ans spent 17 years at Ibrox, during which time he also Captained Scotland. A Celebration has been held at home for family and friends.


	Jock Shaw with his Wife on their 60th Wedding Anniversary. For which they were privileged to receive a telegram from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.


	Jock "Tiger" Shaw was born on the 29th November 1912 and died on the 13th June 2000. Tiger played for Benburb JFC in his teenage years before becoming a Scottish professional footballer and became one of the most famous for his time at the Scottish club Rangers, whom he captained between 1938 and 1950. Jock also Captained his national team, Scotland many times.


	More can be read and seen about Jock “Tiger” Shaw on his website at: Jockshaw.com


	John Cunningham 1868 was a Scottish footballer. His regular position was as a forward. He was born in Glasgow. He played for Benburb, Glasgow Hibernian, Celtic, Partick Thistle, Heart of Midlothian, Rangers, Glasgow Thistle, Preston North End, Sheffield United, Aston Villa, Wigan County, and Manchester United.


	During his visit to Scotland Sir Alex Ferguson took time to visit Tinto Park. The purpose of the visit was to meet with his boyhood Benburb F.C. playing hero Tommy Douglas. Tommy is now aged 82 and during the visit Sir Alex viewed several photographs and was able to recall the names of a number of the Bens players from the 1950’s. He was impressed with the playing surface at Tinto Park. During a 75 minute discussion a wide range of topics were covered; these included, interesting and amusing stories from his days playing on the 50 pitches, to Plantation Park; his days playing for the 129th BB team. Many other clubs and players were covered including St. Mirren, Aberdeen, Rangers, Celtic, St.Johnstone and Dunfermline. He also talked about Billy Stark and George Best. Other topics were Jimmy Reid the trade union leader who recently died. Some discussion on the forthcoming match with Rangers, inevitably and he appeared in confident mood that the Man U, the Red Devils would win. No chance, the Gers will hammer the Manchester Side. Where's your faith? As it happened the Manchester Side won the match.


	However the main discussion which took place was the Benburb teams of the 1950’s and of course Tommy Douglas. The games watched by huge crowds of 20,000 and more with Bo’ness and Ashfield were covered as well as many of the great character supporters of the time. Big matches with the Ants at Moore Park were also featured. Sir Alex. felt that John Tinney being the only current resident Govanite should automatically be the captain! After the discussions Sir Alex. Signed shirts and books for the youngsters and others present and allowed everyone who wished a photgraph to be taken. All in all one of the most pleasant and enjoyable occasions for a very long time at the club and of course Benburb Football Club are extremely grateful to Sir Alex. for giving up his time for the occasion.