Sy Thomson recently met Bobby Barnes, the former Osborne and Downfield midfield maestro, in a local licenced premises.
Sy is a regular contributor to BwB and is noted for his meticulous detail when recalling games he played in.
That’s because, from a very early age, he wrote down all the details of games in which he participated – from school, to amateur, to junior, to senior.
Said Sy: “Bobby produced a great photo of the St John’s U/15 team that won the Dundee United Cup in the mid-1960s at Beechwood Park. I’m pretty sure they beat Kirkton High School 7-2.
“I know quite a few of the team because I was brought up in St Mary’s with them – or played with or against them subsequently.
“I was at the game, but my only memory of it is Ged Mulligan scoring a spectacular goal from the right touchline.
“There are many good players in the line-up, but I reckon just one made it to the senior ranks and that was the goalkeeper, Ian Bertram, who joined Huddersfield Town on leaving school.
>> Keep up to date with the latest news with the Evening Telegraph newsletter
“My very first memory of Bobby Barnes was watching Dundee Primary Schoolboys Select against their Aberdeen counterparts at North End Park in the early 1960s.
“The score was 1-1 and the Dundee goal was a 20-yard rocket from the educated left foot of Bobby. I was at the game because, playing centre-forward for Dundee was Billy Britton, who was at Macalpine PS, which I also attended.
“The next time I came across Bobby Barnes was when I was invited to train with St Columba U/16s, although I was only 14 at the time, at Downfield Primary School gym.
“The sessions comprised of circuit training and five-a-side games with benches for goals.
“Bruised shins were the reward for tackles from Bobby.
“The recently-deceased George Hill was the trainer and Ged Gourley ran the team.
“Bobby went on to have a long junior career and his brother, Sammy, wonders if he was the youngest player to have signed as a junior as he was only 15 when he joined Osborne.”
Perhaps a BwB reader can assist with this query.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.