Jimmy Chaplain was the team manager when the Dundee Schoolboys U/15 Select won the Scottish Cup.
Jimmy, then a teacher at Lawside Academy, was in charge of this particular side for nine seasons from 1965 to 1974.
But it wasn’t the glory of lifting the national trophy which prompted Jimmy to get in touch.
Indeed, it was the frugality of the select committee which left him scratching his head at times.
Said Jimmy, now retired: “When we won that particular Scottish Cup at Fir Park, Motherwell, as Craig Millar said recently in your column, there were no real big stars.
“They were all very good players and all got on well.
“Do you know that the only refreshments the boys got after the game was a cup of tea and a pie?
“Consequently, I asked an official if we could stop at Auchterarder on the way back to Dundee to ‘treat’ the lads to a fish supper.
“This prompted a committee meeting at the front of the bus to see if it could be afforded out of the funds!
“I’m glad to say the boys got their ‘meal’!”
When Jimmy came into the post in the mid-1960s, he was shocked at the condition of the playing kit.
He continued: “We basically used the St Michael’s Secondary School team strips and they were the worse for wear.
“I asked an official if we could not buy our own set of jerseys.
“At that time, I knew you could get a full set of jerseys for around £20 from David Low’s in Commercial Street, Dundee.
“Again, there were mutters from the committee before anything could be done, but we eventually got the new gear. I also learned that, at that time, the select team funds stood at around £500 – a fair amount in those days!”
Jimmy also revealed an amazing fact, which will dumbfound most city football fans, especially those of a tangerine persuasion.
He asked me: “Did you know that Dave Narey never played for the U/15 Select?
“He was part of a great St John’s team and, indeed, there were players from that school in the pool of players – but no Narey.
“I recall the selectors had a vote when or not to include him also, but the vote went against the player 13-2!”
Jimmy was also at the helm when the Dundee side won the national trophy on another occasion.
He revealed: “That was the team Derek Johnstone played in and we actually shared the title with Ayrshire.
“On the day of the second leg of the final (the first leg was at Rugby Park), Derek’s school Linlathen phoned up to say he was unfit to play that same evening.
“He had a cricked neck.
“I just said to them, ‘Send Derek up to Tannadice this evening, and we’ll see how he is’.
“The laddie was never going to miss a Scottish Cup Final and, if my memory serves me correctly, I think he scored a hat-trick!”