Dundee taxi driver Paul Cooper alerted me to some sad news.
“I’ve just seen an intimation in the Death Notices in the Tele that a George McKimmie has died,” said Paul, a former referee.
“This person has died in South Africa.
“Do you think it could be ‘Beef’ (his nickname), who played for Lochee Boys and Dunfermline Athletic in the 60s and 70s?”
I contacted Billy Grier, one of the legendary team of brothers who ran the football side of Lochee Boys Club, along with siblings George and Lewis.
“Yes, sadly, it is ‘Beef’,” confirmed Billy.
“He was a great player for Lochee Boys and it was no surprise when he went senior with Dunfermline.
“One of his traits was that he was like quicksilver.
“As soon as the ball came into the box, he was on to it… bang… it was in the net.
“Just recently, I was at a function and Jim Leishman was there.
“I spoke to Jim about Beef and he replied: ‘Yes, he was a braw, braw player’ in his legendary Fife accent.”
Billy continued: “We had a great team at Lochee Boys at that time, with Dode Watt, Skip Wright, Billy Hackney and others.
“All great players.
“There’s a story, too, about when Beef signed for the Pars.
“In those days, you had to sign for a senior club before you went professional.
“This was to safeguard a route back into juniors if it didn’t work out in the senior game.
“Beef signed for Dundee Violet and actually played in a game for them.
“Did he not go and score a hat-trick on his debut.
“That was Beef, never one to disappoint.”
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