Presenter Dougie Donnelly interviewed fiery managers like Sir Alex Ferguson and Jim McLean during his long career.
The beloved broadcaster also had the responsibility of fronting TV football show Sportscene when it was watched by one fifth of Scotland’s population.
But in looking back at his storied career, the popular presenter says two games stand out clearly in his memories of matchdays.
It was the Dundee teams which brought the drama.
Dougie began his career as a Radio Clyde DJ before being asked to audition as a match reporter by BBC Scotland commentator Archie Macpherson.
He never looked back.
“I made my TV debut reporting on Airdrie against Dundee at the old Broomfield Stadium on March 4 1978 for BBC Scoreboard,” said Dougie.
“I remember how primitive the coverage was.
Dundee and Diamonds thriller start of Dougie Donnelly career
“I was sent in a taxi to watch and report on the game but this meant I had to be in the BBC studio in Glasgow for 4.45pm, as the final whistle was blowing.
“You always hoped that you would be sent to Ibrox or Celtic Park, where at least you could delay your departure until 15 minutes from time.
“It was a good game, actually, in the old First Division.
“Dundee were challenging for promotion and Airdrie were 2-1 ahead and very much on top when the taxi arrived at Broomfield at 4.15pm.”
Dougie scribbled down the 90-second match report in the back of the taxi.
Dundee pulled a goal back immediately through George McGeachie before Billy Williamson made it 3-2 on 83 minutes from a Jocky Scott cross.
Airdrie equalised with almost the last kick of the game.
Dougie arrived at the BBC at 4.45pm and found out the final score.
Script very swiftly rewritten, he settled into his seat to tell the viewers all about the dramatic ending to the game –Â “none of which I had seen, of course”.
“That was the way it was back in those simpler times,” said Dougie.
“It was a day I’ll never forget.”
Presenter fronted Sportscene from 1982
Dougie appeared on the BBC’s live coverage of that year’s Scottish Cup Final.
He took over from Archie Macpherson as the sole presenter of Sportscene in 1982.
“We were getting a million people watching Sportscene on a Saturday night, which was a fifth of the population,” said Dougie.
“It was a golden age of Scottish football with Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen and Jim McLean’s Dundee United challenging Celtic and Rangers.
“I spent a lot of time with both clubs and established a friendship with the future Sir Alex, who was always keen to offer a bowl of soup in his office.
“Jim McLean was always a little more guarded with the media at Tannadice, although never less than welcoming to me and our crew.”
One abiding memory, though, was a match at Dens Park in May 1986 that remains one of the most dramatic final days in Scottish football history.
Albert Kidd scored twice as a substitute for Dundee against Hearts – who only needed a draw to win the title – to hand the league to Celtic.
“I was at Dens that day to cover the anticipated celebrations but Albert Kidd had different ideas and it was one of the saddest football days I can remember,” he said.
“I found myself talking to players and supporters who were heartbroken.
“It was no surprise when they lost the cup final the following week.”
Dougie presented the Scottish Cup final for 32 years, which was the biggest day of BBC Scotland’s season with coverage beginning at lunchtime.
A family affair served up a Hampden classic
He is in no doubt about what was the most exciting Scottish Cup final he watched.
The 1991 showpiece between Jim McLean’s Dundee United and Tommy McLean’s Motherwell caught the imagination of football fans everywhere.
This unique example of brotherly conflict was christened the Family Final.
With the game going into extra-time after finishing 3-3 and Motherwell goalkeeper Ally Maxwell sporting a ruptured spleen and broken ribs, Steve Kirk would find the goal that brought the cup back to Fir Park for the first time in 39 years.
“It was an unforgettable 120 minutes, and delighted though we were to see Motherwell parading the trophy around Hampden, you had to feel for United,” he said.
“It was a match that had everything.”
Dougie said he was “young and keen” and “kept saying yes”, which led to him covering sports like indoor bowls, golf, rugby and snooker for the BBC.
And ice hockey.
Dougie was a regular at the Kingsway Rink when the Dundee Rockets won three Grand Slams and were the first British team to participate in the European Cup.
“I remember doing a piece to camera on the ice at the old Kingsway Rink and pucks whistling past my ankles as the guys were trying to put me off,” he said.
“Everyone was very helpful to a rookie commentator trying to do their sport justice and were always there to answer any questions.”
Famous advert put Tillicoultry on the map
Dougie broadcast on seven Olympic Games, three World Cups and three Commonwealth Games but left the BBC after the Scottish Cup final in 2010.
Dundee United’s 3-0 win over Ross County happened all of 32 years since he hurried back from watching Airdrie against Dundee at Broomfield Park.
In Scotland, for some, Dougie is just as famous for his association with a furniture store and his “Tillicoultry, near Stirling” catchphrase took on a life of its own.
“There was a degree of nepotism there because my father-in-law had an advertising agency which had the Sterling Furniture account,” he said.
“He suggested I would do the TV campaign at a special family discount.
“The tagline became a catchphrase even though Tillicoultry is nowhere near Stirling.
“I remember standing interviewing Alex McLeish on a gantry before a match at the European Championships in Sweden in 1992 in front of the Tartan Army.
“They burst into a chorus of ‘one Tillicoultry, there’s only one Tillicoultry!’
“Big Eck couldn’t speak because he was laughing so hard.
“It was magical.”
Friendship with Big Yin comes full circle
Dougie has just written his autobiography and Billy Connolly penned the foreword following a lifelong friendship that began at Strathclyde University.
The Big Yin and Gerry Rafferty were in the folk band The Humblebums.
They broke up in 1971 with the Baker Street singer-songwriter going on to form Stealer’s Wheel before embarking on a successful solo career.
Dougie was a law student and got Connolly gigs “to make ends meet”.
“I booked Billy when I used to run the folk club at Strathclyde University,” he said.
“He was extremely popular.
“We kept in touch over the years and 10 years ago I went to see him backstage at his tour to say hello and the Liverpool comedian John Bishop was there too.
“Billy, pointing to me, said: ‘You know, John, this is the first guy who ever paid me a hundred quid for a gig!’
“I remember having to argue with the university bean counters at the time, in 1973, that we could make money by moving Billy’s gig upstairs to the bigger hall and pay Billy £100 instead of his usual £40.
“It wasn’t much later that Billy guested on Michael Parkinson’s chat show, made a huge impact and became a star almost overnight.”
One of Scotland’s best-known sports voices is currently the lead commentator on golf’s Asian Tour and has no plans to hang up his microphone anytime soon.
“I have enjoyed a very fortunate life and career,” said Dougie.
“It’s a great joy at this age still to be working and doing something I love.”
- Dougie Donnelly: Recorded Highlights – My Life in Sport is on sale now.
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