St Johnstone legend, Benny Rooney, has died aged 80.
Rooney was the captain of the first Perth team to play in a cup final – the League Cup final of 1969, which Saints lost 1-0 to Celtic.
Willie Ormond’s great side, with their talismanic skipper at the heart of the defence, also broke new ground by qualifying for Europe.
Rooney began his career with Celtic in the late 1950s and had spells on loan at Dumbarton, Cambuslang Rangers and Petershill.
That was followed by a few years with Dundee United, who sold him to Saints in March 1966 for a reported fee of £2,500.
Signed as a centre-forward, Rooney was moved back by Ormond and he then spent nine seasons at Muirton Park.
He was transferred to Partick Thistle in 1973, before embarking on a managerial career at Greenock Morton, Albion Rovers and Thistle.
Rooney’s total of 289 starts and four substitute appearances puts him in 13th place on St Johnstone’s all-time appearance list.
I suspect this may have been the last interview @StJohnstone legend Benny Rooney gave. His lovely family were so accommodating and you could see the passion and pride in his eyes reminiscing about his great team and the incredible story that @roons96 was writing. RIP, Benny 💙 https://t.co/VDkYnRmoPq
— Eric Nicolson (@C_ENicolson) July 30, 2023
The St-Johnstone-Rooney family story took an incredible twist in 2020/21 when Benny’s great nephew, Shaun, scored two Hampden Park cup final winners.
Heading ability a family trait
In a pre-Scottish Cup final interview with Courier Sport, Benny said of Shaun’s goal that defeated Livingston in the League Cup: “It was a header I’d have been very happy with.
“I scored quite a few with my head – more with my head than my feet. It was a forte of mine so it must run in the family!
“It’s only after the game that I realised how terrific it was for this to have happened all these years later after our cup final. It’s something for the family to be very proud of. It was lovely that Shaun mentioned the connection after he won the cup.”
“Everyone at McDiarmid Park sends their condolences to all of Benny’s family at this very sad time.”
