Yesterday's heroes...

Heroes Index

Straths Athletic 1950

Pictured, Back Row, L to R; William Batchen (referee), Willie Cooper, Jimmy MacPherson, Tommy MacDiarmid, Wulstan MacPherson, Alister Fraser, Charlie Anderson.
Front Row L to R; Alan MacDiarmid, Ian MacDonald, Hugh Fraser, Peter Grant, Fachie MacDonald, Bobby MacLean.

Straths Athletic Camanachd 1950, pictured at the Bught Park Inverness.

Taken in Inverness, this photograph shows the Stratherrick team from 1950 who captured the Strathdearn Cup by defeating Beauly by three goals to one. William Batchen, who played for Straths Athletic two seasons later was referee for this particular match. Willie was a Foyers man along with Peter Grant, pictured in the front row. As Foyers still had a team of their own at this stage, there must have been a fair amount of in club as well as inter club friction, for a Foyers player to be accepted into the Straths team!

Notable faces in the picture are the MacPherson brothers, Jimmy and Wulstan, from Whitebridge. They were stalwarts of the Straths and Stratherrick teams, living and working in Whitebridge, about four miles south of Foyers. As far as we know they were never seen to play for the Foyers team, remaining staunchly loyal to their native glen !.  There were seven brothers of the Macpherson family from Killiechoilum  played for Stratherrick, Straths Athletic & Boleskine including the afore mentioned Jimmy & Wulstan.   Roddy and Angus played in the early thirties for Boleskine.  Jock & Kenny played for Stratherrick before the second word war, and Hendry, Kenny, Jimmy and Wulstan turned out for Straths Athletic after the war. The three Macdiarmid brothers Tommy, Allan & Sandy of Abersky along with their half brother Bobby Maclean, combining with the Macpherson brothers comprised of over half the Straths Athletic team, so practices were held alternately at Abersky or Whitebridge .  

Hendry MacPherson, Aberdeen University's long standing full back, is Jimmies son and some of you may well remember his brothers, Peter and Jock, who played for both Boleskine and later for Inverness. Both of them strong and hard players, they did not, however, remain in the game for as long as their brother Hendry. By the way, Hendry is the last home grown player to win a Sutherland Cup medal, playing for Aberdeen in 1993.

Fachie MacDonald, from Gorthleck on Loch Mhore side, played for many years and now lives in   sheltered housing at Inverness, we would like to wish him well from the team and hope that he can see this site sometime soon. A fine player himself, although short of stature he was big of heart.
While managing the Boleskine team of the mid to late seventies, he gave Hendry and Peter MacPherson, Duncan MacDonald along with future players their first taste of senior shinty at an early age. Duncan and Hendry were both wing forwards and were only fourteen years old during their first full season, in a senior league playing against, what would be the equivalent of, the National Division teams of this era!
The two youngsters had to grow up fast and it is a tribute to Fachie that they are still playing well to this day despite both being thirty eight years old. Hendry, full back for Aberdeen University and Duncan currently playing wing center for Boleskine.

Willie Cooper, pictured in the back row second from the left, spent some time in the custody of Hitler's P.O.W. camp during World War Two. There being a few Highlanders in the same camp, it was not long before they began to dream of their native glens and sport. Not to be down hearted they fashioned clubs from the woods nearby and balls made from tree fungi. So, before long, the game was established in the camp and no doubt many 'Sassanachs' (Englishmen) were introduced to the game through having to make up the numbers for a team!
The art of making balls from tree fungi was no doubt part of the Highland culture and this was explained to us by Teep MacDonald.
The Fungi was stripped at the root of the spore and carefully shaped into the form of a shinty ball, keeping it damp and malleable at all times, the shaped ball was then transferred to an oven at low heat to dry out slowly. The ball would last for possibly thirty minutes in a short passing game, therefore many of these would need to be prepared in advance! The quality depended entirely on the density of the fungi and the amount of time spent in the oven. A matter of trial and error.

December 1985 Straths Athletic held a reunion dinner at Whitebridge Hotel for the players and their partners , the photo below was taken at the event 

Back row  Wulstan Macpherson, Allan Macdiarmid, 

2^nd  row  Sandy Macdiarmid, Tommy Macdiarmid, 

1^st row  Alister Fraser, Hugh  Fraser, 

Front row   Bobby Maclean, Fachie Macdonald, Willie Cooper, Ian Macdonald