Western Wildcats Hockey Club

Maurice Gregory was a dashing right winger who stacked up 17 appearances for Scotland between 1952 and 1958.  A regular goal-scorer, selectors occasionally used him as an emergency centre forward or left winger in the habit of the time, but without conspicuous success.  Little more is known about him, although he seems to have been a one-club man who later moved to South Africa.

 

Gavin Walker gained his first international caps in 1957 against Wales and South Africa when he was a civil engineering student at Glasgow University, and he appeared against Belgium the following year.  An elegant and constructive inside forward, Western were delighted to have the benefit of his skills after he graduated in 1958.  He played in all three home internationals in 1959. His final appearance for Scotland was against England in 1961, but his club career carried on into the mid-60’s.

N.S.M. (Norman) Macleod joined Western in 1958 on completion of his vet studies, along with fellow Glasgow University team mates Gavin Walker and Bill Matheson.  A neat and resourceful full back,  he appeared in various representative teams as a student and later, but his one full cap was against Belgium in 1961.  His widow Dorothy kindly made a donation which funded the Norman McLeod Memorial Clock which overlooks the pitch at Auchenhowie.

D.M. (Morton) Ramsay has a unique place in Scottish sport, representing Scotland in goal in both amateur football and hockey, and he was also a handy cricketer.  He came late to hockey, but is remembered for his scientific approach to the ‘keeper’s role, aimed at optimising his positioning.  He played in all eight internationals in 1965-66.

W.S. Bruce joined Western as a schoolboy in 1973, having been introduced to the game at the Vale of Leven Academy under the benevolent eye of international umpire David Simpson.  Initially a striker, Billy benefited from the development of international squads and increased use of substitutes in his Scotland career.  Never the quickest or the fittest, he became a versatile, determined mid- fielder with good tactical awareness, and coaches could rely on him to undertake a specified role.  Sparse in his praise of the umpiring fraternity, his dismissal of opponents as ‘a team of do’ nuts’ in his team talks still raises a smile.  He probably lays claim to the briefest Scottish indoor career ever – 18 seconds in Ireland.

Peter Armstrong, a strong direct centre-forward, won two caps in 1955 and scored on debut against Ireland in a rare victory.  He was unfortunate to be dropped to accommodate a new rising star – F.H. Scott (R.A.F. and Hounslow) – who went on to a (then) national record of 63 caps.

A.M. (Tony) Duncan arrived at Western with a good grounding in hockey gained at the Abbey School, Fort Augustus.  Capped at schoolboy level, he quickly made his mark as a quick, tenacious defender, blessed with immaculate timing both in the tackle and ball-striking which belied his slight frame.  Equally adept at full back or half back he made his debut against Holland in 1963, followed by appearances against the three home countries that season.   His final cap was against Wales in Ayr in 1966, a sterile 0-0 draw in which his Western colleagues Morton Ramsay and Dennis Hay were also involved.  However Tony remained on the fringes of the national side up to the inaugural European Nations Championship in 1970, when he was considered unlucky not to gain selection.  A staunch club member, Tony served in various capacities throughout his time with the club.

Alistair Tait is the fifth of Western’s international goalkeepers.  His first cap was in 1974 when he was a member of Babcock & Wilcox.  He was a seasoned international campaigner by the time he moved to Auchenhowie in the early 1980’s bringing excellent judgement and an air of unflappability to a sometimes fractious defence.  He was knowledgeable and insightful about the game in general – qualities which made him valued as Scotland’s team manager for a number of seasons.