 |
Your Archive Needs YOU! Page upload volunteers are urgently required; free time is precious for everyone but if you can spare some then please do get in touch → and play your part in helping to build an Archive for all of Jagskind to use and enjoy! Read more → |
| Alex Glover |
 Alexander Glover was born on Tuesday, 28th February, 1922, in Glasgow. The 5' 7 (10st 7lbs) forward signed for Donald Turner's Thistle on Monday, 11th January, 1943, having most recently been with St Anthony's. Aged 21, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 20th March, 1943, in a 2-0 win away to Airdrieonians in the Southern League Cup. That day, Alex became a member of our scoring debutant's club. He scored the last of his 17 goals on Saturday, 24th January, 1948, in a 2-1 win away to Celtic in the SFL First Division. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 31st January, 1948, in a 1-1 draw at home to Heart of Midlothian in the SFL First Division, having clocked up 109 appearances as a Jag. His club-list included St Anthony's, Partick Thistle, East Fife, Bradford Park Avenue, Luton Town, Blackburn Rovers and Barrow. Alex died in 2000, in Ulverston, Cumbria, aged 77 or 78. *
|
| Alex Glover's Summary Totals |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| League | 36 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 6 |
| Competitive | 106 | 39 | 18 | 49 | 17 |
| All Games | 109 | 40 | 19 | 50 | 17 |
 Alex came through in the juniors with St Anthony's, where he had been gaining rave reviews for his performances on the right wing, and it would be the #7 jersey which he'd wear for the vast majority of his 5 years at Thistle. In March 1943, he made his first-team debut in a 2-0 Southern League Cup win away to Airdrie at Broomfield, and immediately made his mark, as told in the Herald: “Thistle had Glover at outside right, in place of the departed McSpadyen, and the debutant, besides scoring the first goal, ‘made’ the second for Candlin.” Despite having some great players on board, Thistle were all very ho-hum in the wartime years, the Summer Cup win of 1945 being the glorious exception, leaving a tangible legacy for the great talent within the pool of players of the time such as Shankly, Husband and Candlin. Unfortunately for Alex, the cup was won entirely in his absence; in March 1945, a 6-1 Southern League cup defeat to Clyde at Shawfield proved to be his last involvement for some 5 months, and he appeared as a guest for East Fife in the late spring of 1945. The Summer Cup win acted as some sort of catalyst for greater consistency in the League and Thistle finished 5th when the Scottish Football League resumed officially in 1946-47, ending Donald Turner's managerial tenure on a high. Davie Meiklejohn took over and did even better, leading the Jags to an amazing third place finish in 1947-48, breaking new ground for Partick Thistle FC. Alex played more than 50 games in those two seasons, finding the net on 9 occasions. Two highlight goals for the 25-year-old in his final season included an 8-2 League win at home to Airdrie in October and a 2-1 win away to Celtic in January. Partick Thistle accepted a £3,000 fee from Bradford Park Avenue for their home-grown right winger in March 1948, and Alex made an instant impact in Division Two, terrorising defences with his clever ball play. Alex played forty-eight League games for Bradford, scoring five times. Having witnessed his ability at first hand, Luton Town manager Dally Duncan paid £8,000 for his services in September 1949, which was a huge sum of money at the time. Unfortunately, the Town were struggling at that point and Hatters supporters were rarely able to see Alex in full flow as defensive duties were required of him. He moved on to Blackburn in 1951 and then transferred to Barrow three years later. In 1955, he was a member of the Barrow side that lifted the Lancashire Senior Cup with a 2-0 home win over Oldham Athletic at Holker Street. Injuries got the better of Alex in the end at Barrow. His final appearance – and goal - came in April 1958 in a 4-1 defeat to Bury at Gigg Lane in the Lancashire Senior Cup. After retiring from the game, Alex settled in the Barrow area and died in Ulverston in 2000, leaving a widow, Sally. |
| (WS/HHE) |
magnifiable if deemed necessary by your browser
