| Alex Sharp |
 Alex Sharp was born in Prestonpans, East Lothian, circa 1918. * The 5' 9 (12st 0lbs) midfielder signed for Donald Turner's Thistle on Wednesday, 30th April, 1941, having most recently been with Albion Rovers. He made his debut appearance on Tuesday, 20th May, 1941, in a 7-5 win at home to Clyde in the Glasgow Charity Cup. Alex scored his first goal for Thistle on Wednesday, 27th August, 1941, in a 5-3 win at home to Queen's Park in the Glasgow Cup. He scored his second and final goal for the club on Saturday, 27th December, 1941, in a 6-3 win away to Hamilton Academical in the Southern League. He played his last game for Thistle on Saturday, 6th June, 1942, in a 2-0 defeat at home to Celtic in the Summer Cup, having appeared as a Jag on 19 occasions. Alex's club-list included Musselburgh Athletic, Heart of Midlothian, Leith Athletic, Albion Rovers, Partick Thistle, Dundalk, Rothes and Elgin City.
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 We thought we had a picture of Alex, but Dundalk's Who's Who had fallen into the trap of using the Vintage Footballer's image of Alex Sharp of Falkirk in 1937, historians of the world beware! Although he was reportedly born in Prestonpans circa 1918, we can see no such entry in Scotland's People, so further investigation and caution is required. Alex, a right-half specialist, started out as a youngster with Musselburgh Athletic, and signed for Hearts in the summer of 1936. He never did make the breakthrough at Tynecastle, and had a loan spell with Leith Athletic in 1937. Signed for Albion Rovers (then a top-flight side) where he as a near ever-present for four seasons from 1938-39. In the springtime of 1941, Donald Turner took him onboard to bolster the depleted Partick Thistle ranks. His baptism of fire was in a Glasgow Charities Cup Quarter Final match at Firhill after which the end final score read: Partick Thistle 7 Clyde 5. The May 1941 match was played in front of an incredulous crowd of 5,000. Thistle were 5-0 up at one stage, but Clyde made a shock comeback. Willie Peat got a hat-trick and Peter McKennan got 2. Alex played in the more sedate 2-1 Semi Final victory over Celtic, before the 3-0 reversal to Rangers in the Final. He returned to the wee Rovers after his stint at Firhill. Dundalk's Who's Who may not have the correct image, but they have some very nice information to share about his spell at Oriel Park, where Alex played as an inside forward:
Alex seems to have finished his playing career in the Highland League in the late 1940s, where he was described in the local press as a brainy and popular addition to the game in the north. He had a spell as player/coach at Rothes before signing as a player for Elgin City in 1948-49. In February 1949, he left to take up a new job in Newtongrange. On account of his service during WWII, Alex is included in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle returned →. |
| (WS/DMAC/SD) |
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