| Angus Stead |
 Angus Wilkinson Stead was born on Tuesday, 5th October, 1920, in Glasgow. The forward signed for Donald Turner's Thistle on Wednesday, 18th March, 1942, having most recently been with St Mirren. Aged 21, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 21st March, 1942, in a 1-1 draw at home to Clyde in the Southern League Cup. Angus scored his first goal for Thistle on Saturday, 11th April, 1942, in a 4-2 win at home to Airdrieonians in the Southern League Cup. He scored the last of his 3 goals on Saturday, 8th August, 1942, in a 2-2 draw at home to Heart of Midlothian in the Southern League. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 3rd October, 1942, in a 3-2 defeat at home to Celtic in the Southern League, having appeared as a Jag on 17 occasions. His club-list included St Mirren, Partick Thistle, Dumbarton, Rangers and Morton. Angus died in August, 1999, in Glasgow, aged 78. *
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 Stead was a clever, stylish, traditionally Scottish inside forward who with rather more luck and consistency would have made a greater impact on the game. He first came to notice in wartime football with St Mirren, Partick Thistle and Dumbarton. With the latter club he made quite a reputation as an inside left who benefited greatly from the promptings of his left-wing partner, the former Middlesbrough internationalist Jackie Milne. As a player, he tended to handicap himself by making bright starts with his various clubs which he was unable to sustain. He signed for Rangers in March 1945 and made a good start at Ibrox, figuring in a 4-2 win over Partick Thistle in the August of that year but Rangers, noting his comparatively slight physique, had earmarked him to play on the wing. There it was never probable that he could displace the powerful and speedy Willie Waddell on the right or the very tricky Jimmy Caskie on the left. Angus made only four peacetime appearances in Rangers' first team in the course of which he scored one League Cup goal. His cause was not helped when he was called up to the forces shortly afterwards and this, of course, deprived him of the chance to make his name by appearing on a regular basis. At the end of season 1946/47 he was given a free transfer by Rangers, who had traditionally looked for inside forwards of a more powerful physical build. After finishing at Ibrox he signed for Morton and here again the pattern was the same. A bright start which led to his scoring twice in his first four league matches was not sustained. It has to be said that the Morton team of 1948 was good enough to take Rangers to two games in the Scottish Cup final and it included such fine forwards as Tommy Orr and Colin Liddell. Angus Stead was very unlucky to come through in the strange no man's land that characterised the bridging seasons 1945-6 and to be asked to play in a position which suited him less than his original inside forward berth. Older Dumbarton supporters will remember him as a key component in what was a rather good wartime Boghead side. |
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