Brian Whittaker

● Brian Whittaker, 1979 (PAN)

Brian John Whittaker was born on Sunday, 23rd September, 1956, in Glasgow.

The 6' 0 (11st 0lbs) defender signed for Bertie Auld's Thistle on Friday, 26th July, 1974, having most recently been with Sighthill Amateurs.

Aged 18, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 26th April, 1975, in a 2-2 draw away to Clyde in the SFL First Division.

Brian scored his first goal for Thistle on Saturday, 13th March, 1976, in a 5-0 win at home to Meadowbank Thistle in the Spring Cup.

He scored the last of his 6 goals on Saturday, 15th January, 1983, in a 3-1 win away to Clydebank in the SFL First Division.

He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 13th August, 1983, in an 8-0 friendly win away to Hawick Royal Albert, having clocked up an impressive 357 appearances as a Jag.

His club-list included Partick Thistle, Celtic, Heart of Midlothian and Falkirk.

Brian died on Sunday, 7th September, 1997, in Edinburgh, aged 40.

Established himself as the regular left-back in the successful Thistle team of the late 70's and was subject of several reported transfer bids. However, he remained at Firhill until a transfer to Celtic in 1983 which brought John Buckley to Firhill. Went on to play with Hearts and Falkirk. His casual style did not endear him to all the Thistle fans, but in all, played over 300 times for Thistle.

(NK)


19y, 5m, 19d		13.03.1976 Meadowbank Thistle [h] W5-0 (Spring Cup Section 3 - game 2)
20y, 1m, 7d		30.10.1976 Rangers [h] W2-1 (SFL Premier Division - game 8)
22y, 10m, 26d		18.08.1979 Morton [a] L1-2 (SFL Premier Division - game 2)
24y, 4m, 1d		24.01.1981 Clyde [h] D2-2 (Scottish Cup 3rd Round)
24y, 7m, 2d		25.04.1981 Rangers [h] D1-1 (SFL Premier Division - game 35)
26y, 3m, 23d		15.01.1983 Clydebank [a] W3-1 (SFL First Division - game 23)

Brian featured at #11 in our Top 25 countdown here on The Thistle Archive →

30.10.1976 Rangers [h] W2-1 (SFL Premier Division - game 8)
Dougie Somner (1-1, 75 mins); Brian Whittaker (2-1, 90+1 mins)

Brian Whittaker was a guy who practically invented Aaron Taylor-Sinclair and Callum Booth, and gave great service to Thistle from 1974 onwards, clocking up over 350 appearances, before a skint Firhill board finally gave in to the cheap lure of Davie Hay's Parkhead cheque book in 1983. To be fair, John Buckley moved in the other direction as part of the deal, so perhaps we didn't do too badly out of it. For certain, we can be thankful for a lot of great times, none more so than a battle-of-the-champions top-flight encounter in October '76 when Brian had just turned 20…

When Kenny Watson put the Scottish champions ahead in the 53rd minute of this one, Thistle fans would have been ruing a series of missed opportunities and a denied penalty claim (Ian Foote was in charge, say no more). There would have been very few inside the packed Firhill who would have given the newly promoted side a chance from thereon, but Bertie Auld’s Jags – with only 1 defeat in the last 8 games – were accustomed to not losing; they were a spirited bunch with potential match winners all over the park.

With a little over a quarter of an hour to play, a John Hansen cross was flashed into the net via the head of Dougie Somner, who was fast establishing himself as a real force in the Scottish game. By all accounts this was a deserved equaliser, and it made for an open and exciting finale, with both sides looking for a winner. It came in injury time, right in front of the Rangers fans in the North terracing… for the Premier Division's new boys!

A John Craig throw-in was flicked on by big Dougie Somner, and our marauding left-back, Brian Whittaker, had read the play brilliantly, timing his run to perfection as the ball fell right into his path. He connected powerfully with his trusty left-foot, and Stewart Kennedy was beaten. Tommy McLean was on his backside, and John Greig and Colin Jackson could only look on with disbelief.

Last-minute winners leave an amazing glow at the best of times, but bagging them against either of the Old Firm is something else altogether and, for a great character like Brian Whittaker, it’d have been ingrained into his banter for years to come; if post-match video interviews had existed back in those days he’d have left you with a smile as wide as the Clyde.

Brian left us far too early, but his memory lives on, especially in the minds of Thistle and Hearts fans, where he is remembered fondly for his classy displays on the park, and his joie de vivre off it.

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