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Charles Rodger |
Charles Gordon Rodger was born in on Wednesday, 3rd March, 1909, in Ayr, South Ayrshire. The forward signed for Donald Turner's Thistle on Thursday, 22nd August, 1940, having most recently been with Ayr United. Aged 31, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 24th August, 1940, in a 1-0 win at home to Albion Rovers in the Southern League. That day, Charles became a member of our scoring debutant's club. He scored the last of his 7 goals on Saturday, 26th April, 1941, in a 3-2 win at home to Celtic in the Southern League. That turned out to be his last game for the club, having appeared as a Jag on 26 occasions. Charles's club-list included Craigview Athletic, Ayr United, Manchester City, Northampton Town, Partick Thistle, Dumbarton and Raith Rovers. Charles died on Wednesday, 26th May, 1982, in Ayr, South Ayrshire, aged 73. |
Charles was a wartime guest player who joined Thistle in August 1940. He was a Northampton Town player known there as “Colin”, and confusingly he was known as “Fally” during his time at Ayr United, where he was regarded as a cult hero. At Ayr he played more than 80 league matches, scoring frequently. He started his senior career at Ayr United in 1931. The 1930s were later regarded as a golden age for the Honest Men. Along with their county trophies, they won the Scottish 2nd Division in 1936-37, although Charles had left for Manchester City at the start of 1936. The catalyst for his move was his selection for the Scottish League against the English League in October 1935, at Ibrox. The contest ended 2-2. Charles had a good match against the English, with the Glasgow Herald of 31 October 1935 stating “In the Scottish team Dawson; Cooper; Massie; Walker and Rodger were outstanding…”. Charles was a squad player at Manchester City, and didn’t get a consistent run in the team, but did play in 19 league matches and 1 FA Cup tie. City won the 1st Division in 1936-37, during Charles’s period there. In 1938 he moved to Northampton Town, in a player swap where 3 Northampton players went in the opposite direction, and made 35 league appearances for the club. In September the following year war interrupted his career. The 31-year-old forward joined Thistle for the 1940-41 season, Charles scored the only goal of the contest on his debut against Albion Rovers at Firhill in a wartime Southern League match on 24 August 1940. He scored two goals against Airdrie in a Southern League Cup tie on 8 March 1941 at Firhill with Thistle winning 4-2. Charles played in Thistle’s only known competitive reserve match during the 1940-41 season, a 4-1 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox on 14 April 1941 in a Scottish 2nd XI Cup tie. He signed off from Thistle in style, as in his final match in Thistle colours he scored another brace of goals, this time against Celtic in a Southern League tie at Firhill on 26 April 1941. Thistle won 3-2, with the irrepressible Willie Sharp getting the other Jags’ goal. A Sunday Post headline the following day said “Whirlwind Thistle. They had craft and speed”. The player also went to Dumbarton and Raith Rovers as a guest during World War 2, but his career ended post war. Charles died in Ayr, the town where he was born, in May 1982, aged 73. |
(DMAC/AFK) |