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| Dave MacKinnon |
 David Donaldson MacKinnon was born on Wednesday, 23rd May, 1956, in Glasgow. The 5' 9 (11st 0lbs) defender signed for Bertie Auld's Thistle on Saturday, 19th August, 1978, having most recently been with Dundee. Aged 22, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 19th August, 1978, in a 1-1 draw at home to Dundee United in the SFL Premier Division. There were no goals for Dave during his time with Thistle. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 15th May, 1982, in a 2-1 defeat at home to Dundee United in the SFL Premier Division, having clocked up 143 appearances as a Jag. Dave's club-list included Arsenal, Dundee, Partick Thistle, Rangers, Airdrieonians, Kilmarnock and Forfar Athletic. |
 Dave started his career at Arsenal, although his first-team appearances were confined to testimonial and friendly matches. He returned to Scotland to sign for Dundee at the start of the 1976–77 season, where he played for two seasons. MacKinnon then signed for Partick Thistle for £18,000 at the start of the 1978–79 season. Whilst at Firhill, he earned a Scottish League XI cap versus Northern Ireland in 1980 under Jock Stein. Soon after this, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and needed a kidney removed; he recovered to full fitness and returned to the Thistle team in January 1981 for a 1980–81 Scottish Cup match versus Clyde. MacKinnon signed for Rangers for £30,000 in May 1982. He made his Rangers debut on 4 September 1982, at the age of 26, with the match versus Motherwell ending in a 2–2 draw. Rangers – Player by Player, a book written by Bob Ferrier and Robert McElroy described him as "a wholehearted full-back who had pace and was addicted to storming forward to use a powerful shot." Dave departed Ibrox after the arrival of Graeme Souness, moving onto Airdrieonians for the start of the 1986–87 season. He then signed for Kilmarnock at the start of the 1989-90 season and scored the penalty kick versus Cowdenbeath on the final day of that season, to gain promotion from Division Two for the East Ayrshire club. After retirement, MacKinnon was appointed general manager at Kilmarnock FC and was then chief executive at Dundee. He was also a reporter for Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland during the late 1990s. In 2014, he became Media and Communications Director at Hamilton Academical before joining Greenock Morton FC as CEO in May 2019. Donnie and Ronnie MacKinnon were the sons of his great Grandfathers brother, meaning they were second cousins once removed. Also, Murdo MacLeod is Dave's cousin. Remarkably, Donnie and Murdo both played with and managed Thistle at one point. Even wilder is the fact that Dave played for Thistle while his second cousin took charge as caretaker in 1980! In February 2022, Dave fell down a flight of stairs and the injuries he sustained almost cost him his life. During his recovery, he reflected on his life and reconciled some of the episodes from his football career that still weighed heavy on his mind. The result was 'Slide Tackles and Boardroom Battles' a memoir that will raise awareness of the trials and tribulations footballers face, while also giving a unique behind-the-scenes perspective on the business side of the game. His story, told with refreshing sincerity, is a must-read for all fans of the beautiful game and there's loads of wonderful content depicting his time at Firhill, which he describes as "magical" under Bertie Auld and his gang of crazies. The book is available on Amazon |
| (WIK/WS) |
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