| John Kennedy |
 John Kennedy was born on Tuesday, 3rd March, 1953, in Falkirk. The 5' 9 (10st 10lbs) defender signed for Davie McParland's Thistle on Friday, 9th November, 1973, having most recently been with Falkirk. Aged 21, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 12th October, 1974, in a 2-1 win at home to Dumbarton in the SFL First Division. There were no goals for John during his spell with Thistle. He played his second and last game for the club on Wednesday, 12th March, 1975, in a 2-0 friendly win at home to Vejle Boldklub. John's club-list included Gairdoch United, Dunfermline Athletic, Falkirk, Partick Thistle, Stirling Albion and St Johnstone. |
| John Kennedy's Summary Totals |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| League | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Competitive | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All Games | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 This young centre half came through with Gairdoch United and made his professional breakthrough with his hometown team, Falkirk, in the springtime of 1972. Willie Cunningham was ringing the changes as he strived to find a winning formula for the Bairns and, having just turned 19, John was handed his Falkirk debut at Firhill on 18th March 1972, squaring up to Frank Coulston and the rest of the League Cup winners in a 1-1 draw in front of 5,595. Young John must have impressed for he made 5 league appearances before the season was out, and a further 18 in all competitions the following season. The arrival of John Prentice as gaffer meant changes at Brockville, and Davie McParland signed John to terms at Thistle in November 1973. John was good friends with John Hansen and, together with Alan Hansen, they'd travel to training together, picking up Alan Rough on the way. What a car pool! Unfortunately for John, there would be no way into the Thistle first team of the day which had strength in abundance in the central defence with the likes of Jackie Campbell, Andy Anderson, Nobby Clark, Donnie McKinnon and Alan Hansen all kicking about. It would be nearly a year before John got a look in, and he made his only first team league appearance in a 2-1 league win at home to Dumbarton in October 1974. By now, Thistle were under Bertie Auld's management, so it was a strange case of 4 managers in a few years for the youngster. He had to content himself with two seasons in the reserves at Thistle, but made the most of it as two national cups were won! In May 1974, Thistle were at Bayview for the second leg of the Reserve League Cup Final. Having won the first leg one nil, the cup looked secure when Thistle took an early lead to go ahead 2-0 on aggregate but the Fifers fought back and it was 2-2 with 10 minutes to go. A late tackle saw John ordered off (he was always committed!) but Thistle held on to take the cup. The following season, Thistle Reserves reached the Scottish 2nd XI Cup Final, another two-legged affair, this time versus Dundee. The first leg was drawn nil nil at Dens Park, and the return was played at Firhill on Monday, 7th April, 1975. Jags lined-up: Thomson, Holmes, Whittaker, Kennedy, Clark, Gibson, Rae (T), Coulston, Marr, Chalmers, Lochrie. Kelly and McCluskey came on as subs. Marr pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area for 1-0 but a mistake by Thomson led to an equaliser. There were no more goals after 90 mins. Thistle had most of the pressure in extra time and Lochrie scored the winner. John wasn't a fan of Bertie Auld (“he thought he was a wee gangster”) and recalls how training would often consist of the players being sent up to Ruchill Park to run around. Donnie McKinnon would sometimes break rank by sneaking a ball up to them to relieve the boredom! When it came to contract renewal time in the summer of '75, John was offered terms at £5 per week less (Thistle had just missed the cut for the new Premier League) and he was fairly disillusioned with the game at this point, feeling that he'd been under-valued and under-recognised. He took on a sales job with A. G. Barr at this time and had even considered giving up the game, but Alex Smith persuaded him to sign for Stirling Albion, and a whole exciting new chapter began, combining his full-time work with a part-time playing position. John spent 6 seasons at Stirling where he was a near ever-present and captained the team, the big highlight being the Second Division title win in 1976-77. Such was his form at this time, that John represented Scotland B on a number of occasions, playing alongside the likes of a young Ally McCoist, and won a tournament in the Netherlands. There was on offer from Jim McLean at Dundee United, but John didn't want to give up his job security and he finished his playing career at St Johnstone, where he played his part in the First Division winning team of 1982-83. Peter Cormack's Partick Thistle were, of course, promotion rivals that term and John turned out against Thistle for the 4th time, Saints winning one nil at Muirton Park on 3rd January 1983. From John's point of view, he made a good move away from Thistle in '75 and it just shows you - never give up, it's a funny ol' game! |
| (WS/AFK) |
