| Stewart McLean |
 Stewart Duff McLean was born on Thursday, 30th August 1923, in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire. The forward signed for Donald Turner's Thistle on Wednesday, 24th March, 1943, having most recently been with Arthurlie. Aged 19, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 14th August, 1943, in a 3-2 win away to Heart of Midlothian in the Southern League. Stewart scored his only goal for Thistle on Saturday, 4th March, 1944, in a 2-1 win at home to Falkirk in the Southern League Cup. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 15th April, 1944, in a 4-2 win at home to Third Lanark in the Glasgow Charity Cup, having appeared as a Jag on 17 occasions. His club-list included Arthurlie, Partick Thistle, Rotherham United, East Fife, Dumbarton, Forfar Athletic and Stenhousemuir. Stewart died on Sunday, 11th September, 2011, in Banff, Aberdeenshire, aged 88. |
 Stewart had played with Arthurlie before signing with Thistle in March, 1943. He could play on either wing, and did so mostly on the right whilst at Firhill. Despite being "on the books" for the remaining war years, all of his first-team appearances were confined to season 1943-44, a rather ho-hum period for Thistle in footballing terms. His winning debut at Tynecastle (3-2, August) was an early highlight, as was the Glasgow Cup win at Parkhead (3-1, August). There were also thumping great wins over Albion Rovers (4-0, September), Airdrieonians (6-1, October) and Third Lanark (6-1, November). A personal highlight for the player would have been his goal against Falkirk which kickstarted the Southern League Cup campaign in March. It was a keenly fought, tight match and the biggest influence was Ma Ba' McKennan making a rare appearance that season. McKennan made the first goal for Mclean (5) then scored himself (a powerful free-kick, 66) after Falkirk had equalised on the hour. Bill Shankly was the brains of the midfield and Jackie Husband had a fine game as well. Our man was keeping some fine company. In the first post-war season of 1946-47, Stewart signed with Rotherham United of Division Three North who enjoyed a great campaign at Millmoor, even if it was severely delayed due to a great winter freeze. Crowds of up to 20,000 watched Rotherham win 20 League games on the spin at home, but still they only finished runners-up to Doncaster Rovers, and that wasn't enough to gain promotion. By early June, deep snow had given way to bright sunshine when Rotherham played Rochdale in their final home match of the season. Could they finish with a perfect 21 out of 21 home record? NO! Rochdale, unfortunately, spoiled the party, escaping with a 3-3 draw despite the Millers laying siege to the opposition goal late on. Stewart returned to Scotland after two full seasons at Rotherham and had spells with East Fife and Dumbarton. He settled as a regular starter with Forfar Athletic for two seasons from 1950-51, and was even more prolific at Stenhousemuir, where he spent three full seasons from 1952-53 onwards. By now he had fallen back to a right half role, and he had a 100% appearance record in his first two League seasons with the second tier Warriors. |
| (WS/AFK) |
click on image to enlarge (magnifiable if deemed necessary by your browser)
