| Willie Harvey |
 William James Harvey was born on Saturday, 23rd November, 1929 in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. The forward joined Davie Meiklejohn's Thistle in December, 1957, as a guest, whilst a Kilmarnock player. Aged 28, he made his sole appearance on Monday, 2nd December, 1957, in a 3-2 win at home to Glasgow Select in a Benefit match. There were no goals for Willie in his one-off appearance for the Jags. His club-list included Bridgeton Waverley, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, Dunfermline Athletic, Bradford Park Avenue, Arbroath, Bangor, Caledonian, Sydney Prague, Derry City and Newcastle Austral. Willie died on Thursday, 12th June, 2014, in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, aged 84. |
 Still fondly revered as Willie 'Puskas' Harvey by Kilmarnock fans of a certain vintage. Fitting that he should have found his way to the Maryhill Magyars, even if it was just the once! In the early post-war years, this inside forward played at juvenile level with Partick United before switching to the juniors with Bridgeton Waverley. In August 1950, he got his senior move to Kilmarnock, with whom he cemented his considerable status in the Scottish game. They were on the rise throughout Willie's time and, as a second tier side they reached the final of the League Cup in 1952. 51,830 were at Hampden to see Willie et al play, but holders Dundee were too strong and won by two goals to nil. Promotion finally came at the end of 1953–54, with Killie finishing 3 points behind League winners, Motherwell. There was more cup heartbreak for Willie in April 1957 when they were beaten to Scottish Cup glory by Falkirk. More than 160,000 watched the two games at Hampden, with Falkirk eventually triumphant in the replay courtesy of a 2-1 win after extra-time. It was several months after that final when Willie rolled up at Firhill to honour Jimmy McGowan in his testimonial game against a Glasgow Select. Fog reduced the crowd to 8,500 diehards, keen to pay their respects for Jimmy's 16 years of service. The select side were winning 2-0 before a late rally saw Thistle score 3 goals in the last 14 mins through Andy Kerr (2) and Davie McParland. George Young (ex-Rangers) also guested alongside Willie that evening. Willie and Killie parted company at the tail end of 1957-58. He had an unsuccesful short spell with Dunfermline, before switching, in January 1959, to Bradford Park Avenue of the newly formed English 4th Division. Had an interesting time of it thereafter, enjoying spells in Northern Ireland (Bangor City & Derry City) and Northern Scotland (Caledonian). He also sampled Australian football in these later years, playing in New South Wales Division 1 with Prague (1962 & 1963) and Newcastle Austral (1964 & 1965). He got involved in coaching at that time too, and was player-manager for a while at Prague. |
| (WS/AFK) |
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