The history of the club first started when Celtic won everything that they played for that season. We, that is a small band of Celtic supporters that had followed them all season, used to have a kick about on a Sunday and some of us were close pals would go for a pint and a game of pitch & putt through the week.

We were walking down Causeyside Street when the subject came as to what we would be doing the next season as we had seen it all when Celtic had won it all. Why don't we start our own club as we just about had enough to field a team. So we put our heads together as to how we would go about entering a league and what league it would be. I being the oldest was the best candidate to go forth and find out the best league to play in. I made enquiries and found that the best would be the Paisley & District Amateur League was the best for all as we had a varying ages. I wrote to Iain McTweed Secretary of the P & D. and made an appointment to see the Committee in the Elderslie Village Hall later in the year with all relevant information as to the name, how much money we had and who would be club secretary etc.etc.

We met again, that is myself, William & Michael McKelvie, my brother Raymond, Michael Kenefick and Thomas Mc Fadden to discuss the name, collection of cash and naming a secretary. Some of the names bandied about would not have gotten us into an Irish league never mind a Scottish one. I came up with the suggestion of Tannahill after the well known Paisley poet and that was the beginning.

I worked in Renfrew and passed a little sports shop daily and they had a sale of sports goods and in the window was a full set of strips, shorts & socks for £39.00. I put down a deposit to secure them then told the guys and was met with approval. We made several collections and finally had enough to buy them but the next big expense was a ball at £15.00. That was a lot of money as tax on sports equipment had went up 33% that year. The club was accepted at the meeting with the P&D and I paid the entry fees for the coming season.

I can't recall our opponents for our first game but we actually scored in 11 seconds without the other team touching the ball and I think the scorer was Michael McKelvie and ran out 5 - 3 winners. We were later told by our referee that another team had scored in 9 seconds, so we were the second quickest to start the season. I can't remember too much about the rest of the seson but we finished in the top half of the league that season. As far as the team that day, A.Johnson, AnOther, A.Crawford, M.Kenefick, T.McFadden, W.McKelvie, W.O'Donnell, R.Johnson, T.Geilty, P.Larkin & M.McKelvie but not necessary in that order.

The team grew and we were soon in division three when we had players from all over Barrhead to Glasgow and Stevenson. That was where Bobby Reid came from who was to be our club treasurer and a very good one at that. The team was in the Geigy Cup and was eliminated in the first round, this by the way was a floodlit competition. Teams that were knocked out in the first round or that had not entered could go into the consolation cup. We played 2 or 3 games that season but the competition could not be completed so was carried over to the next season.

Tannahill had played a Barrhead team and had beaten them but one of their players Jimmy Sweeney signed for us the following season and was eligible to play as it was a new season. We played Arthurlie Amateurs in the semi-final and beat them 3 - 1, ironically a past player had left us the previous season to play for them as they were in the first division at the time. His name was Jimmy Riddle and he had been giving us a hard time before and during the game but we had the last laugh as a few of our players were from Barrhead and he got a roasting from them at the end of the game.

We went on to play Anchor in the final, who were also first division champions at the time,in some of the worst weather I can remember. I did not play in the final as I was having difficulty seeing under floodlights so John Allan took my place in goal. Even though the rain was incesant the standard of football was extremely high. It was 5-5 after extra time even though we had put them under extreme pressure for most of the second half and been denied by the woodwork on five occasions and so it went to penalties.

John Allan had saved one and it was up to Michael McKelvie to score the winner and this he did by sending the keeper the wrong way but the ball seemed to take ages to roll in and nestle in at the post. A great night in dreadful conditions as the referee said that if he had not had linesmen he would have abandoned the tie.

Iain McTweed was there to present us with what I thought was a cup but instead gave me a £5.00 sports voucher, which I thought was a slap in the face as it did not even cover our nights expenses. I took the voucher to Alexanders sports shop to se if I could get some medals but Tom Alexander gave me £5.00 for the voucher and I took it to a little jewellery shop in Silk Street and purchased 15 medals (as that was all the players used in the whole competition) and made up the difference myself.

I Will give you some more memories of times and some of the characters that donned the colours of Tannahill AFC.

Bert.

Click here for part two of Bert's memories