Gerry Wolstenholme's Blog - Posts Tagged "kilmarnock"
A Seasider and a Lilywhite!
William (Billy) Cranston (1942 – 2022)
Billy Cranston was born in Kilmarnock on 18 January 1942 and played his junior football as a wing half. He joined Blackpool from Saxone Youth Club, a Kilmarnock junior club, at the start of the 1960/61 season and he was signed as a part-time professional on 26 August 1960. Blackpool manager Ronnie Suart had originally watched him play in a Scottish Amateurs versus Scottish YMCA game in January 1960 and the player had at that time agreed to join Blackpool at the end of the season after he had completed his studies as an engineer. Towards the end of that 1959/60 season he had also played for Saxone Youth Club against a Blackpool junior team in an arranged game at Bloomfield Road on 16 April 1960. The game ended in a 1-1 draw and Blackpool were impressed enough with his performance to go ahead and sign him.
His reign as a part-time player at Bloomfield Road was short-lived as his early performances convinced Suart that he should become a full-time professional and he was duly signed as such at the end of September 1960. Still a few months before the abolition of the maximum wage in football (this happened in January 1961), his weekly wage was set at £10 in the summer, £11 in the winter plus an extra £9 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £1 10s 0d [£1.50] when he played in the reserve side.
He made his first Central League appearance for the reserve side at left half against Huddersfield Town reserves on 24 August when he had an impressive debut as Blackpool won 4-3. He went on to play 33 Central League games, scoring two goals, in the 1960/61 season.
For his second season, his basic terms for the 1961/62 season were increased to a basic £15 per week all year round plus an extra £5 if and when he played in the first team.
Always an extremely competitive player, he got his first booking when he was cautioned against Leeds United reserves on 26 December 1961; Blackpool won the game 3-1. Then with regular left half David Durie injured, he made his First Division League debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 20 January 1962. Blackpool won 7-2 [I was lucky enough to be there] and he came through his debut with flying colours in a side that was ‘playing straight-forward no-nonsense football with no outstanding example of genius’. However, David Durie was fit again for the following game and Billy returned to Central League football.
Durie was out again for the visit of Arsenal on 24 February 1962 and Cranston replaced him again but this time Blackpool lost 1-0 in a game I well remember as George Eastham, a Blackpool-born player, missed a penalty for Arsenal and 17-year-old George Armstrong made his Arsenal debut. But it was ‘a drab match’ and no Blackpool player had much chance to shine. He played his third and final League game of that season at Turf Moor on 30 April 1962 (Good Friday) when Durie was absent and Blackpool lost 2-0 to Burnley. He played three League games but was almost a regular in the Central League side for whom he played 37 games in the 1961/62 season.
He did not immediately agree terms at the start of the 1962/63 season but once he did so they were the same basic £15 per week all year round but the bonuses had been increased to £10 when he played in the first team and £3 when he played in the reserve side.
He was a Central League regular at the start of the 1962/63 season but he was re-called to the League side for the game against Sheffield Wednesday on 27 October 1962 when the game was drawn 0-0. He kept his place for the following game against West Bromwich Albion on 3 November 1963 when Blackpool lost 2-0. But when Blackpool moved John McPhee from the forward line to the half-back line the following week, he returned to Central League football. Once again he played three League games in the 1962/63 season but he did make 40 Central League appearances, scoring one goal.
His weekly wage for the 1963/64 season was increased to £20 plus an extra £10 when he played in the first team. This agreement was in place for two seasons. By this time manager Ronnie Suart was so impressed with him that he was tipping him as a future player for representative honours. The only reservation Suart had some niggling doubts about was his distribution, saying that he had ‘an annoying tendency towards short cross-field passes that achieved nothing’, but in October 1963 he did comment, ‘In my opinion Billy’s distribution has already improved and he is developing into a highly useful player. I could be out of order because I don’t know the entire position in Scotland, but I don’t know off-hand of any young Scottish left half who could fit their Under-23 bill better than Billy. He is tremendously keen and enthusiastic about the game.’ Unfortunately, Billy did not win any Scottish representative honours.
He started the 1963/64 season as first choice left half in the League side, playing in the two opening games, a 2-2 draw with Sheffield United and a disappointing 3-1 defeat by West Ham United before Durie, who had been playing as an inside left, returned to the half back line and Billy returned briefly to Central League football.
After Blackpool had lost five games in succession, he was recalled to the League side for visit of unbeaten Manchester United on 16 September when Blackpool surprised the football world by winning 1-0. Thereafter he retained his place for 24 successive League and Cup games as he became an integral part of the Blackpool League side, proving himself to be a hard-tackling and a constructive distributor of the ball half back.
Unfortunately he had to miss the match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the start of February 1964 due to a recurrence of a knee injury sustained on Boxing Day against Chelsea. He was out of action for three weeks and he went into hospital for an exploratory operation towards the end of February and was expected to be sidelined for a further three to four weeks. To add insult to injury, his replacement Johnny Green, converted from an inside forward, was earning rave notices about his performances at half-back!
By mid-March 1964, after a cartilage operation, he was obliged to have a long aluminium plate inserted in his left leg and when he had it removed he commented, ‘Despite this, I can’t see my having more than a couple of games in the ‘A’ team this season.’ However, he did not play any further senior football that season, his appearances restricted to 22 League games, two FA Cup ties, two League Cup ties and two Central League games.
He missed the opening Central League game of the 1964/65 season but was in the side at an unaccustomed left back position for the second game of the season against Liverpool reserves on 29 August 1964 when Blackpool won 4-2. And he returned to League action at right half in 2-2 draw at Liverpool on 5 September 1964 and went on to play in the following three League games. He made what turned out to be his final League appearance for Blackpool in a 3-0 defeat by Birmingham City on 24 October 1964.
Back in the Central League side he was unhappy about his chances of regular first team football and he requested a transfer. Reluctantly the directors granted his request and, despite Huddersfield Town making a substantial offer for him, he was transferred to Preston North End on 4 December 1964 for a fee of £10,700 that was paid in two instalments, £5,700 on 7 December 1964 and £5,000 on 2 March 1965.
He had appeared in five League games and 13 Central League games up to the time of his transfer in the 1964/65 season and his Blackpool career had encompassed 33 League games, two FA Cup ties, two League Cup ties and 125 Central League games, in which he had scored three goals.
He had established himself as the regular centre half for Preston North End by October 1965 and he commented, ‘I was in and out of the team last season then at the start of this season I got a game at left half. I thought I played well enough to get an extended run but I was dropped. I was sick, man.’ About his first team success he gave credit to fellow half back Howard Kendall by saying ‘Howard makes it easy for someone like me who isn’t terribly fast; he covers a lot of ground.’
He continued to live in Blackpool whilst training and playing at Preston. He didn’t want to move and said ‘That’s part of the reason why I didn’t go to Huddersfield who were also interested in me.’ He went on to play 80 League games, make seven substitute appearances and score one goal for Preston North End, where, despite originally asking for a transfer in September 1967 when the directors refused his request, he was voted player of the season in his final year, 1969/70, at the club. One comment from that season that admirably sums up Billy’s wholehearted commitment was after a 0-0 draw with Queens Park Rangers when it was reported he ‘proved to be a rock-like if somewhat unceremonious pivot’ and as a result, ‘Frank Clarke moved out to the left to avoid Cranston’s clutches’.
Preston transferred him to Oldham Athletic in July 1970 for a fee of £6,000. He played 98 League games and made two substitute appearances, scoring two goals, four FA Cup games and five League Cup games for Oldham, winning a Division Three League championship medal with the club in 1973/74.
After retiring from football he became a maintenance officer at Burnley police station, a position from which he retired on 22 August 2008.
Although his stay at Bloomfield Road was relatively short, he will be remembered for being a big-hearted player who will take his deserved place in the annals of Blackpool Football Club.
He died on 10 January 2022 after a brave fight against illness and he is survived by his wife Katherine, daughter Julie and son Daniel. Condolences from all his clubs and their officials and supporters go to the family.
Billy Cranston was born in Kilmarnock on 18 January 1942 and played his junior football as a wing half. He joined Blackpool from Saxone Youth Club, a Kilmarnock junior club, at the start of the 1960/61 season and he was signed as a part-time professional on 26 August 1960. Blackpool manager Ronnie Suart had originally watched him play in a Scottish Amateurs versus Scottish YMCA game in January 1960 and the player had at that time agreed to join Blackpool at the end of the season after he had completed his studies as an engineer. Towards the end of that 1959/60 season he had also played for Saxone Youth Club against a Blackpool junior team in an arranged game at Bloomfield Road on 16 April 1960. The game ended in a 1-1 draw and Blackpool were impressed enough with his performance to go ahead and sign him.
His reign as a part-time player at Bloomfield Road was short-lived as his early performances convinced Suart that he should become a full-time professional and he was duly signed as such at the end of September 1960. Still a few months before the abolition of the maximum wage in football (this happened in January 1961), his weekly wage was set at £10 in the summer, £11 in the winter plus an extra £9 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £1 10s 0d [£1.50] when he played in the reserve side.
He made his first Central League appearance for the reserve side at left half against Huddersfield Town reserves on 24 August when he had an impressive debut as Blackpool won 4-3. He went on to play 33 Central League games, scoring two goals, in the 1960/61 season.
For his second season, his basic terms for the 1961/62 season were increased to a basic £15 per week all year round plus an extra £5 if and when he played in the first team.
Always an extremely competitive player, he got his first booking when he was cautioned against Leeds United reserves on 26 December 1961; Blackpool won the game 3-1. Then with regular left half David Durie injured, he made his First Division League debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 20 January 1962. Blackpool won 7-2 [I was lucky enough to be there] and he came through his debut with flying colours in a side that was ‘playing straight-forward no-nonsense football with no outstanding example of genius’. However, David Durie was fit again for the following game and Billy returned to Central League football.
Durie was out again for the visit of Arsenal on 24 February 1962 and Cranston replaced him again but this time Blackpool lost 1-0 in a game I well remember as George Eastham, a Blackpool-born player, missed a penalty for Arsenal and 17-year-old George Armstrong made his Arsenal debut. But it was ‘a drab match’ and no Blackpool player had much chance to shine. He played his third and final League game of that season at Turf Moor on 30 April 1962 (Good Friday) when Durie was absent and Blackpool lost 2-0 to Burnley. He played three League games but was almost a regular in the Central League side for whom he played 37 games in the 1961/62 season.
He did not immediately agree terms at the start of the 1962/63 season but once he did so they were the same basic £15 per week all year round but the bonuses had been increased to £10 when he played in the first team and £3 when he played in the reserve side.
He was a Central League regular at the start of the 1962/63 season but he was re-called to the League side for the game against Sheffield Wednesday on 27 October 1962 when the game was drawn 0-0. He kept his place for the following game against West Bromwich Albion on 3 November 1963 when Blackpool lost 2-0. But when Blackpool moved John McPhee from the forward line to the half-back line the following week, he returned to Central League football. Once again he played three League games in the 1962/63 season but he did make 40 Central League appearances, scoring one goal.
His weekly wage for the 1963/64 season was increased to £20 plus an extra £10 when he played in the first team. This agreement was in place for two seasons. By this time manager Ronnie Suart was so impressed with him that he was tipping him as a future player for representative honours. The only reservation Suart had some niggling doubts about was his distribution, saying that he had ‘an annoying tendency towards short cross-field passes that achieved nothing’, but in October 1963 he did comment, ‘In my opinion Billy’s distribution has already improved and he is developing into a highly useful player. I could be out of order because I don’t know the entire position in Scotland, but I don’t know off-hand of any young Scottish left half who could fit their Under-23 bill better than Billy. He is tremendously keen and enthusiastic about the game.’ Unfortunately, Billy did not win any Scottish representative honours.
He started the 1963/64 season as first choice left half in the League side, playing in the two opening games, a 2-2 draw with Sheffield United and a disappointing 3-1 defeat by West Ham United before Durie, who had been playing as an inside left, returned to the half back line and Billy returned briefly to Central League football.
After Blackpool had lost five games in succession, he was recalled to the League side for visit of unbeaten Manchester United on 16 September when Blackpool surprised the football world by winning 1-0. Thereafter he retained his place for 24 successive League and Cup games as he became an integral part of the Blackpool League side, proving himself to be a hard-tackling and a constructive distributor of the ball half back.
Unfortunately he had to miss the match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the start of February 1964 due to a recurrence of a knee injury sustained on Boxing Day against Chelsea. He was out of action for three weeks and he went into hospital for an exploratory operation towards the end of February and was expected to be sidelined for a further three to four weeks. To add insult to injury, his replacement Johnny Green, converted from an inside forward, was earning rave notices about his performances at half-back!
By mid-March 1964, after a cartilage operation, he was obliged to have a long aluminium plate inserted in his left leg and when he had it removed he commented, ‘Despite this, I can’t see my having more than a couple of games in the ‘A’ team this season.’ However, he did not play any further senior football that season, his appearances restricted to 22 League games, two FA Cup ties, two League Cup ties and two Central League games.
He missed the opening Central League game of the 1964/65 season but was in the side at an unaccustomed left back position for the second game of the season against Liverpool reserves on 29 August 1964 when Blackpool won 4-2. And he returned to League action at right half in 2-2 draw at Liverpool on 5 September 1964 and went on to play in the following three League games. He made what turned out to be his final League appearance for Blackpool in a 3-0 defeat by Birmingham City on 24 October 1964.
Back in the Central League side he was unhappy about his chances of regular first team football and he requested a transfer. Reluctantly the directors granted his request and, despite Huddersfield Town making a substantial offer for him, he was transferred to Preston North End on 4 December 1964 for a fee of £10,700 that was paid in two instalments, £5,700 on 7 December 1964 and £5,000 on 2 March 1965.
He had appeared in five League games and 13 Central League games up to the time of his transfer in the 1964/65 season and his Blackpool career had encompassed 33 League games, two FA Cup ties, two League Cup ties and 125 Central League games, in which he had scored three goals.
He had established himself as the regular centre half for Preston North End by October 1965 and he commented, ‘I was in and out of the team last season then at the start of this season I got a game at left half. I thought I played well enough to get an extended run but I was dropped. I was sick, man.’ About his first team success he gave credit to fellow half back Howard Kendall by saying ‘Howard makes it easy for someone like me who isn’t terribly fast; he covers a lot of ground.’
He continued to live in Blackpool whilst training and playing at Preston. He didn’t want to move and said ‘That’s part of the reason why I didn’t go to Huddersfield who were also interested in me.’ He went on to play 80 League games, make seven substitute appearances and score one goal for Preston North End, where, despite originally asking for a transfer in September 1967 when the directors refused his request, he was voted player of the season in his final year, 1969/70, at the club. One comment from that season that admirably sums up Billy’s wholehearted commitment was after a 0-0 draw with Queens Park Rangers when it was reported he ‘proved to be a rock-like if somewhat unceremonious pivot’ and as a result, ‘Frank Clarke moved out to the left to avoid Cranston’s clutches’.
Preston transferred him to Oldham Athletic in July 1970 for a fee of £6,000. He played 98 League games and made two substitute appearances, scoring two goals, four FA Cup games and five League Cup games for Oldham, winning a Division Three League championship medal with the club in 1973/74.
After retiring from football he became a maintenance officer at Burnley police station, a position from which he retired on 22 August 2008.
Although his stay at Bloomfield Road was relatively short, he will be remembered for being a big-hearted player who will take his deserved place in the annals of Blackpool Football Club.
He died on 10 January 2022 after a brave fight against illness and he is survived by his wife Katherine, daughter Julie and son Daniel. Condolences from all his clubs and their officials and supporters go to the family.
‘… threatening to become another Stanley Matthews …’
John Watt 1943-2022
Johnny Watt was born in Crookedholm, Hurlford, Ayrshire, on 17 June 1943 and he was educated at Kilmarnock Academy, where the school played rugby! When he turned to football, he was an inside forward who played for Saxone Juveniles, a Kilmarnock junior club. His impressive displays were noted by one of Blackpool’s Scottish scouts, of whom, there were a number in those days. The club liked what they saw and duly signed him as an amateur prior to the 1958/59 season. The comment was that he was ‘a direct, no nonsense type of player who packed a terrific shot’.
And after a couple of games in the junior sides the club had great hopes for him and in September 1959 he was recognised as ‘a strong, sturdy inside forward of much promise’.
He began his career at Bloomfield Road as a member of the Blackpool FA Youth Cup side in the 1959/60 season when eventually Blackpool were knocked out by Manchester United.
After one season, and shortly after his 17th birthday, the club signed him as a professional on 16 August 1960. This was after his showing great promise in the FA Youth Cup team the previous season. His weekly wage was to be £7 per week with an extra £13 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £2 when he played in the reserve side.
He was still young enough to play in the FA Youth Cup in the 1960/61 season and he began by scoring three goals in the preliminary round tie against Chester on 21 September 1960 when Blackpool won comfortably 7-0; John Ogilvie, who did not make it at Blackpool but who went on to play 386 League games for Workington, scored the other four.
He then scored one of the goals as the Youth team defeated Hyde United 10-0 in the first round of the FA Youth Cup on 14 October 1960; the other goals came from Ogilvie, three, Graham Oates, three, Leslie Lea, Kit Napier, and Alan Johnston. Blackpool eventually lost to Everton, in which game he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 3-1 defeat in the semi-final on 9 November 1960. I was lucky enough to see the home games of those Youth Cup ties over the two seasons, and I particularly remember the magnificent play of the forwards in that 10-0 victory, so was privileged to have seen Johnny Watt play when he was an up and coming star.
His fine performances for the Youth team earned him his Central League debut at inside right in a 5 0 win against Newcastle United reserves on 5 November 1960. But it was then back to the junior sides and he played just the one Central League game in the 1960/61 season.
Still only 18, he continued to be highly regarded and consequently his basic wage for the1961/62 season was increased to £9 with an extra £5 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £2 when he played in the reserve side.
The 1961/62 season saw him play six Central League games, showing his versatility by appearing at inside right, centre forward and inside left. He began at inside right in his first two games, a 1-0 defeat by Liverpool reserves on 16 September 1961 followed three days later by a 1-0 victory over Preston North End reserves in which he scored the only goal, his first senior goal for the club. He moved to inside left for his third successive game when Aston Villa reserves won 3-1.
After games in the ‘A’ team he returned at centre forward against Derby County reserves on 17 March 1962 when Blackpool lost 2-1 and he played at his inside right position in the following game, a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United reserves on 28 March.
He had an increase to £12 per week for the 1962/63 season with an extra £10 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £3 when playing in the reserve side. And he started the 1962/63 season at outside right in the Central League side, against Liverpool reserves on 18 August 1962. Blackpool won 3-1 with goals from Oates, Lea and Napier.
He went on to play in six of the opening seven games at outside right, scoring one goal in a 3-1 defeat of Bury reserves on 27 August 1962, before earning a call to the League side. And he made his League debut at outside right, replacing Alan Ball, against West Ham United on 14 September 1962 when the game was drawn 2-2. ‘Mandy’ Hill replaced him for the following game but he was in the Lancashire Senior Cup side that defeated Rochdale 3-0 on 26 September 1962.
After missing two League games he reappeared in the League side in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United on 6 October 1962 and he had one chance but unfortunately ‘he shot wide’. And on 8 October he played in the League Cup second round replay against Manchester City and he scored the second goal that put Blackpool level at 2-2 in a game that ended in a 3-3 draw after extra time. He also played in the second replay that Blackpool lost 4-2 on 15 October 1962.
He continued in the League side for two further games, a 2-0 victory over Leyton Orient on 13 October 1962 and a 0-0 draw with Fulham on 20 October 1962 before Mandy Hill again replaced him on the right wing.
However, others were noting his progress and the magazine Soccer Star carried a piece about him on 20 October 1962 and under the headline Blackpool Have New Matthews it read, ‘Johnny Watt is becoming the toast of Blackpool. And no wonder. For at 18 years of age [sic], this tearaway Scot is threatening to become another Stanley Matthews. He is bamboozling the best of First Division defences as the Seasiders attack begins to click. And already scouts from the wealthier clubs are sitting up and taking notice.’
He did return to the side for the League game against West Bromwich Albion on 3 November 1962 when the Birmingham Daily Post reported, ‘Blackpool have dropped their England Under-23 outside-right, Hill
for their home match against West Bromwich Albion. Watt, a 19-year-old Scotsman, takes his place.’ Unfortunately Blackpool lost 2-0 and it proved to be his final League game for the club with Leslie Lea then being introduced at outside right.
He was back in the Central League side at inside left for the game against Preston North End reserves on 8 December 1962 when Blackpool won 4-3. He re-appeared at centre forward for the Central League side against Derby County reserves on 30 March 1963 and although ‘he almost grazed a post with a fast, low shot from Green’s pass’, Blackpool lost 2-1.
Back in the ‘A’ team, the local press reported, ‘Watt on the right wing was the most effective Blackpool forward’ and he ‘scored a perfect 75th-minute goal with a cracking drive from outside the penalty area’ as Blackpool ‘A’ defeated Preston North End ‘A’ 3-1 on 11 May 1963.
He played in five League games, two League Cup ties, scoring one goal, and nine Central League games, scoring one goal, in the 1962/63 season.
It was a great disappointment when Blackpool gave him a free transfer on 30 June 1963 and he joined Stockport County in 1 July 1963. He went on to play 55 League games and score four goals for Stockport County. He was transferred to Southport on 1 March 1965 and he made a very favourable impression in the final 10 games of the season when he scored two goals and contributed greatly to the overall team performance.
He wrote himself into the history of Southport FC in the third game of the 1965/66 season when he was injured and thus became the first Southport player to be replaced by a substitute but sadly it cost him his place in the team for his replacement held the spot from then on. Once recovered he played in the reserve side in the Lancashire Combination , making 30 appearances and scoring seven goals. He had played 17 League games, made one appearance as a substitute, and scored two goals for Southport when he was released at the end of the 1965/66 season.
His Football League career over he returned to Scotland where he met and married his late wife Margaret. He continued as a footballer with Cumnock Juniors and Darvel Juniors as outside football he worked as an overhead crane driver.
After his football career was over he turned his attention to coaching schoolboys and he then worked at Glacier Metal, Kilmarnock, as a machine operator.
Although his career at Bloomfield Road was short he takes his place in the annals of the club as someone who played in Blackpool’s fight to remain in the top flight of the game in the early 1960s and it is with great regret that, after a fall on 28 February in which he broke his hip, he died on 2 March 2022 aged 78.
Sincere condolences from each of his clubs and their supporters go to his sons Colin and Steven and his daughter Lynsey.
Johnny Watt was born in Crookedholm, Hurlford, Ayrshire, on 17 June 1943 and he was educated at Kilmarnock Academy, where the school played rugby! When he turned to football, he was an inside forward who played for Saxone Juveniles, a Kilmarnock junior club. His impressive displays were noted by one of Blackpool’s Scottish scouts, of whom, there were a number in those days. The club liked what they saw and duly signed him as an amateur prior to the 1958/59 season. The comment was that he was ‘a direct, no nonsense type of player who packed a terrific shot’.
And after a couple of games in the junior sides the club had great hopes for him and in September 1959 he was recognised as ‘a strong, sturdy inside forward of much promise’.
He began his career at Bloomfield Road as a member of the Blackpool FA Youth Cup side in the 1959/60 season when eventually Blackpool were knocked out by Manchester United.
After one season, and shortly after his 17th birthday, the club signed him as a professional on 16 August 1960. This was after his showing great promise in the FA Youth Cup team the previous season. His weekly wage was to be £7 per week with an extra £13 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £2 when he played in the reserve side.
He was still young enough to play in the FA Youth Cup in the 1960/61 season and he began by scoring three goals in the preliminary round tie against Chester on 21 September 1960 when Blackpool won comfortably 7-0; John Ogilvie, who did not make it at Blackpool but who went on to play 386 League games for Workington, scored the other four.
He then scored one of the goals as the Youth team defeated Hyde United 10-0 in the first round of the FA Youth Cup on 14 October 1960; the other goals came from Ogilvie, three, Graham Oates, three, Leslie Lea, Kit Napier, and Alan Johnston. Blackpool eventually lost to Everton, in which game he scored Blackpool’s consolation goal in a 3-1 defeat in the semi-final on 9 November 1960. I was lucky enough to see the home games of those Youth Cup ties over the two seasons, and I particularly remember the magnificent play of the forwards in that 10-0 victory, so was privileged to have seen Johnny Watt play when he was an up and coming star.
His fine performances for the Youth team earned him his Central League debut at inside right in a 5 0 win against Newcastle United reserves on 5 November 1960. But it was then back to the junior sides and he played just the one Central League game in the 1960/61 season.
Still only 18, he continued to be highly regarded and consequently his basic wage for the1961/62 season was increased to £9 with an extra £5 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £2 when he played in the reserve side.
The 1961/62 season saw him play six Central League games, showing his versatility by appearing at inside right, centre forward and inside left. He began at inside right in his first two games, a 1-0 defeat by Liverpool reserves on 16 September 1961 followed three days later by a 1-0 victory over Preston North End reserves in which he scored the only goal, his first senior goal for the club. He moved to inside left for his third successive game when Aston Villa reserves won 3-1.
After games in the ‘A’ team he returned at centre forward against Derby County reserves on 17 March 1962 when Blackpool lost 2-1 and he played at his inside right position in the following game, a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United reserves on 28 March.
He had an increase to £12 per week for the 1962/63 season with an extra £10 if and when he played in the first team and an extra £3 when playing in the reserve side. And he started the 1962/63 season at outside right in the Central League side, against Liverpool reserves on 18 August 1962. Blackpool won 3-1 with goals from Oates, Lea and Napier.
He went on to play in six of the opening seven games at outside right, scoring one goal in a 3-1 defeat of Bury reserves on 27 August 1962, before earning a call to the League side. And he made his League debut at outside right, replacing Alan Ball, against West Ham United on 14 September 1962 when the game was drawn 2-2. ‘Mandy’ Hill replaced him for the following game but he was in the Lancashire Senior Cup side that defeated Rochdale 3-0 on 26 September 1962.
After missing two League games he reappeared in the League side in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United on 6 October 1962 and he had one chance but unfortunately ‘he shot wide’. And on 8 October he played in the League Cup second round replay against Manchester City and he scored the second goal that put Blackpool level at 2-2 in a game that ended in a 3-3 draw after extra time. He also played in the second replay that Blackpool lost 4-2 on 15 October 1962.
He continued in the League side for two further games, a 2-0 victory over Leyton Orient on 13 October 1962 and a 0-0 draw with Fulham on 20 October 1962 before Mandy Hill again replaced him on the right wing.
However, others were noting his progress and the magazine Soccer Star carried a piece about him on 20 October 1962 and under the headline Blackpool Have New Matthews it read, ‘Johnny Watt is becoming the toast of Blackpool. And no wonder. For at 18 years of age [sic], this tearaway Scot is threatening to become another Stanley Matthews. He is bamboozling the best of First Division defences as the Seasiders attack begins to click. And already scouts from the wealthier clubs are sitting up and taking notice.’
He did return to the side for the League game against West Bromwich Albion on 3 November 1962 when the Birmingham Daily Post reported, ‘Blackpool have dropped their England Under-23 outside-right, Hill
for their home match against West Bromwich Albion. Watt, a 19-year-old Scotsman, takes his place.’ Unfortunately Blackpool lost 2-0 and it proved to be his final League game for the club with Leslie Lea then being introduced at outside right.
He was back in the Central League side at inside left for the game against Preston North End reserves on 8 December 1962 when Blackpool won 4-3. He re-appeared at centre forward for the Central League side against Derby County reserves on 30 March 1963 and although ‘he almost grazed a post with a fast, low shot from Green’s pass’, Blackpool lost 2-1.
Back in the ‘A’ team, the local press reported, ‘Watt on the right wing was the most effective Blackpool forward’ and he ‘scored a perfect 75th-minute goal with a cracking drive from outside the penalty area’ as Blackpool ‘A’ defeated Preston North End ‘A’ 3-1 on 11 May 1963.
He played in five League games, two League Cup ties, scoring one goal, and nine Central League games, scoring one goal, in the 1962/63 season.
It was a great disappointment when Blackpool gave him a free transfer on 30 June 1963 and he joined Stockport County in 1 July 1963. He went on to play 55 League games and score four goals for Stockport County. He was transferred to Southport on 1 March 1965 and he made a very favourable impression in the final 10 games of the season when he scored two goals and contributed greatly to the overall team performance.
He wrote himself into the history of Southport FC in the third game of the 1965/66 season when he was injured and thus became the first Southport player to be replaced by a substitute but sadly it cost him his place in the team for his replacement held the spot from then on. Once recovered he played in the reserve side in the Lancashire Combination , making 30 appearances and scoring seven goals. He had played 17 League games, made one appearance as a substitute, and scored two goals for Southport when he was released at the end of the 1965/66 season.
His Football League career over he returned to Scotland where he met and married his late wife Margaret. He continued as a footballer with Cumnock Juniors and Darvel Juniors as outside football he worked as an overhead crane driver.
After his football career was over he turned his attention to coaching schoolboys and he then worked at Glacier Metal, Kilmarnock, as a machine operator.
Although his career at Bloomfield Road was short he takes his place in the annals of the club as someone who played in Blackpool’s fight to remain in the top flight of the game in the early 1960s and it is with great regret that, after a fall on 28 February in which he broke his hip, he died on 2 March 2022 aged 78.
Sincere condolences from each of his clubs and their supporters go to his sons Colin and Steven and his daughter Lynsey.
