The Ghosts of Cathkin Park: The Inside Story of Third Lanark's Demise

by Michael McEwan

The summer of 1967 was Scottish football’s finest hour. Celtic won the European Cup. Rangers reached the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Kilmarnock got to the semis of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Scotland defeated world champions England at Wembley. It was the best of times. With one exception. Third Lanark Athletic Club, one of the country’s oldest and most successful football teams, a founder member of the Scottish Football Association, and to date one of only four teams to defeat both Rangers and Celtic in the Scottish Cup Final, played its final game. And hardly anybody seemed to notice. Why?

Michael McEwan brings rich archival research together with interviews with the key surviving players in the Third Lanark squad from that final season, as well as opposition players and other relevant figures from the era.

Over 50 years on, the demise of Third Lanark remains one of Scottish football's darkest hours – and, by ludicrous coincidence, it occurred in the midst of one of its brightest.

Genres: Football, Nonfiction, Scotland

320 pages, Hardcover

Published November 16, 2021

Reviews

[Allan Heron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always had a connection with Thirds as my grandparents lived in nearby Govanhill; indeed, I was born in their house.

My mum followed Thirds in her younger years although this ceased when she got married and moved away from the area.

Her family background was from Fife, Dunfermline to be precise, and I was a supporter of the Pars in what happened to be their glory years.

I actually attended a game at Cathkin in season 64/65 to see them play Dunfermline. Thirds only won three games that season. Unfortunately, this was one of them beating the Pars 2-1. Had Dunfermline won this game and all their subsequent games gone as they did then Dunfermline, and not Kilmarnock, would have been champions.

As this book shows, Thirds were already on a slippery slope by this time. It's a profoundly sad tale and one that speaks to the very considerable downside to allowing all power in the hands of one man at a football club.

[Craig Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and horrifying in equal measures. A great read for any fan of Scottish football.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative book about one of Scotland's historic clubs that went out of business in 1967 over a relatively small debt and board mismanagement. Football doesn't really change!

[Daniel Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous account of the charlatans that destroyed such a distinctive and historic club in the south of Glasgow.

The thing that sets this book apart from the others which touch on the subject is the interview with Hiddlestone's son to shine a light on the story from another point of view. It also clears up some of the more left field conspiracy theories on the downfall of Thirds.

No matter your view or opinion on some of the more murky details, this book does a great job of presenting the facts and key context of the time.

Michael McEwan has written a must own book for every fan of Scottish football.

[Malcolm Schaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb account of the demise of a leading Scottish football club .It is sad and worrying how easily one individual can wreck a club that many fans and staff had emotional and financial investment in.A huge amount of detective work has gone in the books compilation.The only fault I would identify is that the author includes a lot of irrelevant football happenings that were happening at the time and while I understand the time contextual ,it feels unnecessary and takes away from the main theme but this is not a serious flaw and didn’t stop me devouring the book.and yes I am old enough to have seen Third Lanark play

[Gordon Smart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brought back so many memories, some good, some sad. I grew up in Crosshill and was a Hi-Hi supporter as it was only a short walk from my home in Albert Road to Cathkin. I was only 10 when the club was liquidated but had my own season ticket for the final season. It was devastating to lose the team you support. The book provides an excellent account of its demise and the amount of mismanagement evident is shocking.

[Graeme Whitton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. I fully expect this book might have a limited appeal but if anyone thinks that they should give it a try. Passionate and emotional but also focuses in detail on the nuts and bolts of what went on at this football club.

Look at it not as a sports book but a story of honesty, decency, and love and how that was betrayed.

[Alistair Dunlop · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Thirds fan I thought I knew much of what had happened, but this detailed work gave the facts and figures, had personal accounts from many of those who were members of the team and there was even an interview with a member of the family at the heart of it all. A good read, and a warning to fans of other teams that what happened to my team could happen to others.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sorry tale of Third Lanark's demise, which has so manty messages there for modern football club management. The interviews with former players were interesting, but it felt like there was a bit of padding with several match reports of the final season included.

[Russell Bedford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story but so much time spent on talking about other aspects of Scottish football. I often found myself getting bored as the book veered away from Thirds. Worth a read but give it some time.

[Patrick Tarbox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was laid out in an interesting way with the post-mortem section taking an interesting angle. I also appreciate that the author got first-person interviews, this is a book that could have been written without them but was made a lot better because of them.

[Duncan McKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tale of how Third Lanark ended up going out of business. Full of detail and insight.

[Gerard Lafferty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and very entertaining and nostalgic for Scottish football supporters of a certain age.

[Craig Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart-breaking story, compellingly told. I could hardly put it down.

A must-read for anyone who cares about Scottish football.

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too much padding with subjects that have no or little relevance to the Third Lanark story. A good book but could have been great.

[Jamie Bookboy Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well written, they really managed to kill a Glasgow institution

[Brian Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read for fans of football.