ABERDEEN: WILLIE MILLER
By Eddie Isaac
It’s an image that has seared its way into the soul of every Aberdeen fan. Their skipper with his arms outstretched, the European Cup Winners’ Cup gripped in his right hand.
More than 40 years on from that historic victory over Real Madrid in Gothenburg, his defiant gaze seems to ask: How could you even consider anyone else as this club’s greatest ever player?
But then Willie Miller always was a standout, and not simply because of the shock of black hair and the Hall and Oates-style moustache. Just as that American pop duo dominated the music charts in the early 1980s, so his central defensive partnership with Alex McLeish cut a pulsating swathe through Scottish football and beyond during the same period.
If Sir Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering Dons marched to one particular beat, it was to the metronomic ‘Thou Shalt Not Pass’ rhythm pounded out on a weekly basis by Messrs Miller and McLeish.
While Big Eck was the junior but more physical partner, heading away every ball that threatened Jim Leighton’s goalmouth, Miller was the cerebral centre of it all, making up for a lack of height and pace with an uncanny ability to read what opposition strikers were going to do, often before they had decided themselves.
Willie Miller lifts the Cup Winners’ Cup trophy for Aberdeen in 1983
Perhaps Gordon Strachan put it best. ‘As a player, indestructible,’ he said. ‘Willie could always work it out, it was like chess for Willie. He would always work out where the ball was going to land. He had an intelligence to narrow down where the ball was going to go.
‘He had the ability to never panic. Never, ever panicked. He’s got an aura about him. I think that was built up with his performances on the pitch and the way he handled winning.’
With the likes of Mark McGhee and Eric Black taking care of business up front, and an engine room stoked by Strachan, Neale Cooper and Neil Simpson, no one was inclined to argue when Fergie described Miller as the best penalty-box defender in the world. It says much for the man that he remained skipper for such a demanding manager throughout an incredible era that saw Aberdeen bring the Old Firm to their knees. Miller’s unshakeable belief in both himself and the team was absolutely pivotal in that regard. His domestic trophy haul at the end of a glittering career would include three league titles, four Scottish Cups and three League Cups.
Miller’s legendary status was sealed when he led the Dons to that triumph over Alfredo di Stefano’s Real Madrid in 1983, closely followed by a European Super Cup win against Hamburg. Those successes saw Sir Alex move on to bigger things with Manchester United, but Miller remained the ultimate one-club warrior. Pittodrie was his fortress and it always would be. No wonder the Aberdeen faithful fear they will never see his likes again.
AIRDRIEONIANS: HUGHIE GALLACHER
By Eddie Isaac
A glance at Airdrieonians fans’ greatest ever XI from some years ago throws up so many illustrious names.
If supremely talented inside forward Ian McMillan was selected as their darling of the 1940s and 50s before being lured to Rangers, then just as equally adored was striker Owen Coyle some 40 years later.
Heroes like Paul Jonquin, Sandy Stewart, Jimmy Sandison, Jim Black, Derek Whiteford, Alan Lawrence and Billy Wilson were also namechecked by supporters as their all-time favourites.
Then, of course, there is madcap goalie John Martin, who made a record-breaking 769 appearances for the club, but whose most famous moment was stealing a cheeky kiss from the Duchess of Kent before the 1995 Scottish Cup final with Rangers.
All incredible players for Airdrie, but can any of them rival the legend of Hughie Gallacher?
True, the 5ft 5in tall striker only spent four years at Broomfield, from 1921 to 1925, but in that short time he demonstrated the goalscoring prowess that would make him one of the best players in the world.
Born in Bellshill in 1903, he initially joined Queen of the South to escape a life working down the mines. He had just recovered from a near-fatal bout of pneumonia when Airdrie signed him, and he was soon breathing fresh life into the team. The dynamic Gallacher would go on to score an astonishing 100 goals in 129 appearances, helping the Diamonds win the Scottish Cup final in 1924 and finish second on four occasions in the top flight.
Airdrie fans were furious when Gallacher was sold to Newcastle in 1925
Although Willie Russell scored both goals in that 2-0 cup triumph, team-mate Bob McPhail recalled: ‘Hughie Gallacher caused havoc with the Hibs defence.’
The little striker’s goal scoring ratio was incredible but not everyone appreciated his exploits. During a game in Belfast for a Scottish league XI in 1925, he netted five, ignoring a warning from Irish partisans he would be shot. That night, as he walked into town for a beer, a bullet whistled past his head.
‘If ever a record was set for the 100 yards, I did it then,’ he later admitted.
It was while at Airdrie he won the first of his 20 senior caps for Scotland, going on to score 23 international goals in all, and he would later be part of the Wembley Wizards side who thrashed England in 1928.
His departure from Broomfield for Newcastle for £6,500 in 1925 infuriated the fans who had adored him. But there must also surely have been some pride as they watched Gallacher take the English game by storm.
The Magpies won the 1926-27 league title thanks largely to Gallacher’s efforts, and his ultimate tally of 143 goals in 174 games for the club was a ratio better than even Alan Shearer and Jackie Milburn.
The Scot was by now a genuine superstar and considered one of the very best footballers on the planet.
After being sold against his wishes to Chelsea in 1930, he later went to Derby and Notts County among others. The goals kept flowing but, off the pitch he was a troubled soul like so many football geniuses. Some of those problems refused to go away after he retired.
Tragically, he took his own life, aged 54, but Gallacher will never be forgotten.
ALLOA ATHLETIC: WILLIE CRILLEY
By Alan Hendry
When hunting for legends it’s important not to be waylaid by myths. So it is for the Greatest Ever Wasp, Willie Crilley.
What we know for certain is that outside-forward Crilley, who played for Alloa over three spells between 1920 and 1924, holds the record for the amount of goals scored for the club in a single season.
Nicknamed the Electric Spark or Mighty Atom, and standing at just 5ft 3in, Crilley found the net 49 times in 1921-22 as Alloa were crowned Second Division champions in their first ever season in the Scottish Football League.
Unfortunately there is no YouTube footage available from the 1920s, but local lore will urge us to believe that their hero once ran through the legs of a Kings Park centre-half, rounded their goalkeeper and then asked Alloa fans which part of the net they’d like him to score into.
It’s a legend that is easy to believe. His pace and agility allowed him to wriggle past (or through) much larger defenders, with journalists famously describing him as ‘slippery as an eel’ and (the wonderfully quaint) ‘fleet as a rumour’.
Alloa fans sang songs celebrating their hero, and Crilley’s goals brought an unprecedented buzz to Recreation Park, drawing massive crowds. National newspapers hailed him as ‘one of the best centre forwards in the country’.
Celtic were so keen to sign him that they gave Alloa three players in exchange. His time at Parkhead was shortlived and he was soon back at his spiritual home in Clackmannanshire. He would go on to have a colourful and nomadic spell playing football in the US.
Alloa legend Willie Crilley was described as ‘slippery as an eel’
As well as his record goal haul, Crilley is fondly remembered for spearheading Alloa’s Scottish Cup run of 1920-21.
The Wasps were still playing in the Central League at that point but claimed the scalps of Falkirk and Clydebank before giving Bill Struth’s Rangers the fright of their lives at Ibrox.
Crilley himself came closest to causing an incredible upset in the 0-0 draw, his fierce shot cleared off the line by desperate Rangers defenders. The Ibrox side would win the replay 4-1 but even then Crilley showed his prowess, claiming Alloa’s consolation.
Four decades after Crilley’s golden era, a Scottish football icon made his own indelible impression in gold and black.
John White, who would go on to become a Tottenham Hotspur legend, began his senior career at Alloa in the late 1950s. White, who died after being struck by lightning in 1964 aged just 27, formed a thrilling partnership with Dennis Gillespie at Recreation Park and scored 26 goals in 68 appearances.
Even in those early days, Alloa fans were able to marvel at White’s incredible energy, educated left foot and uncanny ability to time his runs into the box, a trait that would later lead adoring Spurs fans to call him ‘The Ghost of White Hart Lane’.
His stellar form led to a move to Falkirk, then Tottenham, where he played a key role in their 1960-61 Double-winning campaign.
At Recreation Park, you can raise a glass in his honour at the John White Lounge, while there is a special section dedicated to him at the brilliant Alloa Football Museum. White’s portrait hangs proudly at the entrance of the Scottish Football Hall of Fame at Hampden Park.
There is also space in the Wasps’ pantheon for attacking midfielder Kevin Cawley, who made a record 502 appearances for the club over two spells between 2011 and 2025, scoring 80 goals. Cawley was also nicknamed ‘The Mighty Atom’ by Alloa fans, due to his small stature but also a knowing nod back to Crilley, who trod the same hallowed ground 100 years before.
ANNAN ATHLETIC: STEVEN SWINGLEHURST
By Alan Hendry
There have been some incredible highs in Annan Athletic’s brief time as an SPFL member club.
One man has been present for most of them. His shock of red hair standing out just as much as his willingness to put his body on the line to protect the Annan goal. The kind of defending that you’d imagine would have Carles Puyol or Giorgio Chiellini nodding their heads in approval.
‘Cut me open and I’d bleed black and gold,’ said defender Steven Swinglehurst when he finally departed the club with an emotive statement in 2024 – after 12 years and more than 300 appearances for the club.
The word stalwart doesn’t even begin to do justice for the brave and wholehearted centre-half. Former team-mate and fellow Annan legend Peter Watson explained it best. ‘When you mention Annan Athletic in recent years you cannot help but think of Steven Swinglehurst. He is a dedicated practitioner of the art of defending. He would put his head where most wouldn’t put their feet.’
Swinglehurst’s highlights go hand in hand with Annan’s best moments in the SPFL since their application was accepted in 2008.
Steven Swinglehurst keeps a close eye on Rangers striker Fran Sandaza in 2013
He helped the club to a historic first win over Rangers in a League Two fixture in Govan in March 2013, albeit a week after owner Charles Green had labelled Ally McCoist’s team as ‘probably the worst’ Ibrox team ever.
The Carlisle-born defender scored a late header against Aberdeen to force extra-time in a League Cup tie in 2022, with the minnows eventually losing out 4-1.
His proudest moment, though, may well have been captaining Annan to victory in the League One play-off final against Clyde in 2023 – their first ever promotion since joining the SPFL.
Speaking before his testimonial in 2022, Swinglehurst said: ‘I didn’t think when I first came to Annan that I would be here as long as this. But after my first couple of years I knew that I loved it here and never wanted to leave.’
If not Swinglehurst then who? Striker Aidan Smith is currently in his third spell at Galabank and has scored over a century of goals for the club, including 18 in season 2025-26. He scored his 100th goal for the club in a 1-0 win over Stranraer in March 2026.
If the 29-year-old can keep that scoring rate up he may yet surpass Swinglehurst as the GOAT of the Galabankies.
ARBROATH: JOHN PETRIE
By Paul Forsyth
Sometimes a solitary feat is so extraordinary that its place in history outweighs all else. No team in Britain has scored more goals in a senior match than the 36 Arbroath put past Bon Accord in 1885. And no British player has scored more in a single game than the 13 John Petrie claimed in that Scottish Cup first-round tie.
Petrie, signed from nearby Strathmore, was just 18 when he took to the pitch on a wet and windy day at Gayfield to embark on a spree that is still being talked about 141 years later. In 2017, he was inducted into the club’s hall of fame. In another tribute, the town named a street after him.
It was an astonishing day for the player and the team. Against an inexperienced Bon Accord side who had only recently been formed, Arbroath scored almost at will in a game so one-sided that their goalkeeper, Jim Milne senior, reputedly sheltered under an umbrella borrowed from a spectator.
There were 15 goals in the first half, 21 in the second, and there should have been more. The absence of nets meant that they spent an eternity retrieving the ball, and referee Dave Stormont disallowed seven for offside. The official later admitted that he may have been mistaken, so quick were Arbroath in breaking from midfield.
John Petrie scored 13 goals in Arbroath’s record 36-0 win over Bon Accord in 1885
A local shoemaker, Petrie fairly put the boot in, tormenting his opponents on the right wing and racking up a haul of goals that was unmatched worldwide for over half a century. Even now, it has been bettered by only a handful of players.
Petrie devoted almost his entire career to Arbroath. Apart from a single season, when he played for Distillery in Lisburn, he served the Angus club for 35 years, as player, trainer, kitman and groundsman. When he retired in 1920, he was honoured with a benefit game against Forfar.
Some have netted more goals in Arbroath’s long history, most notably Jimmy Jack, their all-time leading scorer. Others have played more, such as Harry Farquhar, who holds the record for appearances. Just four years ago, Michael McKenna was the best player in their best-ever season, one that almost propelled them into the Premiership.
But no one was special in the way that Petrie was. He was unique, a one-off, a world record-holder no less. And there haven’t been many of them in Scotland, never mind on the Angus coast.
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Part Two features Ayr United, Celtic, Clyde, Cove Rangers, Dumbarton
