Legends will return in force on April 6th

Forfar Athletic officials are absolutely delighted that despite the time gap of 40 years, fifteen members of the management team and playing staff of our 1984 Division Two championship winning side of 1983/4 season have confirmed their return to Station Park for the cinch league2 fixture with Dumbarton on Saturday week.

The date is exactly one day short of the 40th anniversary of that first ever SFL league title in the history of the club being sealed with a stunning home victory over Stranraer.

Forty years on then Manager Doug Houston and his right hand man Henry Hall who had such a memorable spell as a player in the twilight of his career at Station Park in the late seventies will be joined by thirteen members of the title winning squad. A few others are so disappointed that they cannot make it along due to illness and holiday commitments.

Skipper of that side and club record appearance holder probably for all time Ian McPhee, who went on to manage the club in the late nineties will be joined by a dozen colleagues at least on the day.

Those who have confirmed their attendance so far in alphabetical order are Billy Bennett, Kenny Brown, John Clark, Billy Gallacher, Gordon Leitch, Jimmy Liddle, Raymond Lorimer, Kenny MacDonald, Rab Morris, Ronnie Scott, Phil Smith and John Weir.

Without delving to far into the statistics, nevertheless it is amazing that this group of players made nearly 3,500 appearances in the sky blue shirt in competitive games, quite staggering.

If you add on the appearances of a handful of others within the class of ’84 who cannot make it along on the day that figure rises well beyond the 4,000 mark.

Loyalty that sadly is no longer a major player in current times at our level of the game.

Not wishing to over emphasise the individual achievements of the players of the time, one has to mention how delighted Ray McKinnon and many a manager would be to have the goal scoring prowess of a Kenny MacDonald or Jimmy Liddle in their ranks these days.
In just under 180 starting appearances for the ‘Loons’ Kenny netted 91 goals while big Jim’s record was a more sedate 48 for 115 appearances. John Clark of course eclipsed both in overall scoring terms, ‘Hen’ netting a club record 127 goals from his 360 appearances.

Remember so many of these goals from all three were scored in the second tier of the three tier SFL system of the time that contained quite a few full time outfits.

The squad as a whole clinched the championship with six games still to play, going on to then win in convincing fashion five of their remaining fixtures.

Their final record;-Played 39, Won 27, Lost 3, Drew 9, Goals For 73, Against 31, Points 63. Remember it was only 2 points for a win in those times.

On April 6th, supporters of that era and the current ‘Loons’ fan base will be given the opportunity as a collective to show their appreciation of the efforts on the club’s behalf of the legends present, achievements which went in all cases way beyond just that specific title winning campaign.

At the outset the squad are to meet up in the appropriately named 1984 Lounge for a refreshment around 1p.m. before heading for a buffet lunch in the boardroom. A few of the players will also head back to the lounge to meet up with the fans both before kick-off and after the final whistle.

Of course most importantly a victory over the ‘Sons’ by the Forfar Athletic players of 2024, currently on an eleven game unbeaten run prior to their visit to Spartans on Saturday first will be the ‘icing on the cake’ for all concerned.

A further nostalgic look back at the successful times of that particular period in the club’s history along with further confirmation of arrangements on the 6th will appear within the club’s social media channels next midweek.