Alan Rough has paid a glowing tribute to his friend and former team mate Jimmy Bone - and recalled how the striker was still working part-time down a coal mine in his home town of Fallin when he helped Partick Thistle to beat a star-studded Celtic in the League Cup final in 1971.
Bone, who passed away on Monday at the age of 75, represented Thistle, Norwich City, Sheffield United, Celtic, Arbroath, St Mirren, Toronto Blizzard, Hong Kong Rangers and Hearts during a distinguished professional playing career which lasted 18 years and spanned three decades.
However, the striker is still fondly remembered by supporters of the Firhill club for his heroics up front for them between 1968 and 1972.
He netted the fourth and final goal in their shock 4-1 triumph over a Parkhead side which comprised Lisbon Lions Tommy Gemmell, Bobby Murdoch, Jimmy Johnstone and Jim Craig as well as Davie Hay and Kenny Dalglish in front of a crowd of 62,470 at Hampden in 1971.
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Former Scotland goalkeeper Rough was close pals with the free-scoring forward and was upset to learn of his death earlier this week. He remembered the man who made two appearances for his country being a ruthless predator on the park and a larger-than-life character off it.
“Jimmy was an old-fashioned goal scorer who loved scoring goals,” he said. “When you see old photos of Jimmy celebrating a goal, you can clearly see he is loving it, can see that it means so much to him.
“I have great memories of the goals he scored myself - especially the goal he scored in the League Cup final against Celtic in 1971.
“What a lot of people don't know was that he was still working down the mines when Thistle won the League Cup. We were a full-time team then, but he was doing shifts down the pit in Fallin as an electrician at the time.”
Rough continued, “Jimmy and Franco [Frank Coulston] were a great strike partnership. They worked very well together, really complemented each other. But Jimmy was very mobile and could run the channels. He was just an old school striker who fed off balls into the box. He was sharper than most of the defenders.
“His enthusiasm for the game was just incredible. He was a very accomplished goalscorer as well. That’s why he got his move to Norwich City in England. But I will remember him off the park as well.
“It was a pleasure to have Jimmy about the dressing room. He was the life and soul of the party, was very funny. He was very sociable, great fun to be around. It is an absolute tragedy that we’ve lost him.
“Jimmy used to stay in Fallin just outside Stirling and when I was a kid, around 17 or so. I used to go through and stay at his house at weekends. He kind of took me under his wing a bit. We used to go out on the town together.
“He did well at every club he was at, Thistle, Norwich City, Sheffield United. He’ll be very well remembered for what he achieved as a player. But he made a real impact in his capacity as a coach as well. He was a part of the SFA set-up. A lot of players who did their coaching badges will remember him putting them through their paces.”
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Bone enjoyed one of the most successful spells of his playing days at St Mirren in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson and helped the Love Street club to lift the Anglo Scottish Cup in 1980. But he also made a significant impact in Paisley as a coach.
The man who had spells as a manager with Arbroath, Airdrie, St Mirren, East Fife and Stenhousemuir was assistant to Alex Smith when the Buddies beat Dundee United to win the Scottish Cup in 1987.
Neil Cooper, the former Aberdeen, Barnsley, Grimsby Town and Hibernian centre-half, played in defence for St Mirren that day and remembers Bone making a significant contribution to their achievement.
“Jimmy was obviously a fantastic player himself and when he was part of the St Mirren management team it was a pleasure to work with him. He would sometimes have a go at you if he felt that you could be contributing more, but he would never berate you. Jimmy was a really nice person. Alex was the same.
“Jimmy had a definite affiliation with St Mirren having played there for a long time. He was a terrific coach who was well respected by the players, but most of all he was a fantastic person.”
