Football Without Fans – Hawick Shamrock CSC | OneFootball

Hawick Shamrock CSC

Founded in 1986 by Gordon Solley, Colin Imrie, Scot Richardson, and Peter Gellitry. They wanted to name it Tommy Coyne CSC, but there was a club in Dundee who had already registered that name with Celtic, so Shamrock it was.

They used to hire cars and vans to go to the games, then a big bus, sharing with Peebles CSC. After the double was won in 1988, they got bigger as a club and had regular bands at The Roadhouse. Every year in the 90s, they had their dinner in the Town Hall with lots of guests over the years, like Billy McNeill, Tommy Gemmell, Bobby Lennox, Jim Craig, Bobby Murdoch, George McCluskey, Frank McAvennie, and Murdo MacLeod.

As the club got bigger, they started a proper committee with Davie Armstrong, Ian Watson, Boffin Richardson, Martin Chandler, and Les Chandler. The lads and lasses from Selkirk, Keith McLean, Brian, Bernie, and others came on board at different times.

Over the years, there has been a very healthy supporters club, but those that go up as season ticket holders have levelled off to about the 20 mark, which is good for a small town in the borders, considering that Selkirk, Galashiels, and more recently Kelso all run transport up to the games.

They raised funds and bought their first minibus from the regional council, which they fill for most games, but the cost of a bigger bus would make it financially impossible.

They loan their bus out, so their bank balance is quite healthy. Joe Watson continued to go to the games right up until his late 80s and is well remembered by the rest of the members. The club has had three winners of the Paradise Windfall, with one of them winning it twice!

They used to go to away games as a club, but with the allocation nowadays, it is impossible to run a bus to them. Memorable away days were Easter Road and Tannadice, when the bus overheated due to a lack of water in the radiator, which was filled up with a litre of urine at the side of the M9.

They have had many dinner dances over the years with a host of guests who seem to enjoy it down in Hawick. They have had more than their fair share of musicians visit them including Patricia Ferns, Irish Rovers, and Stevie Dodds, who can’t do enough for them, They had a football 5-aside tournament, which, much to the disgust of the local Rangers fans, they won. If they continue to have a cross-section of ages among their members, the club should continue for a long time.

An extract from Football Without Fans – The History of Celtic Supporters Clubs by David McIntyre (Celtic Bars). Football Without Fans – The History of Celtic Supporters Clubs is out now and available in print and kindle versions HERE.

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