Special Guest – Jim Burns

The club’s special guest at Broadwood tomorrow is a man who may well have divided loyalties, considering he played many years for both Clyde and Stirling Albion – Jim Burns.

Jim started off at Cowdenbeath, where he played for five seasons or so, but when Archie Robertson moved from Cowdenbeath to become Clyde manager in 1968, Jim quickly followed suit. Archie’s faith in Jim’s abilities were rewarded over the next nine seasons, with Jim not only captaining the club but virtually being ever-present over those years.

To illustrate Jim’s consistency, he played in every game from the 20th of April 1968 through to the 29th of April 1972 – an incredible total of 179 consecutive games. At the start of season 1972-73 – which was to end with a Second Division Championship medal – Jim was involved in a contractual dispute with the club. When that dispute was resolved, Jim came back into the first team and played another 83 consecutive matches. So, if it hadn’t been for that contractual dispute, it is entirely probable that Jim could have played 260-odd consecutive matches for The Bully Wee – a remarkable record. If ever a transfer fee was justified, this must surely rank up there with the best investments the club have made.

Jim’s time with Clyde finally came to an end in March 1976, but his footballing career continued with Saturday’s opponents Stirling Albion for another five seasons, until Jim finally hung up his boots for the last time in 1980.

Overall, for Cowdenbeath, Clyde and Stirling Albion, Jim made over 600 appearances, and his 324 appearances for The Bully Wee are enough to see him in 15th place in our all-time top appearances chart.