William Finlay

Born: August 9, 1926 Died: September 4, 2014

William Morris Clark "Willie" Finlay, who has died in his native Fife, aged 88, was the centre-half in the great Clyde team which beat Hibs to take the Scottish Cup to Shawfield in 1958.

That team contained some of the club's greatest players, most notably the four full internationalists - left-back Harry Haddock, outside right George Herd, inside-left Archie Robertson and outside-left Tommy Ring. A fifth team member, centre-forward Johnny Coyle, although he was never capped, was alongside Haddock and Robertson in the Scotland squad which travelled to Sweden that summer for the World Cup finals.

Clyde and Finlay won the 1958 cup final 1-0, Coyle getting the goal after 29 minutes. Certainly, Hibs were handicapped by an early injury to inside-right Andy Aitken, but Finlay's policing of the then teenaged Joe Baker, particularly when the Edinburgh side tried to come back in the second half, played its part in the Bully Wee taking the trophy back to Shawfield for the second time in four years.

Finlay was then in the veteran stage of a lengthy career, which had begun with his signing for East Fife, from home village club Bowhill Rovers, in 1946. That signing ended six years down Bowhill pit and it quickly paid off as Finlay was centre-half in the team which beat Falkirk in a replay to win the Scottish League Cup on November 1, 1947.

Rangers had won the inaugural League Cup the previous season and nobody expected Second Division East Fife to be the next winners. He collected a second winner's medal at the end of that season, when the Fifers won the Second Division title.

That East Fife team, managed by future Rangers boss Scot Symon, is still regarded as the finest in the Methil club's long history. The half-back line of Jimmy Philp, Finlay and future Scotland cap George Aitken was the backbone of the team, enjoying the sort of status in Methil football lore that the Conn, Bauld, Wardhaugh "Terrible Trio" do for Hearts and the Smith, Johnstone, Reilly, Turnbull and Ormond "Famous Five" enjoy at Hibs.

There would be a second League Cup triumph in 1949-50, when Dunfermline were beaten in an all-Fife final, then, incredibly, a third in 1953-54, when Partick Thistle were beaten by the odd goal in five. Finlay also collected a Scottish Cup runners-up medal in that 1949-50 season, when they were beaten 3-0 by Rangers in the final, in front of 118,262 fans.

In all, he played some 400 games for the Fifers, at a time when Scotland call-ups were regularly given to Bayview players. Team-mates Aitken, Henry Morris, Charlie "Legs" Fleming, Allan Brown and David Duncan were all capped for the full team, while Jimmy Bonthrone won a Scottish League Cap, but, for all his consistency, representative honours passed Finlay by.

His departure to Clyde was the result of a fall-out with former Rangers and Scotland goalkeeper Jerry Dawson, who had succeeded Symon when the latter was lured south to Preston North End. Clyde, then in the Second Division, needed an experienced centre-half - Finlay fitted the bill and immediately earned his keep when he helped his new club to promotion from the Second Division.

Then came that Scottish Cup win, the highlight of a roller-coaster seven years at Shawfield, which also saw relegation and a third Second Divison winner's medal for Finlay, before he moved back to his native Fife, to run down his playing career with Raith Rovers, prior to retiring in 1964.

He then had a spell as manager of the Lochore Welfare junior side, while he continued to turn out in charity matches long after his professional career ended.

He was a keen bowler at Markinch, before he moved to spend his final years in Kennoway.

The acrimonious nature of his leaving Bayview coloured his view of the club, but time proved a great healer and in 2008, 60 years on from that first League Cup triumph, he returned to the club to unfurl the Third Division Championship flag with goalkeeper John Niven, and to collect an award recognising him as one of the club's greatest players. That same year, he had enjoyed a day out at Broadwood, as Clyde celebrated the 50th anniversary of their Scottish Cup win.

Finlay himself put the success of that East Fife side down to the squad being "a grand bunch of lads". That team work was surely forged in the comradeship of the coal mines in which many had worked. It was there he learned the virtues of team work which he so epitomised in his play.

He is survived by his wife Margaret and their two sons.