Jim O'Neil, 81


THE first Ayr United game I went to was in 1947, when I was 12 years old. My brother took me. I remember looking at the crowd and at how excited people were getting, and thinking, how can all this happen? Men could take drink into grounds; I remember there were so many men wearing caps, and there were empty bottles on the terracing. Macaroon bars were on sale and you could buy papers with the half-time scores. Changed days.
You could count on my two hands the number of home games I've missed since then. I also go to a good number of away games but not as many as I used to.
Who's the best player I've seen? I would have to say the late Brian McLaughlin, who went to Motherwell and Celtic. He was a terrific player, a proper player. The late Peter Price was another great, he scored 213 goals in seven years in the 1950s and 1960s. I wrote a poem about him, 50 years ago. I met him in the street a few years back and he told me that he still had it. Johnny Doyle was another great.
In my time Ayr won the old Division II twice and the second division twice. At one time they were so difficult to beat. They went two seasons unbeaten at Somerset Park, not long after the war. I remember the men all walking towards Somerset Park on a Saturday. People didn't have televisions, they had to make their own entertainment. It was an experience I'm glad I was able to have.
The most surprising game? I once asked my brother if he wanted to see Ayr playing Rangers at Ibrox – this was about 1959 – but he decided to see the reserves at Somerset Park instead. I went on the train to Glasgow. At half-time I asked myself, am I dreaming this? I was in a daze. The half-time score was Rangers 0 Ayr 3, and that's how the game finished. My brother said the roar that went up when they announced that score to the Somerset Park crowd was tremendous.
I've always loved the atmosphere at home. When we played our local rivals, Kilmarnock – oh my God, in the days before fans were segregated, I remember there were strong arguments, to say the least, going on between our and their fans. Great times, though.
The ground has changed. The wee wall that surrounds the pitch, that used to be a wooden fence. And the old terracing didn't have steps – it was just an ash banking, opposite the stand. Behind one of the goals, at the railway end, there was an old shed, but there was no shelter behind the other goal. I remember an all-ticket Scottish Cup game against Motherwell. The club was frightened that [more] people would try to get into the ground. They'd never be allowed to do this now, but they put cement on the wall along Somerset Road and topped it with broken glass. 

The Herald:
Photograph by Colin Mearns

I remember the late Ally Macleod playing for Third Lanark. They came here and beat us six-nil. Ally played on the left wing and there was a wee inside-left called Jimmy Mason, a Scotland international. They tore us apart. 
Two weeks ago I got a call from the club to say that I would be their guest for the home game against Queen's Park. I was invited to make the half-time lotto draw and I also got a signed card from all the players. That was a really lovely touch.