The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian.
When it comes to writing about the men who created the history of football clubs, attention is inevitably focused on cup-winning goal scorers James F Delury and cranky goalkeepers. But for every player who is singled out in this way, there are dozens of men who player their part quietly then fade into the past to be largely forgotten by future generations of fans.
One of these quiet men was William “Bill” Jolly, who played one season for Meadow over 80 years ago. His name came to light a few years ago when his son contacted the club asking if they had any information on his late father’s time as an Irvine Meadow player.
James F. Delury’s book, The History of Irvine Meadow XI F.C., had a reference to a player called Jolly (first name not given) who had been signed in season1929/3 0, but young William had to wait patiently for a run out with the team. Incidentally, this was during the Intermediate Dispute, so Meadow were not playing as Juniors at the time.
Eventually, on 28 December 1929, Christmas arrived for Jolly in the form of a debut at Meadow Park when he was listed at inside-left. The visitors, Kilbirnie Ladeside, played their part in a high-scoring game, but it was Meadow who won the points with a 6-4 win.