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Around the early 1960s I was at Rugby Park for a Kilmarnock Vs Rangers league match and as usual was there early. They had braziers around the goal mouths to soften up the turf back then - never seen that before. At that time other clubs were experimenting with different methods to soften the turf. From what I recall at that time the Rugby stadium at Murrayfield had underground heating.

I've been away for about 60 years and the game I refer to possibly had "Handy Andy" in the Kilmarnock team. Newspaper headlines at the time loved "Handy Andy". Can't recall his surname but he was well thought off at the time.

Hughie, just a guess does this Andy ring a bell?

https://www.killiefc.com/andy-kerr


Talking about football pitches ...The Darvel pitch against Falkirk the other night made the San Siro pitch an (evening later) look like a cow field. Unless the tv camera, tell lies.

San Siro- Is home to AC and Inter Milan.

That's the Andy I remember, Brian, that was a good read. He was a real favourite with the fans and the sports writers back then.

Hughie wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 11:32 pm That's the Andy I remember, Brian, that was a good read. He was a real favourite with the fans and the sports writers back then.

Oh yes. I remember him from the Scottish Football Book 1962, photographed in the footballer's plain-clothes of the day - sports jacket, scarf, and fawn overcoat over the left arm - urging every player to "Be a 90-minute man!".

Hughie wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 11:32 pm That's the Andy I remember, Brian, that was a good read. He was a real favourite with the fans and the sports writers back then.

He was a bit to early for me Hughie..I used to jump on the A1 bus to watch Kilmarnock about a decade later.

I don't know why Kilmarnock had a synthetic pitch put in a couple of years back?

Firstly, It becomes a wee bit worrying when you find yourself in the minorirty time and time again, but I saw Andy Kerr play often in the 1960s and he was a formidable striker. Secondly, Kilmarnock Football Club, in my opinion, had one of the best playing surfaces in Scotland, and the only reason, I believe, they switched to a synthetic pitch was under pressure from their immediate neighbours, the residents of private dwelling-houses in South Hamilton Street and Dundonald Road, who, not unreasonably, objected to the noise overnight from the under-soil generators. The way 'global warming' has gone, I believe the Club could go back to a natural grass surface without too much disruption to their fixture schedule.

Currently, I hate watching games on synthetic surfaces!

Penny I too find it alarming that I am the same age if not older than these old people, how did that happen? I remember Andy Kerr well and used to watch him and the team going through training stints in Howard park. There’s a lot of water went under the bridge since then.