Several recent articles caught the attention of reader Bill Grant.
The first was the February 16 photo of the Elmwood JFC players and officials from 1939-40.
“In the Elmwood photo, I noticed E Downie next to G McKay, who was, of course, ‘Piper’ McKay.
“That is Earle Downie, who also went on to play for Dundee United for a couple of seasons.
“He would have played alongside Bobby Ross.”
Bill, from West Ferry, continued: “I also remember a player playing for United around 46-47 called Willie Carruthers.
“He was a good goalscoring centre-forward and he scored on his debut for United in a 6-2 home win over Alloa Athletic.
“He was a regular goalscorer but I also think he had just one eye.”
Former electrician Bill, who worked, among others, for Dundee firm Thomas Justice, went on: “In those days, irrespective of who you supported, most football fans went to Tannadice one week and Dens the next.
“Your Charlie ‘Legs’ Fleming story of March 8 also brought back memories.
“I remember standing in a big queue to see East Fife visit Dundee at Dens Park.
“When I eventually got in, the Fifers were 3-0 up.
“Fleming seemed to be hitting the ball at goal from all angles.
“I think East Fife eventually won that game 5-3.”
I found difficulty in tracing a United player called Carruthers, so I got in touch with Tannadice historian and author Peter Rundo.
Peter, as ever, came up with the goods.
“It was presumably Willie CROTHERS, who was a striker signed in season 1946-47,” offered Peter.
At this juncture, I have to point out that my interview with Bill was conducted over the phone and I just presumed that was the spelling of the surname ‘Carruthers’!
Back to Peter, and he continued: “Crothers was severely injured on active service in Burma during WW2 but recovered after six months in hospital.
“However, I cannot confirm whether his sight was impaired.
“He was with Dunipace Juniors when he played as a trialist against Alloa on January 11, 1947, scoring twice and was immediately signed.
“He was an ever present for the rest of that campaign.
“The arrival of Peter McKay meant he found it harder to get into the side and had to be content with playing in the reserves and, from time to time, in the first team.
“In March 1948, he spent a short time on loan at Stirling Albion and a brief spell on loan at Alloa Athletic in March the following year.
“He left United in November 1950 to join Forfar Athletic.
“In total, he played 44 first team games, scoring 28 times.”
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