The Bayview floodlights glinted off Sir Bobby Charlton’s famous comb-over when he pulled on the black and gold of East Fife in January 1975.
The 1966 World Cup and 1968 European Cup winner wore the number 10 shirt and scored a trademark goal in a testimonial match for the Fifers’ captain John Martis.
Sir Bobby — plain old Bobby back then — was long removed from his Manchester United prime but he rolled back the years during 90 unforgettable minutes in Methil.
Sir Bobby — who has died aged 86 — was no stranger to these parts.
He made his debut for Manchester United in 1956 just across the water when he wore the famous red shirt against Dundee at Dens in a pre-season friendly.
Charlton, just two years before the Munich Air Crash, caught the eye although his debut was not a great one to remember, as the home side ran out 5-1 winners, with hat-trickster George Merchant stealing the show.
In those days, he was a left-winger with a blistering shot but as he matured, he became England and United’s greatest ever midfield player, lifting the European Cup at Wembley a decade after surviving the plane crash that killed several of his team-mates.
Sir Bobby left United in 1973 to manage Preston where one of his first games came at East End Park where Dunfermline Athletic ran out 3-0 victors in a pre-season friendly.
Sir Bobby and East Fife
Preston were struggling and Sir Bobby had already made a playing comeback for the Lilywhites when he agreed to play for East Fife in the testimonial game for Martis.
Martis, who shot to fame as a brilliant centre-half with Motherwell, was also capped once for Scotland against Wales.
He was a hugely popular figure with fans and team-mates alike.
The testimonial on January 14 1975 took the form of an East Fife XI taking on a Fife Select side with 3,079 fans on the terracing.
Sir Bobby was joined in the East Fife line-up by Willie Mathieson (Rangers), Tommy Gemmell (Dundee), Pat Stanton (Hibs), Kenny Aird (Hearts) and Dixie Deans (Celtic).
The Fife Select side included Murray McDermott (Raith Rovers), Alex Kinninmonth (Dunfermline), Alfie Conn (Tottenham) and Gordon Wallace (Raith Rovers).
Sir Bobby was 36 at the time and it was his second appearance in Fife that season having visited Starks Park with Preston for a pre-season friendly against Raith.
That day he capped a great display with a blockbuster of a goal.
He was hungry for more.
Sir Bobby lauded Martis ahead of the match and it was clear to see he had a great time.
Photographs taken in the dressing room before kick-off show him playing it for laughs as he was given a helping hand getting his East Fife shirt on from Martis.
It was a very simple team talk at Bayview given the quality in the East Fife side.
‘Fitting tribute’
But what happened next wasn’t in the script as Sir Bobby and his new team-mates suffered a 6-2 hammering — although the real winners were the fans.
The Courier reported: “The cream of Fife’s three Western Area clubs lined up against the star-studded East Fife guest side in this testimonial match for Bayview skipper John Martis like lambs to the slaughter.
“But they weren’t long in showing they were really wolves in sheep’s clothing.
“They powered back after losing an early goal to bang in five of their own before the interval and put the result beyond doubt.
“It was too wide a margin for the East Fife XI, to retrieve, but the outcome wasn’t really important to the fans.
“The game was marvellous entertainment which spilled over into incident and goals.
“It was a fitting tribute to East Fife pivot, John Martis’s services to Scottish football.”
Sir Bobby looked sharp as a tack and was involved in three promising home moves in the opening minutes and almost scored himself at the end of a third attack.
The Courier said the former England midfielder was showing “lightning reflexes” despite the miles on the clock and was at the heart of East Fife’s best moves.
Kenny Aird put East Fife 1-0 up on eight minutes.
At that point, it seemed a case of how many goals East Fife might help themselves to.
The Fife Select equalised when Alex Kinninmonth headed home a Gordon Wallace before Dunfermline’s Ken Mackie made it 2-1 to the visitors on 15 minutes.
Alfie Conn qualified as a Fifer having been born in Kirkcaldy and he scored two quick goals to make it 4-1 before Billy Laing of Cowdenbeath made it five on 34 minutes.
Sir Bobby was “spraying passes all over the place” but poor shooting by the East Fife forwards and brilliant goalkeeping by McDermott had prevented them from scoring.
East Fife closed the gap minutes after the resumption.
Sir Bobby was “the crowd’s darling” when he pulled a goal back with one of his trademark specials from 25-yards which flew past substitute keeper Geir Karlsen.
The Courier said East Fife’s Drew Rutherford replaced Sir Bobby on 70 minutes “and the Preston boss was given an ovation as he returned to the dressing room”.
Special photo takes pride of place
The feast of goals was a fitting tribute to Martis who is now 83.
The Motherwell Hall of Famer and his family have always cherished the dressing room photo taken of himself alongside Sir Bobby and his East Fife XI team-mates.
Sir Bobby tore up no trees in his job as boss at Preston and he resigned at the end of the season before becoming a pundit and setting up the Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools.
In 1984 he returned to Manchester United as a director which developed into an ambassadorial role and he returned to Scotland countless times with the Red Devils.
He was in attendance alongside Sir Matt Busby when former Saints player Sir Alex Ferguson brought United to Perth to officially open St Johnstone’s McDiarmid Park.
The universal outpouring of grief since his death on Saturday — from Manchester to Methil and Perth to Preston — shows just how special a man he really was.
Both on and off the park.
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