15: Bobby Geddes, Kilmarnock, Grandstand Footballers 1993-94

Today’s post comes from a suggestion (of sorts) from the good people at Scottish Footy Cards by which we mean they posted a card of such bizarre excellence we had to chase them up and find out more. It goes to show that there is a big world out there beyond the dominance of Panini and Merlin. And what a world it is. Thanks for the suggestion and we hope this does the trick.

In 2002 the US Men’s National Team went further than they had done in any World Cup since 1930 when they reached the quarter-finals. Along with host nation South Korea they shocked a much-fancied Portugal side in the group stage and went on to score an impressive victory over Mexico in the second round. Although they were beaten by eventual finalists Germany in the last eight their performances demonstrated the impact of the tournament they had hosted back in 1994 on bringing through talented professional players. At the forefront of this success was Landon Donovan, possibly the most American looking and American named sportsman of all time, who scored twice during the tournament. His second, a well taken header against Mexico, is etched in my memory more due to the accompanying US commentary featured on the Match of the Day highlights for the amusement of British football fans. Instead of nodding the ball home or powering a header in apparently Donovan “top bodied the sphere into the scorebag”.

As easy as it is to poke fun at the Septics for getting football a bit wrong such phrasing has clearly a more continental flavour if the producers of Grandstand Football cards, based in Canada, are to be considered. On the back of these particular cards, along with the typical stats breakdown, was a short spiel about each of the players featured. Nothing unusual here as the more established sticker giants have shown us, however, Grandstand’s slightly odd phrasing has to be seen to be believed. Aberdeen’s Lee Richardson apparently kept “his quickness in tune by drumming”, Rangers’ John Brown “nicknamed ‘Bomber’ because of the long shots he fired towards his opponent’s net” and Hibernian’s Steven Tweed “a sure ball winner whilst in the air”. Goalkeepers seemed to be singled out for particularly bizarre descriptions with Heart of Midlothian’s Henry Smith praised for his appearances “between the pipes”, Partick Thistle’s Craig Nelson acknowledged for his “eight shutouts” in the 1991/92 campaign and Motherwell’s moustache aficionado Sieb Dykstra noted for “not leaving a lot of net for opponents to shoot at” and “lunging well at high crosses”. Or just doing his job depending on your levels of cynicism.

In goal for Kilmarnock in the 1993/94 season was Bobby Geddes. Having played over 250 times for Dundee he arrived at Killie in 1990 and was part of the side which ended an eighteen year absence from the Scottish Premier Division in 1992/93. Geddes had ensured his side had the best defensive record in the Scottish First Division and Killie successfully avoided relegation upon their return to the top flight as well as enjoying a run to the Scottish Cup semi-finals. He wears the expression of a man who has just been told one of his teammates has blocked the dressing room bogs in the card above but the good people at Grandstand raved about his reflexes before describing him as “a top notch backstop”. I have no idea if the Kilmarnock squad engaged in games of rounders as a teambuilding exercise but it’s good to know that Bobby Geddes would be pivotal to their fielding excellence. If this hobby was extended out to the rest of the league, however, Geddes would face competition in the form of Rangers’ Andy Goram whose “backstopping ability was key to his success” although it’s worth knowing that Motherwell’s Ian Baird was “forced to don the ‘keeper’s mitts” should any baseball break out.

Whether or not Bobby Geddes was any good at rounders is by the by in the context of this blog so it’s probably not a bad idea to talk about some football. After one season with Raith Rovers he moved across the Irish Sea to Linfield in 1997 where he helped the Belfast side to two consecutive Irish League Cup victories over their ‘Bel Clasico’ rivals Glentoran. He moved back to Scotland with Brechin City for what appeared to be his final professional season in 1999/2000. He served as Carnoustie Panmure’s player-manager where he interestingly picked up a Scottish Junior Cup winner’s medal at the age of 44. After a spell as Dundee United’s goalkeeping coach he moved across the city to his former club in the same role where an injury crisis saw him re-registered as a player in 2008 at the age of 47. Geddes was officially listed as a mysterious ‘Trialist’ on the team sheet and was an unused substitute in a 1-1 draw with Hamilton Academical. He was on the bench twice again in the 2009/10 campaign and was called into action against former club Raith Rovers when former Barnsley man Tony Bullock was forced off with a hamstring injury. At 49 he became Dundee’s oldest ever player and performed admirably despite suffering a 1-0 loss. Although goalkeepers often buck the trend for longevity Geddes was honest in his appraisal of his performance stating "individuals know when their cut-off point is and I thought mine was ten years ago" and he remained as the club’s keepers’ coach until 2021 when he moved to a similar role at Falkirk.

Mundial magazine recently produced a feature titled ‘The 75 Coolest Goalkeepers of All Time” which saw Neville Southall, Lev Yashin and Thomas N’Kono earn the top three spots. Bobby Geddes can have no complaints about missing out in the longevity stakes due to the presence of 69-year-old Marianela ‘Colito’ Medina who is still turning out for Chile’s Deportivo Nestle but can perhaps feel aggrieved to have missed out to fictional talents Captain Robert Hatch and The Honey Monster. Perhaps if he had followed Grandstand’s lead and made more of his rounders’ skills he may have made the final cut. He can probably take solace, however, from his key role for both Dundee and Kilmarnock and “his fine form and great reflexes” that served him so well for nearly half a century.