Welcome to part two of The Terrace’s “From Stranraer to Superstar” series. This time we go to the Scottish 2nd Division and bring you the top five players that developed their skills while playing for one of the clubs currently at this level. Surprisingly, this was a harder list to compile than the 3rd Division. The reason for that is the catastrophic fall from grace that Clyde have had to endure. In the 2nd, Livingston have a similar story but don’t quite have the history that the club from Broadwood once enjoyed. Still, there are some terrific players on this list and a few who were harshly left out. Current Scotland internationalists Neil Alexander (Stenhousemuir) and Graham Dorrans (Livingston) don’t make the list. David Stewart (Ayr United) played in a European cup final but didn’t survive the cut. Owen Coyle (Dumbarton) might well lead Bolton to a FA Cup final, but his inability to play for Scotland during his playing days means he doesn’t make it. The same goes for Craig Brewster (Forfar).

5. Drew Jarvie (Airdrieonians)

This is the first of two former Airdrieonians players on the list. Technically this is cheating because Airdrie United are not an official continuation of Airdrieonians. But this is my list and I’ll do what I like.

Jarvie made his debut for the Diamonds in 1967 and would enjoy five successful years there playing alongside Drew Busby. His performances were such that he earned his first international cap while still an Airdrie player. In 1972, he was sold to Aberdeen for a then-club record fee of £72,000. At first, Jarvie enjoyed a successful partnership with Joe Harper until the latter was sold to Everton and Jarvie had to lead the line. He did so valiantly and scored the first goal in the Don’s 1976 League Cup final triumph over Celtic.

He stayed at Pittodrie until 1982, but his appearances dwindled towards the end as Steve Archibald and (the returning) Joe Harper were the preferred strike-force. Jarvie did chip in with a few vital goals en route to Aberdeen’s 1980 title-winning season. He was recognised for his efforts with a testimonial in 1982 and is an inductee of the Aberdeen Hall of Fame.

4. Murdo McLeod (Dumbarton)

Similar to Pat Nevin in our 3rd Division list, in that you have to forget the irritating and incredibly biased punditry to remember the tremendous player he was. McLeod combined strength and stamina with the ability to score goals while playing in centre midfield.

It was Dumbarton who enjoyed the first three years of Murdo’s career. He played for the club from 1975-78 and impressed to the extent that it took a £100,000 fee for Celtic to wrestle him away from Boghead. He spent nine years at Celtic Park, winning eight trophies including five league titles. He moved onto Borussia Dortmund in 1987 for the cut-price fee of £250,000 since his contract was running down. While in Germany, he got his hands on more silverware, winning both the German Cup and Super Cup. In 1990, Hibs lured him back to Scotland and Murdo was in amongst the trophies again! This time captaining Hibs to their League Cup Final victory in 1991. With his years winding down he returned to Dumbarton and helped the club to promotion in 1995. He later returned to Celtic as an assistant coach to Wim Jansen, where they would win the club’s first title in ten years – ‘course they did.

Apart from his extraordinary appetite for winning, Murdo was also a consistent goalscorer and managed to bag 55 league goals in his time with Celtic. But it is his goal in the 1982 Old-Firm League Cup Final for which he is most revered by Celtic fans. His game-winning, 25-yard thunderbolt was voted the greatest ever Old Firm goal by the supporters.

3. John White (Alloa Atheltic)

John could have gone into our 1st Division list having spent a season at Falkirk before his move to Tottenham, but it was Alloa who first gave the inside forward a chance. He achieved so much in the game but his career was tragically cut short after nine years.

For a forward his goalscoring exploits were not particularly outstanding for the era of which he played. Instead, it was White’s intelligent play and expert ball control that set him apart from many of his peers. He made his Alloa debut in 1955 and left three years later to join Falkirk having amassed 26 league goals in 68 games. Only eight league goals (from 30 games) were found at Falkirk but Bill Nicolson was impressed enough with what he saw and signed him for £22,000. Not only could White bring other players into the game, he would always be available for a pass. Plus he had an uncanny ability to make late, devastating runs into the opposing penalty area. This trait earned him the nickname “The Ghost of White Hart Lane.”

He played 22 times for Scotland in a five-year spell and would have tallied more. Sadly, John White was killed on the 21st of July 1964 after being struck by lightning while sheltering under a tree at Crews Hill golf course. Tottenham and Scottish football lost one of their finest sons at the age of 27.

2. Steve Nicol (Ayr United)

Mr. Versatile from the all-conquering Liverpool team of the 1980’s; Steve Nicol played in a variety of positions but the performance would remain consistent. His Reds career would tally 14 seasons and nine winners’ medals.

Nicol’s road to continuous glory began in 1979 at Ayr United. He would play only two years with the Honest Men but managed to play a full 70 league games in that time. He must have shown something special because the great Bob Paisley decreed he was worth spending £300,000 to bring to Anfield. At first Nicol was mainly a reserve but he would eventually prove his worth and received his first league winner’s medal in 1983. With Nicol in the side, Liverpool would go on to win four more league titles, three FA Cups and the European Cup in 1984.

Nicol finally left the club in 1995 and played for a handful of other clubs before retiring. He is 17th on the all-time appearance list for Liverpool and played 27 times for his country, including appearing in the 1986 World Cup.

1. Hughie Gallacher (Airdrieonians)

Hughie Gallacher’s stat-line has him playing nine games for Queen of the South and scoring 19 goals. This is not a mistake. Even at 18, he was that good. Queens were not a league club at the time though, which is why he is better known for his time with Airdrie and our number one in this list.

Gallacher was not only short at 5ft 5inn, he was also very slight. This helped him glide past defenders with ease and contributed to his outstanding goalscoring records. Where to start? In 554 career league games, he scored 406 goals. In four years with Airdrie he managed 91 league goals in 111 appearances, which caught the attention of Newcastle United who paid £6,500 for the diminutive, centre forward. Tougher opposition did not slow down his goalscoring as he bagged 133 goals in 160 league games. He also helped win Newcastle’s fourth (and final) league title in 1927 - Alan who? Later he moved to Chelsea for £25,000 and continued to find the back of the net. But he left after four years in acrimonious circumstances; Hughie was never one to shy away from controversy.

Arguably the most prolific Scottish striker of all time, Gallacher currently sits as the country’s 3rd highest ever international goalscorer with 23. This is despite him playing in only 20 games. Arguably his finest hour in a Scotland jersey was a match in which he failed to score. Hughie was one of the famous “Wembley Wizards”: the famous Scottish forward-line that bamboozled the England defence en route to a 5-1 victory.

Written by Craig Fowler