Anyone who had a notion for making Football a career Glenbuck certainly was the place to be born. Knock on any door and you would surely find a player. The Shankly’s lived in Cottages known locally as Miners row or Monkey’s row, they then moved to No.6 Council Houses.

Many a successful player had come from the small village of under 1000 people. Sandy Brown of the Spurs FA Cup winning team was reputed to have come home on holiday and put the Trophy on display in the Co-op window.

The hub of the village was the Cherrypickers ground where the boys used to look forward to the close season to see the Professional Footballers some of them Internationalists come home. In fact there used to be games of Football between the boys who’d made good and the stay at homes. Bob admits there were probably better players than him that just didn’t have the ambition to make it.

In 1931, Bob met his wife Greta in a chip shop in Muirkirk and they were married in 1936 they had two children one boy John and a girl Margaret. Later John was offered a trial with Dundee from Willie Thornton, but Bob wanted John to finish his Civil Engineering Apprenticeship as there was no money in Football at that time, Margaret kept up the Footballing tradition though by marrying Dundee United defender Jimmy Briggs.

Bob’s greatest disappointment in Football was when he just missed out on the chance of playing for Scotland against England, in a half back line that would have been made up entirely of players born and bred in the tiny Ayrshire village. Those players were Willie, Bob’s brother and Tommy Brown of Hearts. Bob was reserve to Bobby Baxter who had picked up an injury, but unfortunately for Bob, Bobby was declared fit two days before the game.

Bob first signed for Auchinleck Talbot on the basis of ‘buy your own playing gear’. The Glenbuck Cherrypickers for whom all his elder brothers had all played were temporarily out of existence. When they reformed the following year Bob immediately signed for them.

Bob’s next door neighbour, Jimmy Nesbit played for Ayr United and a trial was set up for him to play against Hibs at Easter Road. Bob scored 3 goals that day for Ayr but wasn’t given any credit, so returned to Glenbuck dejected.

Ayr did eventually come back for Bob, but he decided to ignore Ayr and went on trial with St Mirren instead. Senior Clubs began taking notice of Bob, his brother John who played with Alloa told him they were interested. He wasn’t too keen to join them, but when the Alloa Secretary John Reid turned up in Glenbuck with a signing form. He reckoned that if anyone had made the tortuous journey to Glenbuck to sign him they had to be keen so Alloa got his signature. This was the sort of man Bob was, he respected others and was fair with it.

Ironically Bob’s first game for Alloa was against Dundee in the Penman Cup which Alloa won 2-1 with both Bob and John getting the goals.

Bob then left Alloa and joined Tunbridge who were an English non League side with ambitions. They had already signed Frank McMenemy son of the great Jimmy , and Centre Forward Jimmy Smith who’d established a Second Division goal scoring record with Ayr United.

Bob scored 68 goals in a season and returned to Scotland the following year 1933 and had trials with Falkirk. According to Bob that’s where fate stepped in. Unknown to him at the time was the fact Mr Reg Taylor the then Preston Secretary was at his mothers house in Glenbuck in a bid to get him to Deepdale.

There was no doubt in Bob’s mind which club he would have chosen, as his brother Willie had just been transferred from Carlisle to Preston and he would have gladly taken the chance to have joined him. Moreover, the English club in the early thirties were at the height of their fame as ‘Proud Preston’.

Bob’s mother had told Mr. Taylor that he was at Falkirk for a trial. He had stopped overnight somewhere and motored North the next day. By the time he arrived Bob had already committed himself to Falkirk. Bob often wondered where his subsequent career would have taken him, if Mr Taylor hadn’t stopped overnight, or arrived in Falkirk an hour or two earlier.

It was with Falkirk that Bob ended up under the Stewardship of Tully Craig. Falkirk had just been relegated and Tully decided to rebuild the Team around Bob Shankly who had been moved from Centre Forward to Pivot. Falkirk were promoted at the first time of asking and reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup the same year. This was probably Falkirk’s most prosperous periods up to the outbreak of the 2nd world war.

It was during his Falkirk days that his wife Greta remembered one of Bob's off the cuff remarks to Referee Willie Syme who was one of Bob's many friends in the game. Willie was booking Bob after a foul which he'd committed and asked Bob for his name and address. Bob's instant reply was "What dae you want to stay wi me?"

Bob included in his social circle players like Scott Symon and Jimmy McGrory people he had the utmost respect for. His all time favourite player however was Stanley Matthews.

Falkirk was the last team for whom Bob played, when he retired from playing he took up a coaching position with Stenhousemuir. He enjoyed his Football there and had fun during those days. Falkirk then loured him back as Manager and he held this post for 5 years, but by his own admission he never felt comfortable being the Boss at the club he’d been a player.

He then moved to Third Lanark and he enjoyed his two years with them, he was one of the few who had pleasant memories for the ill fated club. It wasn’t the fact he joined them when they had a £20,000 debt which he had cleared before he left, he genuinely found enjoyment there for winning wasn’t a passion. They never expected to win anything and only wanted to stay out of trouble and have a bit of fun out of the game. Bob reckons that’s where he grew up and became independent as it was from there he joined Dundee.

He spent 6 years at Dundee as Manager joining the Club in October 1959. This was undoubtedly Bob’s most successful time in Management. He still commuted from Kincardine for the first two years of his Managerial spell at Dundee before finally moving to the City.

He joined Dundee when they were languishing near the foot of the table and set to work trying to turn their fortunes around he eventually managed to get the Dark Blues to finish 4th by the end of the 1959-60 Season . Even then the fuel for arguments with the board had begun for Bob as he’d already been forced to sell a young Jimmy Gabriel still a Teenager. Quoting “I don’t want to sell a player, but how can I refuse good money for an apprentice who’s not proven himself yet”?

Tragedy was to hit the Shankly’s when Bob’s older brother John died of a heart attack at Hampden whilst watching the European Cup Final Eintracht v Real Madrid. There was another key figure at this game also, a very young Dundee defender Ian Ure. He used the skill which he’d witnessed at this match as his own personal benchmark. So the young Jimmy Gabriel already had an able replacement.

Liverpool were invited to play in the match to christen the new Floodlights at Dens, although they were currently in the English Second Division Liverpool were about to start their own march to success under the guidance of Bob’s younger brother Willie (Bill). It was a game which Dundee won 1-0. Bob and Willie were very similar characters and to a certain degree their Managerial skills and styles were also similar.

Bob made two signings during the 1960-61 Season, Bobby Seith the Captain of the English Champions Burnley and Bobby Wishart from Aberdeen.

The Season had started well with Dundee top of the league in October, but injuries plagued most of the Season and they fell away badly so Bob experimented with his line up and they eventually finished 8th.

The 1961-62 Season was upon us the season which will live in Dundee FC folklore for the life of the Club, the Season we won the League. The final piece in Bob Shankly’s jigsaw puzzle finally arrived in the form of Gordon Smith. The players had the utmost respect for the Manager as he had shown to others all his life, he loved the game of Football and was his own man, but never sought the limelight. Bob took Dundee onto win the Title by three clear points from Rangers the Team he supported as a boy and a Championship Medal was his at last.

So Dundee had duly qualified for the European Cup and a Civic Reception was to be held in their honour.

The City Chambers Balcony
Bob Shankly, Pat Liney, Alec Stuart, Sammy Kean

Bob had taken the Dundee team abroad to experience some Continental Football before the Season began this was to prove to be experience well gained come their European endeavours. Bob was every bit the sports psychologist his younger brother was with Liverpool, he changed the Dundee strips back to the V-Neck with which they'd won the League from the new crew neck variety. This seemed to lift the players and their form improved with the change.

After the demolition of Cologne Bob was his usual straight talking no nonsense self and just stated. "The boys rose to the occasion as I expected them to."

After Cologne it was Sporting Lisbon's turn to be put to the sword followed by Anderlecht, then it was AC Milan in the European Cup Semi-Finals. Although technically Dundee were put out of the Semi-Finals in the away game they still managed to save some pride by winning at Dens. Though Dundee were out of the European Cup Bob Shankly's men had given the Dundee public something to really shout about and be proud of.

The 1963-64 season started similar to that of the previous season. Players were asking for better wages and refusing to sign again. This time Ian Ure was adamant he wanted away and despite Bob's best attempts in trying to keep him the board were willing acceptors of the £62,500 Scottish record transfer fee.

Despite this Bob still managed to get Dundee to the Scottish Cup Final that year with George Ryden replacing Ian Ure as Centre half for the rest of the season. It was still a comparatively successful season for Dundee reaching the Final of the Scottish Cup and Alan Gilzean scoring the Scottish all time record number of goals in a season with 50 League and Cup goals.

The 1964-65 season was a repeat of the two previous seasons however it was Alan Gilzean's turn to want away. Bob was determined that the club should hang on to Gilzean as he was the Star player and money should be made available to match Gilzean’s terms.

Eventually the inevitable happened and Alan was sold for yet another record Scottish fee to Spurs for £72,500. Though Bob did sign Charlie Cooke from Aberdeen for a then Record fee between two Scottish clubs of £40,000 the selling of Gilzean was a bitter blow to him. Bob himself had refused a new contract as he was disillusioned with the Dundee board and is reported to have said. "They'll sell the groundsman if you make them an offer".

There ended the great love affair the Dundee fans had with the great Bob Shankly, he resigned in February 1965, there were a few offers for his services but he chose Hibs who had just lost the services of Jock Stein to Celtic.

Unfortunately for Bob, Hibs were in financial difficulties and his selling days had not left him he still had to sell the family silverware against his will. Though undoubtedly his greatest signing was that of Colin Stein for just £10.

After 3 years of selling Hibs players, the final straw was when even Stein had to be sold for yet another Record fee between Scottish sides of £100,000 to Rangers.

Hibs received their Cheque and Bob decided to retire from Football Management altogether in 1968, as it was no longer a time where a Manager was allowed to build a team for success, but money was more important to the directors.

This wasn't the last we'd hear of Bob Shankly though as he was scouting for Nottingham Forest when Frank Smith of Stirling Albion managed to convince him he should still be a Football Manager, the lure to become a Manager again was obviously too great and in 1971 the great man was back in Scottish Football again.

The irony of Bob joining Stirling Albion was there were now two great Shankly's at Football grounds called Annfield. Granted the Liverpool one only had the one 'n', but it was another example of the closeness of the two brothers.

Bob Shankly the Legend spent two seasons as Stirling Albion’s Manager and he missed out on promotion narrowly both seasons. In 1973 he stepped upstairs as Stirling’s General Manger and took a position on the board. He eventually gave up the role as General Manager in the late 1970’s but remained on the board.

Bob with the rest of the surviving Shankly Family paying tribute to his younger brother Willie on “This Is Your Life”

There’s no doubting that Scottish Football would miss the great man and I wish I’d met him myself. This brings home the story told at Bob’s Funeral by the Reverent Uist McDonald who was a close friend of Bob’s.

The Rev. was standing outside Dens speaking to Bob and after Bob went inside the ground, a little boy asked the Minister
“Hey do you ken that man?”
“Yes I do was the reply”
The little boy said “I wish I did”

I think that has to be the most poignant point of Bob’s life he was a man of the people and he was highly respected by all lucky enough to have known him, or been touched by him. What more can any person ask for? He had a great quality about him which will take a lot to be matched or bettered.

It is with those thoughts of the Great late Bob Shankly I finish this story of his Footballing life.

This profile would not have been possible without the assistance of his widow Greta and Margaret her daughter, wife of Jimmy Briggs Ex-Dundee United, who helped organise the collection of the invaluable material and family heirlooms used to create this article.

Included in these items were Bob’s Championship medal, family photographs, the Menu from the Civic reception celebrating Dundee’s League triumph, Bob’s own writings of his career from Glenbuck to playing with Falkirk and most of all for the interview with Greta herself.

The Main picture is a Portrait of Bob Shankly by Shaun Ward.