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Tommy Burns


Squirrelhumper

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39 minutes ago, Fankle said:

My favourite TB story was posted by someone on here I think, and was actually from the mid 2000s.   A group of Killie fans were walking back into Glasgow from a game at Firhill when a big black car screeched to a halt next to them. The great man himself was leaning across the passenger seat shouting "How'd we get on?" :hurrah:

10 years gone but never to be forgotten.

 

One of the guys on here posted a few years back that the Celtic team were heading out to a European game from Glasgow Airport. Guy had his Killie strip on & Tommy asked him how we got on in a midweek game earlier that night. 

Edited by harley
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No killie player or manager has lifted me as high or dragged me so low as tb. As has been said, he had a unique quality of making you feel he was doing it for you ( the fan). When he played he always gave 100 percent. When he talked, the enthusiasm poured out of every pore in his body. He was one of “us”which is remarkable for a man so linked with another club. But that was tb. Everything he did he did at 100%. I’d have followed him anywhere, I loved the man. But he broke my heart bad when he left abruptly. There was a lot of passion that was misplaced for a while but as I grew older, I saw things for what they were. He was an inspiration and is a true killie legend. 

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4 hours ago, Squirrelhumper said:

When I was Primary School. he came and did a talk on his faith. I went to St Anthony's in Saltcoats and vast majority were Celtic fans but as I supported Killie and went every week, I was allowed to meet him even though it was mainly for P7s.

He was a great guy, I remember before the game at ER when we stayed up and we were there before the gates were even open and even before the team arrived.

He sat with us at the main entrance and talked for a bit, even though we had a huge, huge game 2 hours away.

The day he left was the only day in my life I've cried over anything football related, I was devastated. The reaction of the Killie support after that was just raw emotion, I don't think anyone looks back on it and is proud but he never held grudges and he was welcomed back at RP many times afterwards.

Certainly a massive part of our history and a complete one off. The weekend he died and hearing Mac the Knife at RP as the teams came out was a day i'll never forget.

Horrible disease that took him far, far too soon.

Did the same at our school mate, primary seven just before our confirmation. I got into trouble because I asked a football question, and I remember what it was . Asked him if he thinks we should sign Paul McDonald from Hamilton

he visited the week leading up to the promotion win im sure. As our confirmation was the Friday, the day before Class act 

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I was a ball bay during that era and I always remember TB coming into the boot room where the ball boys hanged out before the games and he always had a quick chat with us. As others have said the day he left for Celtic was probably the only time I have really cried about something football related, was absolutely gutted.Was such a great time growing up being a Killie fan.

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Met him for a minute or two in person at my school in Stewarton, got my picture taken with him and got a wee bit of banter too. He was just a nice guy who made you feel at ease.  Despite his Celtic connections, you got the impression he was enjoying himself during his time at Killie, not just on, but off the park.

A traditional community icon, his work in the community off the park is in my opinion unparalleled by Killie managers in modern times.

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Talking of penalty shoot outs, the story went that after Mark Roberts missed his on his debut against Meadowbank, TB took the next & made sure he didn't score so Mark wasn't the one that cost us.  Not sure if it's true but you wouldn't put it past the man.

What a player he was too, everyone is talking about the man - and what a man he was!  Looking back at the old clips remind me just how good he was and not just a left peg!!  Travesty really he never got more Scotland caps.

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It’s no surprise the regard with which Tommy is held by us all and taken away so young. Always felt the club could have had a lasting tribute but we were in the MJ days.

Maybe now is the time, using a classic Tommy photo to get an artistic poster done like the brilliant recent trophy winning one at end of main stand and have it placed on the end of a stand?

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11 minutes ago, KevM said:

Maybe now is the time, using a classic Tommy photo to get an artistic poster done like the brilliant recent trophy winning one at end of main stand and have it placed on the end of a stand?

Wouldn't object to that. Without a doubt one of the most important men in the club's history.

 

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Tommy was a gentleman, met him in titchfield street and he pulled me up because i was wearing a killie top and started talking about the last game, i was also there when he got a standing ovation from the travelling killie support when he turned out for the Killie old crocks against the ayr old crocks for the tam o shanter cup,he looked nervous as he was running out until the fans chanted his name to a man, he deserved no less a accolade 

 

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Always remember game against Hamilton at the old Douglas Park, just before he was appointed manager. The crowd chanted his name for what felt like the entire 90 minutes. Even thinking about it now makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A wonderful time to be a Killie fan. He was a brilliant footballer and a kind, true gentleman.

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I went to a “Tommy Burns soccer school” in the south side of glasgow in about 1993 (I was 11 or 12 I think) in the school Easter holidays. He was there for a good part of the season every day and I remember doing fun things like practicing overhead kicks with crashmats to land on (it was indoors). I wore my Killie strip on the first day and he said he would try to sort us out a visit to Rugby Park (this was not in the plan for the school).

He organised a minibus to take us all down the ‘77 to Rugby Park on the Friday, the last day of the soccer school, and gave us a tour of the stadium before letting us have a wee game on the pitch. He didn’t have to do any of that. Legend.

He also told me a wee secret about our kit - he said that our next strip was going to be a bit different and that it was very special. I think it was the white sergeant stripes one. It might not be our most popular strip for our fans but I have a soft spot for it because I associate it with TB and that he game me a heads up about it.

Edited by Lulu97
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6 minutes ago, Lulu97 said:

Oh yeah and I got my picture taken for the Herald - something along the lines of  “girl plays football shocker”. They didn’t use this one (it was a boring one of me sitting in a football) but I was give a copy. It’s a treasured possession.

0B9DD8F0-1FA0-4929-99D9-1911A4F28F4E.jpeg

Absolutely brilliant 

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I remember his first home game v Arbroath. The supporters started singing his name and he pointed at the badge as if to say it's not all about me.

Skol Cup in 1992 is one that sticks out for me. We were 2-1 down with 7 minutes left of extra time left. I'm sure the winner came with a minute to go. The away end went mental! This was the only game which I can recall attending with my brother when it was just the two of us and we hugged for probably the only time in our lives:

As well those tremendous goals against the wee team, I remember a cracker he scored at Forfar and the two at Meadowbank.

As a footballer and as a man, he was a class act.

 

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7 hours ago, killie1961 said:

 i was at that game to am i correct in saying we have a poor record in competitions when taking penalties?

2 wins out of 11 in Scottish Cup & League Cup penalty shoot outs.

The wins came in the League Cup in 1982 and 1984 against Cowdenbeath and Alloa Athletic respectively.

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56 minutes ago, Lulu97 said:

Oh yeah and I got my picture taken for the Herald - something along the lines of  “girl plays football shocker”. They didn’t use this one (it was a boring one of me sitting in a football) but I was give a copy. It’s a treasured possession.

0B9DD8F0-1FA0-4929-99D9-1911A4F28F4E.jpeg

That is a truly beautiful picture!

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4 hours ago, nabber68 said:

Always remember game against Hamilton at the old Douglas Park, just before he was appointed manager. The crowd chanted his name for what felt like the entire 90 minutes.

That was a great day, we won 1-0, if I remember correctly, mucking up their chances of promotion.    

I think George McCluskey played for Hamilton that day and Burns signed him for us a few weeks later. 

 

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2 hours ago, Pelesboots said:

That was a great day, we won 1-0, if I remember correctly, mucking up their chances of promotion.    

I think George McCluskey played for Hamilton that day and Burns signed him for us a few weeks later. 

 

Famously quoted for a bag of sweeties

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As my rabid sevco tattoo wearing brother in law said “ Tommy Burns is the one Celtic man I just can’t hate “  that believe me is an accolade from him 

TB went to the Kilmarnock blind club with Billy Stark and made my dad and his pals decade and arranged tickets and a person to describe the action for the next home game for the club . Was supposed to be there for 15 minutes ended up staying for an hour. 

Class is the only word for the man 

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This is one of the best threads I’ve read on this forum since I became active. Reassuring to hear the depth of feeling fellow killie fans feel for the man. Easy for me to put the passions I feel down to the fact I was an impressionable 20 year old boy when he signed, with little else in my life apart from uni, girls, beer and football. But so many others are detailing same feelings and memories. I really don’t think the game will see the likes of him again. For the current young team that were too young to have seen tb in blue and white, think how you feel about Mulumbu and times it by 10!

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23 hours ago, The Deserter said:

I remember his first home game v Arbroath. The supporters started singing his name and he pointed at the badge as if to say it's not all about me.

Skol Cup in 1992 is one that sticks out for me. We were 2-1 down with 7 minutes left of extra time left. I'm sure the winner came with a minute to go. The away end went mental! This was the only game which I can recall attending with my brother when it was just the two of us and we hugged for probably the only time in our lives:

As well those tremendous goals against the wee team, I remember a cracker he scored at Forfar and the two at Meadowbank.

As a footballer and as a man, he was a class act.

 

This Morton game sticks out for me as well. TB was, by his own admission, red rotten for much of the game but kept going and scored two crackers. A lesson for everyone in not letting your head drop and chucking in the towel- TB had the belief, the drive and the will to win to take his chances when they came along.

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