Ray Montgomerie

Ray Montgomerie (born 17 April 1961) is a Scottish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender for

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

and

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

. Montgomerie started out playing with his local Scottish Junior club Saltcoats Victoria before signing for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

where he spent his formative years in the senior ranks from 1979 until 1981. After returning to Scotland, Montgomerie signed for the ''Sons'' where he played right-back for seven seasons from 1981 until 1988, having scored 8 goals in 180 league appearances. Montgomerie then moved to

for £12,000 in the 1988 close season, where he was soon moved to centre-back and would be appointed the club's captain thereafter. Montgomerie's first match for ''Killie'' was in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

Palmerston Park Palmerston Park is a association football, football stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Queen of the South F.C., Queen of the South, who have played there ...

versus Queen of the South on 13 August 1988. Montgomerie was proud to captain the club that won the 1997 Scottish Cup Final at

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...

, as he was to become a great modern-day player with the

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

outfit, having a never-say-die spirit and enthusiasm that the ''Killie'' supporters loved to see. After just over a decade at ''Killie'', Monty (as he was more well known) was awarded a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

versus

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in July 1998. Montgomerie scored 7 goals in 313 league appearances for ''Killie''. In a poll conducted by ''

Football Focus ''Football Focus'' is a BBC television magazine programme launched in 1974, broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes during the football season. The programme, along with '' Final Score'', is a remnant from the former flagship sports show ...

'' in 2005, Montgomerie was voted by the ''Killie'' fans as the club's all-time cult hero. Montgomerie's final match for ''Killie'' was at home versus

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

on 28 February 1999. After leaving

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football stadium which is the home of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock F.C. and is situated in the Scotland, Scottish town of Kilmarnoc ...

, Montgomerie signed for

for the 1999-2000 season but after his spell at

Firhill Firhill Stadium, also known as Wyre Stadium at Firhill for sponsorship reasons, is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick ...

, where he played in 32 league matches, he returned to ''Killie'' in a match-day hospitality capacity before becoming a publican in

Saltcoats Saltcoats (; Scots: ''Saulcuts'') is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages ...

and was also the chairman of Saltcoats Victoria. In October 2016 he was inducted into the Kilmarnock 'Hall of Fame' alongside other well-known former players such as

Tommy McLean Thomas McLean Jr. (born 2 June 1947) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. McLean played for Kilmarnock, Rangers and Scotland as a midfielder. He managed Morton, Motherwell, Hearts, Raith Rovers and Dundee United. E ...

James Fowler James Fowler may refer to: Politics * James Fowler (Massachusetts politician) (1788–1873), American lawyer and politician * James Fowler (Australian politician) (1863–1940), member of the Australian House of Representatives, 1901–1922 * Jam ...

and

Stuart McLean Andrew Stuart McLean, (April 19, 1948 – February 15, 2017) was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program '' The Vinyl Cafe''.1961 births Living people Footballers from Irvine, North Ayrshire Scottish men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Newcastle United F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League players