It has been 53 years to the day since 66 fans died leaving Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium after an Old Firm clash but the disaster still leave as mark on the city and football supporters around the world.
The crush at an exit during that Old Firm Match also saw 200 people injured that day in 1971. Many of the people who died were teenagers.
One of the boys who never returned home that day was 15 year old Robert Maxwell from Blantyre. His father Jimmy, who passed away recently was the janitor at Blantyre High. We cannot imagine the heartache the family must have gone through.
No matter which team you support, or indeed even if you don’t follow football at all, we pause to remember that terrible day and all those lives lost.
Dave Willis, brother Hugh and I came down that staircase (13) at the end of the game just before that horrible mayhem. It was the next morning before we knew the extent of the disaster.
A few members of the David Livingstone RSC stayed behind trying to assist.
It was good to see a minute silence at Ibrox being observed today before the KO against Kilmarnock.