The Way We Were…. 1985

June 9th, 2020

Did you know 2020 is the 35th anniversary of the East Kilbride Pirates as a club? Thanks to Bill Campbell, we’ll be taking a regular trip down memory lane, looking back at the progress of the club at regular intervals over the decades. First up, is the year the club was formed – 1985.

Channel 4 started showing American Football in the UK back in 1982. Their Game of the Week was shown on a Sunday along with highlights of all the other games from the previous week. In those days it was relatively easy to avoid accidentally finding out the score before the game went to air, with no Sky Sports and the internet, as we know it today, still some way off.

Despite this, interest in the sport grew steadily and thoughts were beginning to turn to playing rather than just watching. A notice appeared in the East Kilbride News asking for like-minded individuals to get in touch with Alex Stewart and the, at the time unnamed , Pirates were born. The name followed a short time later, having been decided by a competition in the local paper. The winning entry was by a local 10-year old called Paul Carrigan. Are you still out there Paul?

A playing squad was assembled, and while full kit was organised and ordered, the team played three unkitted games in their inaugural year. First up was a heavy defeat to the Ayr Burners before wins against both Johnstone Crusaders and Stirling University.

Image thanks to the EK News and club founder Alex Stewart

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