Legends Re-united

Mike Leonard looks forward to returning as an Eastender

Mike Leonard scores second goal v Hartlepool, 31 July 1978
Every now and then football clubs produce an iconic figure that the fans love. Usually not the best player, but always someone with character who is a bit different. And we’re delighted to tell our fans that one such person, who hasn’t set foot inside East End Park for almost thirty years is about to return and tell us where he’s been all our lives!

1970s striker Mike Leonard joined Dunfermline from Sligo Rovers in 1978 and although his three seasons weren’t the club’s greatest, he was an ever present in 1978/79 and his 24 goals went a long way to helping the club gain promotion to the First Division at last. Hugely popular at the time, he was honoured for his achievements by his fellow professionals, who voted him the Second Division Player of the Year.

On Saturday 15th November, Mike will be joined by a host of other former players for an evening of Legends Reunited. The event will be held in the Kingdom Suite at East End Park commencing 7.30pm, and tickets are now on sale at £10 each which includes a buffet supper.

Mike is undoubtedly a character and recently he gave us a foretaste of what is to come on the night when he spoke to us.

“I’m really looking forward to going back to Dunfermline. I had some great times there but to be honest it’s a place I pass by now and that’s about it. I haven’t been there since the Centenary Game against Aberdeen in 1985, so it’s been a long time.”

Mike began his career at Celtic Park in 1974 but after eighteen months he was told by then Celtic and former Dunfermline manager Jock Stein that there was no future for him at Parkhead. He moved to Ireland to join Sligo Rovers and was an instant hit, helping them to the league title in 1977. But tragedy struck when wife Marian’s father was killed and they decided to move back to Scotland in January 1978.

“We decided to move back but I had been full-time with Sligo and I didn’t have a job to go to so was looking for something. The Sligo manager Billy Mitchell was friends with Harry Melrose, so Harry asked me to go along for a trial. I played a couple of friendly matches, one against Falkirk Reserves, and Harry decided to sign me before I had trained with the team, and that was it.”

As well as playing part-time football, Mike got a full-time job with Glasgow City Council Roads Department, but it was to play havoc with his football career.

“I had no car at the time so I had to finish work at 4.30, go home and get changed then get on a bus to Shettleston where Jimmy Mullen would take me through to training. I usually wasn’t back home till eleven o’clock – the life of a professional footballer!”

Mike has lots of stories from his time at East End Park, and he told us one of his favourites this week.

“I remember we were playing Stranraer at East End Park and we went off at half-time 1-0 down. The whole team were getting absolute pelters from the fans, but especially me because I was a striker and I had missed so many chances. When me and another player were walking off at half-time our own fans were throwing coins at us and I was shouting ‘make sure they are £1 coins!’ Oh they weren’t happy but we turned it around completely in the second half and I managed to score four goals in what was eventually a 6-1 win.

“I was quite proud of my time at Dunfermline and I kept some of the stuff I got including all the programmes. The club used to have badges and there was one of me saying, ‘Mike Leonard Strikes Faster Than British Leyland’. Years later I went into my work at the Council and proudly showed some of the younger boys my badge, only to get the answer, ‘who the **** are British Leyland?’!”

After East End Park, Mike joined Scottish Junior champions Pollok but he never played for another senior side again. Nowadays he occasionally goes to Parkhead for a hospitality day, but he doesn’t enjoy what he sees.

“The hospitality is great but I don’t particularly enjoy watching the football. They don’t play football how we used to! Nowadays there’s so much passing across the back among defenders it’s enough to send you to sleep. In my day, the job of defenders was to defend.”

A character indeed, and there’s lots more where that comes from. Mike Leonard will be joined by Harry Melrose, John Salton, Stevie Morrison, John Watson, Graeme Robertson, David Bingham, Scott Thomson and our host the inimitable Jim Leishman for an evening of fun, laughs, games and entertainment. Make sure that you get your tickets now.

LEGENDS REUNITED
Saturday 15th November, commencing 7.30pm
Kingdom Suite, East End Park

Tickets priced £10 (including buffet supper) are available from PST (Margaret Ross), Centenary Club (Jason Barber), and can be collected at the Club Shop or by arrangement.