Donald Dinnie was born at Balnacraig,near Abonye,Aberdeenshire,on July 8th,1837.He was the eldest of six brothers and four sisters,His father was a mason and young dinnie served his time at this trade,becoming extremely competent before turning to athletics as a full-time occupation.Although dinnie turned professional at 16 years of age he was thirty when he decided to make athletics his full-time employment,His career was a hectic one and at times he was dogged by bad luck.The daredevil Scot suffered many serious injuries,any one of which would have made a lesser man seek an easier way of easier way of earning a living .Dinnie however ,survived them all.His ventures beyond the sports field were not nearly so successful.He is said to have given up one of the hotels because the yard was not long enough for him to use for hammer -throwing practice!The undertaker,s business was disposed of for a much happier reason -the Scottish climate was too healthy and people were just not dying off fast enough!What Dinnie did resent in this business was the lack of appreciation of his efforts to give the townspeople a “bonny burying.”People , When they did eventually die,preferred to have a “carried” funeral rather than be “hurled”in a hearse.

In 1870 the wanderlust finally got the better of the Aberdeenshire professional and it kept its hold on him until the end of his days.His first short trip took him to America where he was feted and honoured like a king..He was so pleased with the reception that he returned in 1877.Promoters were prepared to pay him £25-£100 to appear at their versions of Scottish Highland Games and all the notable wrestling.The result was that he made In 1870 the wanderlust finally got the better of the Aberdeenshire professional and it kept its hold on him until the end of his days.His first short trip took him to America where he was feted and honoured like a king..He was so pleased with the reception that he returned in 1877.Promoters were prepared to pay him £25-£100 to appear at their versions of Scottish Highland Games and all the notable wrestling.in land wanted to challenge Dinnie at their own favourite style of wreastling.The result was that he made fantastic sums of money in a vary short time.His total takings on the day of his famous fight with wrestling champion Muldoon was £320,in those days an unheard of sum for a sporting personality to earn.In Boston he earned £220in a day.On the days when there were no sports meetings or wrestling matches he would give 10 minute exhibitions of Highland dancing and dumbbell lifting,Those short performances earned him 50 dollars per show and he could easily fit in several shows in the afternoon. In the midst of all these successes tragedy struk.From Aberdeen,in Scotland ,came news that his wife had died, Each time his athletic prowess gave him particular case for joy some tragedy in his business or domestic life would occur to rob him of any exultation.With little incentive to return to his homeland,he travelled on to Canada and then to Australia with James Fleming,his friend and fellow athlete.

Dinnie invariably wore the kilt and with his dark complexion and handsome features he caused a stir amongst the ladies wherever he appeared,When he doffed his jacket to perform, however,it was the men who gasped in amazement ,for he was a spectacle for the gods to admire.At 6 feet 1 inch in height,he possessed a 48 inch chest and thighs measuring 26 ½ inches-thicker than a woman,s waist!In spite of this he weighed a mere 15 stone for there was not an ounce of superfluous fat on his body.

Dinnie appeared at many athletic meetings in Australia,a country which appealed to him very much. He married again in 1885 and settled for some time in Melbourne,where his daughter Eva was born.Soon the family and his faithful friend Flemming were on the move again,this time to New Zealand.

The years did not seem to make the least bit of difference to Dinnie as an athletic performer.At meetings all over the world he topped all existing records.Once again the wrestlers felt drawn to Dinnie as a moth to the flame and with equally disastrous results.At Christchurch he won £85 for beating the Maori Champion who for 15 consecutive years had won the event.Professor William Miller, the Australian champion weight lifter and Greco-Roman wrestler was another of Dinnie,s victims.During the contest the Herculean Scot lifted the 17 stone Australian overhead and dashed him to the ground,This finished the match ,for Miller,s leg was broken and the disconsolate Dinnie,Who was the first to go to his opponent,s aid, refused to claim the sidestake.

Dinnie sincerely believed that a labourer was worthy of his hire.If Dinnie was to perform he needed recompense.

A Royal latecomer was nearly robbed of a chance to see Dinnie in action because of the athlete,s mercenary streak.By the time the King arrived at the games one year,the main events were over and the committee begged Dinnie to go back and toss the caber.

“Aye”said Dinnie ,”ill do that -for two pounds.”

The officials were stubborn and refused,pointing out what a great honour it was to throw for such a personage.

“I dinna gie a damm,”retorted the champion,”I pay my taxes, I want £2. Ill no hae less” The other athlete,s had by this time returned to the field but all their efforts on the caber proved of no avail-not one of them could turn it.The organisers were most embarrassed, and the crowd were appalled at their poor display,but a broad shouldered figure pushed through the crowd and saved the day.Dinnie reluctant as he was to perform without payment,could not bear to see his beloved sport shown in such a bad light and rushed forward and tossed the caber at a single throw.

After his journeys in New Zealand he sailed for home. At Cape Town he was persuaded to leave the ship and tour South Africa with outstanding success year later ,in1898 he returned to England.

He had lost most of his money in the slump,again through ill-advised investment ,and as a result had to keep on competing until he was well past his best.The grand old man was still winning prizes in special competitions at Highland games as late as 1910 and his services were in great demand as a judge. At a Health and Strength show in London when he was seventy five years of age he again startled the sporting world by holding at arms length a half hundredweight.

During his glorious career this versatile athlete won more than 11,000 contests,The approximate prize totals were hammer throwing 2000,putting the stone 1800,weight lifting 200,weight throwing 300,caber tossing 1400,jumping 1800 running and hurdle 500, wrestling matches 2000, In addition to these awards he won many others in dancing,pole-vaulting,shooting,elocution and so on..A conservative estimate of his cash winnings is £25,000 and to this can be added the proceeds from displays and strength promotions which he himself organised.

In 1916 at the age of seventy nine,Donald Dinnie ascended to his fathers,leaving behind him a trail of glory and a name that has become a legend.

In 1875,at Coupar Angus,George Davidson made his debut against “the syndicate”and as Flemming was now well past his best the partnership broke up.Although remaining firm friends with Dinnie,managing the hotel and carriage hiring business until 1881,Flemming did a lot less competing after this time and Dinnie teamed up with Daivdson in his athletic endeavours.

When Dinnie went to Australia in 1884 he had only been there for six months when he sent for Flemming who had been rather ill.Dinnie thought that the climate down under would be good for james Flemming and he invited him to be his advance agent for a whole tour.After a year they settled in Melbourne where Flemming,s health deteriorated.He suffered terribly from asthma and would get up in the night gasping for breath.

On march 10th 1887 at Northcot in Melbourne,Donald and his wife tended James in his room.They rolled hot cloths on his cold legs as he sat with his head drooping,in front of the fire.

“Idoubt ye are worse the nicht ,Jem,”Dinnie said in his usual blunt way,although he was absolutely devoted to his friend.”Aye,” Flemming answered,”I feel mutch worse Donald.”He had lifted his head to reply and no sooner were the words out of his mouth than his head lolled to the side and he was gone.befor Dinnie could carry him to his bed.

Till the end of his days Dinnie never ceased to tell people how great a man ,how fine an athlete and how wonderful a friend there had been in Jemmy Flemming.

George Davidson, the next Champion was born at Kincardine O,Neil,Deeside in 1853.He began competing 20 years later and took over the championship from Dinnie ,His friend and partner.George was one of the athletes who went to America in 1879 and 1887.He beccame a proficent sprinter ,high jumper,pole vaulter and weight lifter as well as weight thrower,and toured all over Britain with Donald Dinnie in a strong man act.He was 6 feet 1 ½ inches tall in height and weighed 16 ½ stone (231 ibs) His chest was 43 inches.

Kennth McRae of Beauly became Scottish Champion in 1887 when George Davidson was in America. He was one of the tallest heavies of the era being 6 feet 3 inches tall,weighing 15 ½ stone,His chest was 44 inches. Born in Beauly in 1850,from the age of twelve he worked long hours on a farm then at eighteen went into the whisky business.He was at his best in the 1880,s winning at the Glasgow Exhibition in 1888,but still took first in hammer caber events at the Paris Exhibition eleven years later.Kenneth was greatly handicapped in some events by the loss of a finger and used a small strap to bind his fingers together.In 1897 after successful tours he was presented with a shield recognising him as world champion.

George Hardy Johnstone was born at pertlethen,Kincardineshire on 23rd September 1864 and was champion of Scotland throughout the 1890,s.Among the highlights of his career were appearances at the Paris Exibition in 1899 and the World Fair in Chicago.His speciality was hammer throwing and in this he was seldom beaten,his best being close to the 120 foot mark, which was a world record in those days. At one stage in his career he appeared with Donald Dinnie in a strong man act where his physique was shown to advantage.George was one of the Scots who won the first ever international team physique contest in France.He stood 6 feet 1 inch in his bare feet,weighing 15 stones at the age of 26,and later increasing to 230ibs as he grew older.His chest stretched the tape to 43 ½ inches,thighs 24 ½ inches,calves 16 ½ and biceps 14 ½ inches.

The difference in living conditions of those days is emphasised by the fact that he began work at the age of nine and had to get up at 4 a.m. He worked until 9 or 10 p.m.and hardly earned enough to keep himself alive.

In spite of this tough regime he won his first athletic prize at the age of sixteen and was local champion at eighteen.He still competed well into his forties and in 1904 when hitting the forty mark he toured Australia with A.A.Cameron,performing with great credit.

Except for summer months when he attended the games,George Johnstone was employed as a water bailiff on the River Earn near Auchterarder in Perthshire.

James Morrison won the heavyweight championships of Scotland at Dumblair Games in 1901 where the championships were generally held.In actual fact there was a second championship that year, at Abington where Johnstone was the winner ,but the Dumblair version was more widely accepted so it was the Glasgow policeman,Morrison, who had his name entered in the roll of honour.

James Morrison was born at Dumbartonshire Contabulary at the age of twenty and in 1897 joined the Partick Police Force.The following year was the first season he competed regularly and from then on several years he generally took second place to G.H.Johnstone.

For those who like to know how the champions shaped up,Morrison stood 6 feet in height and weighed around 16 stones in good condition. His chest was 45 inches but his legs were quite outstanding with 26 ½ inch thighs and 18inch calves.

Alexander Anthony Cameron. Next on the scene was another of the all time greats - the phenomenal A.A.Cameron,the Mighty Muccomber.

Alexander Anthony Cameron was indubitably the greatest heavy of his time.He dominated the heavies from thr turn of the century until the 1914-1918 war many of Dinnie,s and Johnstone,s records fell befor the onslaught of the strong man from Inverness-shire. A native of Dochanassie,Cameron was a true Highlander in every respect and although he did his share of travelling and sampled the bright lights of the entertainment world he preferred his native land.Farming meant more to Cameron than Anything else and it is a farmer that his friends Knew him best.Indeed to this day the good folks of Fort William refer to him as “Muccomber”,following the old Highland custom of naming a person the property he owns.As well as a farmer and professional athlete A.A.,C. was for a time a member of the Paetick Police Force and being over 6 feet 1 inch in height and 17 stones of muscular bodyweight ,a better upholder of law and order would be hard to find.There were times,however when he would have appeared to be on a hairline between lawful and lawless.At a fair ground in Aberdeen for instance he pulled the handle off a grip machine intended for testing the strength of lesser men than himself.At Turriff Games he proved “grippy”in quite a different way for he was the leader of a strike for better cash prizes.The athletes on this occasion refused to compete unless the prize money was raised.

Alex was a natural strong man,he came of hardy stock who had been tillers of the soil for generations. His father was quite a small man but his mother was a MacMillian,a clan renowned for their great strength and fine physiques.One of A.A.,s MacMillian ancestors was casting peat one day when the horse and cart got well and truly in the bog.The horse stryggled and strained but its efforts only succeeded in getting it more firmly embedded in the peat.Muttering at the horse he loosened the harness, freed the animal and practically heaved the terrified horse out of the bog and on to firmer ground. Going back to the cart he carefully selected footholes and after a titanic struggle he finally pulled the cart back on to the track.Perspiring and panting he gently patted the horse,s neck.”I dinna wonder you couldent pull it oot,horse”he puffed,”It was a struggle even for me.”

From such stock came the Lochaber athlete and he rarely indulged in proper training.The best training ,he maintained,was swinging a scythe and he could work day after day at this task. This was an exercise Cameron enjoyed until the hour of his death for he died as he was happily cutting grass in front of his cottage on the Letterfinlay eastate at Spean Bridge.

The tales of Sandy Cameron reached the ears of English entrepreneurs who immediately made tempting offers to entice Cameron to their stages.The era of the strong man was at its height and Sandow,Cyr,the Saxon Brothers and many others were commanding huge salaries.The modest country lad was reluctant to leave his native heath but decided life in front of the footlights was at least worth trying .He didn,t stay long.The greensward,he felt,was the place for him to demonstrate his strength and those who wished to do battle with him could meet him there,and although such notables such as C.B.Cochrane and George Hackenschmidt the great wrestler made attractive offers,he simply refused point blank.Hackenschimidt,The Russian Lion ,who once wrestled Muccomber was particularly impressed with the Scot.He described him as the strongest man he had ever handled and went into a bout and left him to think over a particularly good offer to go on tour with Hackenschmidt,s team,Returning to the dressing room after the contest the Russian again brought up the subject of the tour.”You ,ll be going Itake it ,”said Hack,never dreaming for a minute that anyone would turn down such a good chance .”Aye,Ill be going,”answered Cameron ,adjusting his bowler hat.”Back to Lochabour ,”And matching his words he picked up his umbrella and made for the door..

At the Highland games,the Highland Adonis displayed similar determination and confidence Often he would only take his first attempt in an event and leave the remainder of the heavies to battle it out for second and third places.On one occasion he got a particularly good throw of the hammer and J.J.Miller who was judging the competition complimented him on his efforts.”You,re good for another five feet” Miller said encouragingly.”Na ,na “replied Cameron.”If I do that they,ll expect it every time.”

In the late 1900,s he toured Australia and New Zealand and later was a great success on a sensational tour which took him as far as Russia.Although best Known for his feats in the heavy events Muccomber was extremely agile and actully established a record on the standing high jump with a leap of 4 feet 11 inches in a competition against Marsh, a great American jumper.No mean feat for 17 stone man mountain.A.A.Cameron retained his strength and fine physique to the very end .He was a popular judge at the games and officiated right up to the year of his death.Just a few weeks beef he died he attended Glenfinnan Games where he was seen talking to the athletes in the Gaelic and shaking hands with friends.A handshake from A.A.incidentally was described as a “shattering experience”

Although this great athlete finally passed the last tape on 18th September 1951,at the age of 76,his memory will be evergreen in the minds of Scottish strength lovers and admirers of the virile Highland character.His championship belt and several photographs are still to be seen in the museum at Fort William.

Jim Maitland of Deskford and Cullen was at his best in the nineteen twenties beating many of the top liners as far back as 1923 when he was first with the hammmers at Aboyne doing 16 feet 8 inches and 90 feet 10 inches respectively..Later he broke A.A.Cameron,s record doing 121 feet 3 ½ inches and 93 feet.He was still tacking prizes in the early thirties,last featuring on the Abonye lists in 1932 , when he was some forty years of age. The opposition included really tough men like George Clark,A.J.Stuart,George Mitchell,Jim Anderson,Ed Anderson and Bob Shaw all vying for honours.The following year Jim went into the hotel business in Whitehills and this made it impossible to continue at the games.Jim was the first to set high standard indoor records for throwing events he did in England and Scotland. In 1928 the enterprising management of the London Coliseum in St Martin,s Lane ,organised a spectacular indoor Highland Games as a stage production.Befor packed houses,the cream of Scotland,s gatherings performed their traditional activities,On the huge revolving stage J.Edwards of Falkirk,Scotland,s champion sprinter and jumper appeared with Jim Black of Kinlochleven,winner of the Cowal jumping championships of 1927-28,W.Livingstone of Aberdeen and W.S.Keith of Edinburgh. In the heavy events Jim Maitland and Bob Starkey led against Jock Nicholson and Hector MacGregor of Spean Bridge.Thay had a full programme of events,iincluding throwing the 56Ib weight for height and caber tossing with a 15 foot caber reputed to weigh 2 ½ hundredweight.Using a round 56Ib weight,Jim cleared the bar at 15 feet to establish a new record.

The Banffshire athlete took up athletics in the army when he was serving with the Gordon Highlanders.As a team mate of the great Harold Abrahams,he represented the army at Stamford Bridge in 1918 where the high jump was his best event.His best at the high jump was 5 feet 10 inches which was very good for a heavy. Jim collected a houseful of trophies ,many of which are still on show at the Seafild Arms Hotel Whithills,Banffshire,where his son is host .He had about sixty gold medals at one time but gave most of them away to American and Canadian servicemen who visited him during the war.

Big Ed Anderson of Dundee had a long and illustrious career in the Highland games circuit.Born at Invergowrie,Perthshire and raised in Monifeith,he competed in local gammes only between 1919 and 1923.Later he extended his sphere of influence and won thousands of prizes in both cash and trophies.When his competition days were over,he became a popular judge at leading gatherings.His first proper recognition as undisputed champion came in 1928 when he won the world championship in Crieff by beating all comers.Bob Starkey was the runner up in this event.

Although George Clark drew ahead of him in the thirties in 1957 after 32 ½ years service in which he had been idolised by those who worked with or under him.Anderson,s brothers Stewart and Jim were also keen Highland gamesmen and Jim was particularly good,becoming one of Britain's,s leading professional wrestlers of the 1930,s. Ed appeared in the film Sixty Glorious Years in which Anna Neagle starred as Queen Victoria.the caber tossing sequences at Breamar Gathering were extremely well done.He died on 9th April 1966 at the age of 63.

George Clark began competing at Highland games in 1924 and although he was but a stripling compared with Starkey,Maitland,Nicholson,Graham and soon he was classed as a formidable opponent.This Banffshire family,but was for a time a policeman like his brothers James and John.was a good hammer thrower, although not up to the standerd of George,and James too was an enthusiastic athlete .As he grew to a well-muscled heavyweight,George quickly drew ahead of the others until he was 6 feet 1 ½ inches in height and 17 stones in weight with a chest which approached 50 inches when expanded. He had his favourite events, but he did so well in all of them that it is difficult to say which was his best.His personal preference was weight throwing for distance and for height,and at gatherings throughout Scotland he left his mark and with monotonous regularity his name appeared in the lists. At Aboyne,where the green is level and officials are meticulous in their duties,Clark did 39 feet 6 inches throwing the 56Ib weight.A terrific distance to hurl a solid half hundredweight chunk of iron.With the 28Ib weight in 1934 he made his mark at 76 feet 4 inches,about 12 feet further than the winning distance of 1957. There were some great battles when George Clark and Ed Anderson met in throwing the 56Ib weight for height .Both could toss the weight over 15 feet in the air and a clash between these two was worth going a long way to see.

Clark was one of the best-ever Cumberland wrestlers,and was a worthy successor to such champions as Tom Grahamm and big Jock Nicholson.He excelled at Catch as Catch Can and free style wrestling too and travelled to distant lands seeking opponents.

In 1937 Clark was touring America and on this visit he met and defeated Danno O,Mahoney the great world champion who invented the deadly throw known as “The Irish Whip.” O.Mahoney was a man of terrific natural strength and had victories over most of the world,s leading mat men .Indeed Danno had won the Championship from Jim Londos, the Golden Greek,generally acknowledged to be the best wrestler ever to enter the padded square.

Wreastling in America in the late 1930,s was extremely popular but the organisation and administration of championships seemed pretty chaotic.However these things didnt,t matter to Clark,and once he got inside the ropes there was no doubt that he proved his worth in no uncertain fashion.He became a great favourite with the crowds,for if his opponent was an orthodox wrestler,George would match skill with skill and produce every throw and lock in the book.Aye ,and a few that arte not in the text-book!

When the occasion demanded it he could mix it with the worst of them and outbrawl any rough-neck wrestler who tried to upset his usual scientific approach.

When our Highland games team toured America and Canada in 1964 the ex-world wrestling champion,Yvon Robert ,came back-stage to see us and ask if we knew George Clark. He told us that Clark was one of the best wrestlers ever to visit America.

Naturally Clark had great successes in Britain as a wrestler,but he preferred the sport in its natural outdoor setting rather than in a crowded hall with excited spectators clamouring for blood-anybody,s -blood -even the referee,s.

Caber tossing was one of Clark,s outstanding events and in 1951 at a time when folk were beginning to think that George should soon be retiring,he mastered the famous “untossable Braemar caber.”In fact he performed this outstanding feat three times in all,just to show it wasn,t a fluke.

For this prodigious demonstration of strength and skill George Clark received special congratulations from the King and Queen,and from the organising Committee a £10 award for being the first man ever to toss this massive “stick.” George Clark inspired many athletes,including Bill Anderson,and his name is already linked with those of Donald Dinnie and A.A.Cameron,as a worthy son of Scotland.

Bob Shaw

Ed Anderson and George Clark were the main stars of the 1930,s but in 1937 into the limelight came Bob Shaw of Ballater, a charming man who in later years became one of the leading judges of the heavy events in the north east.Always a great sportsmman, dignified in defeat and generous when a winner,Bob,s fair judging of competitions has long been appreciated by athletes and sportsmen alike, The war years left another gap in lists but after things settled down again the championships became an annual event and the records are easier to compile.

Jack Hunter

In the years 1950-52 big Jack Hunter, a protégé of George Clark,was the official champion.Jack was the biggest champion of all time.He was always a bit shy of telling people his height but I am certain that he was at least 6 feet 6 inches , Jack ,who was brought up in the Echt and Dunecht district some ten miles from Aberdeen ,was an extremely handsome and well developed athlete .I understand he married George Clark,s sister and this was a bond between the two,although on the field they were the keenest of rivals.

Ewen Cameron of Lochearhead ,born 1927,won the Scottish Championship in 1953.Another huge man,he came out of the navy and had a very useful run of victories over much better known athletes, At the time when he was taking over 100 first prizes during a season .Ewen stood almost 6 feet 5 inches in height but did not look anything like this as he was 22 stones in weight, with a 53 inch chest, 16 inch biceps and 36 inch thighs,Remotely related to the great A.A.Cameron he was ,like his predecessor , a very good wrestler and for a long time was unbeaten,On one occasion he even beat the British Cumberland style champion, which is no mean feat,for it took a lot then,as now to “coup”the lads from the north of England. On one occasion Ewen packed up his caber and went off on his own to Denmark to appear beef 30,000 spectators proving ,as always,a wonderful ambassador for Scotland. After retiring from athletics Ewen took to promoting water ski-ing at his Lochearnhead hotel and had a sheep farm .

Henry Gray

In 1954 it was Henry (Sandy)Gray,s turn to take the major title. He began practising in 1948 and soon gained a very good reputation locally.At that time he worked with his father at East Eninteer on Lord Semple,s Estate and one day when the Lady asked why he did not compete at the games Henry replied that he hadn,t a kilt. “We,ll soon fix that,” he was told.True to her word the kilt arrived and Henry turned professional at the age of twenty in 1949 . Although his favourite event was hammer throwing he was most successful at throwing the 56 Ib weight for height and caber tossing, taking many first prizes at the biggest competition's against opposition ranging from Clark to Anderson and Ropwe.In my opinion Henry Gray had the strongest hands in Britian, perhaps even in Europe, during the 1950,s Ifound this to my cost when in 1954 he took £20 from us for carrying one of the Dinnie stones weighing approximately 336 Ibs round the stage of the Music Hall in Aberdeen with one hand.Later he lifted the so-called unliftable Thomas Inch dumbell,a feat which had defied the world,s strongest men for more than half a century. Henry competed in to his 40,s and was one of the nicest man you would ever meet ,very quiet man ,After competing Henry became a leading judge on the games circuit and is still judging

John Mclellan

In 1955 the Scottish title went Jhon McLellan of Alness and in 1956-57 , To meet John MacLan you had to venture deep into a Highland Glen,though the rugged mountains and woods of bonnie Glensthrathfarrar.Standing 6 feet 3 inches and weighing 16 ½ stones in his prime,John was the best hammer thrower that had ever been seen up until that time.He was in fact credited with the World record for throwing the wooden shaft hammer.He did 129 feet act Pitlochry in 1938 with the 16 Ib hammer and 102 feet 6 ½ inches with the 22Ib hammer. In 1947 he added 1 ½ inches to this with the 16Ib hammer and did 103 feet 9 ½ inches with the heavy hammer. John competed until the early nineteen sixties when he was nearly fifty years of age.

Sandy Sutherland born in 1930 ,blond ,good- looking Sandy Sutherland was probably the quietest of the strong silent men who abound in the Highland games,He began competing at twenty years of age and gradually rose to the top and stayed amongst the prizewinners for many years.His attractive German wife Lindie,was quite a good runner and his son ,David was a fine schoolboy athlete.Apart from his athletic interests Sandy has a passion for guns and loves stalking deer.In 1967 Sandy had a very unpleasant experience when at Invergordon Games , he felled two officials with the 16Ib hammer. Jock Macdonald and Ian Gunn were busy making sure that none of the 3700 spectators were in danger of being hit by flying cabers or hammers but they themselves got in the way of Sany,s throw. Women fainted as the hammer head broke Jock,s arm and hit Mr Gunn,s head which required fifteen stitches in hospital. Hammer throwing provided the highlight of Sandy,s career when he threw the light hammer 141 feet at Lochinver. At the start of the 1947 season a tall, handsome young athlete nervously prepared for the light events at the games.It was his first season and suffered from “Butterflies”in his stomach, As he fumbled to remove his track suit trousers, his thoughts were rudely interrupted by the merry roar from the crowd,In his haste to get ready he had taken his running shorts down to his ankles.Although he had recorded a hundred yard dash in less than even time Jay Scott swears that on this occasion he moved faster than ever beef, Sandy now in his 70,s is still judging at games in the north of Scotland and has always a handshake and a smile when you meet him ,and still keeps a strong interest in the his beloved sport

Jay Scott

Jay was the youngest of the two Scott brothers who grew up on Inchmurrin,a lovely island on Loch Lomand. The brothers were born in Ayrshire in 1926 and 1930 respectively, and in their boyhood,when attending Kiel School at Dumbarton , they showed little sign of the athletic greatness they were later to display.Both were quite small and although they played rugby they were not outstanding. Working on the island ,however agreed with them and they grew into powerful men,rugged and tanned,wearing shorts or kilts all year round regardless of the weather.Heavy farm work , building , cutting trees and rowing on the loch built tough strong muscles and soon Tom was topping 6 feet 2 ½ inches and young Jay was not far behind him.At 14 stone neither carried an ounce of superfluous weight and tailors found it difficult to belive their tapes when they registered a chest measurement of 44 inches and a waist about a dozen inches less. Tom and Jay began their professional careers at Luss Highland Games - Tom in 1947 and Jay a year later.At first the light events were favoured, but later both joined the heavies and competed with success.

Jack of all trades, master of none” certainly dose not apply to either of the Scotts. Both broke records at more than one event it is safe to say that Jay was the best all round heavy and light event athlete of his era. His performance could hardly be equalled by any one person competing under the conditions prevailing at the games,where all events are run within record. Nobody , to my knowledge, has ever exceeded his record of 51 feet 11 inches at the hop, hop and jump his 48 feet 10 inches in the more accepted hop, step and jump is also a fine effort. The hundred yards done in 9-8 seconds on undulating ground also takes a bit of beating. He came third in the famous Powderhall Sprint, a handicap race,and was back marker in the finals on another occasion.He pole-vaulted 11 feet 5 inches at many gatherings, threw the 56ib weight 34 feet, tossed it over a bar at 14 feet 1 inch, slung the 28 ib weight a full 73 feet at pitlochry and putt the shot at 47 feet 3 inches. With the stone his distance is 44 feet 5 inches. In 1957 he began hammer throwing and caber tossing at the games and within one season did 110 feet with the hammer and won several prizes on the caber.

Although the island of Inchmurrin is small and quiet, adventure is not lacking.It is such a well -known beauty spot that hundreds of holidaymakers pass the island in cabin launches, canoes, rowing boats and sometimes small dinghies. Loch Lomond can be quite treacherous and more than a score of these holidaymakers have been rescued from drowning by the speedy action and pluck of the two brothers.In addition they have rescued many more who have been marooned in boats or on adjacent islands-quite a serious predicament in a loch 21 miles long. Jay was at the top for several years but actually only won the Scottish Championship once.This was in 1958

Bill Anderson

It is difficult to imagine anyone eclipsing the records of Donald Dinnie , A.A,Cameron and George Clark in various specialities but this was exactly what Bill Anderson has done .He beat the records of each and everyone,at their own favourite events.His rise to fame was meteoric as I discovered in a rather unfortunate way. In 1958 after years of research. I finished my first small book on Highland Games and, hearing of Bill Anderson of Bucksburn, who trained very near my old home, I popped in to see him train. He was, however, hard at work on his farther’s farm so I did not have a chance to judge for myself. Since he didn’t hold any records and his athletic rivals were not at all worried abut this newcomer I decided not to include any reference to him.

As it turned out the book was delayed because of a printer’s strike and by the time it was in the shops, Bill had a whole series of records to his credit. He took the championship in 1959, ’60, ’61, ’62, shared with Arthur Rowe in 1963, took it back in ’67 and ’68, shared it again in ’69 and was top again in ’70, ’72, and ’73. Undoubtedly the greatest Scottish heavy of all time.

I remember the first time I saw him in action how impressed I was, particularly with his hammer throwing. He was not long out of the services, where he had been awarded many trophies for hammer throwing and shot putting, and had tried his hand at boxing too. On this first occasion watching him at Lochearnhead Games I was amazed at the controlled wind up for his first throw but he disrupted the competition completely for his effort added seven feet to the existing record and split the hammer head in two. It was ages before they could bring in another hammer. As Ewen Cameron remarked on that occasion“Anderson dosen’t just break records, he murders them.”

The similarities between the background of Dinnie and Anderson are tremendous. Both came from the north east,. Dinnie was born in 1837, Anderson exactly 100 years later. Both came from very large families, Bill has nine brothers and two sisters, a real exception at the time. Both became interested in Athletics at the same age of 15. Dinnie turned professional at 16 while Bill first competed at Alford when he was 17. Both Dinnie and Anderson went into the building trade and both became globetrotters visiting identical places on the other side of the world.

With improved communication Bill was able to extend his travels somewhat more than his predecessor and competed first in Aden and Kenya then America, Canada, the Bahamas, Seden, Gotland, Nova Scotia, Australia and Japan. On one occasion he went to Hawaii as well.

I have been in many of these places with Bill and had a chance to observe his athletic and personal characteristics. With all honesty I can say that in a lifetime of sport he is one of the most respected competitors I have ever known. His rivals, team-mates, spectators and sponsors- each and everyone- admire his dedication, honesty and 100% effort he puts into all he does.

It is not always easy organising Scottish events in far away places, in Tokyo, for example, but I know Bill Anderson can be relied upon to assist in as many way possible and this is shown in so many ways. The example he has set in punctuality and demeanour has made him and his colleagues great ambassadors for Scotland

On one incident, reflecting the esteem in which he is held by other athletes, took place in 1969 when he had just done what was virtually a round-the world tour. We had over seventeen hours in planes going via Alaska over the North Pole to Japan and were returning via Honolulu and San Francisco when, upset by the time changes and upheavals to the circadian rhythms, one of our heavies became seriously ill. Quite demented he rejected all his friends and colleagues except Bill Anderson. Bill was one to whom he looked for support and comfort, and got it unhesitatingly. While the rest of the party went sight seeing, Bill, who hadn’t slept for nights, stayed with the poor chap and saw him safely into hospital and didn’t leave untill it was time to catch the plane back to Scotland

I was hard for me to visualise this kind-hearted giant as the tough as steel fighter I had seen, just three days earlier, hurl a 26 stone Japanese Sumo champion to the ground.

Our games at Toshimaen were attended by some 40,000 people including Japanese Princesses and a British Prince and after the competitions were over I arranged a visit to the famous Sumo school of Grand Champion Wakanohana, holder of the Emperor’s Cup. It was quite an honour for us, as the Sumo exponents were not keen on being watched at practice. After their workout the biggest man in the school, a rather arrogant, squash nosed wrestler, challenged our heavies to meet them I combat. Charlie Simpson sportingly jumped at the chance and was downed without delay.

It was suggested they try Cumberland style, which is similar in many ways to Sumo wrestling, and to the amazement of all the Japanese, Bill, who wasn’t keen to wrestle, stood up to the onslaught and then “couped” the Jap with a bonnie hank, a favourite throw at the games. The huge Japanese was very embarrassed to lose face like this so it was agreed that Bill would meet him Sumo style. The Oriental launched himself at the Scot like a bullet from a gun but Bill stood feet wide apart and didn’t budge. In fact he fought back and heaved to get his opponent off the ground.

Later he explained “I kept lifting the outside but the mannie inside kept his feet on the ground.” The huge layers of flesh of the Sumo wrestler, just raised with him but he couldn’t get the man mountain off the ground. The Jap got a bit desperate and started pulling at Bill’s kilt which started to give way and at that stage Wakanohana stopped the bout. It wasn’t Bill’s first match with a Jap for I 1964 while we were in Canada he beat a Japanese Judo expert before 6,000 spectators at the Maple Leaf Garden, Toronto, as part of a show “The Wonderful World of Sport” with which we toured all over Canada and America.

Wrestling however is the event which Bill likes least of all as there is always the danger of pulled muscles, which would mean a lay off from other competitions. Hammer throwing is his forte and he has made this a science which has been copied by many others with great success, resulting in a fantastic improvement in the general standard.

Anderson won the very first World Caber Tossing Championship, a competition which took place on the little island of Gotland, off the Swedish coast, where caber tossing has long been practised. They call it “Stangstortning” and it is a feature of their annual island games, the Stangaspeilen. These modern Vikings are fine athletes and worthy opponents to our Scottish champions-indeed Erik Hedin, Gosta Jacobsen and their contemporaries thoroughly enjoy meeting our men in contests in Sweden and Scotland

Bill is a big man in every way-but so proportionately built that we have won bets on people guessing his height. His very broad shoulders and 50 inch chest make him look quite squat but he is 6 feet 2 inches and often weighs as much as 280lbs in good throwing condition. His flexed biceps stretch the tape to 17 inches and his thighs are as thick as many a man’s waist.

From 1959 until 1962 Bill Anderson was invincible and while his performances attracted a lot of attention it was just possible that his great superiority could have killed interest in heavy events as the results were foregone conclusions.

Suddenly at the end of the 1962 season something happened which changed the whole scene and gave Scottish Highland games a real shot in the arm. Arthur Rowe had arrived.

Arthur Rowe

In 1961 Aberdeen launched a new series of Highland games in the beautiful setting at Hazlehead .A.D.Winning ,the parks Superintendent ,invited me to co-operate as a consultant and announcer and with our colleagues on an energetic committee many ideas were discussed to improve the Aberdeen Games.

At one of the meetings,Frank Blair,the light events convener,and a former athlete,suggested that Arthur Rowe,the Olympic athlete who had just turned professional,be invited to the 1962 games.To cut a long story short,Iwrote to Arthur and told him about the games and hoped he could attend.Unfortunatley he was a few days late for Aberdeen Games which were held on Saturday 1st September and so Arthur made his debut at Abonye on the 6th September .  To say he caused quite a stir was an undersatement.There he was,world famous in several sporting spheres and itching to compete but the “only kilties can play”rule prevented his appearance.

Charlie Simpson ,the jovial heavy from Caithness,came to Rowe,s rescue lending him a kilt .

Donning his borrowed Kilt,Rowe stormed into the arena to match Anderson,the local hero.In spite of the fact that he was Eurpean record holder in shot putting and was known as a great all rounder of Olympic calibre,Rowe found in this north east Hercules an opponent greater than any he had met in the amateur arena. It was a very different proposition throwing a big stone to heaving a compact metal shot and,as at Braemar next day ,Bill was pushing him at his favourite events.  It was a sensational debut as both Rowe and Anderson passed the old putting records by considerable distances..Arthur,s16ib putt was absolutely sensational for he did 56 feet 5.3/4 inches beating the old record by 8 feet 10.1/2 inches .The merit of these feats can be appreciated knowing that Bill Anderson,s efforts of the previous year had broken records which had been held by Charles McLean for fifty four years and the 22ib stone record had been held by A.A.Cameron since 1904.

Rowe the big blacksmith from Barnsley,did not confine his activities to heavy events.On seeing that Anderson was to beat him for the all round heavy title,the Dinnie Trophy and the Dyce Nicol Gold Medal ,Arther decided to enter the long jump and finished fourth,but it was enough to give him the score he needed to place ahead of Bob Aitken of Auchinblae by a half point.This gave him the Cheiftain,s Challenge Trophy as the best competitor in both light and heavy events.  After that day Rowe never looked back and the intense but friendly rivalry between him and Bill added a new dimension to Highland Games and brought great crowds to the gatherings all over Scotland off the field ,the two rivals are good friends and enjoy a beer together and have been known to work together- in lifting a reporter,s car out of a muddy ditch.

Rowe showed Scottish athletes that scientific training was extremely important ,for by building his basic power by weight-training he was very soon able to master all the traditional Highland events.He diden,t only throw in summer ,he worked the whole winter through,rain or shine,until he had blisters on his blisters and muscles in places where other people didnt,t even have places.It dosen,t matter where he is, Arthur finds a place to train and shows the locals how to train really hard.His first appearance at the Spartan Club in Aberdeen amazed the tough weight-lifters there for by the end of the evening there was a little puddle of sweat at his feet.  Arthur likes to claim some Scottish ancestors but his memory seems a bit hazy.On one occasion he was looking for a Mac Travis Kilt as his mother was a Travis from Portobello. Another time he told a reporter that his mother was from Paisley and once when I questioned him on this he told me his parents once had a lodger from Scotland and that was about the nearest connection he could find. I doubt if we will ever know which is true ,he enjoys a wee joke ,dose Arthur.  As an amateur Arthur was British Champion from 1956-1962 and became European,Empire,Commonwealth,United Kingdom,National and all comers shot putting champion and record holder.He broke a British weight-lifting record and won the only Mr Adonis competition he ever entered .Geoff Dyson , the great coach described him as Britain,s strongest and fittest.

Iwas a manager/coach in the Scottish team at the Empire Games in 1958 when Arthur took the shot putting Gold Medal.We were very impressed with him.At 21 years of age he was 6 feet 1 inch and weighed 14 stones 13ibs.By the time he was at the top as a professional in Scotland he topped 17 stones.  Always a hell raiser,Rowe was one of the most controversial amateurs ever to putt a shot.Instead of appearing at important a.a.a. meetings he would go to minor meetings and ,contrary to all amateur rules ,often took back-handers for appearances.  When rowe was only ten years old he won a 17.1/2p voucher for swimming .Aborn professional, he cashed the voucher and went to the pictures.   Later he became one of the best paid British amateurs,collecting up to £25-£30 for attending athletic events “maybe if you have gone to Eton or Oxford you can afford to turn down such offers,”Arthur once said ,”but if like me ,you haven't the “brass” you take back-handers”  A man like Arthur can see little use for scores of trophies dozens of clocks,beer tankards , barometers,watches,coffee percolators,canteens of cutlery,tea services,musical boxes and so on.He would rather have hard cash,so he raffled or sold most of his prizes and the day after he put the European record up to 64 feet 3 inches he signed for Oldham,s Rugby League team .It got Arthur a new house,a new car and some cash in the bank,his professional career was under way. His time on the rugger field was short lived.Highland games became his favourite activity and although he has taken a lot out of games ,he made a fantastic contribution.