Two days after a chastening defeat at home to Blackpool, Bill Murray brought his charges north of the border to commemorate and celebrate a man who had left a lasting impression on the people and supporters of both St Mirren Football Club and Sunderland Association Football Club.
Andy Reid was honoured with a thoroughly deserved benefit match between the two clubs, who owed much to the lasting legacy he had left at both. As a player, Reid made over 260 appearances for St Mirren before moving into
coaching at the club under the stewardship of Johnny Cochrane.
If Reid’s reputation wasn’t enhanced enough by his playing days, the pair’s success in beating Celtic in the 1926 Scottish Cup Final is the stuff of legend around Paisley and further etched his name into the record books of the club. It was St Mirren’s first Scottish Cup triumph and certainly ensured that other clubs began to take notice of Cochrane and his trainer, Reid.
When Sunderland came calling in 1929, the duo surely could not have foreseen the rollercoaster years that were to follow them. Whilst it is clearly imperative to mention the Division One success in 1936, it is equally important to remember that Reid would have been present during the tragic passing of Jimmy Thorpe, Sunderland’s goalkeeper for the majority of that season.
The emotional rollercoaster that this must have been is difficult to imagine, but it makes Sunderland’s FA Cup success the following year all the more extraordinary for a team that had gone through so much together. Evidently, Reid was an excellent coach and, alongside Cochrane as manager, was able to get the best out of his players.
In fact, a British Pathé film now held by Newcastle University’s Co-Curate archive shows Reid in a film titled Famous Football Teams in Training No. 2 — Sunderland (1934), with the Sunderland trainer featuring alongside Cochrane and the players during a training session.
The pair left Sunderland in March 1939, with Reid eventually returning to coach at St Mirren during the Second World War before retiring in 1950.
On this day, Reid was honoured with a testimonial between the two clubs that would have been so close to his heart.
Reports state that Sunderland raced into a 3-0 lead within fifty minutes, with Jack Stelling scoring two penalties along the way. In a wonderfully dramatic finish for Reid, his ‘other’ side scored three goals in the final nine minutes to snatch a draw, with the Daily Record making no bones about where his loyalties probably lay when they stated:
“St. Mirren veteran Andy Reid must have been proud of the boys in his benefit game last night.”
It was a fitting ending for a man who had contributed so much to the history of both clubs. And it is extremely telling that, almost eighty years later, his name is still fondly associated with both St Mirren and Sunderland for the contribution he made to each.
For one evening at least, the two clubs he had served so loyally came together to celebrate the life and career of a man who had left an indelible mark on both.
