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Jock Stirling: The untimely passing of Alloa's old fox

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A hush fell over the Recs as the Tullibody Pipe Band began to play the Flowers of the Forest. Lined up in front of the stand were the players of Alloa and Stenhousemuir, the home team wearing black armbands in tribute to a fallen comrade. With the club flag at half-mast, fans bowed their heads as the old lament played. S talwart Alloa winger Jock Stirling had played in the previous home game, bringing his usual bag of tricks to torment the King’s Park defen ce in a hard fought local derby. Just two weeks later Stirling was gone. He had been buried in Alva Cemetery on the morning of the match, two days after his death in the Western Infirmary in Glasgow. Alloa players and directors formed part of the funeral cortege on that March 1924 morning, with w reaths coming from Middlesbrough and other clubs that Stirling had served. He had played at the highest level in Scotland and England before coming to Alloa in the autumn of his career and helping to inspire the Wasps to a golden era
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Ain't nobody....

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As Barry Ferguson's new look Wasps struggle to find their feet early in the new campaign, it's hard not to think back five years and the last time Alloa underwent a drastic close season rebuild.  Unlike the current crop, the Jack Ross class of 2016 hit the ground running. Premier League Inverness  were beaten as Alloa started the season by topping their League Cup group. Holders Ross County were then knocked out at the Recs on a night when a 3-2 defeat flattered the men from Dingwall. The Wasps started the league season by thrashing Peterhead 4-0 then going 5-1 up by half-time against Stranraer. With Iain Flannigan, Jordan Kirkpatrick, Kevin Cawley and Greig Spence rampant, Alloa were playing a swashbuckling style rarely seen in the lower leagues of Scottish football. Or indeed in the higher leagues. But the shrewd team builder that is Jack Ross had also ensured his side had a solid base. Andy Graham came in to partner Jason Marr and Scott Taggart took up residence at right bac
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#dotheflanny

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As the name suggests, this blog is pre-occupied with Alloa Athletic greats of the (mostly distant) past. But with a shock announcement this week, a modern day Wasp takes his place beside the Black and Gold legends of yore. Thanks to David Glencross for this picture. It's easy to forget now that Iain Flannigan was something of a slow burner at Alloa. Back when Paul Hartley first signed him in the summer of 2013, we had been spoiled with one of the finest midfield units in the history of the club. Darren Young, Graeme Holmes, Ryan McCord and Mark Docherty - with the likes of Kevin Cawley dropping back to add to the mix -  had inspired the Wasps to the Third Division title in 2011/12. With the addition the following season of Stephen Simmons and latterly Kevin Moon, Alloa had a midfield of a class seen rarely in the lower leagues. It all came together beautifully as 2012/13 reached its climax, promotion effectively clinched in the first leg of the play-off final as Dunfermline w
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The Bauchop Brothers of Sauchie

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Tobias Bauchop's house. Pic from Richard Sutcliffe / Geograph. It was a 17th century master stone mason who first carved out a reputation for the Bauchops of Clackmannanshire. Tobias Bauchop's craftwork was in demand across Scotland and his home, his intials and those of his wife Margaret Lapsley above the door, still stands in Alloa's Kirkgate. Some 200 years later, two more Wee County Bauchops would found fame in Scotland and beyond, but by virtue of their skills with their feet. The story of these footballing Bauchops begins in Sauchie and the birth in 1882 of William, a second son for Jean and Robert. James followed in 1886. The boys found work in old Clackmannanshire industries. The turn of the century finds William as a dishmaker and 14 year old James as a woolen millworker, although like so many Sauchie folk in this era, he would also find his way down a mine. William had also emerged as a flying winger with Sauchie Juniors, where his elder brother Robert was
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