When David McCutcheon wandered into Rutherglen Library the last thing he expected to see was an old football cup that he and his team won back in 1975.

Back then David, who was brought up in Fernhill, was the 12-year-old captain of Spittal Primary’s Junior Football team.

The team defeated St Columbkilles 3-2 to win the Burgh Cup for the first time in many years.

But the unexpected victors never raised the Burgh Cup or had their photographs taken with it. The team got their individual medals but they never picked up the trophy on the day.

David, who now lives in Cambuslang, said: “The cup was taken away at the end of the game to be engraved - so we were told. But we never saw the trophy again. We never even got a photo with the cup.”

So, when David saw the cup in the library he decided to try and make amends. He managed to get in touch with a few of his old teammates and got in touch with South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture’s Museum service to see if they could get their picture taken with the cup after a wait of almost 40 years. 

Through National Sporting Heritage grant funding the museum team based at Low Parks Museum had been able to upgrade the temporary display at Rutherglen Library to further highlight the historic Burgh Cup, which had been played for by junior teams since 1910.

So, the museum staff were delighted to invite David and a few of his old team together to finally raise the trophy.

And now, the display has been enhanced with the opportunity for the local community to feed into the collection’s info held relating to the cup and the competition.

Assistant Museums Officer Aileen Anderson said: “Displaying the historic trophy locally celebrates junior football and its significance within our sporting heritage.

“Importantly, it underlines the origins of so many of today’s professional players while cherishing and recording the significant legacy of the local stories which surround our sporting collections.”

The competition was reestablished in 2018 and is now The Bobby Murdoch Primary School Memorial Cup, after the local sporting legend who himself once held The Burgh Cup aloft.

The Burgh Cup (formerly Givens Cup dating back to the 1890’s) remains on display in Rutherglen Library.