The Hall of Fame was introduced during the clubs 150th anniversary celebration season in 2023 with 32 Wanderers inducted. The Hall of Fame list will continue to be added to over the coming years.
William McClure was a founding member of the Wanderers FC and was a stalwart and leader through many of the early iterations of the club in its formative years. He was also the captain of the Greenock Cricket Club in 1877 which played a key role in the formation of the club as we know it today.
R. Steele was the club’s first ever recognised Captain.
James Birdie was GWRFC’s first and only non-Scottish international when he was selected to play for Wales in the 1880s.
In 1899 Laurence Harvey became Wanderers’ first-ever international cap when he was selected to play for Scotland against Ireland at Inverleigh in Edinburgh. He also played and scored a try in the Glasgow v Edinburgh district match in 1898.
On 25 January 1908, popular player and committee member Callum McIntyre was
injured whilst playing for the club against Clydesdale at Westbourne Park, which was situated approximately where the Battery Park is nowadays. He suffered accidental neck and back injuries and passed away three days later at the old Greenock Royal Infirmary at Duncan Street. Although from Kinloch in Skye, he is buried within Greenock Cemetery and his memory lives on with a commemorative plaque in his honour still front and centre within the clubhouse.
James Reid-Kerr was the second Wanderers player to play for Scotland in 1909. He was picked for his country to face England at Richmond. Kerr was also selected for the first-ever sanctioned British Isles, or, as they are colloquially known these days, British Lions tour to South Africa in 1910, although he did not play due to injury. He also played cricket for Scotland and served in the Argyll & Sutherland during WW1.
Dr J.B. MacDougall gained two Scottish caps while playing for Wanderers, the first against France in Paris in 1913 and then in 1914 against Ireland in Dublin. MacDougall gained further caps for his country while playing for Wakefield in Yorkshire, where he had moved to continue his work as a doctor, specialising in the treatment of tuberculosis
R.N. Adam was the Wanderers’ Captain for the opening match at Fort Matilda Playing Fields on the 11th of November 1922 against Kelvinside Academicals, setting the stage for what has been over 100 years of rugby at the FMPF.
David Horne was the Youth Convenor of the club for over 10 years. His efforts to make the section both welcoming and fun produced hundreds of children through the ranks, many of whom went on to represent the 1XV.
The oldest living senior committee member of GWRFC at the time of the 150th Anniversary. Was well known for refereeing wearing a blazer.
The Minis section, responsible for producing some of the top talent of our senior sides, was founded in 1982. The mastermind behind it, Jim Blair, put in process the building blocks for many years to come and invented the section which would go on to produce many 1XV players for the club.
Captain of the Wanderers 1XV for the Centenary Match.
Ross Finnie is a dedicated club member, who played for the club during his youth and who served the club in many different guises including treasurer, sponsorship convenor and president. He was also previously a government minister which no doubt helped to fly the GWRFC flag far and wide.
Dr Forster was an iconic figure at Fort Matilda and was a former player, honorary life member and distinguished past president of the club. He also was the distinguished author behind the first book commemorating the first 100 years of GWRFC, commemorating the club’s history into print forevermore.
John is a club member who has ploughed a lifetime of experience back into the
grassroots game in Scotland. Having been involved in the Scottish rugby scene for more than 60 years now, John has fulfilled a number of roles on and off the field, from 1XV Captain to Club President to Referee and every role along the way. John’s involvement with the club transcends the generations, and there is almost nobody at the club who will not know who he is. As well as supporting and leading in roles with the club, John has also been involved in a range of roles as part of the game’s
wider remit. For many years he acted as an official and selector for the now defunct Glasgow and District Union side. He also served as a referee, a spotter, and an assessor for the West of Scotland Referees Society, and he has been part of district and national committees to Scottish Rugby. His contributions to the rugby community have flown the GWRFC flag far and wide.
Eddie joined the club from the Watt College team, making his debut in 1976. His honours come however not from his playing days, but his days as a referee. He first stepped up as a referee for a minor’s game in 1979 and went on to rise up the ranks to eventually referee full international matches from 1996. He also spent time as a television match official for international matches. He also spent many years as a long-standing club treasurer, and now President for the 150th Year.
David is a longstanding club legend, one of only 5 people who have captained the Club
(1988) and also become Club President (2000). He was also the Youth Convenor and Director of Rugby. He has been a longstanding supporter of everything that the club has done and continues to this day to help its growth for the future. He has been keying in assisting with the preparations for the 150th Year and assisted with building and implementing the Club Development Plan which will oversee the growth of the club for many years to come. Often the loudest supporter from the balcony for any team on game day and a true Wanderers Legend
Douglas is a past President, House Convenor and Team Manager of the club and
he is always assisting at the club in any way that he can. He was heavily involved with old and new clubhouses and is even known today to still complete unseen tidying and maintenance work at the clubhouse. He was a Touch Judge for many years and is Chairman of the 150th Anniversary Committee, helping to make this a year to remember for us all.
Club Auditor for years, still refereeing at the club long into his 60’s. Constant club member and has helped run various roles in the club
Max is a well-loved club member and community referee, still refereeing at the club well into his 60’s. He will be 70 this year and is still going strong! Having retired from playing for Jordanhill due to injury, he went on tour with the Wanderers to USA in 1982. For some people, their most remembered (most feared?) memory of Max will be his infamous summer sprint training which often found players halfway up the Lyle Hill wondering why they didn’t pick bowls as their sport. Max was s senior referee in Scotland, representing GWRFC and took charge of taking charge of the first game ever under the lights at Murrayfield and took charge of the Women’s World Cup game
Kazakhstan vs Sweden at Burnbrae. He continues to fly the flag high for referees at GWRFC, now mentoring our new referees coming in the door as part of our Club Development Plan. A true Wanderers legend.
Peter spent 14 years from 2005 welcoming and introducing new players to Greenock Wanderers as the Minis Convenor, as well as helping each player develop as both rugby players and as people. An unanimously liked and admired individual, Pete set the tone for a fun, thriving, and encouraging section which brought up many of the current midi and senior players and coaches through the ranks, retaining them into senior rugby and beyond.
John was President of the club for its last big birthday in 2013, the 140th Year. His contributions to the club did not stop there, and he was also an accomplished coach taking teams all the way from mini rugby to the Colts U18s side. The success of those years can be measured now, as 10 of that side eventually went on to play at top team level for the club and still play today. The highlight of his coaching years was an ambitious tour to Dubai in 2008 when he orchestrated and accompanied a group of Wanderers age group players to the UAE to compete in a youth tournament. The ripple effects of the tour have clearly had a positive impact on the retention of excellent senior players. John was also the driving force behind the introduction of our Rugby Academy, which is still thriving and regularly producing the stars of the club’s future.
Allan is a well-known and liked club loyal, having supported and helped teams of all ages and stages across the years alongside unparalleled commitment to helping the club with its day-to-day tasks. He has been the club’s Social Convenor for many years, a Touch Judge for several seasons and was the President of James Watt College Rugby Club which transferred over to GWRFC helping to further expand the growth of the club in its earlier days. For the last few years, he has been an essential Team Manager of the Women’s teams, having only missed 1 game of theirs in 6 years (and only because it was to Shetland!). A real star and well-loved Wanderer
David McVey had a huge career with the club, beginning his journey in 1984 when he joined the club as a young player. He played first team rugby aged 17 and his outstanding ability ensured that he was courted by top level sides almost immediately. He enjoyed an illustrious career with Wanderers, Ayr, Stirling County and West of Scotland before returning to the Greenock side as player-coach in 1998. Along the way he had represented the Glasgow District side on numerous occasions and won the prestigious Melrose Sevens Trophy with Ayr, but his heart was calling him to his roots at Fort Matilda. Wanderers were in the 5th Division of the old National leagues at the time, and McVey was eager to help the club rise through the ranks. That they did, scorching through the leagues with four promotions in five seasons, including winning the 4th and 3rd Division titles in 2000 and 2002, respectively. After this success, McVey took a break from coaching to focus on raising his twins, but when the club began to struggle, he answered their call for help. McVey relished the
challenge and within months of his return galvanised the club sufficiently to ensure a National Cup Finals Day appearance at Murrayfield. The transformation in the fortunes of the club was quicker than expected. McVey moulded together a strong side that gained promotion and a 2nd Division Championship win in 2010 and got to another Finals Day at Murrayfield in April that year. Their stay in the 1st Division was short as both Wanderers and arch-rivals Lasswade romped through the league in some style and earned promotion to the Scottish Premiership. In total, six promotions, three championship wins, and two Murrayfield Cup Final day appearances is just reward for the dedicated service McVey has given. He was also voted Inverclyde Coach of the Year in 2010. His contributions to the club are immense and there is no doubt that he will be remembered as the greatest and most successful coach Wanderers have ever had.
John played from 1974 to 1998, originally as a prop but then moving to No 8. In the 1977/8 season John captained the Wanderers before stepping up to be Club President from 2017-2020. John was a one club player, but for University in Aberdeen where he played for Aberdeen Grammer School FPs. His efforts to the rugby community however did not stop at Greenock Wanderers, and for a short period he actually helped to find our neighbours at Birkmyre RFC. A well- known and liked club stalwart, John was the deserved winner of the Wanderer of the Decade for the 1983 – 1993 in the recent book on the last 50 years.
Graham, affectionately known to club members as ‘Knoxy’, began his career in the club as a junior. After rising the playing junior ranks to Captain the 1XV in 1997 and the 2XV for three promotion-winning seasons. After hanging up his playing boots, he picked up the whistle and moved on to earn both Refereeing and Coaching honours. He made it to the top echelons of the refereeing game, culminating in handling the IRB World Cup Qualifier in Heidelberg between Germany and Georgia in February 2009. He then moved on to be a successful coach with a vast array of the club’s team’s including successful seasons with the Colts, Senior Men’s 1XV and Senior Women’s 1XV. His work continues today as an active coach and senior member of the club’s management committee, with we are sure much more to follow in the years to come.
Graham joined the club as a player through a well-trodden path, having played his junior rugby at Greenock Academy. A change of location saw him play much of his early rugby for Dundee University and Dundee High School FP, but he showed where his heart lay with regular appearances for Greenock during the holidays. On qualifying as an architect in 2000, Finnie returned to Greenock and rejoined Wanderers where he enjoyed a 10-year 1st XV career. His ability and loyalty were rewarded in 2005 when he was appointed club captain. After hanging up his playing boots he went on to coach the Colts and then become the Head Coach of the Senior 1XV in 2012. He did not stop there, and continues as an active coach, now with the minis age children growing the stars of tomorrow. His professional expertise has also helped the club grow from strength to strength, with Graham being a key contributor to the development of our essential clubhouse and grounds.
Graham played 1st XV rugby for many years and then moved on to start his coaching career. He has principally taken charge of the Men’s 2XV and 3XV and has continued caching them for years, being a consistent force for them in making rugby an enjoyable and fun experience. He has built a fun, encouraging and competitive culture in the reserve teams and has been a supportive coach for many players at a time when they needed him the most. Always smiling and welcoming to everyone at the club, he is a true Wandies legend and has left his fingerprints on the journeys of many of today’s players.
Brendan joined the club as a six-year-old and has never looked back. He went on to captain at every age group, appeared in District and Scotland age grade groups all through the ranks and played senior rugby from the 2006 season until 2022 (although has been known to throw in a cameo or two since then). He went on to be selected for the Scotland Clubs’ side and the Glasgow Warriors “A” team. As a former Rugby Development Officer of the club, he has coached men, women and youth and now is in business facilitating scholarship opportunities in universities in the USA for young rugby talents.
Angela and Craig Marshall aka. Ange & Hatch first got involved with Greenock Wanderers when their son, Tyler, began playing in primary school. Now, more than 15 years later their support of the club continues and is stronger than ever. Between them they often perform the bulk of the unseen work of match days such as cooking and performing essential maintenance to the clubhouse. The contribution they make is beyond anything anyone could expect, and their loyalty, hard work and spirit is truly inspirational and saw them be awarded the SRU’s Volunteers of the Season Award in 2018.
Caitlyn was the mastermind behind the launch of the Women’s Section at GWRFC when she hatched a plan around the kitchen table with her dad, Steven, to start the process of forming a Women’s side. She undertook all the work in recruiting the team’s initial players, coaches and helpers and advocating for the growth of the team at a time where women’s rugby was not as common as it is today. Her efforts were clearly fruitful and set the building blocks for what was to come for the Women’s Section for years to come.
Hannah was one if the Women’s Team’s original founding members, having been at its first ever training session in 2013. Since then, her commitment and dedication to being a one-club player has benefited the Wanderers hugely, being an outstanding player and overall powerhouse behind the growth of the team. Having been captain for not one but two seasons, she was the club’s first ever captain of any gender to lift a National Trophy in 2019. A prolific try-scorer thanks to her unbeatable change of pace, she has won the Top Try Scorer accolade 4 times (and staking a claim for a 5th title this year). Later this season she will become the women’s team’s first ever Centurion, a just reward and recognition for her contributions to the team over these last 10 years.
Kevin is a club member whose contributions span the entire breath of what makes the club what it is. An outstanding half back as a player, he was a key ingredient in many of the club’s hallmark seasons and captaining the 1XV. After finishing his playing days, he went on to play many key roles in the growth of the club, including Minis Convenor and Team Coach where he great the section tremendously and recruiting many new young players who will be the stars of the club for years to come. Not satisfied with that, he went on to be one of the club’s youngest ever Presidents, overseeing wholesale change in the way the club plans which will have a ripple effect for years to come. We are told under good authority that he was the only President to play in his own President Select on Boxing Day! Kevin’s work continues to this current day where he is Vice-President, supporting his dad in his presidency and no doubt taking on all the less glamorous but necessary tasks to keep the club progressing towards its very bright future.
Nominees are inducted into the Hall of Fame on cause shown, with there being no set, definitive criteria but being guided by the following (guiding) principles:
1. Members may be inducted due to significant services to the club or for one-off particularly impactful contributions to the Club.
2. Generally, members should have been continuous members of the Club for at least 10 years (unless being awarded for specific one-off impactful contributions).
3. The award should recognise a varied and exceptional contribution from the member, and not purely related to playing honours (which are recognised through other means) or simply long service (which is recognised through the life membership programme).
4. Nominations will be accepted by application to the committee on cause shown, via a nomination paper and require 20 counter-signatories in addition to the proposer.
If you would like to nominate someone for the Hall of Fame, please fill out the below form.
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