Remembering the ‘flame-haired terrier’ from Inverness who graced north football with Caley and Nairn County in the 1960s and ‘70s
A gentleman off the field. A flame-haired terrier on it.
Those who remember George Stapleton, the former Nairn County and Caley sweeper of the 1960s and 1970s, tend to first recall the gentle, friendly side of his nature.
Once he crossed the white line on match days, though, there was often a transformation.
In a distinguished Highland League career, he would prove that modest stature was no barrier to football success, especially with a ferocious appetite for the fray.
There will be much sadness among family, friends and former team-mates as the retired insurance broker and financial advisor is laid to rest at a service in Inverness tomorrow.
As Caley great Peter Corbett recounts vividly, few could rival the athleticism and strength of a diminutive performer of great natural ability.
“When I joined Caley in 1976, George was already there playing under Alec Main’s management. I had a couple of seasons with him. He was a lovely bloke and actually did my mortgage for me,” Peter said.
“I also remember George from my younger years at school football. He stood out in appearance as a red-haired, wee firebrand sweeper - and he was outstanding.
“He didn’t just stick out because of his red hair and the fact he was a wee guy, it was because he was such a clever player - an exceptional reader of the game.
“He was very fair on the park, but a tough wee tackler, a busy dynamo, a terrier. For the size of him, he could get up to some height in the aerial battles.”
A measure of George’s youthful ability came in his selection for the Scottish schools’ under 18s international side.
The Inverness Royal Academy pupil won two caps, against Wales and then England in April and May 1965, scoring against the Auld Enemy.
In those games, he was team-mate to Arthur Duncan (future Hibs and Scotland international) and faced John Toshack (Liverpool and Wales) and David Nish (Derby County and England).
He joined Nairn County in June,1966 and went on to appear in three cup finals in season 1967-68, picking up two runners up gongs but lifting the Qualifying Cup after defeating Fraserburgh 4-2 on aggregate.
The quality of his performances brought him attention from Aberdeen, who reportedly cooled at Nairn’s asking price, but he joined Caledonian in early August, 1970.
His first season at Telford Street brought his only Highland League championship-winning medal, before Highland League Cup and Scottish Qualifying Cup winners’ triumphs the following year.
The chance of a treble eluded him as they lost to Elgin City in a dramatic ding-dong battle in the Bell’s Cup Final.
In 1972/73, Alloa Athletic manager Dan McLindon took George south for trials, but he returned to Caley for the remainder of season, before a November 1973 return to Nairn.
For 1976/77, George returned to Telford Street for the third time and Highland League Cup glory followed in a thrilling 5-4 victory over near-neighbours Inverness Thistle.
The latter spell of his career saw time at Keith as player and manager, at Clachnacuddin as manager, and at Lossiemouth.
In later life, he remained a well-known and popular Invernessian, and keen member of Inverness Golf Club.
A good friend, the journalist David Love, said: “For a man who was not the tallest, he had a giant leap, with an unerring delivery of a pass.
“It made him a formidable opponent.
“Away from the fray, George was simply a nice guy, respected on and off the park by all who met him. I was privileged to know him as a friend.”
A funeral notice said George passed away peacefully at Highland Hospice in Inverness at the age of 77.
It reads: “He was the much-loved husband of the late Christine, father of Julie and Jacqueline, father-in-law to Brian and Paul, adored grandad to Clare Louise, Amy, Paul, Anna and Rachel, dear brother to Aileen and loved by all family and friends.”
The funeral service will be held on Friday, August 30 at 2.30pm with William T Fraser and Son of Culduthel Road, Inverness.
