Tributes to Inverness football legend
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A RENOWNED Inverness footballer of the 1950s and ’60s will be laid to rest today.
David Christie, who died on Friday aged 82, was an uncompromising left-half of great repute who captained all three of the city’s Highland League clubs.
His finest exploits came with Caledonian, with 190 appearances in a Telford Street career stretching from April 1956 to a famous 1963/64 title win.
A Carrbridge farmer who moved north with his family from Errol in Perthshire as a teenager, Mr Christie also had a spell with Elgin City. Married to the late Mary, Mr Christie is survived by children Michaela, Lorraine, Jenny, Julie and Symon and 10 grandchildren.
A nephew of the legendary Rangers manager Scot Symon, local football figures recall a convivial team-mate, who was also ruthlessly competitive and a tough disciplinarian as Caley manager from 1972 to 1974.
Peter Corbett, the former Inverness Thistle and Caledonian player, said: “When I first joined Thistle in 1970, Dave was coming to the end of his playing career.
“He was a no-nonsense left half, one of the old school, but with real ability. It says a lot about him that he played in some great Caley sides, given the quality they had.”
Mr Christie also managed Clach in the latter 1980s amid financial troubles, with his dedication once seeing him single-handedly digging up and re-seeding the Grant Street turf.
Billy Urquhart, the Caledonian striker of the 1970s and ‘80s, said: “As a youngster, I knew all about Dave. He was a great competitor and accomplished player.
“I also have a real vivid memory of his management style being quite strict, Jock Wallace-style! He would always have us running and running, up and down the terracing. In later years, he was always very good company.”
The funeral will be held at 10.30am today at the William T Fraser and Son funeral home in Culduthel Road, with burial at Kilvean Cemetery.
