Another wee gem from Richard Evans.
I noticed a photo of Silverdale St on your site and I was wondering if you knew that this is the street where world famous football referee Tom (Tiny ) Wharton grew up. He attended Riverside and was a member of Calton Parish Church on Helenvale St. as well as the bowling club facing where he lived. He started refereeing schools and Juvenile football before moving on to Juniors. It was only when he hit the big time with the seniors that he became 'Tiny Wharton' Tom passed away not too long ago and the last time I saw him was when he was part of the F.I.F.A. organisation suprvising the final of the under 16 World Cup held in Toronto.
From Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia:
Tom "Tiny" Wharton OBE (born 3 November 1927, in Glasgow; died 9 May 2005, in Newton Mearns) was a Scottish football referee in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Universally and ironically known as Tiny, due to his colossal 6'4" frame, he was one of the most iconic and respected officials of his generation.
An engineer by profession, Wharton took up refereeing at the age of 21 and had reached Class I status within 3 years.[1] He refereed a number of important and high profile games during his career, including the Scottish Cup finals of 1961-62, 1962-63, 1965-66 and 1970-71, and the League Cup finals of 1960-61, 1962-63, 1966-67 and 1970-71.
Wharton's prowess was recognised outside Scotland as well and he officiated 16 international matches, from Belfast to Brazil. He also oversaw 24 international club fixtures, including the 1962 Cup Winners Cup Final between Atlético Madrid and Fiorentina at Hampden Park.
In later years, Wharton was chairman of the Scottish Football Association's Referee Supervisors Committee between 1976 and 1990 and served as part of FIFA's Referees Committee between 1981 and 2000. He was awarded the OBE in 1990 for his services to Scottish football and FIFA's Order of Merit in Gold in 1992. He was described by FIFA president Sepp Blatter as "one of the world's most distinguished refereeing officials".
An engineer by profession, Wharton took up refereeing at the age of 21 and had reached Class I status within 3 years.[1] He refereed a number of important and high profile games during his career, including the Scottish Cup finals of 1961-62, 1962-63, 1965-66 and 1970-71, and the League Cup finals of 1960-61, 1962-63, 1966-67 and 1970-71.
Wharton's prowess was recognised outside Scotland as well and he officiated 16 international matches, from Belfast to Brazil. He also oversaw 24 international club fixtures, including the 1962 Cup Winners Cup Final between Atlético Madrid and Fiorentina at Hampden Park.
In later years, Wharton was chairman of the Scottish Football Association's Referee Supervisors Committee between 1976 and 1990 and served as part of FIFA's Referees Committee between 1981 and 2000. He was awarded the OBE in 1990 for his services to Scottish football and FIFA's Order of Merit in Gold in 1992. He was described by FIFA president Sepp Blatter as "one of the world's most distinguished refereeing officials".
1 comment:
Hi Brian just a wee side bar to the Tiny Wharton post we all remember the Ibrox dissaster well i was at that game whith my Uncle Bobby from canada my uncle decided that he wanted to see a game before he went back to Toronto
we could not get tickets anywhere Uncle Bobby was reading the daily Record when he noticed the ref's name he said hold on a minute and left mth house which was on London rd across from belvidere hosp my Granny lived there since they were built she also worked at the hospital until retirement anyway about an hour and a half Uncle Bobby came back with a big smile I asked where he went and he said something about phone calls the night before the game he told me to get down to Granny's early so I did Imagin the surprise when he told me we were going to the game after the usual aye right and so on we left the house and made ourway to ibrox we proceeded to the front of the stadium only to be met be none other than Tiny Wharton I was to say the least gob smacked after the greetings which I must say were very friendly we were taken to the stand's where we were shown to two seats when we were seated I asked my Uncle Bobby the obvious ?
it turns out Tiny Wharton and my Uncle Bobby were old school pals who had kept in touch over the years we never knew anything about the the tragady at gate 11 untill we walked round to meet my brother in law who was at the game with some friends needless to say this is a day that will allway's stick in my memory my uncle Bobby Stewart like Tiny Wharton has since passed but I think he kept in touch with Tiny Wharton untill he died which was twenty years ago now thanks Brian for reviving the memory of that time
Boaby Irvine
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