News

Steve Finan: For the love of Fitba

Sporting Memories Scotland recently welcomed Steve Finan, the creator of the Lifted Over the Turnstiles series of books, to Glenrothes to discuss his passion for sport and beyond.

In a fascinating presentation to our club members and volunteers in Fife, Steve brought a fabulous selection of archive images, some never before seen or have lain unseen for decades in the DC Thomson archive.

A self-proclaimed ‘frustrated footballer’, Steve spent a lot of his time as a journalist at the Sunday Post searching the archives and discovering hidden Scottish Football photographic treasures. With this, he went on to create his books looking at grounds, players and crowd scenes from across the country.

During his presentation the club members, volunteers and Sporting Memories staff were shown incredible photos highlighting the simple beauty of floodlights, dugouts, tunnels, crowds and ordinary people attending matches. It was a true representation of Scottish football and what it was actually like, good and bad!

Gary Waddell, Group Delivery and Practice Coordinator, was thrilled to have Steve share his passion for football with the group.

“We were delighted to invite Steve to present his collection of fascinating football images to our Fife clubs. Many of our members have brought their own copy of Steve’s book, Lifted Over the Turnstiles, to their club so it was great to get the man himself to talk about his love for the game and show us the images that mean most to him. The photos resonated with all those who attended and sparked great nostalgia and conversation.”

Steve is available to present his archive collection to other Sporting Memories clubs across Scotland, so if you're club is interested in inviting Steve to a session please contact gary@thesmf.co.uk for more information.