Yeah – I know he’s not a ‘southpaw’ but the heading popped up in my head and just wouldn’t go away!

When I think of it, there are several men who have positively impacted my life. I tend to take something from everyone I meet (and no, I’m not a pick-pocket.) That could be something positive I’ll aspire to learn from and use in future, or perhaps a negative which will stick in my mind and be wary of replicating.

My dad, my two adult sons, a few of my old Bank managers (when I worked in Branch Banking) and a couple of fellow athletes from my younger days have all contributed to who I am today.

(See – it’s not all my fault!)

My Grandfather though, really influenced the very young me. His brother too, my Great Uncle Dan, but in his case it was more from a distance.

My Grandpa was a foreman in Clydebank’s John Brown Shipyard. He worked on the build of the famous QE2 luxury liner. In fact, I can still hear my Gran and my mum both saying that he worked too hard and too long on that project and that’s why he died at an early age.

Before all that however, my Grandpa was a champion boxer. He and Uncle Dan fought professionally here in Scotland and also in America back in the 1920s. Sadly, I don’t have access to his fight record but that doesn’t matter so much … it was his attitude that rubbed off on me.

He sadly passed away when I was only ten years old, but his influence remains.

Not only was he a boxer but he won prizes for Diving and was a keen watcher of football. In fact, it was my Grandpa and Gran who took me to my first Glasgow Rangers match when I was just turned nine years old. I can still remember much of that special day.

My dad had to work Saturday afternoons in the late ’60s, so it was my Grandparents who would take me over to Ibrox stadium for a few years till my father could get out of the Saturday shift.

My Grandpa was what we now call ‘old school.’ In fact, looking back, he was ‘old school’ for the Sixties!

“Practice, practice, practice …” he would drill into me when he found I played football with a distinct reliance on my right foot. He’d have me banging my ball off a wall for hours on end, using only my left foot.

He taught me how to stand up to bullies, and would shadow box with me, showing me how to use my guard and bob and weave. He helped me develop a mean right hand, which I used only once in school when being picked upon by someone head and shoulders taller than me. That was all it took – one punch. The bully never tried it on again and word quickly spread around the school.

I never had any problem after that.

My grandpa also had some radical healthy eating principles which he lived by: deliberately burnt toast; spoonfuls of neat malt from a jar; raw eggs etc – the food of champions.

Aye right … remember he passed away so young – I guess he got that one wrong. 😉

My Uncle Dan was much the same. I’d only see him once every couple of years as after boxing there in the Twenties, he and my Great Aunt settled in New York.

He would go watch the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field and tell me tales from Baseball’s folklore. It was he got me interested in baseball. (Later in life, I’d form a team in Manchester, England and later played for and managed a team in Glasgow, while also setting up and developing the Scottish league.)

So, yeah, both brothers left a lasting impression, but my Grandpa’s work ethic and down-to-earth honesty is what really influenced me most.

__________