Scottish professional football’s oldest groundsman and his lifelong love of William Hill League Two club Elgin City are celebrated in the first episode of a new SPFL and SWPL content series UNSUNG.
Cecil Jack, 82, spends almost every day at his beloved club’s Borough Briggs stadium, preparing their pitch and helping out around the club, and believes the club’s support has helped him recover from losing wife June, 59, to cancer in the mid-2000s.
The grandad-of-one still travels across the country to every game and has been cheering on the club at matches for over six decades, including with late wife June, who used to work in the club’s pie stall.
His huge impact at the club is marked in the first edition of new SPFL and SWPL content series Unsung, celebrating the inspiring real life stories of characters from across the Scottish game, which will run in the coming months.
Cecil, who lives in the town’s New Elgin, said: “Elgin City’s been a huge part of my life. I spend more time here than I do at home.
“I said I’d help out as groundsman for a few weeks around two decades ago and I’ve been there ever since. The pitch looks as good as it has in my whole time here, which I’m really proud of.
“Football gives me a lot of fun, even at this age. I’d be bored sitting at home watching daytime TV without Elgin City, so it keeps me going.
“The club really helped me during my mourning process of losing my wife June and being involved in the club has helped me immensely in recent years.”
Cecil first became connected to Elgin City aged 15, selling club raffles and running matchday coaches. He was persuaded to become a supporters’ club committee member in 1986 and later served as vice president and president of the supporters’ club.
The retired carpet fitter travelled to games with June, who was also a member of the supporters’ club, and she worked in the club’s pie shop.
Cecil was asked to join the club’s board shortly after June was diagnosed with bowel cancer, and she persuaded him to take up the role in the months before her death in 2006. He shortly after took on the role of club groundsman, and his work on the club’s pitch involves using a ride on lawnmower, forking the pitch, marking the lines of the pitch and cutting the grass on a regular basis.
The dad-of-one, whose son Arthur is a youth coach at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, estimates he’s been to around 1000 games during his time following the club.
He added: “June helped out in the pie shop after we got married and was a stalwart of our supporters’ club. We had a really happy marriage and loved going to games together.
“June was unwell when I was asked to join the club board, and I wasn’t sure if it was the right time, but she said I should do it as that’s where I belonged. I went on the board with her blessing and it was the best thing for me.
“I’ve travelled home and away to every game since I joined the board 17 years ago. I’ll have been a few years round the world following Elgin, and I do it because I love it.”
Elgin City vice chair Isla Benzie has known Cecil for life as he is best friends with her mum and dad Susie and Martin Graham and said he’s a huge character at the club.
Isla said: “Cecil’s whole life is Elgin City. He’s at the club every day.
“He’s a huge character. I’ve known him all my life. He portrays himself as Mr Grumpy but he’s a great guy.
“He’s an encyclopedia on club history. Pretty much everyone in Elgin knows him.
“Joining the board has helped keep him young and keep going after June’s death, which has been great.”
Calum Beattie, SPFL chief operating officer, said: “There are so many unsung figures doing vital work at clubs right across the country in our men’s and women’s game, which is why we wanted to launch this new series.
“It’s great to hear the huge impact Elgin City has had on Cecil’s life, and how well appreciated he is by everybody at the club.
“We’d like to pass on our thanks to Cecil for the incredible contribution he’s had to his club and Scottish football, and we look forward to telling more Unsung stories in the coming months.”
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