Tragedy brought Celtic legends Jock Stein and Jimmy McGrory to Buckie - the story of one player who graces the green and white hoops of this weekend's Scottish Cup rivals Celtic and Buckie Thistle
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This Sunday sees the first-ever competitive match between Celtic and Buckie Thistle, stirring memories of a footballer who serves both clubs.
Buckie have hosted Celtic on numerous occasions in past friendlies, and one player who starred in the Highland League for Jags went on to sign for Celtic.
Buckie Thistle historian Easton Thain told the story of Malcolm Slater's switch from Banffshire to Glasgow, and the family tragedy which brought Celtic legends Jock Stein and Jimmy McGrory to Buckie to pay their respects.
Thain described how Slater's talents as a Buckie player drew the attention of Celtic boss McGrory, a legendary goalscorer for the club who bossed them for almost 20 years.
He signed for a Celtic team including Lisbon Lions captain Billy McNeill, but struggled to gain regular matches during his two years with the Glasgow giants.
"He played a handful of games and starred in a game against Partick Thistle which Celtic won 2-0," said Thain.
"He was there in 1959, and in that year both of his brothers drowned off of Strathlene, a big tragedy when they were trying to save a girl from drowning - she survived and they didn’t.
"Some of the Celtic players and management came up including Jock Stein and Jimmy McGrory who both attended the funeral of his brothers."
Celtic great Stein, who later was to manage the club to European Cup glory in 1967, had been a player at the club and was appointed as reserve team manager at the time Slater was on Celtic's books.
"Malcolm stayed on and Celtic loaned him back to Buckie, but recalled him for a game against Third Lanark in October 1959," Thain added.
Eventually he was released by Celtic and signed again for Buckie, going on to score 29 goals in 52 appearances.
"After that he spent a season each at Caledonian and Montrose before going on to be a fans' favourite at Southend United and Orient before rounding off his career at Folkestone Town.
"He then settled down in England but returned home on occasion and was a guest speaker at the testimonial dinner for (recent Jags' legend) Stephen 'Marra' Bruce."
He opened a sportswear shop, Slater Sports, which is still in business in Buckie to this day.
Malcolm, who is fondly remembered at the Jags, sadly passed away in January, 2021.
Buckie Thistle's proud Scottish Cup history may not have taken them to Celtic Park before but Sunday's match will be their sixth cup visit to Glasgow.
The first was a 6-2 defeat to the now defunct Third Lanark in 1931.
Jags' famous grand slam team of the 1953-54 could not be matched in Highland League football - they won every north honour that season - and they put up a great show in the Scottish Cup.
A trip to a strong Partick Thistle side proved to be a real battle, with the Glasgow Jags needing two penalty awards to help them to a narrow 5-3 success.
That match also saw Buckie play in front of 11,000 fans, the biggest crowd in their history and a record that is certain to be broken this weekend by some distance.
History was made by Buckie the following season when they drew Queen's Park at home, drew 1-1 and triumphed 2-1 in the replay.
They became the first, and still to this day only senior non-league club to win at Hampden Stadium.
Buckie returned there in the 1985-86 season, this time losing 3-0 to the Spiders.
Their last cup visit to Glasgow came in September, 2007 when they drew Glasgow University and won 2-1.
Of course, Jags will be playing the cup holders when they take on Celtic on Sunday, but it won't be the first occasion that they have drawn the reigning champs in the competition.
That happened in 1958 when Falkirk were holders and visited Victoria Park for a match which remains one of the most controversial in Jags' history - as Easton Thain describes.
"It was 1-1 with nine minutes left and Martin Buchan (father of the former Aberdeen and Manchester United defender of the same name) wheeled around and smacked the ball in the net," he said.
"Bunnets went up in the air and Buckie was going mental - it was the biggest crowd at Buckie with around 8000 fans there.
"But the referee, a guy called Fitzpatrick, said 'no goal', but never explained why he disallowed the goal.
"Two minutes later, Falkirk went up the park and scored what proved to be the winner.
"The referee was called up by the top beaks - Peter Craigmyle was the head of refereeing - and the guy never refereed another senior game."
