Club 17/11/2013
Hall of Fame 2013
The 2013 Hall of Fame night has been hailed an outstanding success … and tickets are already selling for next year’s show!
The live show, organised by the Fife Free Press, ACA Sports, MacGregor Solicitors and the Former Players Association, earned rave reviews from a full house at the Adam Smith Theatre on Monday night.
Nine Raith Rovers legends were inducted on a stage filled with VIP guests and club greats.
Top billing went to Alex James, the Arsenal star whose career began with Rovers in 1922 before he went south to make his name.
He was inducted by Liam Brady, another Arsenal legend and now an ambassador for the Premiership giants.
Special guests included Graeme Souness, former Scotland managers Craig Levein and Craig Brown, Gordon Brown MP, Jim Leishman, Provost of Fife, ex-internationalists and Willie Henderson and Jim McCalliog,
They were joined by a plethora of Rovers names from across the generations, and enjoyed a night of outstanding football chat as host Bill Leckie chatted to both Souness and Brady on stage.
There was also the screening of a specially commissioned film re-telling the creation of the club, and an exclusive video recorded by Arsenal legend Bob Wilson who toasted the historic links between the club and the Kingdom.
Allan Crow, editor of the Press, said: ‘‘The feedback from the night has been fantastic.
‘‘We’ve all had many texts and tweets of congratulation – everyone thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.’’
The stage featured many historic touches from old match day posters to strips and scarves, lifesize cut outs of Willie McNaught and Alex James, and the Wemyss Trophy – one of the club’s oldest pieces of silverware.
The final amount raised for Raith Rovers will be announced in due course, and a special presentation made at Stark’s Park.
There is a 16-page souvenir supplement of pictures from the 2013 Hall of Fame in this week’s Fife Free Press. You can also view a slideshow of images from the night at the FFP website www.fifetoday.co.uk
Bob wilson’s video tribute and the short film recreating the club’s formation will also be uploaded to www.fifetoday.co.uk available to share on social media next week.
The 2014 Hall of Fame will take place at the Adam Smith Theatre on Monday, November 10, and tickets are on sale now, priced “25 and £55 (VIP). They can be bought from the theatre box office or online at ww.onfife.com. With an immediate rush to the box office, the show will definitely sell out well in advance, and fans who want to attend are urged not to wait until the last minute.
The 2014 show will co-incide with the 20th anniversary of the club’s Coca-Cola Cup win.