Ian MacFarlane 1933-2019

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Carlisle United, Middlesbrough, Manchester City & Leicester City

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I have vivid memories, as a sports-mad teenager, watching Ian MacFarlane playing centre half for Bath City along with the likes of Tony Book at left back and 'Canonball' Charlie Fleming in attack.
As a South Gloucestershire lad, my Dad had introduced me to the delights of professional football during the 1950's, when Bristol Rovers were a prominent Second Division club regularly attracting crowds of over 25,000 to Eastville Stadium.
Ian MacFarlane's early career had taken in spells with Aberdeen, Chelsea and Leicester between 1955 and 1959 before he arrived at Twerton Park and proceeded to clock up over 300 appearances for Bath City, in those days one of England's leading Non-League clubs.
I think it was around 1960 that my Dad first took me to Twerton Park to watch Rovers play Bath City in an end-of-season Coronation Cup match.
I was so impressed by Bath's star players of that era, that often during the early part of the 1960's, I would hasten home from school and cycle the 30-miles round trip to Twerton Park, to watch them play in midweek games when Rovers didn't have a game.
Fond memories of a bygone era!