The following interview by leading local journalist Darren Fullerton with his mum's uncle and legendary former Linfield goalkeeper - Alex Russell was published in the Daily Mirror in 2005 and it is reproduced here with the kind permission of both Darren and the Daily Mirror.
Football: Linfield giant 'Sandy' still a Kop favourite; Windsor Park's Spion Kop was last season renamed The Alex Russell Stand as part of a money raising ballot amongst Linfield fans. But WHO IS Alex Russell? The Daily Mirror decided to find out... RUSSELL RELIVES PARK LIFE.
By Darren FULLERTON
ALEX 'Sandy' Russell plucks memories from the air with the same dexterity as the assured goalkeeper he once was.
The 82-year-old's eyes still dart and dance amidst the laughter lines as his mind relives the highlights of an Irish League career spanning almost 20 years.
Vivid anecdotes and serious points wrestle for prominence in the peaceful front room of his Glengormley home as the former Linfield great recalls the kind of moments that tend to blur and merge with every year.
Russell's sporting playground of the 1940s and 1950s is light years away from the comprehension of today's football fans.
His stories trickle from an era that bristled with swarming crowds, dark woollen suits, capped men and fly-weight kids being hoisted over heavy clanking turnstiles.
The substance of his career has to be coaxed from the flurry of modest small talk, offers of tea and glances around a room that surrounds him with warm memories of his late wife Sally, relatives and friends.
But search deep and you will find a man who won an Irish cap in 1946, four Irish League titles, three Irish Cups, six Gold Cups, three City Cups, two Ulster Cups and five County Antrim Shield medals.
Look closely and you will share time with a soft-spoken County Antrim man who played under former Newcastle United legend Jackie Milburn and someone who recuperated from a serious knee injury with the help of Harland and Wolff shipyard.
You will also find a former player who shook Jimmy Jones' hand just minutes before the Belfast Celtic striker was attacked by some Linfield fans after an infamous game that effectively called a halt to Celtic's existence in the Irish League.
Jones had his leg shattered in five different places when he was thrown over a fence and kicked unconscious after a 1-1 draw on Boxing Day, 1948.
"It was awful," said Russell. "I actually spoke to Jimmy and then rushed off the pitch because I had a lift to catch. It was only afterwards I heard what happened.
"It was a sad day when Celtic left the league because they were a huge club. People talk about the 'Big Two' but Glentoran didn't come into it back then. The biggest rivalry was between Linfield and Celtic. It was a wonderful achievement if you beat Celtic to the title."
Russell, who was raised on simple life in the twin villages of Kells and Connor just outside Ballymena, also had the honour of playing alongside the legendary Jackie Milburn.
Milburn, who scored 201 goals for Newcastle United and won 13 caps for England, spent several years as player-coach at Linfield in the 1950s.
"We had played Newcastle in a friendly and someone asked him if he would come and play for us. Hard to believe he eventually agreed," recalled Russell.
"Jackie was a great player - he scored more than 100 goals for us in two seasons - and a gentleman. I used to arrive early at training, so we drank tea together and passed the time of day.
"He was a great man. I can't speak higher of him."
Russell, who began his career with Cliftonville before playing 16 years at Linfield from 1944, deems it a "great honour" to have Windsor's Spion Kop named after him last season.
He attended a special unveiling at the ground in October, stayed to see Ballymena beat Linfield 1-0, but left with difficult comparisons swirling in his head.
"The game has changed so much," he said. "It's all pace nowadays. I remember when players spent time on the ball, when someone like Tommy Dickson would beat a couple of players..."
The sentence tapered to silence as he paused to conjure the dancing images of Dickson - the flamboyantly named Duke of Windsor - and other team-mates spinning their magic on a bygone stage.
Good days. But times have changed - not least in the way injuries are treated.
"If you had smelling salts and water in the 1940s you were a physio," he laughed. "I dislocated my knee and damaged ligaments and the club got a metal boot made at the shipyards to help me exercise my knee. Can you imagine Thierry Henry doing that?"
"I also remember the Linfield team being ordered off the bus and told to walk three miles into Lurgan to play Glenavon. That was the only warm-up we had before a game. It's amazing looking back."
Russell won his only cap for an all-Ireland team against England at a packed Windsor Park in 1946 at the tender age of 23.
"I was nervous and the worst thing was that the game was delayed for 15 minutes because there were fans on the track," he recalled.
"This was England with Billy Wright, Finney, Carter, Mannion and Lawton... and I had 15 extra minutes to dwell on it."
Russell - whose team mates that day included Manchester United's Johnny Carey and the legendary Peter Doherty - conceded an early goal to Raich Carter and further strikes followed from Wilf Mannion, Tom Finney, Tommy Lawton and Bob Langton in a 7-2 defeat.
As the last line of a beleaguered defence, Russell's flirtation with the international game came to an abrupt end after 90 short minutes. But you won't find any regrets lurking amidst the photographs of England goals and Irish dismay.
"Not at all," he replied. "I had been in good form and was delighted to be selected.
"It was an all-Ireland side, the first international after the war and that four of Finney, Lawton, Carter and Mannion was probably the best forward line England has ever seen, so it was no embarrassment. It was an honour."
Alex's home was raided by burglars last year. Many valuables were stolen - including his car - but a small burgundy bag containing the medals, Irish cap, IFA badge and air-beaten photographs from almost 60 years ago survived the dark trawl.
"My football bits and pieces wouldn't mean anything to them," he said. "I'm just glad I didn't lose them though."
The mementos in the bottom of a plastic bag in a Glengormley home still mean an awful lot. As do the memories that have been carefully wrapped and preserved in the mind of an 82-year-old with a captivating tale to tell.
And while the years unfurl and friends pass with time, the memories of a golden age for local football live on. They live on in the minds of ageing gentlemen like Alex Russell.