SCOTTISH entertainer Tam Cowan has revealed the heart-rending inside story of Rangers and Scotland hero Andy Goram’s last public appearance.
Cowan compered a night at the Airdrie working men’s club put on for St Andrew’s Hospice – where he spent the last days of his life – Cancer Research UK and the Goram family just nine matters before the man affectionately known as ‘The Goalie’ passed in July 2022.
Rangers goalkeeper Andy Goram celebrates the 1991/92 Scottish Premier Division title[/caption]
Originally expecting only a text from the great man, Cowan was as surprised as anyone when pal Frank McAvennie and Goram’s son Danny were able to cajole him down to the venue in person.
Scrupulously insisting on a ‘no cameras’ policy, Cowan says the vision of the football icon is still etched in his memory.
So too was the emotional reaction of the 380-strong crowd as his Gers pals Marvin Andrews and Colin Hendry hoisted his wheelchair up on stage – not to mention Hoops contemporaries present for the Q and A like Peter Grant.
It’s quite a story, and Cowan tells it warts and all in the latest Let’s Be Frank podcast with former Hoops ace McAvennie.
The BBC Scotland Off the Ball host said: “Andy Goram, what a ngiht that was.
“That was one of the most incredible nights. It was a rare time I saw Frank being deadly serious about something.
“When old Andy Goram was on the way out and everybody knew he was dying, he was in St Andrews Hospice for his final weeks. He had also been – and some folk forget – an ex Motherwell player
“Like Frank, I had done a bit of after dinner speaking so I had got to know Andy a wee bit through that way.
“The convenor of the Airdrie working man’s club, in the same town as the hospice, said to me ‘do you fancy putting on a night or something for Andy Goram’? I might talk to Frank about it too.
“We knew that Andy didn’t have any money, his past story has been well documented, we decided if we could do a wee night for Andy we could split it the proceeds between St Andrew’s Hospice, Cancer UK, and the Goram family, money for the funeral basically.
“It was what we thought was going to be a wee nice night, a bit reverential, talking about Andy, but the tickets sold out in about 20 minutes, 380 people rammed into the Airdrie Working Men‘s club
“Frank had been a brilliant help getting a load of the Celtic guys from that era, guys who had played against Andy Goram. And we got a load of guys who had played WITH Andy Goram, guys like Colin Hendry and guys like this.
“I said to Andy in the run up to it I was saying this and he was saying ‘that’s f***ing great Tam, say hello to all the boys for me.
“I said ‘don’t be daft but do you know what will be really nice Andy, text me even just a few words and I will read it out’.
“I thought that would have a bit of impact on the night, you know ‘before we go any further I’ve got a message from Andy, up there in the hospice’.
“Bear in mind, he died nine days later after this event. Which is why I’m coming to the most amazing bit.
“He hadn’t got back to me. There were a couple of texts then a gap, I’m thinking the guy is on the way out.
Peter Grant in action for Celtic[/caption]
“Next thing Frank gets back to me on the day of the event, saying Andy is going to come down to the club, I said ‘what?’
“He said ‘Aye, he’s determined to come down’.
“He says we’re going to get him in the big build-up wheelchair, in one of those taxis with the sliding doors. Frank said me and my boy Danny will bring him down.
“This is when I said Frank, who gets lampooned many times, I’ve never seen him as serious. He said ‘you can’t have ANYONE with their phone out’. He doesn’t want to be remembered like this.
“I was like when you give me the thumbs up then I will go into the welcome. There was a wee bit of me like ‘I’m not sure what this guy is going to look like’.
“Like all sports heroes you can only remember them in your prime. There were six or seven Rangers guys, six or seven Celtic.
“I stood up and said ‘At this moment I thought I was going to read you out a wee message from Andy at the hospital‘.
“But remarkably, incredibly, Frank – who’d never been away from him up the hospice – and his boy Danny have managed to get Andy here tonight.
“There was an audible gasp.
“One thing ladies and gentlemen, phones away. We’re going to bring Andy in, he’s not in great shape and he’s not wanting to be remembered as the man you see tonight.
“And everybody concurred, that was it, the phones were away.
“So I said, ladies and gentleman, dah dah dah dah, the big build up, Andy Goram!
“And I will see that for the rest of my life, I am up on the high stage like any working men’s club. 380 folk, they immediately rise, all clapping and cheering whistling. They are all hollering but they can’t actually see him but I can see him. I can see him as if it was yesterday.
“He was away to nothing, honestly. He must have been down to about five and a half stone and very skeletal. Andy’s boy put the wheelchair down in front of me and I am high up on stage, then he looks up and gesticulates like ‘get me up there!’.
“Marvin Andrews and big Colin Hendry they went up and took an edge each of the wheelchair, lifted it onto the stage
“I am watching the audience and the minute they saw him there were tears and not just the women, there were loads of women there that night. Guys were up dabbing their eyes when they saw him.
“When they all went down again, I went down and said to him ‘do you want to say thankyou or speak?’.
“He went ‘oh yeah’. He went into this pocket of a shirt and took out a wee pair of reading glasses, perched on the end of the nose.
“And he took out a scrip and notes. I held the mic at the start but he took it off me when he was comfy.
“In quite a remarkably strong voice he started talking. And the minute he started mentioned any of these guys or Rangers and Celtic, Peter Grant was in bits.
“You ask any guys, or halfwits who take football too seriously, and you’d imagine they were sworn enemies. But Peter Grant what a state he was in, Charlie Miller who clearly adored him. All they could do was come up and hug him.
“This was nine days before he passed away, he must have done half an hour, I said I hope you’re not wanting £500 for this! He was laughing ..
“Also by way of introduction I gave out one of these wee stats I give out from time to time, I said the most amazing thing about Andy Goram.
“I remember seeing him in October 2000, motherwell vs Aberdeen at Fri Park, Andy Goram was in goals for Motherwell, Jim Leighton was in goal for Aberdeen, 134 Scotland caps between them and the final score was 6-5 to Aberdeen.
“Pound for pound, how many times have goalkeepers with that many caps between them conceded 11 goals.
“He [Goram] had been listening the whole time, He said thanks for doing that, even now I look f****** better than Jim Leighton!”
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