Denholms of Hill of Beath - The start of a Football Dynasty

[Andy D]

Hello,

An appeal for any persons who researching the Denholms who hail from Hill of Beath please get in contact.  Hope the following is of interest.

Immortalised in Stone Story

The village of Hill of Beath lies on the western edge of Cowdenbeath and one of its most prominent features nowadays is the imposing statue of Jim Baxter which is located beside the main road outside the ex-Servicemen’s club.  At night the statue is floodlit and it evokes memories of Jim in his pomp playing under the lights at Hampden or Ibrox.  That 1960’s era now seems to have been a golden age when viewed from today’s perspective with Scottish football at perhaps an all time low.  One reason for our lack of standing in the modern football world of course is that we no longer produce talents like Baxter and his ilk.  Jim belatedly now has been given his rightful place in the Hall of Fame at the Scottish Football Museum.  The SFA’s version scandalously of course had dwarf stars such as the likes of Malpas, Aitken, Dailly, Boyd and McLeish in its constellation ahead of Fife’s very own supernova. 

The Baxter story of course is well known but I would like to illustrate the rich football legacy that spawned such a talent and highlight the fact that Jim Baxter actually sits in the centre of a much larger footballing family web of relatives from the Cowdenbeath/Hill of Beath area.  Firstly, though we can perhaps correct all the biographers and statisticians.  It has been universally reported that Jim Baxter was born in Hill of Beath on September 29th 1939 – Jim was indeed born on that day but in Kirkcaldy rather than Hill of Beath where he was brought up.  He was born James Curran but adopted at birth by Robert Baxter and his wife Agnes from Hill of Beath and became James Curran Baxter. 

Slim Jim’s footballing heritage can be traced back to his grandfather Willie ‘Wull’ Denholm.  Willie was born in East Lothian but along with his brother George he came to Beath parish early in the 20th century.  They had been playing for Buckhaven United in the juniors.  Willie and George then became the star forwards of the local Hill of Beath senior side Hearts of Beath.  They both played for around a decade for ‘the Hillmen’ and helped them win the Fife Cup and the King Cup during that period.  In 1908, they both starred as great local rivals Cowdenbeath were beaten 4-2 in the final of the Wemyss Cup.  In that same season, George Denholm scored 7 goals in Hearts of Beath’s 12-2 demolition of St Andrew’s University in the Scottish Consolation Cup. 

Hearts of Beath went junior in 1913 but the Denholm name reappeared in their ranks after the Great War.  Geordie Denholm’s son George played as a defender for Hearts of Beath in the 1930’s and then went senior with Raith Rovers.  He later played with York City in the English League.  Meantime Willie Denholm’s son also Willie Denholm was a leading light at Hearts of Beath in the juniors until that club folded early in the 2nd World War. 

As well as his son playing for Hearts of Beath, Willie Denholm had a couple of daughters Agnes and Jane.  Agnes married the aforementioned Robert Baxter who himself was a flying winger in the Fife juniors with Inverkeithing United.  Their son of course was the great man himself.  Jane meantime was married to a Bob Simpson and this union also produced its share of footballing talent.  Their son Alex Simpson played for Valleyfield Colliery and Crossgates Primrose in the junior league.  Prior to that he played with the Hill of Beath school team which went 2 years without defeat.  In 1937/38, Alex played in the school team which won the Dick Cup, the main trophy for schools in the district.  The Dick Cup also brought Jim Baxter’s first cup success when he played for the Beath High School side from Cowdenbeath that won the trophy in the early 1950’s.  Alex Simpson’s team mates at Hill of Beath School included the cousins Willie Cunningham and Jimmy Baxter (no relation of Slim Jim).  Willie went on to captain Scotland and played with distinction for Preston for many years while Jimmy had a good career with Barnsley.  Alex Simpson recalled a few years ago that when they won the Dick Cup his grandfather Wull Denholm presented each boy with a threepenny bit to buy pudding suppers at Bett’s chip shop while Jimmy Baxter’s grandfather old Jimmy Cunningham left them each a threepenny bit to buy sweeties at Campbell Allan’s paper shop.  The thrill of the cup win and these ‘bonuses’ were remembered by the laddies in the team for the rest of their lives. 

[Andy D]

Part 2
It was actually Alex’s younger brother Bobby Simpson though that showed real talent for the game.  Bobby played for Hill of Beath Boys Club and despite Cowdenbeath being eager to sign him he was soon Ibrox bound after a very successful spell in the juniors with Rosyth Recreation.

Bobby though found his options limited at Ibrox – he was there for four years between 1949 and 1953.  He made only 2 appearances during that time albeit he did score 2 goals in these games.  Bobby was initially compared to Billy Steel.  He had a similar build, was strong and powerful and a good footballer.  However, it eventually became apparent he lacked a little in the pace department.  He then had 2 seasons each with Alloa and Cowdenbeath before reverting to the juniors where he played for many years for Crossgates Primrose and subsequently for Blairhall and Clackmannan. 

When George and Willie Denholm had come to Beath parish all those years ago they were accompanied by another brother Peter.  His grandson Willie Denholm was therefore a 2nd cousin of Jim Baxter and Bobby Simpson.  Willie played with Jim and Bobby for Crossgates Primrose and made a single appearance for Dundee United in 1958 as a winger.

Another team-mate in that Crossgates Primrose side was George Kinnell and most sources suggest that George was Jim Baxter’s cousin.  However, he was actually a second cousin!  Jim Baxter’s grandmother’s (Willie Denholm’s wife’s) sister was George Kinnell’s grandmother.  George of course had a noteworthy senior career.  He was once my dad’s apprentice as a butcher in the Kirkford branch of the Co-op in Cowdenbeath.  However, he left the local side Kirkford United for Crossgates Primrose and then joined Aberdeen.  He made a good impression with Aberdeen and then went south to play for Stoke, Middlesborough, Oldham and most famously Sunderland alongside Jim Baxter.  Kinnell and Baxter were perhaps as renowned at Roker Park for their off field antics as for their on field displays.  Later, George went to Australia for a time and played with Juventus. 

George Kinnell’s brother Andy Kinnell too was a very talented centre-half and he captained Cowdenbeath to promotion in 1970 and during their spell in the top flight.  He was 8 seasons with Cowden and then had 4 years with St Johnstone – captaining them in the Premier League.  Like Jim Baxter he hung up his boots at the age of only 30. Andy and George themselves were the sons of an Andrew Kinnell who was the cousin of Bert and Jimmy Kinnell.  Bert had a very successful career both as a centre-half and centre-forward with Dunfermline, Partick Thistle and Cowdenbeath.  He died some years back at his home in Cowdenbeath.  His brother Jimmy played for Crossgates Primrose and Cowden in the early 1950’s.  Bert’s son Alan made 100 league appearances for Cowdenbeath at full back between 1971 and 1976 (often playing alongside his 2nd cousin Andy Kinnell).  Later, in the 1980’s Jimmy Kinnell’s son Iain Kinnell made a handful of appearances too for Cowdenbeath before going junior with his father’s old club Crossgates Primrose. He also helped Hill of Beath Hawthorn win the 1990 Scottish Junior Cup.   Finally, in the 1990’s Andy Kinnell’s son Andrew turned out for East Fife – he is now with Lochore Welfare.

Turning back to Jim Baxter – his nephew Jason Dair still keep the family football flame alive.  Jason is now with Motherwell and his previous clubs include Raith Rovers, Millwall and Dunfermline.  In addition, Jason’s brother Lee is now at Linlithgow Rose after a career encompassing spells with Rangers, Raith Rovers, East Fife, Cowdenbeath and Hill of Beath Hawthorn.   Their dad Ian Dair is married to Jim Baxter’s sister – Ian himself was a midfielder with Stirling Albion and Cowdenbeath in the 1970’s and played for Glenrothes when they won the 1975 Scottish Junior Cup.  Ian’s brother Tom played fro Hibs. 

Thus the Baxter influence is still around but perhaps we should be tipping our hats here to the grand old man Wull Denholm and his brother Geordie who set the ball in motion over a century ago in Hill of Beath.  The Baxter statue is a fitting tribute to a footballing genius but also serves to commemorate a dynasty which made a lasting contribution to the Scottish game.