New exhibition celebrates Fife Flyers’ 1985 stars - a team that went down in history

It forms part of the endeavours to mark the 40th anniversary of Fife Flyers’ British championship victory at Wembley - a success on ice which sparked a fan base that spanned a generation.

The players who triumphed will be reunited at a live show at Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, on Friday, May 2, just days after the exhibition opens at Kirkcaldy Galleries on April 30, where it will run until the start of June.

The anniversary events are being run by a small group of fans, with all proceeds from the show going to CHAS - Flyers’ official charity partner - and Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre in Kirkcaldy. Tickets for the live show are on sale now, priced £25, at www.onfife.com/event/fife-flyers/ or from the box office.

The exhibition will be upstairs at the gallery, and features memorabilia donated by players as well as many artefacts and cuttings from fans. It has been put together by Alan Westwater, Flyers’ former programme editor, and lifelong fan. He is part of the team at the helm of the celebrations which also includes John Ross, Iain Anderson and Joe Rowbotham, former assistant team manager of the Wembley team, and Allan Crow, editor of the Fife Free Press.

Alan has been working with staff from Kirkcaldy Galleries to curate the items for the exhibition which will run for six weeks. He has also created the information boards which tell the story of a triumph that didn’t just re-ignite ice hockey in Fife, but became a focal point during the miners’ strike.

The bitter 12-month long industrial action cut deep across the region’s mining towns, and the ice rink became a key place to go on Saturday nights thanks to a winning team and three charismatic Canadian players - Ron Plumb, Dave Stoyanovich and Danny Brown – who embarked on a huge programme of visits to schools and community groups.

Full houses were the norm, with fans queueing for hours to get rinkside - even for games which were broadcast live in the afternoon on BBC;’s flagship sports show, Grandstand.

Flyers finished that season as runners-up up in the league and Bluecol Cup, but their crowning glory came at Wembley - the sport’s spiritual home.

Alan recalled: “Life in the mid 1980s was challenging for much of Flyers’ fan base - the recession and the miners strike hit the community hard. With unemployment, industrial unrest and economic hardship on the doorstep, Kirkcaldy Ice Rink had to offer respite and distraction like never before. The power of a sporting cause to light up a community in dark times was never better illustrated.

The success of the 1984/85 Flyers brought positive old- time vibes to the atmospheric old arena. Happy days, in the words of the club’s adopted match-night tune, were indeed here again. Amidst the coal dust, the 1985 Fife Flyers sprinkled a little stardust.”

The club built a new fanbase around interaction with the players who tapped into the noise rinkside on match nights and mingled in the bars afterwards.

“They fed off each other’s passion for the team,” said Alan. “Trust and loyalty was built.” He continued: “Kirkcaldy Ice Hockey Club deliberately exploited this approachability to help spread the ice hockey gospel around Fife. The first public relations exercise - a visit by the Canadians to a Kirkcaldy sports store - was a huge success and more followed in response to huge demand

A road show was devised for schools and youth groups, combining fun with education. The result was a spate of essays, poems and artwork on the subject of ice hockey. A whole new generation of young fans caught the ice hockey bug. Targeting the youth market not only drew lively crowds to the arena - it gave many drifting youngsters a cause, a ‘family’ in blue, white and gold, and a lifelong attraction to the sport.” That passion spilled over into the birth of a new sport - street hockey - with many teams springing up around town and forming a competitive fun league, and, out of that emerged Flyers’ players of the future.

Saturday night ice hockey provided an escape and inspiration to so many people. On and off the ice, Fife Flyers and their fans experienced the unique value of sporting success for a community.

“The players, many of them born and bred close to the rink and playing the sport for love rather than financial reward, weren’t just wearing a proud club’s jersey. They were representing their families, their workmates and their town. The team’s victory felt like everyone’s victory.” That team of 1985 - referred to as the Plumb Line after its hugely enthusiastic player-coach - defined hockey for the next generation. It was the yardstick against which all rosters were measured, until Mark Morrison delivered further British and Grand Slam success in 1999 and 2000.

The fact it is still early remembered by so many fans is a remarkable legacy, and one that will be celebrated at Kirkcaldy Galleries, and on stage at Rothes Halls.