Gerry Queen at Kilmarnock: European glory nights, a visitor from the USSR and a trip to the USA

We dig into the archives to look back on the man who would go on to inspire one of the all-time great headlines

There are a few pillars in the pantheon of great football headlines. Celtic’s shock loss to Inverness in the Scottish Cup brought the immortal ‘Super Caley Go Ballistic Celtic Are Atrocious’ in the Scottish Sun, Sky Sports once declared of a Manchester City goalkeeping move ‘Keegan Fills Schmeichel’s Gap With Seaman’ while following Juventus’ draw with lowly BATE Borisov in the Champions League, Goal went with the crude but effective ‘Old Lady Unable To Master BATE At Home’.

Standing tall alongside them is the Sunday Mirror’s recounting of Gerry Queen’s red card for fighting in a Crystal Palace vs Arsenal match: ‘Queen In Riot At Palace’.

The inside forward had joined the Eagles from Killie, and with Derek McInnes’ side taking a break for the internationals we’ve taken a dive into the archive to remember his time in Ayrshire.

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Queen arrived at Rugby Park in what the Daily Record called “a shock player-exchange deal” at the end of January 1966, Ronnie Hamilton and £4,000 going the other way to St Mirren.

The forward had been wanted by both Fulham and Preston North End, but preferred to stay in Scotland.

The new man was joining the Scottish champions but, with manager Willie Waddell departed to Rangers, Killie’s title defence had been stuttering, one run between October and December seeing them manage just one win and one draw from seven.

Having signed late on Friday night, Queen made his Killie debut the following Saturday, January 22, away to Hamilton.

His impact was immediate, scoring two goals as his new side ran out 4-1 winners.

The first saw him fire home a loose ball from the edge of the box just before half-time, with his second coming on a Tommy McLean assist after the break.

The Sunday Post said: “Above all it was Queen’s game.

“Signed from St Mirren on Friday he turned in a first-class performance, crowned by his well-taken goals.

“In fact, he was the only shining light the visitors had up-front. Time after time he would gather the ball and pass perfectly to a mate only to see the chance squandered or Brown to pop up in the Hamilton goal to bring off a great save.

“If the Killie forwards had their shooting boots on the score could have been double figures.”

Queen would score eight goals in all competitions in that first season, helping Killie to reach the Scottish Cup quarter-finals and rally to third place in the league.

That was enough to secure entry into the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup - the precursor to the UEFA Cup/Europa League - for the 1966-67 season.

The first round saw Kilmarnock paired with Royal Antwerp of Belgium, with Jackie McInally’s goal giving them a 1-0 win in the away leg.

The home game, though, would go down as one of the best European nights in the club’s history.