Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Is this Elgin City FC’s longest-serving supporter? John Blackhall attended first game at Borough Briggs in 1939

The 91-year-old is a lifelong fan of the Elgin club.

John Blackhall wearing Elgin City scarf in front of club sign
John Blacklaw attended his first Elgin City FC game at their home stadium when he was just seven-years-old. Image: Jasperimage.

John Blackhall still fondly remembers his first trip to Borough Briggs in 1939.

In the same year the Second World War broke out, the then seven-year-old was able to see Elgin City FC play for the very first time.

Watching his beloved club play at Boroughbriggs Road has been a constant throughout John’s life – even when he was living elsewhere for work.

Now aged 91, the Elgin resident is still a regular face in the stadium and potentially Elgin City FC’s longest-serving supporter.

“I’ve always been back and forth to Elgin City between everything,” he said. “No matter where I was, I’d come back to watch them play.

“I’ve always had that connection with the club.”

Borough Briggs in Elgin
John Blackhall, 91, has supported his local football club since he was a child. Image: DC Thomson.

Over the past 85 years, the “true gentleman” has become well known to all at the club.

“I’ve seen a lot of the same folk over that time,” he said. “I’ve been a blether all my life and met so many people.”

He has also experienced the loss of a number of fellow fans, including his good friend Dougie Sinclair at the end of last year.

His death was acknowledged by all in the stands of Borough Briggs during a game last month.

“I looked round and he wasn’t there to sit beside me,” John said.

John Blackhall lifelong Elgin City fan

John was born at his family’s Elgin home in 1932 and now lives in the house right next door.

He has called Elgin home for most of his life, alongside his wife, three children and three grandchildren.

His late wife, Pat, may not have shared her husband’s love for football, but they did bond over their shared talents on the dancefloor.

John spent many an evening doing the “hokey pokey” at dances at Bishopmill Hall and the Assembly Rooms – where he and Pat first met in 1957.

“I took dance classes for three years,” he shared. “I trained to do the Tango and then all the girls would ask me up to dance.”

Borough Briggs
John Blackhall is a regular face in the stands at Borough Briggs. Image: DC Thomson.

Although John’s brother was a talented footballer, he says he always lacked the skills and felt more at home in the stands.

His passion for the beautiful game did however lead to him becoming president of the boys’ club in Elgin when he was in his 20s.

Outside of his dedication to football, John started working at just 14-years-old when he started training to be a painter.

“There was no health and safety in those days,” he said. “We were just told to be careful when near the edge of a building.”

He eventually went on to start his own window cleaner business which achieved great success, including a contract at RAF Lossiemouth, for three decades.

While always making time to watch Elgin City FC play, of course.