When it comes to football the language used is often full of hyperbole, yet when it comes to Ally Maxwell there is no exaggeration.
Ally could quite literally have died for the cause such was the extent of the injuries he suffered in the 1991 Scottish Cup Final.
Thumped by John Clark, Maxwell soldiered on for the remainder of the match to ensure the Scottish Cup was wrapped in claret and amber ribbons. It was only post-match that the severity of his injury was fully revealed when it was discovered he had ruptured his spleen.
Ally joined the club in 1981 from Fir Park Boys Club and, like many of his contemporaries, he was given his first taste of top team action by Bobby Watson, in April 1984.
Maxwell started season 1984’85 in the team under new manager Tommy McLean before becoming a long-term understudy to John Gardiner.
Ally would eventually see off challenges from both Gardiner and Cammy Duncan, making the most of the opportunity presented to him midway through season 1988’89. Keeping a clean sheet in his return to the side in a 1-0 win over Dundee in December 1988, he would never look back.
In his first full season as number one, ‘Maxi’ helped the club top the table for the first time in decades after a 1-0 midweek over Rangers in October 1989 and on to their highest league finish since the mid-seventies.
The following season saw him lift the Cup of course, playing every minute of every round in the run to the Scottish Cup Final victory.
A fallout with Tommy McLean over a new deal sadly saw Maxwell frozen out and replaced by Billy Thomson, and he briefly went on loan with Bolton during season 1991’92 and spent time with Liverpool without completing a transfer.
Eventually, Ally joined Rangers upon leaving Motherwell in 1992 having made over 130 appearances for the Steelmen where he would win a League Cup Winners Medal and face Dundee Utd once more in the Scottish Cup Final.
The Terrors would be his next port of call before signing off in Scottish football with a spell playing and then managing Greenock Morton.
Now coaching in the USA, it was a highlight for ‘Well fans to see him return for the 25th Scottish Cup anniversary celebrations last year.