David Potter
Born: August 29, 1948
Died: July 30, 2023
David Potter, the prolific and well-known football and sports history writer, has died in Kirkcaldy aged 74.
Potter was best known for his work on Celtic Football Club – writing more than 30 books on the team – but also authored around 40 other texts covering different clubs and sports.
Born in Forfar in 1948, he was educated locally before attending St Andrews University to study Latin and Greek. This took him to Fife, where he lived for the rest of his life, and also into his profession of teaching.
Potter spent more than 30 years teaching Spanish and Classics at Glenrothes High School. This latter subject he also later taught on a part-time basis at Osborne House School in Dysart.
In 1996, he took an action which would shape the remaining years of his life when he wrote his first book. Titled ‘Our Bhoys have won the cup’, this recorded Celtic’s Scottish Cup experiences up to that point.
Across the following three decades he extended his Celtic library, writing or co-writing at least 34 published books, covering topics as diverse as the lives of Sandy McMahon, Alec McNair and Bobby Murdoch, through to Celtic’s time in competitions like the European Cup and League Cup.
In addition to these books, he wrote multiple articles as well as being involved with different sports websites, most notably The Celtic Star, who published many of his books.
His football research enthusiasm was not restricted to Celtic.
Potter also composed texts on Scottish clubs such as Raith Rovers and Forfar Athletic, as well as the Scottish national team and English sides including Newcastle United and Sunderland.
Although football was his overwhelming love, he was also a cricket enthusiast. As well as authoring numerous books on this sport, he served as an umpire and scorer for many years and helped organise competitions such as the Fife Cup.
Giving further evidence of his significant energy, Potter also found time for non-sporting activities. This included researching local history and an enthusiasm for drama which saw him act with the Auld Kirk Players of Kirkcaldy since 1974.
Potter was married to Rosemary for more than 50 years. He is survived by her, as well as three children and many grandchildren too.
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