Faces of Gorgie greats to adorn Jambo 'Wall of Fame'

HEARTS heroes past and present are being etched into Tynecastle history.

A huge display wall, dubbed the "Wall of Fame" is currently being assembled in the Gorgie Suite at the stadium in honour of some of the club's greatest figures.

Measuring over 16 feet long, the wall will eventually be made up of 51 individual steel plates, each one engraved with the face of a fans' favourite, from present-day captain Steven Pressley and goalscoring hero John Robertson, right back to 'King of Hearts' Willie Bauld and Jimmy Wardhaugh.

Engraver Nicola Welsh has 27 names on her list so far and a plaque has been created for each player but now she wants Hearts fans to help her choose who should join them on the wall.

However, the wall is not just restricted to players and Nicola - who has already created a portrait of former chairman Wallace Mercer to take its place in the display - is keen to include anyone who is considered a legend by supporters, be they a manager, coach or member of the board.

She said: "I would really like the Hearts supporters to be able to contribute to the wall and have a say in who goes onto it.

"The club carried out a survey a few years ago and have given me a list of the 25 players who were voted for by supporters but I am hoping to have around 50 players, managers or coaches by the time I am finished. It's not just the players I want to include, it can be managers, coaches, directors, whoever has been really popular at the club. I know that the current squad will be very popular but I want to make sure that I include everyone, right back through the years.

"I think that eventually we want to have 51 of them up on the wall and, if everything goes to plan and we get enough suggestions, I am hoping that it will be completed before the beginning of the new season."

Nicola has already worked on a similar project, having also created a Wall of Fame at Fir Park for Motherwell. Their gallery wall is situated in the club's Davie Cooper suite and, as well as an etched image of the late winger, there are also portraits of former manager Terry Butcher, Tommy Coyne, Tommy MacLean, Michel Doesburg and Dixie Deans.

And she is hoping that she will now be able to make her mark at other clubs in Scotland, adding: "I've been trying to make inroads in this field for about five years but it can be very difficult to get into football clubs. Motherwell have been very kind to me and I think they are really pleased now they have had it done because it is a real focal point, it is the first things that supporters see if they are there for hospitality.

"The plaques are laminated and then acid etched and baked in the oven, it is quite a long process but it is all worth it in the end because it is spectacular. It looks almost like a mirror effect with black ink in the background and Hearts are planning on putting three spotlights on the wall so it will be even more stunning."

Nicola started her business, Abbozzati - which means sketch in Italian - after her dad spotted a similar plaque while on a night out. She added: "It started years ago when my dad saw a brass plaque engraved with an image of the jockey Lester Piggott about 30 years ago in a restaurant in Hamilton.

"He really liked it and thought that it was really different and unusual. He wanted to try it out, so we did, and it looked really good.

"He spoke to me and asked if he thought it was the kind of thing we could take into football clubs and we decided to give it a go.

"We're making the club some money as well because I basically rent the wall space from Hearts and then sell other plaques to companies for advertising and the club gets a share of that.

"Hopefully it will be a real talking point for the fans."

The full list of players Nicola has already started working on are: Alex Young, Alfie Conn, Andy Webster, Antti Niemi, Colin Cameron, Craig Levein, Dave Mackay, Dave McPherson, Donald Ford, Drew Busby, Freddie Glidden, Gary Locke, Gary Mackay, Henry Smith, Jim Cruikshank, Jimmy Wardhaugh, John Colquhoun, John Robertson, Mark de Vries, Paul Hartley, Rudi Skacel, Sandy Clark, Stephane Adam, Steven Pressley, Tommy Walker, Wayne Foster, Willie Bauld and Wallace Mercer.

Work on the above names began at the weekend and it's hoped that the full wall will be completed by the time the Jambos face Celtic at Tynecastle on the second day of the season.

Taken from the Scotsman