| Gary Harkins |
 Gary Harkins was born on Wednesday, 2nd January, 1985, in Greenock, Renfrewshire. The 6' 2 (12st 10lbs) midfielder signed for Ian McCall's Thistle on Wednesday, 25th July, 2007 (after a trial period), having most recently been with Grimsby Town. Aged 22, he made his debut appearance on Wednesday, 11th July, 2007, in a 2-0 friendly defeat away to Montrose. Gary scored his first goal for Thistle on Wednesday, 8th August, 2007, in a 2-1 win at home to Airdrie United in the League Cup. He scored the last of his 16 goals on Saturday, 16th November, 2019, in a 4-1 win away to Stenhousemuir in the Challenge Cup. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 18th January, 2020, in a 2-1 defeat at home to Celtic in the Scottish Cup, having clocked up an impressive 121 appearances as a Jag. At August, 2022, Gary's club-list included Blackburn Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Bury, Blackpool, Grimsby Town, Partick Thistle, Dundee, Kilmarnock, St Mirren, Oldham Athletic, Ayr United, Greenock Morton, Queen of the South, Stenhousemuir, Gartcairn Juniors and Forfar Athletic. |
 Harkins was born in Greenock and attended St Columba's High School, Gourock, where he played in a wide variety of positions and for various teams before signing for Blackburn Rovers. In 2012, after a scan for ligament damage, Gary revealed that doctors had told him he had been playing with a broken ankle for four years! Having come through the youth academies at Celtic and Blackburn Rovers he would notably play in the Scottish Premiership for Kilmarnock, Dundee and St. Mirren. He also played in the English Football League for Huddersfield Town, Bury, Blackpool, Grimsby Town and Oldham Athletic, and in the Scottish Football League for Partick Thistle, Ayr United, Greenock Morton, Queen of the South, Stenhousemuir and Forfar Athletic. While at Forfar, he would also perform the role of first team coach, and later assistant manager. Firhill fans favourite Gary enjoyed two spells as a Jag, the first starting in 2007 when he signed for Ian McCall’s Thistle side after a successful trial. He would provide countless assists in his time as a Jag, and famously set up Damon Gray’s memorable opener in a Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox in March 2008, sending a massive Thistle support wild with delight. Glorious Gary Harkins dazzled the Jags support with superb attacking displays and in 2008/09 spearheaded the side’s push to second position in the First Division. His 11 goals during the campaign drew admiring glances from elsewhere and in the summer of 2009 he joined Dundee for a six-figure fee, a transfer that was vital to the financial stability of the club at the time. His time at Firhill, however, was far from over and in January 2019 he returned as Jag, joining from Queen of the South and going on to play a big part in Thistle’s push to Championship safety last campaign. First team opportunities were limited for Gary this campaign but the Jags number 11 still featured 12 times for the club, netting his 16th, and final, goal for the club in the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup tie against Stenhousemuir. Remarkably, Thistle never lost any game in which Gary Harkins found the back of the net, with only a draw against St Johnstone in April 2009 denying him a 100% win record in Thistle games where he scored. His brother, Paul is also a footballer, playing in Scottish League Two for Elgin City. |
| (WIK/PTFC) |
