Having already rewritten the record books several times over, another accolade came the way of shinty icon Ronald Ross when he was inducted into the prestigious Scottish Sporting Hall of Fame.
Established by sportscotland in 2002 to recognise and honour the many great champions Scotland has produced, the Scottish Sporting Hall of Fame celebrates and pays tribute to Scotland’s most iconic sports men and women with the aim of inspiring future generations.
It is an elite club which includes sporting giants such as Denis Law, Kenny Dalglish, Ken Buchanan, Jock Stein, Liz McColgan, Sir Jackie Stewart and Sir Chris Hoy amongst just over 100 inductees.
Ross is the only shinty player to score more than 1,000 senior goals and the count only started in 1994, over a couple of years after he broke into the Kingussie senior side.
Ross has won every honour in the game, including 12 Camanachd Cup winners’ medals, coupled with international recognition. His goalscoring prowess included a record 94 goals during the 2002-03 season, just before the sport’s calendar switched from winter to summer.
When his playing days were over, Ross enjoyed a successful four-year stint as Scotland senior head coach from 2014 to 2017.
The clash was played on a home and away basis for the first two years of his tenure, and he won all four matches in Inverness overall.
He took on the role following two years leading the Scotland under-21 squad and he is also the long-time Scotland under-17 head coach, where he is able to pass on his undoubted knowledge to the next generation of shinty stars.
Having worked for the Camanachd Association for more than 22 years, Ross is currently national development manager, and he was awarded the MBE for services to shinty in 2011, marking a father and son double as his dad, legendary Kingussie manager Ian Ross, was earlier bestowed an MBE.
Ronald was also twice the recipient of the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland award.
His final senior game was the 2014 Camanachd Cup final, and he signed off in typical style, scoring twice in a 4-0 victory over Glenurquhart in Inverness.
Ross said: “This award was a huge surprise and certainly not something I expected.
“To be honest, I didn’t know a great deal about the Hall of Fame beforehand but there are some major sporting figures included, covering a range of different sports.
“I’ve always set out to be the best I can be but I’m not a person to look for individual awards.
“Shinty is a team sport and my dad always said that I was lucky to play at a time when Kingussie had so many great players throughout the team.
“They all played their part, from goalie, the defence, the midfield and the other forwards: we had so many quality players which is why we dominated the game for so long. It was my job to score goals and the goal scorers always get the credit.
“My dad was totally driven and shinty has always meant everything to him.
“He had us so well prepared as a team and he was the catalyst for all that we achieved. I have so much to thank him for.”
The only other shinty player to be named in the Scottish Sporting Hall of Fame is Newtonmore’s Dr John Cattanach, born in 1885, who was an outstanding all-round international athlete and is considered one of the finest shinty players ever to wield a caman. He died in 1915, succumbing to wounds sustained in the Dardanelles during World War I.
Ross added: “My mum had five sisters and a brother and if you go back through the generations, Dr Johnny Cattanach is a relative on my mum’s side.
“I believe he scored around 10 goals for Newtonmore in their 11-3 win against Furnace in the 1909 Camanachd Cup final in Glasgow.
“The best I managed was six goals in the 12-1 win over Newtonmore in Fort William in the 1997 Camanachd Cup final.”
