In light of the recent Vicarage Road centenary celebrations, writers from The Watford Treasury magazine look back at players who performed great feats on home soil.

First featured in last season’s matchday programme, Richard White writes about 1960s and 70s crowd favourite Stewart Scullion, who scored arguably the best individual goal ever witnessed at The Vic.

Think back to the last time you saw a Watford player at Vicarage Road jink past five opposition defenders with the ball under close control and have his shot saved by the keeper… then seconds later win the ball back, dribble round five players again and slip it into the net. If you can then you were at the Watford v Stockport County match on October 21, 1967, when Stewart Scullion displayed his consummate dribbling skills to maximum effect.

The goal was described by the Watford Observer as ‘fantastic’, ‘incredible’ and ‘one of the greatest goals ever seen at Vicarage Road’. It contributed to a 5-0 win and even had the opposition keeper applauding, along with an extended ovation from the crowd. It was no fluke event – Scullion made a career out of running rings around some of the toughest men in football, in the days when referees were more lenient towards defensive ‘challenges’.

Scullion – known to fans as ‘Scully’ – was a much-loved and highly regarded winger who played 348 times for Watford, scoring 55 goals, during two spells between 1966 and 1976. In an era when wingers were prized for their ability to beat full-backs consistently, he could light up the most mundane of games and leave spectators smiling on their way home.

He arrived in February 1966 aged 19 as a makeweight in the transfer of Cliff Holton to Charlton Athletic, having played in the Addicks’ reserves for a year without getting a first-team opportunity. Proposing his inclusion in the deal was a shrewd piece of advice given to Manager Ken Furphy by Pat Molloy, Watford’s trainer-physio, who had spotted the potential of the young wingman, who had previously appeared for Chesham United.

Scoring on his debut for Watford in a 2-1 win at Exeter on February 5, 1966, Scully immediately became a first-team regular.

Unlike some wingers, he didn’t need to rely on out-and-out pace – although he was certainly quick, especially over short distances. He would sidle up to opponents before enticing them into a challenge which he would skip over or jink past, taking the ball with him into the green grass beyond.

Should the defender turn quickly and try to keep pace, it wasn’t unusual for Scully to turn back and take him on again, beating him once more just for the pleasure of it. The crowd loved him, but his fellow forwards were often less amused as they found it rather difficult to gauge if, when and to where Scully would release his final cross.

Born in Scotland, it was said that if he could have lifted his head he might have gained an international cap. This wasn’t the mediocre Scottish team of recent vintage mind you; he played during the era of worldclass forwards such as Denis Law, Kenny Dalglish and Jimmy Johnstone.

Scully was anything but unproductive, as his goals and many assists show. A man for the big occasion, he made headlines when scoring Watford’s goal against the reigning European Champions, Manchester United, with a cracking 25-yard shot in the 1-1 FA Cup draw at Old Trafford in January 1969.

That season he was an important member of the Watford team that won the Division Three championship, gaining promotion to the second tier of the Football League for the first time. He also featured strongly in Watford’s run to the FA Cup semi-finals the following season, including the fine 1-0 win over Liverpool.

During his first spell at Watford, Scully was tracked by several clubs who recognised his potential to play at a higher level. Negotiations took place with Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday as Manager Furphy tried to raise money to freshen up his team then struggling in Division Two, but both deals fell through. Finally, he was sold to Division One Sheffield United for £25,000 in May 1971.

Two-and-a-half years later, after scoring seven goals in 57 games for the Blades, Scully re-joined Watford for £15,000. In this second spell he notched 19 goals in 87 appearances for the Hornets, before moving to Tampa Bay Rowdies at the end of 1974/75 campaign, initially on loan. While in the USA, as a resident player he represented Team America in the 1976 Bicentennial Cup tournament, scoring their only goal in a 3-1 defeat against England. Scully was a man who just loved playing football, and it was evident in his play.

Supporters warmed to him not just for his wily skill, but also his qualities of courage and persistence, making him one of the outstanding figures in Watford’s footballing history.

He remains grateful for the opportunity Watford gave him to play regular first-team football, and we remain very grateful to have had him.