Robert MacDougal Wylie

Born 7/9/1940 - Died 28/5/2025.

It was with great sadness that I learned last week of the passing of my good friend Mac. It was via cricket that we first met. Scotland and Ireland had become regions of the International umpiring body, the Association of Cricket Umpires (A.C.U) and we were both on its management committee representing our respective countries.

It was around this time that ICC Europe - under its ambitious manager, Richard Holdsworth - was providing lots of tournament cricket for the many emerging European countries, and not only for the senior sides but for the differing age groups as well.  

Mac and I were appointed as the Umpire managers for quite a few of these tournaments. The development of umpires played an important part in this as well, and when countries nominated umpires for consideration as potential candidates for promotion, we were dispatched to the various countries to assess them when officiating in their local leagues.

Mac Wylie and Paddy O'Hara

Mac excelled  in this particular aspect of the job and many of the umpires I spoke to had great respect for the manner in which he carried this out and valued his very perceptive comments. 

Of course it wasn`t all about tournaments, and Mac`s "day job" was observing and assessing Scottish officials throughout the seasons, and again I was reliably informed that he gave good, sensible and practical advice, always with the aim of raising the overall standards in the West of Scotland leagues.

Mac was a life long member of Kelburne C.C. and was elevated to Honorary Life membership of that Club. I am greatly indebted to Jim McClymont who asked Kelburne`s President to produce  the obituary below.

KELBURNE TRIBUTE TO MAC WYLIE

Robert MacDougall Wylie, born 7th September 1940, joined Kelburne at a young age, progressing from the minors to the senior ranks by the late 1950's.

Whitehaugh in the 50's was a booming location for cricket as crowds in the thousands packed in to watch Kelburne, Scotland and Touring teams. These proved formative years for Wylie and fostered a love and passion for the game which would last for many decades to come. In his later years he often regaled the back bar with tales of the players and personalities he had seen walk through the doors at Whitehaugh.

By the 1960s, Mac was an established Second XI player, making regular appearances in the First XI, playing mainly in midweek matches. He was known as an aggressive batsman in his early days and after a broken nose injury, he became more adept in playing defensive shots. He was a skilled fielder and a safe catcher. The stand out in his playing days was featuring in the First XI side to lift the McCulloch Cup in 1964. 

His sense of humor was always evident on the pitch. On one occasion, whilst fielding at Langloan, George Thompson, the Kelburne captain, was insistent on taking the team off the pitch after the Drumpellier batsman had been given Not Out and had refused to walk despite being five yards from reaching his crease. Despite protests from his team mates that they must continue, Thompson started his walk to changing room alone. He was chased by Mac Wylie, who informed him he wouldn't get very far and handed him the dressing room key.

Mac was a regular in the Dublin tours of the 1960s and continued playing into the 1970s featuring in the Western Cup winning team of 1971. His playing career came to an abrupt end in 1974, when his whites and shoes were binned in a winter redevelopment of the back bar which saw player lockers removed.

Beyond the cricket pitch, Mac supported the club in a number of roles including as the Club Secretary, volunteering on the bar and, as a quantity surveyor by trade, played an important role in the Squash Court and Downstairs Lounge development. 

He was instrumental in bringing the then Ferguslie Hockey Club to Kelburne in 1969 and was known as a sturdy hockey player with a somewhat aggressive streak. He continued to the contribute to the hockey section at Kelburne and umpired over 450 hockey matches in the national league with his famous "play on" phrase heard in hockey pitches across the country.

It was though, in cricket umpiring that Mac left his mark on the game in Scotland. His on field demeanour, fieldcraft, man and match management and crucially, respect from the players, set him apart from others and raised him to an international standard. Possibly the highlight of his umpiring career came in 2002 when he, and his great friend Bill Smith, were appointed to stand in the National Village Cup Final at Lords, the first two Scottish umpires to officiate at the home of world cricket.

Mac Wylie and Simon Hewitt at the European Championships in Belgium

Over the many years he supported with umpire development, training and appointments across Scotland and in Europe. These contributions were recognised when he was made an Honorary Life Member of the CSMOA on its inception in 2020. Umpiring colleagues past and present will have their own memories and stories and a book could surely be written of "The Wit and Wisdom of Mac Wylie". 

Away from cricket, he will be remembered as a keen supporter of St Mirren Football Club, a long time member of Erskine Golf Club and for a fondness of good red wine. 

Tales of his frugal nature are never far from those who played with him, including the infamous tale of the evening he was turned upside down in the back bar in order to empty his pockets when the time came to pay for his round.

A character on and off the pitch and name which will live long in the memory at Whitehaugh.

R.M. Wylie

1st September 1940- 28th May 2025