Calum Grant | Chairman's Tribute

Everybody at Ross County Football Club has been deeply saddened by the news of the passing of former Player & Director, Calum Grant.

A well-known businessman and character in North of Scotland Football, Calum’s association with Ross County goes back to his teen years where at 16 years old he joined the Staggies and was a major performer in helping the club claim its first Highland League title in 1966-67 aged on 18.

Calum would go on and join English outfit Lincoln City before his career was halted with injury. He later held various roles at Inverness Clachnacuddin whilst watching the fast growth of his own business, MacRae's Travel.

Returning to Ross County in 1997 as a Director, Calum went on to be a familiar and welcoming figure of the club, who will be fondly remembered by many across his over 50 year association with the club. In addition to his duties as a Director, Calum is also warmly remembered by players and coaching staff, with whom he had created strong bonds with over his time here. We send our thoughts to his wife Phylis and his son Ian during this difficult time.

On Friday 11^th December 2020 at 10.45am, Calum’s funeral cortege will conduct a drive past and pause here at the Global Energy Stadium where anybody can come along to mark their respects to a Calum, who will always be remembered as part of our Ross County family.

Chairman's Tribute

I begin by saying that the North of Scotland has lost somebody truly special to our game in the passing of Calum Grant- a man that was a very loyal friend to me, and a man that embodied everything that Ross County has become over the years.

One of the best ways Calum can be remembered, as I will remember him, was the “glue” that kept all of our history together. There are various times over the years where we have tried to bring generations of the club’s players together and there was one man that always kept in contact with most, if not all, in his over 50 years involvement with the club, and that was Calum. Whether it was the first Highland League winning team of which Calum played in, the famous Ross County team that took to the field against Rangers in 1965/66 season or beyond, Calum would always be just a phone call away from being in touch with somebody from our journey.

As a Chairman, few will know the relentless nature and emotional challenges we face on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and Calum was always there for me in my over 25 years as Chairman- to support, encourage and give incredibly valuable input to where we are today, in both his time as a Director and as just a lover of Ross County. Calum’s contacts in the English game have been invaluable to us on our journey over the years, and Calum always played a big part in the process of recruiting managers for the club from the point of interview, to introducing them to our history and story.

It is well-known that Calum had a very successful travel business in which his busiest day was always going to be a Saturday- when most in Calum’s position would be sitting booking holidays for families at 3.00pm on a Saturday, Calum was in amongst the club sharing his passion for our team and being surrounded by our fans. His passion shone through in every which way, in his role as a Director, in his care for the wellbeing of the club, in the course of travel the club has taken and, where it all started for Calum- in the development of our young players.

As we begin to see the return of fans to our stadium, and one day when we will get back to normal with full capacities, there is absolutely no doubt there will always be a space in our stadium that will be left by the passing of Calum.

Roy MacGregor