In 1901 there was a family of seven - father, aged twenty-nine, mother, twenty-six, and five children - staying at 77 Connel Park by New Cumnock. He, the father, was described as a coal miner hewer. He dug the black stuff. But, though the seven were living in Ayrshire all the children, aged from 10 to 1, three daughters and two sons, and their mother, Francis, were recorded as born in England. Only the head of the household, Thomas, had been born north of the border, still in Ayrshire but in Kilmarnock and therein hangs a football tale.

The family surname was Crate but even that hid change. A decade earlier Tom Crate had also been a miner living with his parents at 136 Connel Park his but ten years earlier still, in 1881 as a nine year-old of 73 Connel Park he was known as Thomas McCreight, son of Charlie McCreight. In fact it was even by that name Thomas and Francis's second son would be English-christened in 1896/7.  

So why the change and movement? The answer is football. On 24th September 1892 a Thomas Crate had made his debut appearance, in the English game at least. It was at inside-right, against Sheffield United, at St. James's Park, Newcastle but not for that city's United, as it did not yet exist, but for East End, with West End one of the two teams to combine, to "unite" within weeks. But that is only half the story. The Connel Park coal was mined by the Lanemark Company and it was from the company cricket club that in 1875 the Lanemark Football Club emerged. Its ground was between the miners' cottages and railway-line. It first team included two brothers, George and John Graham, and John would go on to turn out for Annbank and in 1884 win a single Scottish cap, whilst a shamateur on the books of Preston North End. And the two brothers would be followed in the Lanemark team by a third, Willie, who also joined Preston in 1888 before moving back for the 1891/2 season. At the same time