I remember being involved in one of these arguments with someone who thought John Strachan was a Scottish footballer - maybe he was, but the one I was referring to was the great Scots ballad singer

I hope I may be permitted to say that they were both the same person. The farmer and ballad singer John Strachan who sang at the first People's Ceilidh in Edinburgh in 1951 and judging by the reception that he received on the recordings of the event by Alan Lomax was outstandingly well received by an enthusiatic audience was in his younger days also a semi-pro footballer in the Highland League.
And taking this diversion of what Stuart Hall called "The Beautiful Game" in 1958 a stage further.....

When was the first live radio commentary on a football game?
1927
Who were the teams and where was it played?
Aberdeen V. Glasgow Celtic played at Pittodrie Stadium
What was the result?
Aberdeen won 2-0
And who was the commentator?
Yes! It was the same..... John Strachan!
No recording obviously, but wouldn't I have loved to have heard John's rich Doric Aberdonian language - very similar to my grandmother's - describing a football match.
...and wasn't the previous matter resolved by the admission that there had been a confusion between John Strachan and one of Scotland's greatest footballers, Gordon Strachan?