CHICK Young will be a key speaker at Alzheimer Scotland’s annual sporting dinner at Hampden tonight.

The dinner will raise essential funds for the charity’s powerful football memories project, which supports thousands affected by dementia. There are up to 100 groups operating across the nation.

Therapy sessions staged in partnership with the Scottish Football Museum Trust and Alzheimer Scotland use images and memorabilia from between 1945 and 1980 to aid recall and memory for participants.

A spokeswoman for the charity said: “With a common passion for the beautiful game, members will often recall with great enthusiasm and clarity details of their own football experiences.”

An estimated 90,000 people are living with dementia in Scotland and the number is set to double in a generation.

Chick said: “The Football Memories initiative is fantastic as it gives men and their families the opportunity to get together in a room, to talk about the beautiful game.

“More often than not, families will find that their loved ones open up and happily talk at length about their teams’ greatest achievements.”

His stepdad, Alex Rowan, was a life-long St Mirren fan.

“Alex would often bore me to tears with memories from the mid 50s era – the glory days, as he saw it. By the time I reached my early 20s, I was a frequent visitor to Love Street, cheering on the team.

“Sadly, he died in 1988, however, had lived to see his team lift the Scottish Cup in 1987.”

Here Chick selects his top five favourite memories:

1St Mirren v Dundee United, Scottish Cup final, 1987

“The winning team became legends in their own right that afternoon, lifting the cup against all the odds. I was working for Radio Clyde and was able to soak up the atmosphere from the stand and trackside.

“Dad came with me. I was beaming with pride after speaking to the manager and players about their big win and couldn’t wait to speak to dad.

“But rather than celebrating the occasion, he was more worried about the following season and keeping a hold of the winning team and management.

“And he was right to worry, as the following season the manager and many of the key big players from that day moved on to bigger things.”

2Clydebank v St Mirren, Christmas Day, 1976

“Another great memory. I went with my dad. The game ended 2-2. There were more than 10,000 witnesses that day, in what was to be the last British senior game to be played on December 25.

“That season saw us promoted as champions. We were managed by Alex Ferguson at the time and with the likes of Tony Fitzpatrick, Frank McGarvey and Jackie Copland in the starting line-up were unstoppable. The memory of the event will stay with me forever.”

3England v Scotland, Wembley, June 1977

“There were high expectations from Ally McLeod’s side following a successful trip to South America.

“With players such as Kenny Dalglish and Gordon McQueen in the line-up, there was a wave of self-belief, and it followed through until the end with Scotland taking the honours in the 2-1 scoreline. Consumed by excitement, Scots fans invaded the pitch at the final whistle, and I was one of them.

“The roar of the Scottish fans was spectacular. I’d travelled down with a group of my best mates from primary school days. Some are great pals to this day.”

4European Youth Championship, 1982

“I was working for the Evening Times when I was sent to Finland to cover Scotland’s progress during the Under-18 European Youth Championship.

“I thought I’d be there just for a week, but I’ll never forget the events that unfolded over the two weeks.

“After eliminating England early on, Scotland, led by Andy Roxburgh and his assistant, Walter Smith, were in fine fighting form, beat Poland in the semi-finals.

“In the final we defeated Czechoslovakia 3-1, with goals by Gary Mackay, Pat Nevin and John Philliben.”

“The next year we reached the quarter-finals in Mexico, beating the hosts 1-0 in the group stages. There were more than 100,000 there that day, with only a few representing the Scotland side including the official party – including myself! Another great memory.”

5St Mirren win the League Cup, 2013

“This was the day St Mirren lifted their first major silverware in more than a quarter of a century.

“The game was action-packed, but it was after the game that holds special memories for me.

“I was asked by the club to produce a behind-the-scenes DVD covering the full day’s events and was granted access-all-areas.

“ But the main highlight of the day was being asked to join the winning team on the open top bus ride.

“That was the day that I held the cup high in memory of my dad. That was incredibly emotional.

“I think I was greetin’ for most the day.”

l The event will be hosted by Lorraine Herbison, head of news and sport at Bauer Radio Scotland. For more details call Ellenor Ferguson at eferguson@alzscot.org