 McNichol was born in <unk> , Ayrshire . His father , Danny , died when he was five , so McNichol and seven siblings were raised by their mother , Catherine . He attended St Joseph 's School in <unk> , and started work as a messenger boy for a local <unk> 's shop when he left school . His shop work stopped him playing football on Saturdays , but he was able to play some <unk> football for Junior club Hurlford United . When he was taken on at the local bus garage as an apprentice motor mechanic , he became available on Saturdays as well . Hurlford paid him ten <unk> a game , nearly as much as his apprentice 's wages . During the Second World War , McNichol was called up to the Fleet Air Arm as a mechanic , but was able to play friendly matches for Inverness @-@ based club <unk> . Because of the number of professional players stationed around the country , such matches were played at a fairly high standard . 
