Four more Ayrshire's heroes in our latest instalment

Robert D Hunter (Image: Contributed) Robert D Hunter

Robert Dickie Hunter was born in Ayr in 1833 and was later known as Colonel R.D Hunter, becoming one of America’s earliest entrepreneurs.

The family had moved to Texas when Robert was nine years old and when his working career began he tried his hand at speculating in the mining industry - with little success.

However, his next venture when he joined forced with Captain Albert G Evans to form Hunter, Evans and Company. It was a major triumph as the company became one of the leading cattle firms in the country.

Hunter subsequently invested in the Johnson Coal Mining Company of Strawn, Texas. Until his retirement in 1899 Hunter served as president and general manager of the company-owned town of Thurber.

An authoritative figure, Hunter controlled his empire while being intolerant of workers’ organisations, but a massive strike led by foreign workers in 1903 proved costly.

Hunter retired although he remained in charge of the Hunter-Phelan Savings and Trust Company and served as a director of the National Exchange Bank of Dallas.

He died on November 7, 1902, at his home in Fort Worth and was survived by his wife and two daughters, having built an estimated $750,000 to $1million fortune.

Billy Dodds

Billy Dodds (Image: SFA) NEW Cumnock's Billy Dodds, born in 1969, made his name as one of Scotland’s top strikers.

He signed for Chelsea in 1986 then enjoyed a prolific spell at Dundee in the early 90s that saw him clinch big-money moves to St Johnstone and then Aberdeen.

Dodds was soon on the move again, this time to Dundee United, where his goals saw him earn a recall to the Scotland squad and then a dream move to Rangers, signing for Dick Advocaat’s men in 1999.

He became a hero of the Ibrox faithful with his scoring exploits, but when Advocaat left and Alex McLeish replaced him, he soon saw his first-team chances dry up.

And soon Dodds was to return to Tannadice where he gradually took on a more reserved role as a midfielder and sometimes as sweeper. After a spell as a coach, he became Inverness manager between 2021 and 2023.

Dodds remains as a top pundit with BBC Scotland, both on TV and radio.

Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon (Image: Newsquest) Born in Irvine in 1970, Nicola progressed from Greenwood Academy to study law at Glasgow University.

She became active in the SNP’s student wing and despite working as a solicitor after her graduation, she decided her future was firmly in politics.

She once said: "Thatcher was the motivation for my entire political career. I hated everything she stood for."

In 1999 Nicola became an MSP in the first elections to the Scottish Parliament, becoming the SNP’s justice spokeswoman. In September 2004, she became depute leader of the SNP, with Alex Salmond as party leader.

In 2007, the SNP formed a minority government and Sturgeon became deputy First Minister - and health secretary. She went on to play a key role in Scotland's Independence Referendum in 2014.

After the Yes campaign lost the vote, Salmond stepped down and Sturgeon became Scotland's First Minister serving from 2014 to 2023, steering the nation through the Covid pandemic.

She resigned as First Minister in February 2023 and within months became mired in a police investigation into SNP finances which rumbles on to this day.

Sam Torrance

Sam Torrance (Image: Newsquest) Largs man Sam Torrance OBE is one of the most popular and charismatic golfers in the world.

Born in 1953 before turning professional at just 16, he proved himself one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid 1970s to the late 1990s. Overall, Sam won 21 times on the European Tour.

However, it was Sam’s exploits in the Ryder Cup that were undoubtedly the high point of a career.

As a player, he is famous for his winning putt for Europe on the 18th green at the Belfry in 1985, which secured Europe’s first Ryder Cup victory in 28 years.

Furthermore, it was as captain of the team that Sam was to cap his glorious career, when in 2002 Europe regained the Ryder Cup. He was awarded an MBE and an OBE.

He was famed for his appearances on BBC's Question of Sport, authored several books and worked as a commentator for the BBC's golf coverage.