[Official TC Thread] 25th may 1967

IN just six weeks time, the 50th anniversary celebrations of Celtic’s European Cup triumph will kick off in earnest as we enter the week of the Lisbon final and the countdown to May 25.

And in the run-up that special anniversary, the official Celtic website is highlighting the 11 men who defeated Inter Milan 2-1 on that sunny afternoon in the Portuguese capital to become the Kings of Europe.

This week we feature the man who wore the No.6 shorts on that momentous day, the man who was singled out for praise by Pele following a Scotland v Brazil game at Hampden – John Clark …

PRELUDE TO PARADISE

Lanarkshire Bhoy, John Clark started with his local Chapelhall Boys’ Guild before Junior side, Larkhall Thistle were alerted to his talents in the left-half berth in October 1957. By the end of that season, Birmingham City were in the running for the youngster but no permanent deal was struck and Celtic’s reserve coach, a certain Jock Stein, fielded Clark as a trialist on September 20. By October he was a fully-fledged Celtic player and joined a half-back line in the reserve side where he was partnered by Pat Crerand and Billy McNeill as the club’s second string began to pick up plaudits – something that the first team were sadly lacking.

FIRST START

On Saturday, October 3, 1959, Scotland were on duty in Belfast and won 4-0 with Celtic regulars Bobby Evans representing the Scots and Bertie Peacock turning out for the Irish. In those days, though, the club football card carried on as normal on international days and the absence of two first-team stalwarts from the half-back line necessitated some re-adjustment to the team with the 18-year-old Clark lining up alongside 19-year-old Billy McNeill for the first time in top team. A 9,000 crowd at Gayfield saw the Hoops storm to a 5-0 win with the goals coming from Stevie Chalmers (2), Mike Jackson (2) and Jim Conway.

HIGHS

Where do you want to start? As a Kelly Kid he had been utilised at right-half when it was obvious that his natural berth was on the left-hand side of the defence but that all changed when Jock Stein arrived as manager in 1965. The new boss also adopted the sweeper system and Clark was the man for the job as Stein’s Celts set about turning Scottish, not to mention European, football on its head. Between 1965 and 1971, Clark picked up three league championships, three Scottish Cups, four League Cups and, of course, the European Cup in 1967.

LOWS

As a youngster he played in the 1961 Scottish Cup final and replay when the Hoops lost to Jock Stein’s Dunfermline, but by the middle of the decade there would be very few lows indeed for the sweeper. However, by 1968, injuries were beginning to take their toll and he was increasingly out of the side and this was perhaps the first indication that the Lisbon Lions weren’t going to last forever on the field. Once the 1970s kicked in, the long-lasting servants were gradually departing and, as a dyed-in-the-wool Celtic supporter, Clark would not have enjoyed leaving the club in the least.

LAST START

This was truly the end of an era as the final league of season 1970/71, a 6-1 home win over Clyde on May 1, was not only Clark’s last game for Celtic, it was also the last hurrah of the Lisbon Lions. Bertie Auld was set to depart and join Hibernian and Jock Stein allowed the injured Ronnie Simpson to run out with the team as the Lions took to the field for the last time. As things turned out, it would also be the final outing for Clark and Stevie Chalmers – but it wouldn’t be the last time that either of those two wore hoops at Celtic Park…

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

The reason for the return of the hooped duo is that they both signed for Morton and in Celtic’s second home league game of the following season, the Greenock side were visitors and the monochrome shots of the day show the pair still seemingly playing for Celtic – but in the blue and white Hoops of the Cappielow club. Our Lisbon hero took this a little too literally and managed to score an own goal in Celtic’s 3-1 win. He did return to Paradise properly, though, as a coach in 1973 and was Billy McNeill’s right-hand man as assistant at both Aberdeen and Celtic. He was manager at Cowdenbeath, Stranraer, Clyde and Shotts Bon Accord before returning to Celtic as Kit Manager meaning that he has been on Celtic’s books in the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s. ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s and 2010s!

AND ANOTHER THING...

Between April 1965 and September 1967, Clark did not miss a single game for Celtic in any competition. From April 17, 1965 when Celtic played Partick Thistle in the league, he didn’t miss a match until September 27, 1967 when the Hoops played Ayr United in the League Cup quarter-final. That was 140 competitive Celtic games with 73 in the league, 28 in the League Cup, 14 in the Scottish Cup, seven in the Glasgow Cup and 18 in Europe. During this time he also played four times for Scotland and Celtic played 17 major friendlies including the North American tour of 1966, Manchester United at the start of season 1966/67 and the Alfredo Di Stefano Testimonial against Real Madrid at the end of it.

 

It was on this day in 1950 Former Assistant Manager Sean Fallon made his celtic debut against Clyde.

 

It was on this day in 1977 Jock Stein clinched his final league title with a 1-0 win at Easter Road.

 

Please include your address in the comments part of paypal.

 

It was on this day 13 years ago The great Ronnie Simpson sadly passed away

 

IN just five weeks time, the 50th anniversary celebrations of Celtic’s European Cup triumph will kick off in earnest as we enter the week of the Lisbon final and the countdown to May 25.

And in the run-up that special anniversary, the official Celtic website is highlighting the 11 men who defeated Inter Milan 2-1 on that sunny afternoon in the Portuguese capital to become the Kings of Europe.

This week we feature the man who wore the No.5 shorts on that momentous day, the man who was the first British player to lift the European Cup, our captain, Cesar himself … Billy McNeill

PRELUDE TO PARADISE
It was with Our Lady’s High School in Motherwell that Billy McNeill first caught the eye of watching clubs, but there was only one club that he was destined to go to and that was Celtic. It is impossible to imagine Celtic without Billy McNeill and vice-versa, but there were other career options available to him as he tried to forge a future with his first love, amongst them a surveyor. Thankfully for Celtic fans, the club spotted his potential and he signed on August 20, 1957, immediately coming under the tutelage of then reserve coach, Jock Stein before being farmed out to junior side, Blantyre Vics. A year later to the exact day on August 20, 1958, Bobby Evans suffered a back injury in the opening league game against Clyde and that gave McNeill his chance.

DEBUT BHOY
On August 23, 1958, Celtic faced Clyde in a League Cup sectional tie at home, and Billy McNeill was in the starting line-up for the very first time. He was just 18-years-old. A healthy crowd of 39,000 packed into Celtic Park to see Celtic win 2-0 thanks to goals from Sammy Wilson and Bertie Auld. They would have enjoyed the victory though it’s unlikely any of them would have identified the tall teenage centre-half as a future Celtic legend. However, within a short space of time he would become the rock upon which fortress Celtic Park was built, as the club emerged from the doldrums, and a steadfast fulcrum around which everything evolved in the middle of the park.

HIGHLIGHTS
There are enough highlights in Billy McNeill’s Celtic career to fill a book, and Cesar has committed his story to print, including his autobiography, Hail Cesar. The front cover contains one of the most iconic images in Celtic’s history – Billy holding aloft the European Cup on May 25, 1967. The image may be a black and white one, but every Celtic fan can picture those green and white Hoops and the ‘Big Cup’ sparking in the Portuguese sunshine. Not surprisingly, that day and, indeed, that season when Jock Stein’s side won every competition they entered, has a special place in Billy McNeill’s heart.


BOWING OUT
It was on May 3, 1975 that Billy McNeill pulled on the green and white Hoops for the 790th and last time in a competitive match. Fittingly, it came in a cup final and ended with the player listing another piece of silverware. Celtic faced Airdrie in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden, looking to win their second trophy of the season, having already beaten Hibernian in the League Cup final. The league title had left Paradise for the first time since 1966. Paul Wilson scored two first-half goals and Pat McCluskey netted from the penalty spot after the break to give Celtic a 3-1 victory and their 24th Scottish Cup success. A crowd of 75,457 saw Billy McNeill lift the trophy and then be carried, shoulder-high by his Celtic team-mates.

FROM CAPTAIN TO MANAGER
Billy McNeill first dipped his toes into management at nearby Shawfield when he took over the reins at Clyde on April 1, 1977. Billy wasn’t in the Second Division long, though, as, just 70 days later, he had signed on as manager at Premier League Aberdeen. The fans at Pittodrie took to Billy and he himself loved the whole ambience of the place. However, when Celtic came calling in 1978 there was no way he could say no. In his first spell as manager at Celtic Park, he won three championships, a Scottish Cup and a League Cup before leaving to manage Manchester City and then Aston Villa. He returned north in time to lead Celtic to the centenary year Double and the following season lifted the Scottish Cup again. His first league triumph as Celtic manager, back in 1979, remains one of the most incredible nights in the club’s history, when the 10 men of Celtic beat Rangers 4-2 to secure the title. Not surprisingly, it’s one of Cesar’s favourite managerial moments.

HAIL! HAIL! CESAR
Over the years many people assumed that Billy McNeill’s nickname was given in recognition of his character and status as leader – the all-conquering hero, Caesar. He certainly fitted that image, though this was neither the reason nor the spelling of his moniker. His team-mates began calling him ‘Cesar’ after he became one of the few players in the squad who owned a car at the time, and was inspired by the Hollywood actor, Cesar Romero, who played a getaway driver in the original Ocean’s Eleven movie. Yet, the nickname was inspired choice because Billy McNeill was always the leader, in the driving seat as Celtic conquered all before them, in Scotland and in Europe.

 

A goalless draw in Prague On This Day 50 years ago saw the Celts go through to the 1967 European Cup Final 3-1 on aggregate!

 

IT was on this day 50 years ago, April 25, 1967 that Celtic became the first British team to reach the European Cup final and they did so at the first time of asking.

With thousands of Celtic fans already booked for Lisbon even before the semi-final, they would now be joined by thousands more with countless fans rushing to get passports for the first time following the 0-0 draw with Dukla Prague in Czechoslovakia that took the Hoops through 3-1 on aggregate.

Jock Stein said at the time: “We have qualified for the European Cup final. There is tremendous spirit in the team, even though they have had a most exciting season.

“In the European Cup semi-final second-leg we tried, as usual, to make a quick summing-up of what our opponents would try to do.

“Our players very quickly decided that Dukla were going to be aggressive and bold, and our answer was to concentrate on defence.

“We had not intended to be so defensively-minded, but in the circumstances we had no hesitation in deciding as we did.

“We had, of course, played in a very different way in the first game against Dukla, but I think we showed the Czechs that we can alter our methods to suit the occasions and do so very profitably.”

The Summer of Love clearly hadn’t kicked in yet as Engelbert Humperdink held the No.1 spot with ‘Release Me’ only to lose the top place to Frank and Nancy Sinatra’s ‘Somethin’ Stupid’ by the time the second leg of Celtic’s third European semi-final was played.

It was the same in the album charts as Julie Andrews & Co returned yet again to the top with ‘The Sound Of Music’ while the master tapes of The Beatles’ upcoming ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ oompahed their way to the pressing plant and world domination.

But Celtic and Jock Stein had their own domination strategy and Dukla Prague weren’t going to be allowed to stand in their way.

This was Celtic’s first attempt at capturing the big one – the European Cup, and the Bhoys played their way to European glory.

The plan held firm in the first leg as Jimmy Johnstone gave the Celts the lead only for Stanislav Strunc to equalise just before half time.

However, a double from Willie Wallace gave the Celts a fairly commanding lead for the away tie but this time there was to be no repeat of the capitulation in Hungary three years earlier when the Celts lost a 3-0 first-leg lead to MTK Budapest in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup semi-final.

Stein opted for a backs-to-the-wall policy with Steve Chalmers operating a one-man offensive up front but it was in the defensive middle of the park where the action was concentrated.

So much so that Ronnie Simpson only had one noteworthy save to make as the Celts built their own iron curtain.

In the other semi-final, Inter Milan took three games to dispose of CSKA Sofia after two 1-1 draws and the stage was set for a green and white pilgrimage to Lisbon.

Billy McNeill recalled of Stevie Chalmers’ display up front in that game: “The performance that stands out in my mind from that season was against Dukla Prague in the second game we played against them.

“Stevie played up front on his own that night and was virtually the only player that we had in their half at any given time. He worked tirelessly and the amount of effort that he put in was incredible.”

 

IN just four weeks time, the 50th anniversary celebrations of Celtic’s European Cup triumph will kick off in earnest as we enter the week of the Lisbon final and the countdown to May 25.

And in the run-up that special anniversary, the official Celtic website is highlighting the 11 men who defeated Inter Milan 2-1 on that sunny afternoon in the Portuguese capital to become the Kings of Europe.

This week we feature the man who wore the No.4 shorts on that momentous day, a world-class midfielder of whom his team-mates said, ‘When Bobby Murdoch played, Celtic played.’

PRELUDE TO PARADISE
Although raised in Rutherglen, within walking distance of a match at Celtic Park, boundary rules meant that Bobby Murdoch travelled deeper into Lanarkshire for secondary schooling and, like Billy McNeill, played for Our Lady’s High in Motherwell. Indeed, he did have a trial for Motherwell but once Celtic came calling, there was no doubt where he would end up. He signed for his Bhoyhood heroes on October 23, 1959 and the youngster was farmed out to Cambuslang Rangers.

DEBUT BHOY
Celtic’s 1962/63 season kicked off with a home League Cup ties against Hearts on August 11. The legend goes that 22-year-old John Divers forgot his boots and the re-shuffled side saw the just-turned 18-year-old Bobby Murdoch drafted into the side at the last minute, although it is also claimed that he was always going to be playing that day and it was, in fact, Charlie Gallagher, who was drafted in to replace Divers. Either way, both players would score, with the Celtic debutant netting the first of his 102 goals for the club just seven minutes into the game. Gallagher added a second and John Hughes completed the scoring. For the 41,000 fans at Celtic Park, it was their first glimpse of a player who would go on to become a Hoops legend.

HIGHLIGHTS
If plaudits and testimonials from fellow professionals, team-mates and opposition players alike, were converted into medals, Bobby Murdoch would have struggled to stand up under the weight of them. However, he did build up a more than substantial collection of the real things while he was a mainstay of the greatest side in Celtic’s history. He won eight of the nine-in-a-row championships as well as four Scottish Cups and five consecutive League Cups. Then, of course, there was the European Cup in 1967 to make for a haul of no fewer than 18 top-level medals.



BOWING OUT
In season 1972/73, Bobby Murdoch played in 40 games in all competitions and scored seven goals but the following term would prove to be very different. He played only one game before moving to Middlesbrough on September 17. That solitary game came in the final sectional game of the League Cup on August 29 away to Arbroath. The crowd of 5,101 saw Kenny Dalglish open the scoring, only for Tommy Yule to equalise two minutes before the break. However, second-half goals from Bobby Lennox and Paul Wilson gave Celtic a 3-1 win. Just a few weeks later, one of the greatest footballers Celtic had ever produced was on his way out of Paradise and down to Ayresome Park and Middlesbrough.

APPRECIATION SOCIETY
Inter Milan manager, Helenio Herrera, who had witnessed his side being taken apart by Celtic, described Bobby Murdoch as ‘my complete player’. Indeed, it seems that, at various times in his career, there was interest in taking the midfielder to Argentina, with Boca Juniors said to have been monitoring his progress in the early years of his career, while River Plate apparently enquired about him in 1967 following the World Club Championship games with Racing Club. There was no chance of Celtic letting go of the player at that time, however.

ONE OF OUR OWN
Bobby Murdoch had the very same attitude as another Celtic legend, Tommy Burns in that he always considered himself just to be a supporter who got lucky. Both men, sadly, passed away for too young, and their love of Celtic Football Club and mastery of a football were only two things that linked them. Poignantly, they both passed away on the same date, May 15, with the Lisbon Lion’s death in 2001 at the age of just 56 followed, seven years later, by Tommy Burns, who was only 51. The affection that both men were held in by Celtic supporters is something that was always reciprocated. Speaking of his fellow supporters, Murdoch said: ‘The Celtic fans are unique. They have always known what the club represents and so did the players who played for the side. We had an affinity with the support and the main thing was we had time for them because we respected them as Celtic supporters. You couldn’t get better fans at any club.’

KINGS OF EUROPE
The pinnacle of Jock Stein’s reign at Celtic, and the crowning achievement for all the players, came on May 25, 1967 is Lisbon’s Estadio Nacional, when Celtic beat Inter Milan 2-1 to win the European Cup. It was a triumph that would have been unimaginable to Bobby Murdoch and his team-mates just a couple of years before that, yet now they were the undisputed kings of Europe. The victory is Lisbon, as has been well-documented over the years, was a triumph for attacking football over the ultra-defensive Italians and their ‘catenaccio’ style of play, which attempted to stifle and smother all attempts to attack. The European Cup was won that night in the Portuguese capital by a Celtic side playing, in the words of Jock Stein, ‘pure, beautiful, inventive football,’ and central to that was, of course, Bobby Murdoch. He later recalled that special night in May 1967: ‘The night in Lisbon was a dream come true. We had already won four trophies and were going for the fifth for a clean sweep. Being the Champions of Europe was unbelievable. I cried. I was in tears coming off the park. The greatest thing was when we came home and we came to Celtic Park with the trophy, and we got a great welcome here. By that time it had sunk in that what we had achieved was unbelievable.’

 

Wow, did not know about this. How cool

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/celticfc/status/857483223856627712/video/1

 

Is there anymore of them left mate.
Will order one tomorow if so.

 

Aye there's still some left.

 

The picture doesn't do the scarf justice it's better looking in the flesh.

 

Looks good enough to me.
Are you attending that event on 4th May about new top release.
Will be up for it.

 

I'm thinking about going need to see if any of my mates are free.