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Twists and turns Tommy Burns

Discussion in 'Celtic Chat' started by jamiebhoy67, Aug 20, 2015.

Discuss Twists and turns Tommy Burns in the Celtic Chat area at TalkCeltic.net.

  1. jamiebhoy67

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    Just a wee thread to discuss the great man and stories you have about him about when you met him etc, my personal first meeting with him was when i met him on a school trip and he recognised my name as it turned out my wee late granny used to babysit him was a great day obviously he sensed i was nervous for some reason i don't know why think it was just excitement and he really went out his way to make sure i was ok he actually took on the role of leading the school trip after that even though i think he bumped into us on his way home probably one the nicest kindest guys i have ever met tbh
     
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  2. Liam Scales Gold Member Gold Member

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    Talked about this one before on here...

     
  3. Pacific Ocean Blue

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    Legend of a man, still miss not seeing him in the dugout
     
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  4. Tim-Time 1888 Always look on the bright side of Life Gold Member

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    Thursday 22nd May 2008 was for you Tommy RIP.
    Although I have literally hundreds of ticket stubs that game and Seville are the only 2 that I have placed in frames.
     
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  5. odonno

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    Mind when I was younger going round for my mate in Mount Florida a guy across the street shouted " What times the game on?" I turned around n it was Tommy.... I just waved haha
     
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  6. CheGuevara

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    My school football team won the Glasgow Catholic Schools league and were invited up to a presentation night somewhere in the Gorbals on a Tuesday or a Wednesday night. Tommy showed up to present the trophies and medals out of the goodness of his heart. To see him give up his free time to give football medals to primary school kids was astonishing.

    I never got to speak to him but always remembered how special it felt to be presented the trophies from such a great player.
     
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  7. dbhoy72

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    Great player, great person.

    Funnily enough I did meet him when I was a youngster.

    We were playing footy in the chapel grounds in Possilpark, Tommy was going to some night as a guest (I assume) in the little chapel hall and we noticed him. We obviously shouted out to him and he made the time to actually walk over to us and started chatting away from a few minutes.

    Thankfully I had my Celtic strip on and he asked if I had a number on the back (which I didn't).

    After a few minutes he excused himself and headed into the hall.

    Lovely, lovely man, who everytime you hear people talk about him makes it even more of a sadder loss to humanity, never mind the sporting world.

    Mind you, what was funny about that night was my mate had the runs and had to run up the road before he * himself, he couldn't believe us when we said who he had missed, was a right * day all-round for him. :D
     
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  8. Henke102

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    Watched a documentary on muhammed Ali, and a guy was saying how boxing didn't define Ali, it was just something he did, he could have done anything. I think the same about Tommy Burns, football was just something he did, it was a small part of the great man he was.
     
  9. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Last edited: Dec 16, 2016
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  10. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Tommy would have been 60 today

    [​IMG]




    I loved Tommy Burns. You meet some people and you like them, but Tommy was someone that I loved." Danny McGrain



    We were fans on the pitch and as far as Celtic Football Club was concerned, Tommy wore his heart on his sleeve." Roy Aitken
     
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  11. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  12. Pacific Ocean Blue

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  13. MJ9 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Met him a few times, great guy. Always remember my maw set up a football team as there was some dodgy politics with the team we used to play for. She jokingly asked tommy at mass if he would take training and to our shock he turned up to take our first training session. This was in 97/98 just after he managed Celtic. None of us could believe it. Some man, never be forgotten
     
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  14. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    'In the Celtic team I liked the red-haired man'
    Johan Cruyff after Celtic played Ajax in the 1982 European Cup on Tommy Burns


    When we lost a game he gave the impression he was personally responsible and owed the Celtic fans an apology."

    Alan Stubbs on Tommy Burns
     
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  15. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    [​IMG]

    TODAY (Friday) a Celtic legend should be celebrating his 60th birthday as Tommy Burns was born on December 16, 1956. However, he was tragically taken from us on May 15, 2008, when he passed away. He was just 51-years-old.

    The loss was one felt by the whole Celtic family though, of course, the greatest loss belonged to his wife, Rosemary and his four children, Emma, Jenna, Michael and Jonathan. And on this day our thoughts and prayers are with them.

    In his all-too-short life, Tommy did extraordinary things for our football club. He spent 14 years as a player, making his debut against Dundee in April 1975 and bowing out in a friendly match at Celtic Park against Ajax in December 1989.

    The Celtic View interviewed him on many occasions over the years, and at one point he was asked what his greatest achievement had been as a player. As far as he was concerned, it was staying at the club for such a long time “because bad players don’t play for Celtic for 14 years.”

    That has always been the same at the club and it is testament to his ability that Tommy did manage to last so long.

    During that time he won six league championships, five Scottish Cups and one League Cup medal. It was an impressive tally for a player who made 503 appearances for his beloved green and white Hoops.

    Tommy Burns seemed fated to play for Celtic. The boy from the Calton, born almost in the shadow of Celtic Park, grew up following the club and progressed on to the hallowed turf.

    As he always said, he considered himself to be no more than a supporter who got lucky. It was always a way of reminding people, and perhaps himself, that he was one of them, and it offers a perfect illustration of his humility.

    Having left the club, he returned in 1994 as manager, and was instrumental in restoring our pride on the pitch. His team always tried to play football ‘the Celtic way’, and everyone who watched the Hoops at that time still speak with great affection and enthusiasm about what they saw.

    While he did win the Scottish Cup in 1995 – Celtic’s first trophy in six years – a league title eluded him. It would have been a fitting reward for Tommy and his team but sadly it was not to be and he left in 1997.

    Thankfully, however, it wasn’t for long and when he returned, it was like he had come home.

    Our Youth Academy, which has produced a whole host of first-team players in recent seasons, is testament to his hard work in setting it up, while the Lennoxtown Training Centre is a great legacy.

    And Tommy’s contribution to the club’s success under Gordon Strachan cannot be underestimated. The league triumph at Tannadice in 2008, which made it three-in-a-row, was dedicated to Tommy by a group of players still mourning the loss of an influential figure within their ranks.

    Throughout the battle he fought with skin cancer, Tommy showed great courage and fortitude, while taking great solace from the Catholic faith which had been a central tenet of his life.

    Supporters always loved Tommy Burns because he was one of us – a Celtic fan who was lucky enough to live the dream that we’ve all harboured at one time in our lives.

    It’s still hard to believe that Tommy’s no longer with us, and every memory will be tinged with sadness.

    But we should also remember the great things he did for our club, the goals he scored, the trophies he lifted, the players he brought to the club and the example he set of what it means to be a good Celtic man.

    We believe that Celtic is more than a football club – our roots, our character and our ethos set us apart, and Tommy Burns embodied everything that is good about Celtic.

    He was one of the greats who passed through Parkhead’s gates and he will never be forgotten.

    TOMMY BURNS FACTFILE
    Player
    August 1973 – December 1989

    LEAGUE: 357 appearances, 52 goals
    LEAGUE CUP: 71 appearances, 15 goals
    SCOTTISH CUP: 43 appearances, 12 goals
    EUROPE: 32 appearances, three goals
    TOTAL: 503 appearances, 82 goals
    DEBUT: v Dundee, April 19, 1975

    Manager
    July 1994 – April 1997
     
  16. BelfastCelt88

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    Legend, * Bless TB.
     
  17. Doogs. Lustig your the one, you still turn me on.

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    Imo, Celtic has never been the same since he left us. Tommy personified that deep community feeling that comes with being a Tim, and after a few years of being hit with *(out with Lennys reign), I believe Brendan will bring that bond back.

    RIP TOMMY BURNS:shamrock:
     
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  18. Liam Scales Gold Member Gold Member

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  19. Marty McFly Whoa, this is heavy

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  20. joemc

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    this story is more in keeping with our rivalry but one you can picture as i did not witness this event .
    i lived in the queens park area and used to play fooball in the pony ring with mates there ,sometimes tommy and a few other celtic players would go to the park in the summer ,maybe to train through pre season ,anyway it was one of my hun mates who told me while out in the works van delivering flooring ,he spotted celtic players out running and couldnt help but shout a bit of abuse ,the van got stopped at the lights and tommy made a bee line ,ran up to the van and blessed himself ,my mate said he shat it and didnt know where to look .