SIMPSON, Craig and Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill and Clark, Johnstone, Wallace, Chalmers, Auld and Lennox.
Even now, 50 years on, the names trip off the tongue easily. That is what happens when teams become immortal in the memory.
In my career, I have been very fortunate to meet them all and have interviewed some of the Lisbon Lions, and sadly have written some of the obituaries of those who have passed away – Ronnie Simpson, Tommy Gemmell, Bobby Murdoch, and Jimmy Johnstone, who gave me a wonderful two hours of his time when he was suffering his fatal illness, motor neurone disease. I laughed with him and cried alone afterwards.
The other seven are still with us and while Billy McNeill and Stevie Chalmers are unwell, the remaining Lions will take centre stage on Thursday, the 50th anniversary of the greatest day in Scottish football history.
I could not let this anniversary pass without writing about it, but so much has been written about the Lions and Jock Stein over the years that there is really very little else to say. So today I am hopefully going to enlighten National readers about the unsung heroes of that amazing Celtic season of 1966-67 when they won every tournament they entered.
Who now remembers John Hughes, Willie O’Neill, Charlie Gallagher, Joe McBride, Ian Young, Jim Brogan, Davie Cattanach, John Fallon, and John Cushley, the nine players other than the Lions who appeared for the Hoops in that famous season? Only the most ardent of Celtic fans or those of us who were around at the time will recall those names.
John ‘Yogi’ Hughes is the best remembered non-Lion of the era and was perhaps the unluckiest of the nine not to play in Lisbon due to an ankle injury, but Stevie Chalmers and Bobby Lennox were in such scintillating form that it is difficult to see who Stein would have dropped. He got a medal in any case, as did McBride and Gallagher who had also played the requisite number of European Cup matches in the run to the Lisbon final.
Left-back Willie O’Neill actually played more games for Celtic in 1966-67 than Jim Craig, exchanging the full-back roles with Tommy Gemmell in a partnership that lasted most of the first half of the season until Stein finally recognised that Craig could indeed manage to combine his dentistry with playing for Celtic and made the switch that put the two attacking full-backs into the history books.
If Ian Young had been more of an attacker, he would most likely have been the right-back in Lisbon, but the former Rangers youth team player was always happier defending. He did get a full set of domestic medals before season 66-67, and is remembered in the old song “Celtic, Celtic, That’s the Team for me”.
So, too, is John Fallon, then understudy to Ronnie Simpson, who played just one match that season. He is officially a ‘Lion’ as he was substitute on that day – only substitute goalkeepers were allowed back then.
Another ‘one appearance’ player was John Cushley, but when you are back-up to club captain McNeill you are never going to play too often. Like Craig, Cushley was a professional outside of football, a teacher who after his career in various schools became Celtic’s education officer. Cushley did have an important role in Lisbon – a strapping individual, Jock Stein used his bulk to keep the Inter Milan staff and players from grabbing the ‘home’ bench, a move that gave Celtic a psychological boost.
Charlie Gallagher or Gallacher – you’ll see it spelled both ways, but Charlie preferred the former – might have made it into the Lions had not Willie Wallace and Bertie Auld grabbed the attacking midfielder roles and held on to them tenaciously. It was Gallagher who delivered the corner in typical style to allow McNeill to score his glorious winner against Vodjvodina in the quarter finals. He would go on to have a superb season in 1967-68 and later played a starring role for Dumbarton.
Davie Cattanach played twice in the Scottish Cup that season, and though never a first-team regular, he is fondly remembered by many Celtic fans and players.
It is often thought that Jock Stein signed Willie Wallace from Hearts to replace the injured Joe McBride, but that is not the case, and indeed the two played alongside each other for a fortnight and both scored in the 6-2 victory over Partick Thistle in December, 1966.
Danish goalkeeper Bent Martin played just one match, the Glasgow Cup semi-final against Queen’s Park, and Jim Brogan made just one appearance as a substitute before going on to a fine career, but I would argue that all of the above players should be remembered for their contribution to Celtic’s greatest season.
Assistant manager Sean Fallon, who signed many of the Lions, indefatigable trainer Neil Mochan, physio Bob Rooney, who worked miracles on many injured players, and club doctor John Fitzsimons all played their part in Stein’s backroom, while Sir Robert Kelly as chairman did one amazing thing that so few club chairman and directors did back then – he let the manager get on with it.
When Celtic and their fans celebrate on Thursday, let’s hope there will be some recollection of the part played by the men who weren’t Lions, but did their bit in that season in the sun.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here