Happy birthday, John Clark!
Part 2: The Pat Woods files: John the Brush
As legendary Celtic defender and Lisbon Lion John Clark celebrates his 83rd birthday today, we pay tribute to him on The Celtic Star.
In the first of two articles looking at different aspects of his wonderful career, we looked at the events which led to a teenage John making his first-team debut for Celtic in a League game at Arbroath in October 1959.
The second part of our tribute is something pretty special, and comes courtesy of another Celtic legend, although I’m fairly certain he won’t thank me for saying so.
In recent months, it has been my pleasure and privilege to spend time in the company of author and historian Pat Woods, whose knowledge of all things Celtic – and in particular that era around Lisbon – is simply unsurpassed.
Sharing his stories and memories from a lifetime supporting our club has been an experience in itself, and Pat has also been kind enough to take the time and trouble to present me with a quite unique series of newspaper articles and photographs, some of which I have already shared via The Celtic Star. The Jock Stein meetings with Helenio Herrera and his thoughts on that vital Celt Jimmy Gribben are two cases in point.
If there is a downside to all of this, it is that Pat supplies the information much quicker than I can do it justice in print, but when I protest that I’m failing him, I’m met with the response that it’s better that I have it for when I do have that time! A quite unique and wonderful man is Pat Woods.
A few weeks back, Pat called to say that he had something he thought I would enjoy, and sure enough I duly picked up some newspaper articles previewing Celtic’s European Cup-Winners’ Cup semi-final clash with Liverpool in April 1966. At that time, the clubs which had won their respective national cups in 1965 were on course to follow that up with League titles within a few weeks. They would both then take part in the European Cup of 1966/67 but with very different outcomes.
Celtic’s first competitive European match against English opposition was a mouth-watering prospect for supporters in both countries, and the Scottish Daily Express led the way with a series of preview articles under the banner “Celtic Glory!” commencing on the Monday before the first leg. The first article, with John Clark taking centre stage and with a headline of “John the Brush,” was written by Jack Webster.
For context, Celtic’s first European campaign under Jock Stein had seen the Hoops defeating Go Ahead Eagles from Netherlands, AGF Aarhus from Denmark and Dynamo Kiev from the Soviet Union, whilst Bill Shankly’s Liverpool had eliminated Juventus, Belgians Standard Liege and Honved of Hungary.
At stake was a place in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup final against either holders West Ham United or Borussia Dortmund, to be played at Hampden Park the following month. The first leg of that other semi-final clash, featuring three players from each side who would contest the World Cup final at Wembley in July, had already taken place, the German Cup-holders now firm favourites to progress to Hampden after two late goals gave them a 2-1 lead from the match at Upton Park.
How cool does the thought of Celtic facing Borussia Dortmund at Hampden in the final of a European competition sound today?
Anyway, back to the article, which we will publish in full below with a nod of thanks to Pat Woods. I should add that Pat, being the gentleman he is, made sure that John received a copy of the article via the club, so hopefully he has now had the opportunity to read it.
Happy birthday, John!
John the Brush
Quiet star of Parkhead – with world football at his fingertips
by Jack Webster
Celtic’s tussle with Liverpool this week is more than just another cup-tie – it is a game which will make every true Scottish fan a Celtic supporter for the night. Supporters from Aberdeen to Dumfries, who usually are willing Celtic to defeat against their home sides, have already dubbed thew Parkhead tie a “club international.” Begin[ning]today [is]the behind-the-scenes story of the big match and the men it will bring together.
Bob Thyne, SFA Vice-President, sends this message.
“As Celtic prepare to meet Liverpool in the Cup-Winners’ Cup. They can be assured that they have not only their own supporters cheering them on. All Scotland is behind them, irrespective of club loyalties. We wish them all the best.”
Celtic were playing at Kilmarnock the other week when up piped a wag and called out: “Come away The Brush!”
Hugh Delaney, secretary of Celtic Supporters’ Association, was there and the matter puzzled him. It was obviously a reference to a Celtic player, but he had never heard that one before. Then it dawned.
It was not for any of Celtic’s international stars, the big names which are finding currency in the stadiums of Europe.
But it did apply to a man of no less importance, the man who may hold the key to Celtic’s final glory on the European scene – perhaps the most underrated footballer in Scotland today.
The man who lives quietly by the name of John Clark.
The Brush? Well, he does the sweeping in the Parkhead defence, but he does more than that. For, if ever there was an unsung hero it is here.
In all the dramatic rise in the Celtic fortunes, he may have done nothing spectacular, gained few credits. Indeed, the spectator may hardly notice him on the field because he is just that kind of chap.
But in the assessment of manager Jock Stein there is not a man in the Parkhead plan who matters more than Clark.
“You may have extroverts in your team, but John is just this quiet fellow who gets on with the job,” said Mr. Stein when I raised the subject on his left half.
“He is a 100 per cent Celt, a player who strives to do everything he is asked, and above all the man who loves his football. I would assess him as a good club man but, as I judge his displays this year, he really warrants better than that. Yes, I think he is worthy of some recognition for the international team.”
I invited the Quiet Man of Parkhead to lunch and found and found that I was sitting beside a brand of modesty that carried not a trace of falseness.
He was genuinely surprised that I had called him because – and this shattered me – in eight years of professional football, he could not recall having been interviewed. No headlines. No international caps.
The very suggestion that he might be of international class brought a blush of embarrassment to his cheeks.
“The nearest I ever came to an honour was when I was travelling reserve for the Scottish Under-23 team,” says John, who is now 25. “But it doesn’t disturb me at all. I consider myself ‘capped’ every week – just playing for Celtic.”
“As a boy it was my ambition to play here. The ambition has been achieved and now I keep myself in fit condition so that I can keep doing that for as long as possible.”
You don’t find a better club spirit than that. In fact, John Clark joined Celtic in 1958 and waited until 1964 before he became a properly recognised first-team man.
But there was a strange turn of fate long before that. The Clark family lived at Chapelhall, Airdrie, then John’s dad went south to work on the railway. One morning, a letter arrived to say that he had found a house for the family and that they would all be moving south.
But the buzz of excitement in the Clark home was soon stilled. On the day that letter arrived, John’s Dad was killed by a train.
So the family stayed in Scotland and John, aged 11, and eldest of the three children, became the man of the house.
At 16 he was playing for Larkhall Thistle and attracting the attention of Senior scouts.
“Birmingham [City] asked me down for a trial and then asked me to sign,” he explains. “But there was some argument between Birmingham and Larkhall about the fee. I never really got to the bottom of it but all I know is that I was not allowed to go.”
For the second time, fate had decreed that the road to England was not for John Clark. By then Jock Stein had taken over as coach to Celtic’s reserves and the boy from Chapelhall was invited to play a few games.
Stein signed him in October 1958, and a year later he was having a taste of first-team duty. For the next few years, he was in and out of the team.
There was a memorable moment in 1961 when he did get a headline.
“That was the night we played Hibs in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup at Easter Road. I only knew at 2.30 that day that I was in the team, because Bertie Peacock withdrew. That was the night I scored my first goal for Celtic – the only goal of the game.”
But two years later John Clark was an infrequent member of the first team and there was talk of him moving to St. Mirren. But another club was also discussing him. Mr. Stein takes up the story:
“I was manager of Dunfermline by that time and I made enquiries about him. But Celtic were not keen to part with him. I’m glad now they didn’t.”
And Clark’s glad too. For now he is a key figure in the Stein challenge in Europe, back with the man to whom he pays this tribute:
“I owe nearly everything I know about football to him. He has been a great help. You can ask him for advice, not only about the game but about your private life.”
Apart from the effect of his personality on the morale of players, how, I wondered, does a man like Stein go about making the simple changes which seem to bring miraculous transformations?
“Well in my case, for example, I had a bad tendency of jumping for a ball while standing close to my opponent, who was maybe a few inches taller. The Boss pointed this out to me and said if I took a few steps back and came running in, I would not only have a better chance of getting up to the ball but would be coming with more power to beat the opponent. Sure enough, it worked.”
“Then he sits in the dug-out and shouts instructions all the time. One day, against Dundee United, I should have cleared a ball which went to a United player. He nearly scored. If he had, I think I would have sent for my clothes to be sent out instead of going to the dressing room!”
“But the Boss is always fair. He doesn’t say too much after the game. During the week he will take you aside and tell you.”
‘The Boss’ himself revealed to me another side of John Clark’s personality which is hardly known outside the precincts of Celtic Park – the fact that he is something of an authority on world football.
“John Clark does his homework,” says Stein. “He reads about football, he knows all the teams, where they are playing and how they play. If any of us want to know anything about a foreign team, we just ask John. Before we played Kiev, for example, he knew all about the Russians.”
Over to Clark – and an explanation. “I just read the world sports Press, newspapers and magazines in the same way as some people read about golf or cars. It is my hobby. I had read about the Russians and they turned out more or less as I imagined.”
Who are the players he most admires in football?
“Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Jimmy Greaves – but one of the best performances I have ever seen came from Pereda, the Barcelona inside-right, when we played them in the Fair Cities Cup. I was injured and playing on the wing that day, so I had a chance to watch him.”
“The most disappointing experience I ever had in football was when we played M.T.K. of Hungary in the semi-final of the Cup-Winners’ Cup. We were 3-0 ahead in the first game and lost 4-0 in the second.”
“Now that we are playing Liverpool in the same competition, I don’t think we would let a 3-0 lead slip away this time. If we get that we will go right through. I’m fairly confident about it. I think two goals in the first game will do.”
“Then we can look forward to our trip to Canada, the United States and Bermuda. I have uncles, aunts and cousins I have never met and who will be coming to watch us in America. I only hope we can go there as champions of Scotland and Europe.”
With that the Quiet Man of Parkhead went off home to his wife Eileen and eight-month-old daughter Marie, in their home at Holytown, Lanarkshire.
At present he is trying to master the art of driving, having failed his test. But for John Clark there no L-plates in football. He steers a steady course which may drive Liverpool right out of Europe. Bringing fresh glory to the club he loves so much.
End of article.
There are three photographs supporting the article, the main one featuring John in training, a study in concentration as he heads the ball. The other three are more personal, clustered around a sub-heading ‘A star grows up’ with the following supporting text.
Three stages of the life of John Clark. On the far left he is seen at the age of 8 – three years later he became the man of the family when his father was killed in a railway accident. By 15 (top right), as a member of the Boys’ Guild team, he was showing the football skill that has taken him to the top…and finally John Clark, the family man, with wife Eileen and baby Marie.
Hail Hail,
Matt Corr, with grateful thanks to Pat Woods.
Follow Matt on Twitter @Boola_vogue
Maybe Stephen Welsh should try that tip aboot how to outjump an opponent.