Those Celtic fans who moved from one end of Hampden to another were already buoyed up by encouraging news from Greenock, for Queen’s Park, no lovers of Rangers, were broadcasting score flashes with a certain amount of glee. Morton were 2-0 up at half-time, and shortly after the restart, both sides scored to make the score 3-1. The news was spreading around Hampden, where Celtic having done all their work and with no desire to humiliate any further their part-time opponents, most of whom were Celtic supporters in their spare time!
Chants of “3-1” and “Morton” left the players in no doubt either, but there was still some time to go. Rangers scored on the hour mark through John Greig, and then fifteen minutes later, Willie Johnston headed an equaliser. An eerie silence now descended over Hampden. Little of interest was happening on the pitch, as the game was being played out. All thoughts were with the gallant Morton defence at Cappielow, or even if they could just slip up and score another! Their two full backs were Laughlan and Sweeney – and they didn’t sound as if they were Rangers supporters, and there was also Preben Arentoft in the midfield, and he was a great player.
John Fallon, the “villain” of the New Year – it had been he who in one of his rare outings for the club who had conceded two goals to Rangers, tells the story of how he was playing in a reserve game at Parkhead against Raith Rovers that night in a virtually deserted stadium and was told the score at both other grounds by a friendly ball boy. He left the field totally unaware of what the score had been in the game in which he was playing (Celtic Reserves beat their Raith Rovers equivalents 2-1), but hit the roof with delight when he learned that Morton had held out for a draw.
The full time whistle at Cappielow came more or less at the time that the magnificent old Victorian trophy the Glasgow Cup was being presented to Celtic, and thus there was a double celebration! Two trophies had now been won this season, and Celtic were now in the lead in the Scottish League on goal average (significantly better) with two games left – Morton at home and Dunfermline away as distinct from Rangers who had to go to Kilmarnock before finishing off with Aberdeen at home.
Rangers then lost even more friends by another crazy, arrogant, superior decision – and one which cost them dear. The last games of the season would have seen Celtic at Dunfermline and Aberdeen at Ibrox. Celtic’s game could not be played on that day as Dunfermline were in the Scottish Cup final against Hearts at Hampden. Dunfermline and Hearts, Dunfermline in particular, suggested ever so nicely to Rangers that it might be an idea to bring forward or to postpone the Rangers v Aberdeen game. This would mean that the Scottish Cup final (which would bestruggling to fill Hampden given the comparative lack of support for both East of Scotland teams, neither of whom had a huge fan base in the West) could have the city of Glasgow to itself.
The suggestion was sound and backed up by the Press.Rangers however seemed to resent being dictated to by someone like Dunfermline and refused to move their fixture, clearly believing that there was the possibility that they could now have had all their games completed before Celtic did, and so that Celtic would therefore have to go to Dunfermline the following midweek needing to win to capture the League. This line of thinking backfired on them spectacularly, as we shall see.
But there was more to it than that. Rangers’ attitude created the impression that Rangers were more important than the Scottish Cup final and that Rangers were, in some ways, superior. They had given that impression before, notably in 1954 when they took their players on a tour of Canada rather than let them play for Scotland in the World Cup! It was an attitude that did them no favours, and Stein, always with his ear to the ground to find ways to capture the morally higher position announced that he was taking the whole Celtic team to Hampden on 27 April to watch the Scottish Cup final.
Not only that, but he suggested that the whole Celtic support should do likewise. It was an important day, he said, and everyone realised just exactly who he was getting at here. He still of course was not without his hankerings for Dunfermline, for it had been he who had created them out of virtually nothing. But that was the following week.
In the meantime, Celtic now scented blood, but Morton now fancied themselves for an Old Firm double on 20 April. They were given a great reception by the cheering, chanting, triumphant 51,000 Parkhead crowd for their efforts of Wednesday night, and such was the pressure on the Parkhead turnstiles that the kick-off was delayed. This would be significant in the late drama that was to come.
After Willie Wallace scored early on with a brilliant flying header from a Hughes cross, Morton equalised on the stroke of half time. Celtic had seemed a little edgy, but this was all put down to nerves, for of course it was even possible that Celtic could win the title today if they won and Rangers lost at Kilmarnock. The pitch was a little uneven and fiery, for after a very wet spell, the weather had suddenly turned dry and a few bare patches were visible.
At half-time with both games level, anything could happen. On this occasion there was a radio broadcast starting at the traditional time of 4.10 (ie the last half hour) coming from Rugby Park – but everyone was aware that because of the delayed kick-off Celtic’s game would finish at least 5 minutes later than the Rangers one. However, with news coming through on the transistor radios that Rangers had scored and were edging it over Kilmarnock with about 20 minutes to go, Celtic had to get another goal to win the game.
The second half was agony as Celtic in their all green strip pressed and pressed towards the Railway End where most of the fans were crammed but could not break down Morton’s stubborn defence. The goal scoring machine was simply not working today. Minutes passed but the goal would not come. Celtic changed their formation more than once, trying Hughes on the right wing and Johnstone on the left, Gemmell surged forward repeatedly but the goal would still not come. Gallagher moved all over the forward line in an attempt to force the issue but still nothing happened. A few chances were missed, a few corners were forced, and we all, behind that Railway End goal tried to suck the ball into the net, for it began to look as if Celtic would have to settle for a draw.
We screamed and shouted, begging for penalties where there wasn’t even any contact between the players, and looked at our watches as the minutes rocketed by. The radio now gave the baleful tidings that Rangers had, infact, beaten Kilmarnock 2-1 (we accused Kilmarnock of “collaboration”!) and unless Celtic got a goal, Rangers would be one point ahead going into the last game. The ninety minutes had now, apparently, come and gone at Parkhead.
Referee Mr Paterson of Bothwell, looked at his watch ostentatiously and histrionically and the final whistle was expected when Murdoch in desperation sent a high cross into the box, Hughes made partial contact, the ball broke to Wallace who mis-kicked and the ball came to Lennox. The ball took a funny bounce on the hard pitch and Lennox too mis-kicked, but the ball hit off his shin and went into the net!
Phrases like “Parkhead erupted” did not quite cover it. Many of us were simply overwhelmed by the surging of the crowd, but the memory remains of the Morton player hanging on to the back of the net in sheer anguish and chagrin at having come so close to a famous double over the Old Firm.
On the field the players went mad. Tommy Gemmell tells us he toyed with the idea of stealing a policeman’s helmet, but fortunately thought better of it. Even the phlegmatic Charlie Gallagher was jumping about hugging his team mates. The full time whistle went immediately afterwards but amidst the bedlam no-one heard it. We just saw the players shaking hands and walking off the park, the Celtic ones doing a few jigs on the way. Celtic were back on top, ahead of Rangers on goal average, and only one game remained. No-one knew it, but Celtic were now destined to win the League without kicking another ball.
The story is told of the train back from Kilmarnock to Glasgow that afternoon. Rangers had beaten Kilmarnock and when the train left Kilmarnock, Celtic were still drawing, so Rangers supporters thought they were back in front. Now in 1968, when one was on a train, one was virtually out of touch with the outside world as there were no mobile phones or texts and even transistor radios could not pick up a good signal because of the noise of the train.
So happy was the atmosphere with how great Rangers were and songs were heard about “Follow! Follow!” and references to obscure incidents in Irish history about guarding walls and grassy slopes. The train reached Glasgow Central, someone bought an Evening Citizen and the atmosphere changed to “We need to buy better players!” “White disnae hae a clue” and how Greenock Morton were in a Jesuit plot to give Celtic the League!
Next Saturday, 27 April 1968, was the date for the Scottish Cup final between Dunfermline and Hearts. Celtic of course had no game, and had urged their supporters to go to the Scottish Cup final – well they weren’t likely to go to Ibrox to see Rangers v Aberdeen, were they? – and Stein had repeatedly announced that he was organising a bus party to take all the players. Sadly, there was loads of room at Hampden, for the crowd failed to come close to anything like its full capacity, although quite a few Celtic supporters took Jock’s advice and went along to cheer the Pars. Gallagher thus watched the Scottish Cup final (Dunfermline won 3-1) while at the same time hearing titbits of information about the Rangers v Aberdeen game.
With 30 minutes to go, Aberdeen equalised to make it 2-2. This would have been good enough news for it would have meant that a draw would then have been enough for Celtic at Dunfermline on Tuesday night. The players thus watched the Cup being presented to Dunfermline, and then an uncertain rumour began to spread that Aberdeen had scored late in the game. Communications were still not great in 1968 and the players were all sitting on their bus before Stein came in with the final score from Ibrox and told them that Celtic were the Champions, Aberdeen having scored in the 89th minute.
Rangers, shell shocked by last week’s events, and now convinced that they were not going to win the League, surrendered their unbeaten record on the last day of the season, and had now lost everything. They had been comprehensively “psyched out”, even on a day when Celtic were not playing!
East End Park on Tuesday was thus a celebration for both teams. It was the Scottish League Champions v the Scottish Cup winners. The crowd was vast, too big for the ground. The game should have been all-ticket, but as it was, the overcrowding at the city end of the ground was terrifying and the youngsters who climbed on the roof of the enclosures did so taking their lives in their hands. Some 49 supporters were injured but there was no malice in it, simply overcrowding. It had been obvious from an early stage that there was going to be crushing. From about 6.00 pm an hour and a half from the kick-off time, the road from the Kincardine Bridge to Dunfermline had been jammed with traffic, and the town of Dunfermline itself was virtually impossible to drive in that night.
Many cars and buses were parked in the Dunfermline Glen on the other side of town, as supporters then walked all the way to East End Park. The problem had arisen when an exit gate was forced open and thousands rushed in. It was not necessarily that they grudged paying, more than they were frustrated at the long queues at the turnstiles. Not for the first time did we see a provincial ground, normally adequate for its purpose, unable to cope with a large Celtic crowd. Before the teams came out, already the packed crowd was swaying dangerously.
Twice the game was stopped in the first half by Mr Wharton to allow police and ambulance men to deal with the injured, as both Managers tried to appeal to the fans to come down off the enclosure roof. On both these occasions, Mr Wharton signalled the players to go off, but he himself, bravely, stayed in the middle with his two linesmen talking to police men. Had he gone off as well, it might have seemed to the crowd that the game was being abandoned and that might have caused more problems, but the fact that he remained indicated that he, at least, was still hoping that football could be played.
Slowly the police managed to ease the problem, decanting some spectators to the Halbeath end of the ground and allowing others to sit on the grass behind the goal. It was a mercy that, although 49 were reported injured, no-one actually lost their life, and it said a great deal for all concerned that this was the case. Both teams were cheered by both sets of supporters,Jock Stein tried to steal the Scottish Cup from George Farm when the trophy was being paraded, everyone laughed and the game itself finished 2-1 for Celtic with Lennox, inevitably perhaps, getting both goals, one early and one late. Both teams however deserve a great deal of credit for playing in such difficult circumstances.
But it was a lesson in the problems created by such enthusiasm and passion for Celtic. For Charlie Gallagher this represented his apogee. Cheered every time he touched the ball and even now and again getting a look of something like approval from Stein, who still apparently did not like him, he had now climbed football’s Olympus. He was never the most flamboyant of players in the way that Johnstone or Gemmell were, but the more perceptive of the support appreciated the part he had played in this championship, Celtic’s 23rd and the 3rd in a row.
He had indeed come a long way since February – so had the team, but he had been the man who took them there. He himself would never have said so, but to many of the more thoughtful and studious of the support, 1968 was Gallagher’s championship.There was of course more to it than that, and Charlie was embarrassed when people use the phrase “Gallagher’s championship”.
Tribute must also be paid to other great members of the team, to Stein’s masterly use of psychology (never let anyone tell you that football is not played in the mind as well as on the pitch) and the role of the supporters in all this. They weakened in February, it would have to be said but rallied in March and April and played their own part in carrying the team through. No-one however, either in the support or in the Press underestimated the part played by the modest and unassuming Charlie Gallagher.
There was a brief tour of the New World in the summer. It was nothing like as successful as the longer tour of two years earlier which had done so much to build up the esprit de corps which played a large part in the European Cup triumph. Only three games were played but Charlie played a part in the goal scored by Celtic in the 1-1 draw against AC Milan in New York on 28 May when goalkeeper Belli could not hold Gallagher’s shot and Wallace netted the rebound.
He then scored when Celtic beat the same opponents in Toronto a few days’ time on 1 June. So Celtic returned with their reputation enhanced.The horrors of late 1967 in South America had now been forgotten about, and summer 1968 was a happy one. Gallagher was happy and looking forward to a lot more of this. He did not know that his Celtic career was virtually over.
David Potter
To be continued…
