New Bhoy Harry makes an immediate impact for the Treble-chasing Celts…
Having finally signed for his Bhoyhood club, more than four years after rejecting Celtic’s initial approach, Harry would find his dream debut delayed still further. He was in the 14-man squad listed for the League game at Dens Park on Tuesday, 18 March 1969, two days after joining Celtic, however, unseasonal weather in the city of Jute, Jam and Jim Spence put paid to that.
And he was ineligible for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Morton the following Saturday – my first visit to the national stadium, an eighth birthday gift from my dad – having played against the Hoops for Clyde in an earlier round. Like myself, Harry would have to watch from the stand as Jock Stein’s men – clad in that all-white ‘St Etienne’ kit – recovered from the loss of a second-minute Willie Allan goal to clinch a place in the final with a 4-1 win over a Greenock outfit managed by former Celtic wing-half, Eric Smith.
Four Lisbon Lions were on target, Willie Wallace and Billy McNeill turning the deficit around before half-time with Stevie Chalmers and Jimmy Johnstone scoring after the break to set up a Scottish Cup final meeting with Rangers.
It was a bittersweet time for Celtic, the Bhoys still very much on for a second domestic Treble in three seasons, having lost out agonisingly by a single goal to AC Milan in the quarter-final of the European Cup, “the Final before the Final” as the Italian media had described it. Many took the view that the Celtic squad of 1969 was even better than their famous predecessors of two years earlier.
There was no doubt that having done the hard work securing a goalless draw in the San Siro, Celtic’s failure to beat the Rossoneri in Glasgow a few days before Harry signed for the club had been a huge opportunity scorned. There would soon be others, with the city of Milan again involved.
Harry would finally get to wear those Hoops on Monday, 24 March 1969, albeit he remained on the bench as fellow League Cup-finalists Hibernian left Celtic Park with a well-earned point from the 1-1 draw. With Tommy Gemmell injured, Willie O’Neill returned for the hosts, as did Bobby Lennox for Stevie Chalmers, whilst both Joe McBride and Chris Shevlane faced their former club, the Govan-born striker captaining Hibernian on the night as the teams lined up as follows.
Celtic: John Fallon; Jim Craig & Willie O’Neill; Bobby Murdoch, Billy McNeill & Jim Brogan; Jimmy Johnstone, Bobby Lennox, Willie Wallace, Bertie Auld & John Hughes. Substitute; Harry Hood.
Hibernian: Thomson Allan; Joe Davis & Chris Shevlane; John Blackley, John Madsen & Pat Stanton; Peter Marinello, Allan McGraw, Joe McBride, Peter Cormack & Eric Stevenson. Substitute; Colin Grant.
Willie Wallace headed Celts in front within 15 minutes, however, the visitors would withstand the Celtic barrage which followed before gaining the upper hand in the second half. It was no surprise when McBride came back to bite the hand which once fed him by equalising on 72 minutes. It was the Hoops turn to be under pressure then as the Leith men looked for a winner.
Disappointment at the ‘dropped point’ in a tight title race soon turned to joy for the bulk of the 30,000 spectators as news came through that closest rivals Rangers had been beaten 3-2 by Airdrieonians at Bromfield, Celts thus pulling three points clear at the top with seven matches to play in the quest for four-in-a-row.
There was also good news for Harry, as Jock Stein dropped the widest of hints to the media that his long wait to play for Celtic’s first team was about to end.
“Hood has been running himself in with the reserve team, but obviously he must come into the top 11 very soon. It could well be against St Mirren.”
Five days later, Saturday, 29 March 1969, Harry would indeed make his debut as a Celtic player, as the Bhoys travelled to Paisley to face St Mirren. He would replace Bertie Auld in a rejigged forward line, whilst Tommy Gemmell returned in place of Willie O’Neill and Tommy Callaghan was on the bench. Another former Celt, Ian Young, lined up for a Saints team wearing an all-scarlet outfit. The teams on this red-letter day for the Hood family were as follows.
St Mirren: Jim Thorburn; Cammy Murray & Tony Connell; Billy Fulton, Ian Young & Eric Murray;
Bobby Adamson, George Urquhart, Peter Kane, Bobby Pinkerton & Hugh Gilshan. Substitute; Jim Blair.Celtic: John Fallon; Jim Craig & Tommy Gemmell; Bobby Murdoch, Billy McNeill & Jim Brogan; Jimmy Johnstone, Harry Hood, Willie Wallace, Bobby Lennox & John Hughes. Substitute; Tom Callaghan.
It was Gemmell’s full-back partner Jim Craig who opened the scoring with a lob which went in off the far post just before the break, the outstanding John Hughes then doubling that lead 10 minutes into the second half with a powerful finish.
With 20 minutes remaining, Harry marked his Celtic debut with a goal, the stuff of dreams. The new Bhoy lashed the ball past Saints keeper Jim Thorburn with former Third Lanark defender Tony Connell helpless to stop it on the line, after shots from Bobby Lennox and Bobby Murdoch had been blocked, to complete the scoring at 3-0 with his 14th strike of the season.
It had been a highly effective start to his career as a Celt, as picked up by Gair Henderson in his Evening Times match report on the Monday.
“Naturally, the Celtic fans had two interests in this game. They wanted to see the goals scored and the points collected but they came too to see how their newcomer, Harry Hood from Clyde, would fit into the scheme of things, particularly with a view to Europe next season.
“Hood played this one with great intelligence. With Clyde, he was something of an individualist, a man who could win games on his own, but with Celtic, in his debut, he made no attempt to steal the scene from any of the other established players.
‘Quietly and efficiently he [went about]his work, and the indications are that when he settles down and increases his pace a little, he will be a great asset.”
Matt Corr
An extract from the official biography of Harry Hood, Twice As Good by Matt Corr, published by CelticStarBooks.
Order your copy which will be signed by the author, using the link below this brilliant video which features an exclusive performance – recorded last month by Boolavogue – of the Harry Hood song Twice as Good…
