Just over 12 hours late with Jim Craig’s diary this morning – it’s been one of those days but at least we made it back from Edinburgh with the 3 points and with Craig Levein’s face tripping him! Glorious…anyway over to Jim..
On this day in 1972, just after 1pm, a very expectant squad of Celtic players was travelling by coach from the Marine Hotel in Troon to Hampden Park, where they would be facing Hibs in the Scottish Cup final.
They were also a very happy bunch of guys, as they had just picked up a 7th consecutive League Championship, finishing 10 points ahead of Aberdeen and 16 in front of Rangers.
On this day in 1972, Celtic win the Scottish Cup after beating Hibs 6-1 in the final. Deans scores a hat trick, Macari scores a double, with McNeill grabbing the other. pic.twitter.com/OxMoqrSfgA
— CelticLisboa (@CelticLisboaa) May 5, 2018
The team had been announced the previous day, in most unusual circumstances. In mid-afternoon, the Boss had decided to take us for a walk along the edge of the golf course and at one point, where the sun was beating down on a large depression in the sand dunes, he asked us to sit down and then announced the team for the following day as well as expressing some thoughts on how he thought Hibs would play.
It might have been unusual but it certainly caught our attention.
The team that Saturday afternoon was Evan Williams, Myself, Jim Brogan, Bobby Murdoch, Billy McNeill, George Connelly, Jimmy Johnstone, Dixie Deans, Lou Macari, Kenny Dalglish and Tommy Callaghan; the attendance was 106,102; and the final score Celtic 6 Hibs 1.
When I had arrived in the foyer on the way down to breakfast that morning in the Marine Hotel, I had been told by one of the staff that my Father was on the phone.
Dad, a life-long Hibbie, worked on a Saturday and would not make the match but he merely “well, son, I hope you win but go easy on my team”.
It was to prove a tough day for Dad, as we slaughtered Hibs, with goals from Cesar (2), Dixie (23, 54 and 74), plus two for Lou Macari (83, 87) both of which I laid on.
The single reply for Hibs had come from Alan Gordon in the 12th minute.
The result equalled the biggest-ever score in a Scottish Cup final (1888, Renton v Cambuslang), Dixie Deans scored the first hat-trick in the Scottish Cup final since Jimmy Quinn’s against Rangers in 1904 and it was the last match for me in the Celtic strip.
A memorable day all round!
Jim Craig
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