Matt Corr on Willie Wallace, a Lisbon Lion and so much more, Part 2

Happy 80th birthday, Willie Wallace…Lisbon Lion and so much more (Part 2)…

Lisbon Lions Jim Craig and Willie Wallace – looking cool with his shades – bringing the Premiership trophy back into Paradise during the Invincible season

Here’s Part 1 if you need to catch up…

With a League Cup-winners medal in his pocket, Hearts striker Willie Wallace set about adding more honours to his collection. Celtic would prevent a potential Tynecastle cup double in that 1962/63 season by knocking the Gorgie men out of the Scottish Cup on Wednesday, 6 March 1963, despite Willie opening the scoring at Parkhead in the 10th minute, goals from Bobby Murdoch, John McNamee and John Hughes seeing the Celts through 3-1 on the night. Hearts would finish the League season one point behind fourth-place Celtic.

The following season, the Bhoys would finish ahead of the Tynecastle men in third spot only on goal average, both clubs with identical records as Rangers and Kilmarnock again grabbed the top two places. However, the 1964/65 campaign would see another personal career landmark for Willie achieved in the autumn, before we witnessed an incredible finish to the season with Celtic and Hearts right at the centre of the action.

Another ridiculously difficult League Cup section had saw Celtic edge out Kilmarnock, Hearts and Partick Thistle to go all the way to the final, where two goals from Garngad man Jim Forrest would see the Hoops lose 2-1 to Rangers, despite a Hampden goal from teenage wing sensation Jimmy Johnstone. Ronnie Simpson had joined Celtic from Jock Stein’s Hibernian in September, as the pieces continued to fit into place for that glorious night in Lisbon in 1967.

On Wednesday, 25 November 1964, Hearts’ Willie Wallace made his full international debut for Scotland, in a Home International match against the Six Counties at Hampden. He would be in both excellent and familiar company in front of 49,000 spectators. At full-back was his old sparring partner from youth football, Alex Hamilton, now of Dundee, whilst his former Raith Rovers teammate Jim Baxter, one month before his leg-break in Vienna, captained the Scots. The great Denis Law was in there, with his Old Trafford colleague George Best lining up for the Irish, who also included goalkeeper Pat Jennings and were managed by former Celtic captain, Bertie Peacock. The only current Celt on view was left-back, Jim Kennedy, earning his sixth international cap.

The full Scotland line-up for Willie’s debut was as follows:

Campbell Forsyth (Kilmarnock)

Alex Hamilton (Dundee)
Jim Kennedy (Celtic)

John Greig (Rangers)
Jackie McGrory (Kilmarnock)
Frank McLintock (Arsenal)

Willie Wallace (Hearts)
Denis Law (Manchester United)
Alan Gilzean (Dundee)
Jim Baxter (Rangers)
Davie Wilson (Rangers)

All five goals were scored in the first half-hour, Best and Willie Irvine for Northern Ireland whilst Alan Gilzean and a Davie Wilson double made it a winning debut for Willie Wallace with Scotland.

Willie led the attack for League-leaders Hearts at Celtic Park on Saturday, 16 January 1965, a second Hoops debut for Bertie auld, re-signed two days earlier from Birmingham City. The Gorgie men would win 2-1 despite an equaliser from Tommy Gemmell, one of five men in the Bhoys side who would feature with Willie in Lisbon a little over two years later. That completed a league double over Celtic for Hearts, Wallace having been on the scoresheet at Tynecastle in September 1964, in a 4-2 victory over a Celtic side which had featured full-back Ian Young at centre-half and winger Tommy Curley making his only appearance in the Hoops. Celtic’s goals that day had been scored by Bobby Murdoch – again – and Bobby Lennox.

That had been a much-needed boost for Hearts, who had approached Christmas unbeaten in the League before three defeats in four games over the festive period allowed the pack to close in on the leaders. An ultimately disastrous 3-1 defeat by Kilmarnock at Rugby Park was followed by two losses in 24 hours as the bells brought 1965 in, a 1-0 loss to Jock Stein’s Hibernian in the Ne-erday derby at Tynecastle followed by a 3-2 reverse at Dunfermline’s East End Park the next day.

A second Hearts hiccup duly followed, as January turned to February, a 2-1 defeat at Love Street followed by a 1-1 draw at Ibrox then a calamitous 7-1 home mauling by Dundee, with both Andy Penman and Kenny Cameron grabbing Tynecastle hat-tricks, the final ignominy being that Hearts only goal that afternoon came from a late Alan Cousin own goal at 0-7.

To their immense credit, the Gorgie men fought back, a fine 3-0 victory at Pittodrie on the penultimate Saturday meaning that only a 2-0 defeat or worse in the final match at home to second-place Kilmarnock could prevent the title heading to Tynecastle. Sadly for Willie, that is exactly what happened, as Willie Waddell’s men clinched their only Scottish championship in the manager’s last game before moving into journalism. He would later resurface at Ibrox.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Saturday, 24 April 1965, forty miles to the west over 108,000 supporters were packed into Hampden to witness the beginning of a dynasty, as Jock Stein’s Celtic won the first of what would be numerous major honours in that glorious era in our history, a Bertie Auld double and a late, flashing header from captain Billy McNeill enough to see off Dunfermline Athletic 3-2, thus gaining some consolation for the defeat in the final four years earlier, when Jock had been in charge of the Pars.

Willie’s next appearance for Hearts against Celtic would be more memorable for myself than him, as I believe this was my first Celtic match. That took place on Saturday, 9 October 1965, and a Celtic side featuring seven Lisbon starters plus Ian Young, Charlie Gallagher, Joe McBride and John Hughes were 5-0 up against the Edinburgh side before two late Alan Gordon goals brought some semblance of respect to the scoreline at 5-2.

There would be revenge taken at Tynecastle on Saturday, 29 January 1966. This was the infamous occasion when Celtic arrived from Georgia around 11pm the previous evening, having endured a horrendous journey from Tbilisi, where they had eliminated Dinamo Kiev from the European Cup-Winners’ Cup in midweek, heading straight to Celtic Park for a midnight training session. Almost 46,000 spectators packed into the Gorgie Road stadium the next afternoon to see Hearts hotshot Willie Wallace score twice in a 3-2 victory for the hosts.

The sides would be paired together again in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup. Just a matter of weeks later, again at Tynecastle. Another 45,000 tickets were sold for this one played on Saturday, 5 March 1966, with many more allegedly gaining entry to the extent that the players were taken from the field early following an overspill of supporters on to the pitch.

When the game resumed after 10 minutes, Willie Wallace headed the hosts in front midway through the first half, the first of three goals in three mad minutes. Seconds later, Bertie Auld beat the offside trap to chip Celts level, only to look on in horror as Ronnie Simpson fumbled a corner-kick and Anderson headed Hearts ahead again. Three minutes into the second half, it was the turn of his opposite number to hold his head, as Jim Cruickshank allowed a low Joe McBride drive from outside the box squirm from his grasp for 2-2, the cue for another field invasion.

Six minutes later, Celts were in front, Steve Chalmers following up after keeper Cruickshank had blocked a close-range Jimmy Johnstone shot, to knock the ball home. With the clock running down, Hearts grabbed an equaliser, Wallace’s cross found its way to the far post where Johnnie Hamilton fired past Simpson for 3-3.

Such was the interest that over 72,000 rolled up to Celtic Park four nights later, a record at that time for a midweek fixture, with the kick-off delayed to allow the fans entry. The Hoops support in that crowd would lap it up as Celts raced into a 3-0 lead through Jimmy Johnstone, Bobby Murdoch (how often did he score against Hearts?) and Stevie Chalmers. With seven minutes remaining, Willie Wallace added yet another goal to his growing collection against Celtic, Simpson again badly at fault, however, the Bhoys progressed comfortably to the semi-final by 3-1, the two games watched by a combined attendance of almost 120,000 supporters.

Within a few weeks, Willie would be lining up alongside several Celts for the biggest match of his career to date, the Home International against England at Hampden in front of 123,000.

The Scotland team who took to the field for Willie’s second international cap on Saturday, 2 April 1966, lined up as follows:

Bobby Ferguson (Kilmarnock)

John Greig © (Rangers)
Tommy Gemmell (Celtic)

Bobby Murdoch (Celtic)
Ron McKinnon (Celtic)
Jim Baxter (Sunderland)

Jimmy Johnstone (Celtic)
Willie Wallace (Hearts)
Denis Law (Manchester United)
Billy Bremner (Leeds United)
Willie Johnston (Rangers)

Scotland would find themselves constantly chasing their tail in the game which marked Tommy Gemmell’s first appearance for his country, after falling two goals behind to Geoff Hurst and Roger Hunt within the half-hour. A trademark head-flick from Denis Law brought the Scots back into the tie before the interval, only for Hunt to add his second and England’s third two minutes into the second period. We then had the wonderful sight of Jimmy Johnstone darting in to score his first goals in Scotland navy, however, sandwiched between those was a special from Bobby Charlton, as England prepared for their own magical summer by winning 4-3.

Ten days after that momentous occasion came another one, this time off the field as baby Lynn joined the happy Wallace clan.

Daddy Wallace would make his third start for Scotland before that 1965/66 season was out, turning out in a friendly against the Netherlands on Wednesday, 11 May 1966 in front of a rather smaller Hampden crowd of 17,000. The Dutch team that evening featured two players who Willie Wallace would come up against in the next decade whilst wearing different colours, goalkeeper Eddy Pieters Graafland of Feyenoord and the great Pete Keizer of Ajax.

So Willie is scoring regularly for his club and is now making his name as an international player.

There are rumours of interest from clubs in England, with Newcastle United and Stoke City listed as possible suitors amidst talk of a record transfer fee in the region of £80,000 involved.

And most importantly, he has a new baby girl for he and Olive to enjoy.

Life couldn’t get much better as season 1966/67 loomed on the horizon.

Could it? To be continued…

Matt Corr

ALSO ON THE CELTIC STAR TODAY…

About Author

Having retired from his day job Matt Corr can usually be found working as a Tour Guide at Celtic Park, or if there is a Marathon on anywhere in the world from as far away as Tokyo or New York, Matt will be running for the Celtic Foundation. On a European away-day, he's there writing his Diary for The Celtic Star and he's currently completing his first Celtic book with another two planned.

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