It all happened on 6th December in 1966. It was a Tuesday, a day that invariably meant a slog at training – and this particular Tuesday was no different. After the hard work, we usually had lunch at the pub at Haymarket Station, mainly the first team players from the West of Scotland who travelled by train.
I had travelled by car via Bonnybridge and Falkirk to pick up a couple of the younger players. I did my usual thing on the drive home, calling in at the bookies in Falkirk to give them my daily donation, then travelling on to arrive about 3pm. I hadn’t been there long when the phone rang. It was the Hearts manager John Harvey, who asked me if I would be interested in talking to Celtic about signing for them.
John said Jock Stein had called him and would contact me if I were interested. He also told me both clubs had agreed terms and it was now up to me if the transfer went any further. As my wife Olive and baby daughter Lynn were out shopping and mobile phones were a thing of the future, I couldn’t talk to Olive about it all.
Only minutes after John’s call, Mr Stein telephoned. He asked me if I would be interested in joining Celtic. I said I would and he invited me to go to Parkhead at 4.30pm that same afternoon. He told me the Hearts party wouldn’t be there until 5.30pm and I asked him if it would be alright for me to be there without the Hearts’ director and manager. He said he had sorted that out with John Harvey.
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