Another extract from the brilliant The East as Green and this time we’re looking at the intense Old Firm rivalry in the 1960s with some ugly scenes described. There are also insights into two Celtic legends, John ‘Yogi’ Hughes and the Buzzbomb, Bobby Lennox…

If you want to order a copy of The East is Green booklet details are provided below…

1965 Scottish Cup Final – Celtic 3-2 Dunfermline, Bertie’s two equalisers, Charlie’s corner kick, Billy’s header, John Clark’s bloodied shirt…

1965 April Glasgow Cup – 2-1 for the Bhoys my very first victory against them this was the Friday night six days after the Dunfermline ’65 cup final, I was with Neil O’Donnell we had both just left school it was still daylight when the game was over , we exited the gates at the Celtic end out on to London Road.

It’s all Celtic fans here as we turn right to right to head into town to get the train home, we can hear this shouting and singing coming from behind us somewhere it’s getting louder and louder we turn around and here was a mob of them maybe a hundred or more tightly packed together belting it out and I don’t mean a cheery wee sing song.

This was venomous, challenging, raging hatred, first time I had seen anything like you could touch it. The fact that they were outnumbered a hundred to one made no difference they seemed like a mob whereas the Celtic fans were a general crowd leaving the game.

The old tenements were still standing back then, they were possibly from the same district, “Don’t look at them son’’ an older guy walking beside us said, then you hear “ WATCH OUT “ we turn and see a big brown bottle spinning over it smashes on the head of a guy in front of us, blood everywhere we are sixteen years old and keeking oor breeks we want to run ahead but the streets are packed.

Then a madman appeared out from the mob. I’m sure this guy was in “A Few Dollars More” he’s part of a murderous gang standing at the bar when Lee Van Cleef strikes a match on him, he just looked crazy I mean criminally insane, a Carstairs escapee.

Silly wee things stick in your mind his shoes must have been too small for him the bit that goes round the back of your heel was spit open to allow him to wear them, he had a wine bottle in his hand, walked right into the Celtic crowd not one person challenged him he casually walked up behind two guys and whacked one of them over the back of his head with the bottle, more blood and cool as you like tossed away the remaining part of the bottle over his shoulder and returned to his mates, yer in Glesga noo son.

Self-Infliction No. 20 1965 LCF – Kicking themselves in the groin once again, Ronnie McKinnon does a blatant hand ball whilst under no pressure but it took quite a bit of nerve for Yogi to score twice from the spot.

1966 SCF Replay – Big Jock warned Yogi about Johansen who liked to get up the park and have a pop at goal, don’t let him Jock said you are bigger, stronger and faster than he is but you must keep an eye on him, Johansen scored the only goal of the game it took a long time for Yogi to get back into Jock’s good books.

A few years later in the 1970 European cup final against Feyenoord in the San Siro late in the game in extra time Yogi was through one on one with the keeper and missed it there was never going to be any way back for him after that. Jock could be quite vindictive, cruel even the following season Yogi couldn’t even get a game for the reserves being told to turn up and sit in the stand.

He saw no point of sitting watching, one time he had enough so he went home which Stein found out about, nothing happened without Jock’s knowledge. Later on Celtic were invited to play in Killie’s captain Frank Beattie’s testimonial at Rugby Park, Yogi was told to report for the game believing he was back in the fold. He was then told in the Killie dressing room to go and sit in the stand and let’s see you make your way home from here. Yogi is 8th in Celtic’s top scoring list.

There was another occasion during a visit to the States a Scottish journalist who was with the party and happened to be passing Yogi and commented that he was sorry about the wife. Yogi responded “What do you mean?” Her miscarriage he replied. Stein knew but never told Yogi “Ach, what could you do about it anyway? You’re here and she’s there”.

Another time Yogi said: “I’d had a good season so I went to ask Jock for a wage rise. He said, ‘I know how you feel – you’ve had a terrific season but I think just to keep your feet on the ground, we should cut your wages’. “I’d just scored for Scotland against England at Hampden and there I was wondering how I could get back to what I’d been earning before I walked into his office.”

At this game, the ’66 SCF replay there was a team standing nearby us Gorbals, Cumbie I think some of them were young, very young, schoolboys, time was ticking by and it wasn’t looking good for us it got too much for one of these Bhoys. I’d say about eleven years old, tears streaming down his face. Duffle coats seemed to be fashionable with them I watched him move down the passageway over the wall and onto the park, without a cop noticing him he approached Billy Ritchie in his goal and started punching him, Ritchie kept pushing him aside without taking his eye off the game until a cop hooked him. God bless you wee man wherever you are now we all felt your pain..

1966 Ibrox, Glasgow Cup – Stein considered things differently from other people and would take something even from a defeat. That goal Johansen scored he said he will never have to buy a drink for the rest of his life, he will be feted where ever he goes and every time he gets the ball during a game they will be screaming at him to get up the park and do it again. So there will be openings on our left win.

Four months after that cup final defeat we were at Ibrox 76,456 turned up for a Glasgow cup tie on a lovely warm Tuesday night in August, the first goal came from Billy McNeill not a header a shot coming in from the left, most unusual, the second goal Bobby Lennox thumped in a left foot screamer from the edge of the box his second was from a long ball to the left wing while Kai was on the up in the Celtic half of the park when Bobby completed his hat-trick King Kai was in the subway on his way home!

You see things in Glasgow I’m sure you don’t see elsewhere, work had started at the Copland Road end to put a roof over the terracing it was just the steel framework at this game, during the first half a guy started to climb up one of the main support vertical beams he might have been a steel erector to be able to do this when he reached the top he just sat down on top of the structure quite a height with the whole stadium looking at him and watched the rest of the half I think the cops grabbed him when he came down.

Bobby Lennox, we should never forget the contribution this little diamond made to the Celtic cause. Bobby Charlton said of him, “If I’d had Lennox in my team, I could have played forever”. He was one of the best strikers I have ever seen. Di Stefano said: “The Scotsman who gave me the most trouble was Bobby Lennox of Celtic. My testimonial at the Bernabeu was against Celtic as, of course, they were the Champions of Europe in 1967, and although I remember the Bernabeu rising to Jimmy Johnstone I admired Lennox greatly.”

Bobby Lennox scored an incredible 277 goals in his 586 appearances for the club, a tally second only to the legendary Jimmy McGrory. Thank you Buzz Bomb.

Another extract from The East is Green by Brian McAuley

READ OUR FIRST EXTRACT…Celtic Supporters – The East is Green

The East is Green is a self published booklet written by life-long Celtic supporter Brian McAuley, who has also personally designed so many Celtic Supporters Club badges and many of them will be shown on The Celtic Star as we serialise this brilliant little book. Running to just over 100 pages it’s a great insight into supporting Celtic and attending games stretching as far back as the 1950s to the modern day.

As we have done previously with Jerry Woods’ brilliant To Lisbon and Back on a Fiver, we’re happy to put any reader in touch with Brian and he’s post and package you a copy of The East is Green for the very reasonable cost of £5 including postage. Just drop an email to editor@thecelticstar.co.uk and we’ll make the necessary introductions.

Thanks to everyone who has been in touch looking for a copy of The East is Green, everyone has now been contacted and Brian will be posting out your copy. Here are some of Brian’s other designs for Celtic Supporters Clubs banners and flags.