The recent news that Hamilton Academicals sacked one of their club TV commentators after he gave fans too much information about his half-time toilet trip, during live coverage of their Scottish Premiership game against Ross County, reminded me of another instance when a Celtic employee made a joke that the old board didn’t deem appropriate.
DJ ‘Tiger’ Tim Stevens was best known for his work on Radio Clyde, where he would play comical songs. He was a crazy character from Easterhouse and was rumoured to have hosted his radio show in the nude at times in the 1970s! His fondness for a laugh earnt him the gig as Celtic PA announcer, but it was also to be his downfall.
On 29 September 1993, Celtic hosted Young Boys Berne in the second leg of the UEFA Cup first round. The Hoops had drawn 0-0 in Switzerland two weeks earlier, meanwhile Rangers had beaten Levski Sofia 3-2 in the first round of the Champions League. It was typical of the time. Rangers were winning in Europe’s premier competition, whilst Celtic were struggling in what was then the third best tournament on the continent.
Celtic eliminated the Swiss side in 105th minute of extra-time, when a dangerous reverse pass by Charlie Nicholas resulted in an Alain Baumann own goal. The goal ended a 195-minute stalemate and ensured that Celtic’s name was in the hat in Zurich, where they were paired with Sporting Lisbon.
Rangers had been playing the second leg of their Champions Leg clash with Levski Sofia that same day. Due to the time difference in Bulgaria, the match was a late afternoon kick off. At half time in the Bulgarian capital, the score was locked at 1-1 and Rangers looked good to progress. Little had changed by the 90th minute, when up stepped Nikolay Todorov with an injury time winner to stun the ‘Gers and take Levski Sofia through on away goals.
Back at Celtic Park, with the Hoops’ evening match about to get underway, ‘Tiger Tim’ surprised the crowd when he deviated from the script and called for a minute’s silence. Confusion was replaced by laughter moments later as he elaborated: “In memory of Rangers’ European Cup campaign, which was declared dead earlier today in Bulgaria.” Parkhead let out a collective chuckle as the crowd enjoyed a rare opportunity to poke fun at their city rivals in those days.
Tiger Tim’s voice did not return to the PA system at half time – nor did it ever return again. His gag saw him sacked by the old board, which was a decision none too popular with the Celtic support.
