The Glory & the Dream – the 38,000-selling unofficial history of Celtic club – was co-written by Tom Campbell and Pat Woods, and it is perhaps the finest book ever written on Celtic Football Club…
Where did your love of Celtic come from? Was it passed down to you from your father?
Tom Campbell: “I can remember being a Celtic supporter in primary school. My grandfather was a keen supporter, as were my cousins; my father less so.”
What are your earliest memories of watching Celtic?
Tom Campbell: “A New Year’s Day game at Ibrox in 1943 when we lost 8-1. Trudging home in the rain, my grandfather rationalised the defeat: the two Celtic players ordered off were victims of shocking decisions, Miller was fouled for the third goal, the seventh goal was offside. Even at a tender age I was slightly dubious; however, years later, research by Pat Woods and myself suggested my grandfather was right.”
What types of Celtic songs can you remember from the terraces back then?
Tom Campbell: “Not too many, actually. I remember round about 17 March the supporters used to sing ‘Hail Glorious St Patrick’. Incidentally, years later, when Celtic beat Rangers in a Scottish Cup tie on St Patrick’s Day that generation of supporters were singing ‘Happy Birthday, St Patrick’. I suppose that’s one indication of the decline in religion in people’s lives.”
With so many talented individuals in the 1950s, why were Celtic only sporadically successful during that decade?
Tom Campbell: “A fatal combination of a ‘weak manager’ and ‘an interfering chairman’. Jimmy McGrory was just too nice to be a hard-nosed manager, and Bob Kelly felt watching Celtic every week made him an expert, especially in team selection.”
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