BILLY McNEILL, at the age of 18, was a winner when he made his Celtic debut 60 years ago today.
For the record, the Hoops beat Clyde 2-0 in a League Cup-tie at Parkhead on Saturday, August 23 1958 with first-half goals from Sammy Wilson and Bertie Auld.
The teams were:
CELTIC: Haffey; Mackay, Kennedy; Fernie, McNeill, Peacock; Tully, Collins, Conway, Wilson and Auld.
CLYDE: McCulloch; Murphy, Haddock; Walters, Finlay, White; Herd, Currie, Coyle, Robertson and Ring.
The referee was Joe Bissett, of Edinburgh, and the crowd was 39,000.
It was the start of something good, despite McNeill having to wait seven years for his first medal when he headed in the winner in the 3-2 victory over Dunfermline in the 1965 Scottish Cup Final.
The Celtic legend had a silverware haul of one European Cup, nine league championships, seven Scottish Cups and six League Cups in a glittering playing career.
Billy McNeill has a special place in the hearts of all Celtic supporters.
TO celebrate the 60th anniversary of Billy McNeill’s first appearance for Celtic, author Alex Gordon has written a tribute book to the Hoops legend, entitled ‘In Praise of Caesar’ which is published today by Black and White, priced £17.99p. It is packed with wonderful anecdotes from Billy’s many friends in football including a foreword by Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell, a personal thought from manager Brendan Rodgers, Sir Kenny Dalglish, Sir Alex Ferguson, Gordon Strachan, Davie Hay, Roy Aitken, Paul McStay, the Lisbon Lions and so many more of football royalty. You can order your copy here:
http://blackandwhitepublishing.com/billy-mcneill.html
