Former Celtic striker, Joe McBride, died yesterday after suffering a stroke at the weekend. Joe spent only three years at Celtic but was one of the most prolific strikers in the history of a club known for its prolific strikers.
Brought to the club by Jock Stein in 1965 Joe instantly became the star of the team as Celtic went on to win the league for the first time in eight years. The following season, 66-67, would become the focal point of Celtic’s history as McBride scored a phenomenal 37 goals before injury ended his season prior to Christmas. Five months later his team mates took to the field for the European Cup final in Lisbon without their most potent weapon.
Celtic scored twice to win the European Cup but with fans forever wondering what Joe would have been made of the 40 (literally) chances Celtic didn’t convert, if he had played.
Since that season Celtic players have had incredible goal scoring seasons, Charlie Nicholas in 1982-83, Brian McClair in 1986-87 and Henrik Larsson in 2000-01, each time Joe’s achievements in 1966 were our reference point.
I met Joe a few times, on each occasion he was ebullient and charming, but when talk got down to football, he retained his legendary focus.
Our thoughts and prayers to Joe’s family and friends, may he Rest in Peace.
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Met Joe a few times and he was always down to earth and one of the most decent guys you could imagine. A sad day.
Hail, Hail Joe McBride
Never saw Joe play, too young, heard plenty about him from my dad & uncle. Met him a few times, walked up to stadium in Seville with him before game, a true gentleman. RIP Joe
still think cowdenbeath and airdrie utd will cast vote at hampden if its close
they are not to be trusted imho
there is also the threat of livingston taking the SFL and the SFA to court and
delaying the start of the season if newco are shoe horned into division 1?
livingston have remained very quite over the last week.
dumbarton fc and stenhousemuir are the only yes votes
in the coming years i hope all fans remember their stance and boycott their grounds
was going to post my clubs no to newco table but it has not changed at all in the last week.
most of the undecided clubs in div2 (7 clubs) and div3(5 clubs) are voting on the day or have refused to issue a statement
the bigger the bribe offered to them may sway the vote
all in all it is still looking like division 3
would have accepted this outcome at the start
my only concern is the 2 contract investigation and how doncaster has refused to punish a club for breaking rules when all the info is there to do so.
ogilvie is no doubt in the background making sure most of the info does not see the light of day
jam67
Great tributes for Joe McBride, i hope it’s some help to family and friends.
HH Joe
In the grand scheme of things it is almost irrelevant how the vote goes tomorrow. Football in Scotland is dead. For what the football authorities have attempted here a line has been crossed and there is no going back.
What do you think is going to happen after the vote? SFA/ SPL bod – “Ah Mr Celtic, let me shake your hand. That unfortunate business with the Rangers/Sevco – well I know I tried to rape your wife, enslave your children and sell all your assets, but it’s over now, and we just need to move on – ok? Grand”
Eh, I don’t think so.
The question is what happens now?
HH
TLK
Billy’s Bhoy on 12 July, 2012 at 11:46 said:
Boltonbhoy
Indeed Celtic did play at Cumbernauld to open their new stadium after they became Euro Champs. Funny thing is its a bit of a bluenose hideout these days.
I have been in the clubhouse a few times and it is covered in football memorabilia mostly involving a no longer existant team. Very lttle of Celtic even playing there.
I have also been to the new Falkirk stadium (nice it is and I wish they would put a stand up at the otherside of the pitch) and in the players area and community area there is a montage of games from early last century. Falkirk v Celtic is predominant and it looks as if we have beaten them.
Must really hurt Gordon Waddell when he sees that!
……………
As if he goes anywhere near Falkirks ground!
A gentleman and fine human being.
A goalscorer supreme.
A legendary Celt whose exploits will feature in books about Celtic yet to be written.
I had the pleasure of meeting Joe McBride once, at a fans night in Galashiels.
RIP Joe
YNWA
The biggest corruption in world football are those at the very top of Scottish football governance, none of them are fit for purpose and should be removed from office before they do anymore damage.
Sack the SFA
Joe Mc Bride lived to see the Armageddon of the hun.
A dios gracias.
Many Celticlovers did not.
Lest we forget them.
Onward,my fellow Tims.
Perhaps our most glorious chapters remain to be written.
Lenny understands that.
loved this bit from the abroath club statement
had to read it twice incase i had mad a mistake
We are however in support of entry to the Scottish Football League in Division 3 for next season.
bye bye newco/sevco
GreenJedi
Whit is Gordon Waddell no really a Falkirk fan?
Next you’ll be telling me Bill Leckie and Chic Young are nae really a St. Mirren supporters!:-)
Very nice tribute to the great Joe Mcbride , Paul. Thanks and condolences to his family
So….this is what Sevco are flogging on the 28th.
‘Cambuslang Rangers V The Rangers.’
Really?
jungle jam67
these words from the Peterhead statement…
“…we are left with a sense of wonderment at many of the newly proposed changes to the League; changes that were deemed wholly unworkable prior to Newco Rangers application to join the SFL after expulsion from the SPL.”
Clyde’s amendment, to make Div 3 vote more concrete, was dismissed by Longmuir. This ‘good, honest man’ won’t countenance SFL clubs voting them into the bottom tier.
Can’t see there being a vote tomorrow.
Someone should tell Peterhead that New Rangers weren’t expelled from the SPL. They were never a member and were refused entry.
Rest in peace, Joe McBride, a proper footballer. I watched from the old enclosure in front of the stand many a time and went the park to try to be him, playing football with my mates.
EC67
By Ewing Grahame The Telegraph
Joe McBride’s misfortune at missing out on Celtic’s Lisbon Lions glory prolonged his life after cancer discovery
Celtic hero Joe McBride, who died aged 74 on Wednesday night, was long regarded as one of the unluckiest players in the club’s long and illustrious history.
The reason behind that thinking was that injury prevented him from becoming part of the first team from Great Britain to win the European Cup in 1967.
Had it not been for the persistent knee problem which kept him inactive from the previous December, there is no question that the centre-forward, who became manager Jock Stein’s first signing for the club when he joined from Motherwell in 1965, would have been immortalised as one of the Lisbon Lions.
He had, after all, scored 35 goals in only 26 appearances before Christmas and that total was sufficient to make him the leading marksman in Scottish football that season.
Some players may have become embittered by missing out on the chance to face Inter Milan in that memorable final (his place taken by Willie Wallace), but Joe wasn’t that sort of person.
He also revealed to me two years ago, and for the first time, that he had, indeed, good reason to be grateful for the injury which ruled him out of that date with destiny.
After several specialists had failed to diagnose the root of his problems, an appointment with Professor Roland Barnes not only pinpointed the cause of his condition, it also prolonged his life by over 40 years.
“He decided to repair my kneecap by scraping the loose bone away, assuming that the bone would grow back,” said Joe. “He also analysed the flakes and discovered they were cancerous.
“I was very lucky because that was a really early diagnosis. If I had played on then I could have died or had my leg amputated.”
In all, he scored a remarkable 86 goals in 94 appearances for Celtic before, with Stein apparently unconvinced that he could recover his best form, being sold to Hibernian.
Joe’s release proved to be one of Stein’s rare errors of judgement during his golden era. He went on to become Hibs’ record European goalscorer with eight goals and finished top scorer in both of his seasons at Easter Road.
Joe, surprisingly capped only twice by Scotland (“I had been like Pele up until that injury, just scoring goals for fun”), played on until 1972 with Dunfermline and Clyde and later took just as much pleasure from watching son Joe Jr play for Everton, Hibernian and Scotland’s Under-21 side.
A cheerful and modest man, he was a regular, and popular, attendee at Celtic supporters’ conventions across the globe.
Tom McLaughlin on 12 July, 2012 at 10:36 said:
You`re back.
Welcome.
You and I are a million miles apart politically.
Who gives a proverbial ?
Hail,my fellow Tim.
Hi Fellow Celtic Fans!
Joe McBride; Requiem in Pace. An absolute Celtic Legend and certainly now in the squad for God’s 11 (managed by big Jock, of course). My prayers are with him and his family.
Yours in Celtic,
TB&F.
kitalba on 12 July, 2012 at 10:55 said:
Thanks for posting those links, brought back some great memories!!!
RIP Joe
I’ve got a feeling that the SFA/SPL/SFL Boards may not like this democracy thingymyjig and call martial law on Friday.
My Dad raved about Joe and said he was the best centre-forward he had seen – “A natural”. I was not fortunate enough to have seen Joe play but I was fortunate enough to have met him on a handful of occasions, the most recent being at Paradise early this year.
I told him how my Dad rated him and he smiled “Really, did your Dad think that?”
“Yes Joe and my Dad knew a footballer when he saw one” Cue another big smile on Joe’s face.
I trust my Dad’s judgement 100% and hope others trust mine when I say that Joe McBride was an absolute Gentleman.
RIP Joe and say hello to our loved ones for us up there.
The Washington Post
European Cup-winning former Celtic striker Joe McBride dies at age 74 after suspected stroke
GLASGOW, Scotland — Celtic says striker Joe McBride, who was part of the 1967 European Cup-winning squad, has died. He was 74.
The Scottish club said Thursday that McBride died late Wednesday at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. The British Press Association reports that the former Scotland international suffered a suspected stroke over the weekend.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon says “the loss of Joe is terrible news” as he “was someone who was always very supportive to myself.”
McBride scored 35 goals in 26 games during the season Celtic won the European Cup, but didn’t play in the final against Inter Milan after being injured on Christmas Eve 1966.
He played for Celtic between June 1965 and November 1968, scoring 86 goals in 94 games.
McBride also played for Scottish clubs Motherwell and Hibernian.
kitalba on 12 July, 2012 at 11:41 said:
Where do you find this stuff?
Instantly transported to the mud,blood ,beer and hiss of the Tim terraces.
What fun.
Statement from the Board of Elgin City Football Club
Written by Administrator
Thursday, 12 July 2012 11:54
The Directors of Elgin City Football Club have continued to discuss the present crisis facing Scottish Football and have carefully weighed up all the possible scenarios and their outcomes both for Scottish Football and Elgin City FC as a viable club.
The club have reached the decision that it cannot support the proposal for Rangers Newco to be directly admitted to Division 1 but will support entry to SFL Division 3 in season 2012 / 2013. The Board thanks the supporters and other interested parties who took time to express their views to the Club during this testing time for the future of our game.
http://www.elgincity.com/
Tough year for Clan McBride – Paul, Myles and Joe.
Requiescant in pace
UEFA:
Celtic trauert um Joe McBride
Veröffentlicht: Donnerstag, 12. Juli 2012, 11.30MEZ
Joe McBride, Mitglied von Celtic FC, das 1967 der Pokal der europäischen Meistervereine gewann, ist mit 74 Jahren in Glasgow an den Folgen eines Schlaganfalls gestorben.
Celtic trauert um Joe McBride
Ein Mitglied der “Lisbon Lions” von Celtic FC, Joe McBride, ist im Alter von 74 Jahren an einem Schlaganfall gestorben.
McBride starb am Mittwochabend in einem Krankenhaus in Glasgow. Der 1938 in der Nähe von Govern geborene McBride kam 1965 zu Celtic und wurde schnell ein wichtiger Bestandteil der großen Mannschaft von Jock Steins. Er war ein gefährlicher Stürmer und Teil des Teams, das 1966/67 den Pokal der europäischen Meistervereine gewann. Auf dem Weg zum Triumph traf er gegen den FC Zürich und den FC Nantes, zog sich aber eine Verletzung zu, sodass er das Finale in Lissabon verpasste, das gegen den FC Internazionale Milano gewonnen wurde.
In 94 Spielen für seinen Verein erzielte er 86 Tore, dabei gewann er zwei Meisterschaften und zwei Ligapokale, und 1965/66 war er gemeinsam mit Sir Alex Ferguson Torschützenkönig der schottischen Liga. Auch für Schottland stand McBridge zweimal auf dem Platz. Obwohl er auch für andere Klubs spielte, darunter für Kilmarnock FC, Luton Town FC, Partick Thistle FC, Hibernian FC, Dunfermline Athletic FC und Clyde FC, wird McBride immer mit Celtic in Verbindung gebracht.
“Der Tod von Joe McBride ist eine tragische Nachricht”, sagte Celtic-Geschäftsführer Peter Lawwell. “Joe war ein sehr feiner Mann, ein absoluter Gentleman, und jemand, der dem Klub über viele Jahre enorm gedient hat. Es war ein Privileg, Joe zu kennen, und es war fantastisch, dass, dass jemand, der Celtic so viel gegeben hat, auf verschiedene Weise weiter mit dem Klub verbunden war. Die Gedanken von jedem beim Klub sind in dieser schwierigen Zeit bei Joes Familie.”
Paul67 et al
Was lucky enough to see Joe play in many of those games for Celtic, and even saw him score two against us at Easter Road, in 1968 I think. No doubt in my mind that had Joe avoided serious injury back in 1966, and playing in that team, he would have set a scoring record that even Henrik Larsson would have struggled to equal. Even so, Joe helped us on our way to Lisbon and also managed to get into a Scotland team well represented by Jock Stein’s Celtic players. Make no mistake about it, in a great team full of great players Joe McBride helped set Big Jock’s team on the road to greatness.
God bless Joe McBride.
Requiescat in Pace
Rangers Football Club
A GREAT RIVAL
by Lindsay Herron
And the legendary Rangers centre half was saddened to hear of the passing of an old foe, especially as he was someone he respected greatly.
McKinnon is, of course, deeply distressed and concerned about the plight of his club Rangers whom he supported as a boy having grown up in Govan and played for with superb distinction for over a decade between 1960 and 1971 when injury effectively ended his career.
Indeed, there is an unfortunate parallel between the careers of McBride and McKinnon as serious injuries not only cut short their careers with Glasgow’s big two but prevented them from being involved in the finest moment in each club’s history.
McBride scored 35 goals in 26 matches in the first half of the 1966/67 season when he suffered a serious knee injury against Aberdeen on Christmas Eve and did not play again for a year, missing the European Cup Final in Lisbon.
Similarly McKinnon suffered an horrendous leg break against Sporting Lisbon in 1971 which ended his season as Rangers went on to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup in Barcelona the following May.
But the Rangers Hall of Famer preferred to focus on the positive as he discussed a different era with rangers.co.uk.
He said: “I am very sad to hear about Joe. I had a lot of respect for him and we had many great battles on the park.
“Joe was a fierce competitor and someone who was very difficult to contain.
“He was always buzzing about and you could not give him an inch. He was a very dangerous striker as you can tell from his great strike rate.
“He was always hungry for goals so you had to be on your toes. I was quite lucky that I had decent pace and I needed it if I was going to keep Joe quiet.
“To have a striker like Joe in your team was a real bonus.”
McKinnon and Rangers dominated the first half of the 1960s and then Celtic took over but far from being bitter enemies there was genuine camaraderie.
He said: “Joe and I had great respect for each other and a lot of the players were friendly in these days.
“Bobby Lennox and I got on like a house on fire and I was also very friendly with Bobby Murdoch,
“There were other friendships between the players. When we all got together on Scotland trips for example, it was great and we all got on really well.
“Of course, we were great rivals on the park but good friends off it
The Glasgow Herald
Celtic football legend Joe McBride dies after stroke
Celtic legend Joe McBride, 74, died last night in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, just
The former fans’ favourite didn’t recover after he fell ill at his Glasgow home at the weekend.
He was part of the Lisbon Lions squad that lifted the European Cup, but didn’t play in the final against Inter Milan after picking up a serious injury. He later played for Hibs, where he scored 86 goals in just 96 games.
Last night, former Lisbon Lion Tommy Gemmell led the tributes to his old teammate, saying: “This has come as a terrible shock. Joe was a great lad and we had some great moments together.
“He was a real Celtic great who could so easily have been a player in the team that won the European Cup in 1967.
“Joe had scored over 30 goals before he received an awful injury against Aberdeen just before the turn of the year and that ruled him out for the rest of the season.
“I scored our first-ever European Cup goal during that campaign and Joe scored the other as we beat Zurich 2-0 at Parkhead. Then came his injury setback and that sidelined him for the remaining months of the campaign. There is little doubt he would have had his part to play in Lisbon.
“It was easy to see why the Celtic supporters took to him. He was one of their own and a real man’s man in the dressing room and out on the pitch.
“Our thoughts go out to his family at this dreadful time.”
McBride started his career with Kilmarnock Amateurs before joining Junior side Shettleston Town. He moved to Kirkintilloch Rob Roy before stepping up to the seniors with Kilmarnock.
The prolific goalscorer went south to Wolverhampton Wanderers then on to Luton Town before coming back to Scotland with Partick Thistle.
He signed for Motherwell and scored two goals against Jock Stein’s Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1965 that finished 2-2. The Parkhead side won 3-0 in the replay, but McBride had done enough in the first game to impress the legendary Celtic manager.
He made history by becoming Stein’s first signing for the club when he was bought from Motherwell for £25,000 in April 1965.
Of missing the famous final in Lisbon, McBride later said: “I had been like Pele up until that injury, just scoring goals for fun. In fact, when I first broke down and was having treatment at the ground, all the directors turned up to see how I was.
“Even when I came out of the hospital after my operation Big Jock [Stein] said to me, ‘The semi-final’s a good few weeks away yet, Joe – there’s still time’. As it was, I came out on crutches and with my leg in plaster up to my waist. I wasn’t able to give the crutches up until just before we were due to play Inter.”
McBride – who was born in Glasgow – just few hundred yards from Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium in Govan – left for Hibs in December 1968, and became their top goalscorer in both the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons.
Playing in an age when Scotland was blessed with top-class talent on the football pitch, McBride won just two full caps for the national team and represented his country four times at Scottish League level.
His son, also named Joe, enjoyed a career as a footballer and played for Everton and Hibs.
Funeral details will be announced by his family later.
Celtic Football Club
Celtic legend Joe McBride passes away
By: Joe Sullivan on 12 Jul, 2012 08:44
CELTIC legend, Joe McBride, sadly passed away late last night after his short battle with illness following a stroke.
Joe, of course, was a much valued member of the Lisbon Lions’ squad and his truly amazing goals-per-game ratio during Celtic’s greatest ever season was a key component of the team’s unrivalled success in 1966/67.
Despite an injury picked up on Christmas Eve 1966 keeping him out for the rest of the season, the striker had still scored 35 goals in the 26 games he had played up until that point.
That was the sort of striking acumen that had Joe only behind the great Jimmy McGrory in goal-scoring prowess or, to put it in more modern terms, his goal-scoring record on a game-to-game ratio was even better than that of Henrik Larsson.
Joe joined his Bhoyhood heroes from Motherwell on June 5, 1965 following spells with Kilmarnock, Wolves, Luton Town and Partick Thistle.
That injury picked up against Aberdeen on December 24, eventually saw him lose his place in the side and he moved to Hibernian on November 5, 1968 only for his goalscoring touch to return and haunt the Hoops when he played against them.
So much so that the great Jock Stein had to admit to the player himself that he probably let him go a bit early.
His relatively short stint at the club came in the Hoops’ greatest and most silver-laden period and in his 94 games he scored an amazing 86 goals.
Given that he challenged Jimmy McGrory for the title of Celtic’s most precocious striker, it’s no surprise that McGrory himself described Joe McBride as the best goalscorer he had seen at the club – no mean compliment from the best of all and a man who had been watching Celtic score goals for the best part of half-a-century.
Following his stint with Hibernian, Joe also had spells with Dunfermline and Clyde before retiring on April 29, 1972.
Joe won two league championships and two League Cups with Celtic as well as picking up two Scotland caps – in the second of those, against Northern Ireland, he lined up alongside five other Celtic team-mates in the Scotland side.
He will forever be known as Joe McBride of Celtic, though, and was a more than popular member of the squad of former players who still wore the club colours as part of the matchday hospitality team of legends who meet and greet the fans.
Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said: “The passing of Joe McBride is tragic news.
“Joe was a very fine man, an absolute gentleman and someone who gave tremendous service to the club over a number of years.
“It was a privilege to know Joe and it was fantastic that someone who gave so much to Celtic was still involved with the club in a number of ways – he will truly be sadly missed by everyone at Celtic.
“The thoughts of everyone at the club are very much with Joe’s family at this very difficult time.”
Celtic manager Neil Lennon added: “The loss of Joe is terrible news. It was a pleasure to be in Joe’s company and on a personal level, Joe was someone who was always very supportive to myself.
“I know Joe Jnr well too and on behalf of the whole management and backroom team, and the players, we offer our sincere condolences to Joe’s family, we know this will be a very difficult time for them all.”
He will be sadly missed by all and the thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic Football Club and the extended Celtic family are with Joe’s family at this very sad time.
I still find it unfathomable (if that’s a word) at what the SFA/SPL are trying to pull here, and also that the president himself is still there . My only conclusion is that he actually has something over the 2 chief executives and is using this to pull the strings. I wonder how many others outside RFCIA/L received EBT’s.
Just had an interesting conversation with a pal of David Murray-
He claimed among other things:
Charles Green about to sell 40% stake for £11million ( a great deal if he is valuing Servco at £27m)
Murray about to hit the Press with letters of Assurance re EBT from Previous Chancellor Gordon Brown.
Aberdeen, Hibs and St Johnstone also implicated in EBT.
Arsenal and Spurs will follow when HMRC set the precedent in Scotland.
Such is the shared business interest between SPL chairmen and DM they would have voted Huns back to SPL had Murray still been at the helm.
Murray claimed death threats from Hun fans forced his hasty decision to sell to Whyte.
Charles Green is apparently up beyond his neck financially and needs to sell at least part of Servco in next 4 weeks.
Murray considering a ‘come back’
He was backing some of it up with detail. Some of it seemed a wee bit blue tinted specs…
OK so what is being proposed is a top league of 14 then move onto 16. So get the calculators put and work it out!
League of 14 is:
14 * 2 = 28 then split
6 * 2 = 10 total top half 38
8 * 2 = 14 total bottom half 42
League of 16 is:
16 * 2 = 30 then stay at 30 or split to what?????
Two sections of 8 * 2 = 14 giving total of 44 games or
6 * 2 = 10 giving top half 40 games
10 * 2 = 18 giving bottom half 48 games!!!
http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/?p=9806&cpage=3#comment-1492744
Well said Elgin City. My home town club. Would have been even better if they had said no to place in SFL but still, well done!
HH
SIALF
FIFA:
Celtic-Legende Joe McBride gestorben
Der ehemalige schottische Nationalspieler Joe McBride ist im Alter von 74 Jahren an den Folgen eines Schlaganfalls gestorben. Dies teilte sein ehemaliger Verein Celtic Glasgow am Donnerstag mit. Seine erfolgreichste Zeit hatte der Stürmer zwischen 1965 und 1968, als er für den schottischen Traditionsverein in 94 Spielen 86 Tore erzielte und 1967 den Europapokal der Landesmeister gewann.
“Joe war ein absoluter Gentleman. Er hat über Jahre eine bewundernswerte Leistung für Celtic gebracht. Er wird hier jedem fehlen”, sagt Celtic-Vorstandschef Peter Lawwell auf der Homepage des Vereins.
McBride begann seine Karriere 1957 beim FC Kilmarnock, von wo aus er 1959 für die damals stattliche Summe von 12.500 Pfund (ca. 16.000 Euro) zum englischen Premier League-Klub Wolverhampton Wanderers wechselte. Für die Wolves blieb er ohne Einsatz und wechselte noch im gleichen Jahr zu Luton Town. Über Partick Thistle landete er schließlich bei Celtic.