AMERICA proved to the the perfect launch pad for Celtic’s spectacular 1966/67 season when Jock Stein’s all-conquering heroes achieved unparalled success.
Billy McNeill and Co were unstoppable as they blitzed the opposition home and abroad to win EVERY tournament in which they competed.
The domestic treble was won in swashbuckling style before Big Jock’s juggernaut brought down the curtain on a glorious crusade with the historic European Cup triumph in Lisbon on May 25 1967.
The Hoops even threw in the Glasgow Cup for good measure!
In another CQN EXCLUSIVE, author Alex Gordon rolls back the years with an extract from his best-selling tribute book, ‘That Season in Paradise‘, which was published by CQN in 2016.
Please enjoy the sixth and concluding part of your trip back in time!
JOCK STEIN’S men were the walking wounded for their final encounter of the 11-game tour against Mexican champions Atlas at the Los Angeles Memorial Collum on a Sunday evening on June 12.
Celtic were so strapped for players that trainer Neil Mochan, aged 39, who last played for Raith Rovers in 1964, was told he might have to get stripped.
John Fallon was in goal and Ronnie Simpson was the team’s only substitute.Joe McBride played with one thigh heavily strapped and Willie O’Neill was clearly half-fit.
Into the bargain, there were the conditions of 80 degrees heat.
ON THE RUN…Bobby Lennox in a typical all-action pose.
Remarkably, Celtic, against all odds, won 1-0 when Tommy Gemmell, ignoring the oven-like heat, galloped down the right wing and flashed over a low cross which was expertly turned into the net by Charlie Gallagher with only two minutes remaining.
Bobby Lennox remembered: “Our opponents were obviously a bit more used to those sort of temperatures and I recall they were a good side. John Fallon made a handful of decent saves, but we eventually wore them down.
“We were so happy to return home undefeated.
“The pre-season tour of The States should never be underestimated in what it meant to the club.
“There was a real sense of camaraderie among the players and I still believe that’s what laid the foundation to make 1967 such a memorable year.”