Bertie Auld

A player who enjoyed two spells at Celtic, the midfielder first joined in 1955 and played alongside some of the greats of that era, including Charlie Tully, Willie Fernie, Bertie Peacock and Billy McPhail amongst others. He left Celtic in 1961 for Birmingham City but returned to Paradise in January 1965, two months before Jock Stein arrived.

A tough-tackling midfielder, Auld was also a player of immense skill and, alongside Bobby Murdoch, created one of the most stylish and influential midfield partnerships in world football at that time.

PRELUDE TO PARADISE
Bertie Auld had just turned 17 when he joined Celtic on April 2, 1955. The Maryhill Bhoy was born on March 23, 1938, and had caught the eye of scouts while playing for Maryhill Harp. Recalling the Sunday when he had gone to Celtic Park with his dad and the Maryhill scout to sign for the club, Bertie said: “Me and my Dad were standing in the middle of the centre circle and he turned round and said to me, ‘Wait ‘til you see this place and wait ‘til you hear this support. If you’re good, they’ll applaud you and if you are fortunate enough to be a success, they’ll never forget you'." It’s certainly true to say that the Celtic support did applaud Bertie Auld many times over the next few years, and they have never forgotten what he did for the club.

DOUBLE DEBUT
Having joined the club in 1955, Bertie had a loan spell with Dumbarton before returning to the club, and he made his debut in a Charity Cup match against Rangers on May 1, 1957. It would be just a few months later, however, that the Hoops would record their famous 7-1 victory over Rangers in the League Cup final. Bertie was with the club until 1961 when he left to join Birmingham City. He spent almost four years in England before returning to Celtic Park in January 1965, just two months before Jock Stein returned to the club as manager. Bertie Auld would be an integral part of the success Celtic enjoyed over the next few seasons.

LUCKY FOR SOME
Bertie won a total of 13 major honours during his time with Celtic – five league championships, three Scottish Cups, four League Cups and, of course, the European Cup in 1967. He was also unlucky to miss out on another honour when he was omitted for the 1957 League Cup final. Bertie had played in every round of the competition up to the final, but was left out in favour of Neilly Mochan. The 7-1 victory over Rangers in the final seemed to vindicate the team selection, and though disappointed to have missed out on the famous victory, Bertie has always been magnanimous to admit that the more experienced Mochan deserved his place in the team.

TARGET MAN
Bertie scored a total of 85 goals for the club during his two spells at Celtic. His first competitive goal came on August 28, 1957 in a League Cup sectional game against East Fife at Celtic Park. The Hoops won that match 6-1 in front of a crowd of 18,000, with Bertie scoring on 32 minutes. His last competitive goal in Celtic colours came at Dens Park in a 2-1 victory over Dundee on April 6, 1970. His two most famous goals for the Hoops came in the 1965 Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline Athletic, a game that kick-started the golden era under Jock Stein.

THE START OF A GOLDEN ERA
The 1965 Scottish Cup triumph was a pivotal moment in Celtic’s history. Bertie Auld had returned to Celtic Park in January of that year and two months later, Jock Stein left Hibernian to become Celtic manager. Within a few weeks, he was leading his team to victory in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden against Dunfermline. It was a tough game against a side who had beaten Celtic in the final four years previously, when Stein was manager of the Pars. The Fifers were twice ahead in the match but both times Bertie Auld scored to draw Celtic level. And then, with nine minutes remaining, Billy McNeill headed home a Charlie Gallagher corner to give Celtic a 3-2 victory.

TEN-THIRTY
Bertie’s nickname was ‘ten-thirty’ – some Cockney rhyming slang, mixed in with Glaswegian pronunciation. Bertie was very much a Glasgow boy, born and bred, and proud of his city. His ‘gallus’ nature was an integral part of his character on and off the field, and as well as being a player of superb quality, he could look after himself – which is probably a diplomatic way of saying that Bertie could be as hard as nails when the occasion arose. Those qualities, and an incredible determination to win, were harnessed by Jock Stein and used to help drive the team to countless triumphs.

NATIONAL SERVICE
Like all his Celtic contemporaries, Bertie Auld was woefully neglected by Scotland, gaining just three caps. He was, for a period of six years, part of the most successful midfield in Scotland, and one of the strongest sides in Europe, so to have been capped just three times is extraordinary. His midfield partner, Bobby Murdoch, gained just 12 caps, so one of the strongest midfield duos in world football at that time gained a combined total of 15 caps.

275 CELTIC CAREER APPEARANCES
League: 176, Scottish Cup: 28, League Cup: 47, Europe: 24

79 CELTIC CAREER GOALS
League: 50, Scottish Cup: 8, League Cup: 20, Europe: 1

16 CELTIC CAREER HONOURS
League Titles: 6, Scottish Cup: 4, League Cup: 5, European Cup: 1