Jim Craig

Sean Fallon, with his unerring eye for football talent, had long identified James Philip Craig as a player who belonged at Celtic Park, and having impressed in Under-18 international matches against England, he was invited to sign for the club he supported.

The path Jim Craig took to his Bhoyhood heroes was slightly different.

That he did so as an amateur was due to the fact that in October 1961 he had begun a five-year dentistry degree at the University of Glasgow. Here was a player with talent in his feet and brains in his head.

Trying to balance to demands of a rigorous academic degree with his football commitments must have been tough for the young man, but he managed to combine both successfully, which eventually led to him signing as a professional in January 1965, though he still had 18 months of his studies left.

He made the right choice as before very long, the young over-lapping full-back had a full set of winner’s medals and his forays down the right wing not only made space for Jimmy Johnstone, but resulted in many of the goals in a golden era for Celtic – including the vital equaliser in Lisbon.

PRELUDE TO PARADISE
The bulk of the Lisbon Lions came through the ranks at Celtic, with other examples being Stevie Chalmers who joined from the Junior ranks, Bertie Auld left and came back, while Ronnie Simpson and Willie Wallace joined from other clubs. The path Jim Craig took to his Bhoyhood heroes was slightly different. Like his peers, he started off in schools football, St Gerard’s in Govan in his case, but that’s where the similarity ends. For football wasn’t the only subject Jim Craig excelled in at school and he was off to Glasgow University. While there studying dentistry, he also played for Glasgow University AC and soon caught the eye of Celtic. He signed for the Hoops as an amateur in 1963 to keep up his studies and became a pro in 1965. However, he continued to work in dentistry throughout his time with the club.

DEBUT BHOY
It was on October 7, 1965 that Jim Craig would make the first of his 231 appearances for the Celtic first team. The occasion was the second leg of Celtic’s European Cup-Winners’ Cup first round tie against Dutch side, Go Ahead Deventer. The Hoops had thrashed their opponents 6-0 in The Netherlands, with Bobby Lennox hitting a hat-trick, and for the return leg in Glasgow, Craig came in to replace Ian Young at right-back. Nine of the Lisbon Lions would play in that match – only Bertie Auld and Willie Wallace, who had not yet signed for the club, were missing. It meant that it was the first time that Ronnie Simpson had played behind a backline of Craig, Clark, McNeill and Gemmell. The Celts won 1-0 with Joe McBride netting the goal for a 7-0 aggregate score.

He savoured every one of the FIFTEEN top-class medals he won with the Hoops.

HIGHLIGHTS
Jim Craig played a central role in the 1967 European Cup final. He conceded the penalty which gave Inter Milan a seventh-minute lead, but more than made up for it as it was his pass into the path of Tommy Gemmell which led to Celtic’s equaliser just after the hour mark. His tireless running up and down the right flank in the sweltering heat of late afternoon Lisbon, was a feature of the contest, while Gemmell was doing the same thing on the other flank – and contributed to the relentless waves of attacks which Jock Stein’s side launched on their Italian opponents. He was always an outlet for his team-mates, while he also created space for the likes of Jimmy Johnstone to exploit. There is no doubt, though, that he savoured every one of the FIFTEEN top-class medals he won with the Hoops.

BOWING OUT
Where better to bow out than at the top, and that’s exactly what Jim Craig did. The defender decided to call it a day at the end of the 1971/72 season and, as was pretty much the norm at the time for Celtic, the last game of the season was the Scottish Cup final. They faced, though, the formidable Hibernian side of the time, but the Hoops produced a memorable performance to send off their team-mate in style. Dixie Deans with a hat-trick, Lou Macari with two and Billy McNeill scored the goals in a magnificent 6-1 win in front of a crowd of 106,102. There were spells with Hellenic in South Africa and Sheffield Wednesday, as well as a short stint as Waterford manager in Ireland, but the Celt returned to dentistry full-time.

231 CELTIC CAREER APPEARANCES
League: 147, Scottish Cup: 23, League Cup: 30, Europe: 31

6 CELTIC CAREER GOALS
League: 1, League Cup: 4, Europe: 1

15 CELTIC CAREER MAJOR HONOURS
League Titles: 7, Scottish Cup: 4, League Cup: 3, European Cup: 1