JOHN FALLON
When he joined Celtic on December 11, 1958, John fulfilled a lifelong dream, signing for the club he had supported passionately as a boy, and which he continues to support with the same passion to this day.
He made his debut in a 1-1 draw against Clyde in September 1959, and went on to make a total of 195 appearances before leaving in 1972.
He won six league titles, five League Cups and two Scottish Cups, including the 1965 triumph at Hampden, which was the club’s first trophy under Jock Stein and which kicked off the club’s golden era.
And, of course, he also won a European Cup medal on May 25, 1967 as part of the club’s legendary Lisbon Lions squad.
John who played in the team that famously defeated Real Madrid in June, 1967 played his last game for Celtic away at Pittodrie in December 1970.
He moved to Motherwell during the 1971/72 season and joined Greenock Morton the following year before retiring shortly after.
In April 2019, John was delighted to be reunited with his European Cup winner’s medal, thought to have been lost after the European Cup final in 1967.
His medal was discovered by someone who recognised as it belonging to the Celtic goalkeeper, who was on the bench in Lisbon. The medal was donated back to the club, and the club in turn made sure the medal was returned to its rightful owner.
Looking back, Lisbon Lion John described the mood at full-time following Celtic’s historic 2-1 win over Inter Milan as berserk, and said he’s as proud of that moment today as he was over 50 years ago in Portugal.
He added: “We were wading through scores of fans to get off the park and into the dressing-room. It’s such a great memory! We’ll never forget it, and it’s something everyone should be proud. For the Celtic supporters, we gave them something to look at that nobody else could."
14 CELTIC CAREER MAJOR HONOURS
League Titles: 6, Scottish Cup: 2, League Cup: 5, European Cup: 1