22nd August 1966
The Glasgow Cup
The League Cup campaign was going well for Celtic and they were receiving good press for their efforts yet it was noticeable over the weekend that the prospect of an Old Firm contest – in this case a first round tie in the Glasgow Cup – brought on a definite edge to the coverage of the match in the press. The reporting was as unbiased as you ever get at a time like that but the main difference was the extent of the coverage, page after page of comment, features, assessments and possible outcomes.
Curiously, the same feeling of expectation was evident at training on the Monday morning. Everything was done on a sharper basis, the good humour almost endemic to training at that time was less obvious and although the actual match was not mentioned, we could all sense that something a bit special was in the offing.
Naturally, in a position like the one I was in at that time, pushing for a place in the first team, a Glasgow Cup tie would normally be regarded as the ideal situation to give such a player a run-out. However, the fact that this tie was also an Old Firm clash precluded all that and I contented myself with being part of the squad for the match……for the time being, anyway!
In season 1965-66, the record between the two sides had been;
League: Celtic – 1 win ; Rangers 1 win
Scottish Cup: 1 draw ( SC Final ); 1 Rangers win ( SC Final Replay)
League Cup: ; Celtic – 1 win (LC Final)
The headlines in the press gave some idea of the problems both managers faced;
Silent ‘Old Firm’
Will George McLean be restored to Rangers forward line? Will John Hughes make his first appearance of the season in the Celtic arrack?
and;
Super Celts All-Set
‘No injuries, no team just yet ‘ Jock Stein was quoted as saying
23rd August 1966
In the papers on the morning of the match, it was announced that a special spectator would be at Ibrox that night. Former-Celt John Colrain, now manager of Glentoran in Northern Ireland, would be in the stand taking a close look at Rangers, his team’s opponents in the European Cup Winner’s Cup.
The list of top goal-scorers for the season thus far was issued by the authorities. The top names were;
9 McBride (Celtic)
5 Forrest (Rangers)
4 Marshall (Airdrie), Lennox (Celtic), Wallace ( Hearts)
And Celtic announced a 25-man squad which has been issued to UEFA for the European Cup campaign. The names are;
Simpson, Fallon, Martin, Kennedy, Craig, Gemmell, Halpin, McCarron, O’Neill, Brogan, Cattenach, Clark, Cushley, McNeill, Murdoch, Auld, Chalmers, Connelly, Gallagher, Hughes, Johnstone, Lennox, McBride, Quinn and Taylor.
Few There When Many Were Expected
Only nine sleepy-eyed teenage girls were at the airport to welcome the Beatles when they arrived in New York for the last concert of their US tour. But 100 girls greeted the Beatles from behind wooden barricades when the quartet arrived at their Manhattan hotel.
Young Offenders
Three boys – aged 11, 12 and 15 – have admitted that they set fire to a room in St Kenneth’s Primary School, Greenock.
At a special sitting of Greenock Juvenile Court they also admitted breaking into the school on August 14 or 15, forcing open a cupboard with intent to steal and stealing 14 tins of food.
Three small fires were started in the school and malicious damage caused. Damage was estimated at over £200.
World Cup Victory Stamps for Sale – In Edinburgh?
World Cup victory stamps went on sale in Edinburgh and the entire stock of 45,000 was sold out within 80 minutes.
When the Philatelic Bureau at the General Post Office opened this morning at 8 am, the queue stretched along the side of the General Post Office building and across North Bridge, a distance of more than 200 yards.