Growing Up A Celtic Fan?
I was brought up in a family of Celtic fans, my father and brothers all supported Celtic, The first game I can remember was against Cylde in the 1947/48 season and that’s when I got the bug for Celtic and it has never left me.
Joining Celtic?
I joined Celtic officially in December 1958. I started off my underage football journey as a centre forward and then moved into midfield as an under age player and only started playing in goals when I was in my late teens.
Who signed you at Celtic?
I was signed by the great Jimmy McGrory, he was a complete gentleman but not that much of a manager I’m afraid.
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Settling In?
I found settling in easy and it was not bad because of my previous experience training with players as part of the Kelly Kids.
Team-mates?
Big Billy (McNeill) , (Luggi) John Clark, Charlie Gallagher, (chopper) Bobby Murdoch, Bobby Carroll and John Divers were really good mates from the Kelly Kids and the Crabbit One, Paddy Crerand, he would fight with his shadow if things went wrong.
Nights Out ?
We did not have many nights out I am afraid, we were under constant watch back in those days. Celtic fans would report to the boss if you went into a bar. I walked into a bar with my mates from the street and asked for a half pint of shandy. I must have been 18 going on 19, the barman asked, “Are you the boy who signed for Celtic?” I shrugged my shoulders, stuck out my chest and proudly looked at mates and said YES and he just looked at me and said “See that door you came in well get the f**k out before your kicked out”
1965 Cup Final?
1965 Cup Final well that’s the year everything started when we won the Scottish cup that year, Jock Stein came back as Celtic manager and the rest is history, We went on to win leagues, cups, doing trebles along the way and winning the big cup in Lisbon.
Your Greatest performance between the sticks?
It is difficult to single out one game. I loved the experience of playing in Madrid (see highlights footage of the game below and John pulling off two great saves) Both League and Scottish Cup finals I played in (2 Scottish Cup Finals & 3 League Cup Finals) all were special and also playing in the World Club Final against Racing Club.
I treasured every game I played for Celtic.
Leaving Celtic?
I was heartbroken leaving Celtic against my wishes but before I knew it I was a Motherwell player.
John Fallon was in Coversation with Andrew Milne, Read John’s Column in every issue of More than 90 Minutes.
Andrew started More than 90 Minutes in 2001. He has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. One of his essays featured in Celtic Minded 2 and he is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of Celtic AM pre-match events at Malone’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.
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