John Clark is celebrating his 82nd birthday today, March 13, and the whole Celtic Family sends their best wishes to the Hoops legend.

And reflecting on a lifetime of dedication and devotion to the club, we delve into the Celtic View archives for a feature which breaks down some of the significant numbers in John Clark’s incredible football career.

11

The impressive number of medals that John Clark won during his years as a player at Celtic Park. Between 1958 and 1971 he won three league championships, three Scottish Cups, four League Cups and, of course, the European Cup in 1967. It should also be remembered that Clark has also played a significant role in the backdrop during other major triumphs, as a coach between 1973 and 1978, assistant manager between 1978 and 1983, returning to the club as kit controller in 1997. All of his medals are on display in the Celtic boardroom. ‘I feel really honoured that they are on display there and that supporters are able to see them,’ he said.

5

This was the paltry sum of Scotland caps that John Clark received for his efforts as the most successful sweeper in the Scottish game. Like the rest of the Lions, Clark discovered that talent and achievement at club level mattered little to national team selectors. However, players and supporters recognised his ability and years after marking Pele out of the game in a 1-1 draw with Brazil in 1966, the ‘world’s greatest player’ made a beeline for ‘Luggy’, stopping for a chat after spotting him in the lobby of a New York hotel.

3

It's the number of nicknames that Clark has picked up in his many years at Celtic Park. The first is ‘The Brush’, the moniker that was given to him in the newspapers, for his ability to calmly sweep up at the back. The next was ‘Luggy’, the name that Clark doesn’t really like and was picked up after he ended up with a cauliflower ear after an accidental collision with Billy McNeill in training. The third is the one that he prefers to be known by and is best known as today – ‘Clarky’.

4

The number of goals that the ‘prolific’ Clark scored for Celtic – three in the green and white Hoops and one in the blue and white hoops of Morton. Raise this issue with Clarky now and he will rightly point out that he was a sweeper, more accustomed to stopping goals than foraging forward. And he’ll also tell you that he scored one of the strikes of the century! ‘I always say that I scored the best goal ever,’ he said in a previous Celtic View interview. ‘It was in a replay at Easter Road against Hibs and I beat a defender at the byline, cut in and poked the ball through Ronnie Simpson’s legs and said to him: ‘You couldn’t get any better than that could you!’’ There was one other memorable strike, though, and when Clark returned in 1971 as a Morton player, he was among the Celtic goalscorers, netting an own goal in the 3-1 defeat.

50

Working as a player, coach and kit controller, Clark has now spent eight decades at the club. It is a remarkable, almost lifelong, association and one that Clark treasures. ‘I was a Celtic supporter, a Celtic player, it’s been my life,’ said Clark. ‘I get a lot of satisfaction when I think that I started my working life with Celtic and I’ll finish it with them. I’ve really enjoyed my life, when I look back I couldn’t ask for any more. I’ve been a really lucky guy.’

140

The number of consecutive matches that John Clark played between April 1965 and September 1967. He did not miss a single match during that two-year period, playing in every friendly match for the club, including the North American Tour that preceded the clean sweep season of 1966/67, the head-to-head with Manchester United and the great Alfredo Di Stefano’s testimonial. The run also included four internationals with Scotland and continued until September 27, 1967, when he was rested for the League Cup quarter-final against Ayr United. Clark was back in the team for a league win over Stirling Albion three days later.

14,000+

Was the number of pounds paid for the door to Clarky’s kit room in a charity auction. This was no ordinary door, but a piece of football history, having been signed by almost every big-name player and manager to have visited Celtic Park over a 10-year period. The likes of David Beckham and the Manchester United players, Marcello Lippi, the entire AC Milan squad and a star-studded Juventus team all took time to pop in and leave their autographs. Clarky came up with the idea in a bid to raise money for the Beatson Oncology Unit in Glasgow and the door alone later raised over £14,000 at a charity night.

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