Celtic are the most successful team in the history of the Scottish Cup, with 40 wins chalked up so far and the hope that No.41 will follow at the beginning of June.

And it was on May 3, 1975 that the Hoops won their 24th Scottish Cup, defeating Airdrie 3-1 at Hampden. The goals that day came from Paul Wilson, who scored a double, and a Pat McCluskey penalty.

That game is also significant in that it was Billy McNeill’s 790th and final competitive game for the club. No one has played more times for Celtic in the club’s history and, remarkably, not one of those 790 appearances was as a substitute.

Big Billy’s debut came on August 23, 1958 in a 2-0 League Cup win at home to Clyde, and over the next 17 years he was a commanding presence in the heart of the Celtic defence, becoming captain of the club in 1963.

And during that period, he won nine league titles in a row, seven Scottish Cups and six League Cups. He also cemented his place as a Celtic legend on May 25, 1967 when he held aloft the European Cup in Lisbon’s Estadio Nacional after leading the team to a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan.

At the end of the 1975 Scottish Cup final, having yet again held aloft silverware at Hampden, Big Billy was himself held aloft on the pitch by his team-mates. It was a remarkable end to the most extraordinary of football careers.

And here’s a chance to take a trip down memory lane with the highlights from that cup final triumph in May 1975.

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Big Billy bowed out with another Celtic triumph at Hampden