BOBBY LENNOX

It would be easy to wax lyrical about Bobby Lennox, even if the difficulty is knowing where to start. There is the 586 appearances, or the 277 goals, which make him Celtic’s second top goalscorer of all-time behind the peerless Jimmy McGrory.

There is the unprecedented haul of medals – 11 league titles, six Scottish Cups, four League Cups and the European Cup. There is also the longevity of his Celtic career, from his debut in 1962 up until his final bow, appropriately enough in a Scottish Cup final at Hampden in 1980, with only the smallest of interruptions in ’77 when he moved briefly to the United States.

Yet, rather than pour praise on a man who has always remained modest about his achievements, it is best to let the words of two of world football’s greatest ever figures to sum up with eloquence and accuracy just how good Bobby Lennox was.

"The Scotsman who gave me the most trouble was Bobby Lennox of Celtic."
Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid

The late, great Alfredo Di Stefano, recalling his testimonial match at the Bernabeu Stadium in 1967, when the newly-crowned European champions beat Real Madrid 1-0 courtesy of a Lennox goal, said: ‘The Scotsman who gave me the most trouble was Bobby Lennox of Celtic. My testimonial at the Bernabeu was against Celtic as, of course, they were the champions of Europe in 1967. And although I remember the Bernabeu rising to Jimmy Johnstone, I admired Lennox greatly.’

And Manchester United legend, Bobby Charlton, put it simply: "If I’d had Bobby Lennox in my team, I could have played forever."

PRELUDE TO PARADISE
Bobby Lennox was the ‘foreigner’ in the Lisbon Lions squad, living the furthest from Celtic Park – a full 30 miles away in Saltcoats. He played secondary school football with St Michael’s in Irvine before, in 1959, turning out with Star of the Sea Amateurs and Ardeer Recreation. He was already starting to catch the eye and when his beloved Celtic showed interest, there was only ever going to be one outcome. Barely a week after his 18th birthday, he signed for Celtic on September 5, 1961.

DEBUT BHOY
Bobby Lennox was still only 18 when he made his Celtic debut as top-of-the-table Dundee visited on league duty on March 3, 1962. A 39,000 crowd converged on Celtic Park for the game but, surprisingly, for a player whose speed would be renowned throughout the world, it was reported that the pace of the game found him wanting. The visitors took the lead early in the second-half before two late Celtic goals gave the Hoops a 2-1 win against a side that would go on to win the title that season.

HIGHLIGHTS
There were fleeting appearances over the next few seasons but it wasn’t until the second half of the 1964/65 season that Bobby Lennox became a regular in the side – and that coincided with the trophies rolling in at Celtic Park on a green and white conveyor belt. The medals came thick and fast for Lennox from then on in, with no fewer than 11 championships, eight Scottish Cups and four League Cups as well as, of course, the European Cup in 1967. A total of 24 top-class medals were won by Lennox in a career that spanned the greatest years in the club’s history.

BOWING OUT
Well, there were two farewells to Paradise for Bobby Lennox. On November 16, 1977, Celtic played St Mirren in the second-leg of the League Cup quarter-final and were 3-1 up from the first game at Love Street. The 17,000 crowd saw Celtic win 2-0 thanks to goals from Paul Wilson and Johnny Doyle, and it was Doyle who Lennox replaced from the bench. That was his last game before joining Houston Hurricane on March 29, 1978 but his spell Stateside was short-lived as in September of the same year, new Celtic manager, Billy McNeill, called him back for another term. His final game was the Scottish Cup final of 1980 when he again replaced Johnny Doyle in a 1-0 win over Rangers thanks to George McCluskey’s goal.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A BUZZBOMB
Bobby Lennox interrupted his Celtic career for a brief sojourn to the United States, where he played for a few months with Houston Hurricane in 1978. The lure of Paradise soon brought him home, though he retains strong links with Texas to this day.

EVERY DAY’S A FLAG DAY FOR BOBBY
Bobby Lennox scored an impressive 277 goals for Celtic, making him Celtic’s second top goalscorer of all-time. It was always going to be a nigh-on impossible task to get anywhere near Jimmy McGrory’s record of 446 goals, although the Lisbon Lion would have got considerably closer if it hadn’t been for the regular intervention of the linesman’s flag.

"Put it this way, I know I should have a few extra goals to my credit!"

‘There are certain goals I can see clearly and know that when Bobby Murdoch or Bertie made the pass, I was never offside,’ he said. ‘Sometimes I could even see the linesman looking up and by that time I was already by someone. Put it this way, I know I should have a few extra goals to my credit!’

FAVOURITE GAME
How do you choose a favourite game from 586 appearances for Celtic? For Bobby Lennox, setting aside the European Cup triumph in 1967, there is one other game which he treasures. On August 23, 1966, the Hoops travelled to Ibrox for a Glasgow Cup first round tie and won 4-0 in front of a 76,000 crowd. Bobby Lennox hit a hat-trick in the game.

‘After the game finished I got picked up by my two brothers, Andrew and Eric, outside Ibrox. If we were playing at Ibrox, Love Street or Kilmarnock I’d go straight home to Saltcoats, rather than go back into the city on the bus. My brother used to park the car at Ibrox and I’d just wander across. I enjoyed meeting them after games and they were delighted when they met me that day. Typical brothers, they were thrilled, absolutely thrilled. The team played well that day, for us to win 4-0, but just scoring a hat-trick at Ibrox makes it a special one for me.’

586 CELTIC CAREER APPEARANCES
League: 346, Scottish Cup: 51, League Cup: 120, Europe: 69

277 CELTIC CAREER GOALS
League: 170, Scottish Cup: 31, League Cup: 62, Europe: 14

24 CELTIC CAREER MAJOR HONOURS
League: 11, Scottish Cup: 8, League Cup: 4, European Cup: 1