The Milk Boy

 

The Milk Boy

A few years back I was invited to a book launch by Stephen Murray who was the author of the excellent ‘Ten Men won the League,’ a book which recounted the incredible events of season 1978-79. Just when all seemed lost for Celtic that year, the snow came and halted the league season for almost two months. Celtic returned from a trip to Portugal and seemed to have rediscovered their mojo and went on a run which saw them streak up the league table until finally it all rested on a game with Rangers at Celtic Park on a bright May evening. Much has been written about that astonishingly dramatic game in which Celtic fought back from a goal down and a man down to score four goals in the final 25 minutes of the match to record a fine 4-2 victory and win the league.

At that book launch I had the pleasure of meeting a few players who played that season. Full back Joe Filippi was there as was Peter Latchford but for me the highlight of the evening was to spend some minutes talking to the one and only Danny McGrain. He remains a humble, soft spoken man who retains great affection for Celtic. It is no exaggeration to say that he was a world class footballer in his time and added to this had a great attitude on and off the field. He had to deal with some serious injuries as a player. His skull fracture at Brockville in May 1972 after a sickening clash of heads with Falkirk striker Doug Somner saw McGrain, clearly concussed, yet in typical fashion he played on until half time before the extent of his injury was known and he was rushed to Falkirk Royal Infirmary.

The following season, with Jim Craig moving on, he made the right back berth his own and blossomed into a fantastic overlapping full back. He rightly gained international honours and was in time part of the Scotland squad which headed to West Germany for the 1974 World Cup Finals. The Scots were the only undefeated team in the tournament but lost out in the group stages after stirring displays against Brazil, Yugoslavia and Zaire. McGrain it seemed could do no wrong but then he was diagnosed with diabetes. Danny was drinking pints of water after one game on a particularly hot day and team medics soon spotted what was amiss. Later in his life he skipped a meal and it almost proved very costly indeed. He wasn’t answering his phone and his wife called the Police knowing that his condition could lead to a loss of consciousness if the circumstances were against him.

The Police car slowed to a crawl as the young officer scanned the nearby cars for the one they were looking for. ‘Nothing’ he said to his colleague as they turned and headed for the Linthouse area which borders the huge Southern General hospital complex. Again, the same pattern was repeated; check the parked cars in the area for a colour and model match, then move on to the licence plate. Just as they were thinking of moving on, they spotted a likely car. ‘Colour matches… checking the plate.’ The driver slowed to a halt. There was soon no doubt that this was the car they were looking for. As they stepped from the vehicle, they could plainly see a familiar figure slumped over the steering wheel. ‘That’s him, quick get the door opened.’ The door was thankfully unlocked but even if it had been locked, they would not have hesitated to break in. This was an emergency. One of the officers quickly assessed the situation and used the sort of common sense long experience had endowed him with, ‘He’s hypoglycaemic, but still with us.’ He produced a soft, sugary sweet from his pocket and eased it into the man’s mouth. As life-saving procedures go it was undramatic and inexpensive but to a diabetic whose brain has been drained of sugar it was manna from heaven. It saved his life.

The man in the car was of course Celtic legend Danny McGrain. He had failed to show up at home after attending a meeting and his wife had the wisdom to quickly call the Police when her calls to his mobile went unanswered. Skipping a meal had meant Danny’s body was seriously low on sugar and in such circumstances the brain’s reaction is to close the non-vital bodily systems down and conserve what little sugar there was in his system. He had lost consciousness shortly after having the presence of mind to park by the side of the road and it then became a race against the clock to find him. Thankfully the Police did find Danny’s car and knew what to do to revive him.

Those of us lucky enough to see Danny McGrain play during his Celtic career saw a player who combined natural talent with determination. It was noted by a fellow player that he possessed a ‘cruel tackle’ which gave no quarter. He was never a dirty player though as he possessed too much talent to need to stoop to that but he was as tough as they come in the physical world of Scottish football. In memory’s view he is the young swashbuckling full back storming up the right wing, the mature bearded captain linking the play on that memorable day at Love Street in 1986 and the player you looked to when things reached the tipping point in tight games.

The young boy who was up a 4am for five years delivering milk in Drumchapel had a dream of making a living playing the game he loved. His first inkling that Celtic were watching his progress came in 1967 when the Hoops were sweeping all before them at home an in Europe. He recalled in an interview that things didn’t quite go to plan when Celtic’s Sean Fallon came to watch him…

“Tommy Reilly brought Sean (Fallon) to Ibrox when I played for Scotland under-18s against England,” he said. “We got hammered and it was a horrible winter’s day. The ground was heavy and the English guys were just giants running about in the mud. I remember being carried off at the end with cramp in both my legs. I played left-midfield then, left-half, and Ibrox is a big park for any 16-year-old so I was running around chasing people and chasing the ball. There were a lot of scouts there and I was getting carried off, and I thought, ‘I’ve blown my chances of playing for Celtic.’ But Sean Fallon phoned my mum and said, ‘Can I come up and see Danny about signing for us?’ And he came up to my house in Drumchapel in 1967, it was before the European Cup final although I don’t remember watching the game and thinking, ‘That guy was in my house!”

Danny was pursued by Celtic though and joined a fine group of youngsters at Celtic Park which included Macari, Dalglish, Wilson, Hay, Connelly and many more who would do great things in the game. As the Lisbon Lions broke up and retired or moved on, these youngsters continued their domestic dominance. Celtic of the period were not among the best payers in the game and eventually many of his best team mates headed south to the riches of the English game. Danny stuck it out at Celtic Park and is rightly seen as a club legend. He led Celtic through good times and bad with dignity and pride.

There is a poignant photograph of a grandfatherly McGrain with an up-and-coming Kieran Tierney. He doubtless passed on his wisdom on the game to the young player at Lennoxtown and in such meetings and perhaps saw something of himself in the young full back. I’m sure the Celtic mad Tierney listened well to the older man and knowing his history hoped he’d aspire to be in McGrain’s class as a player.

Every generation which follows Celtic has been blessed to watch some fine players. Some are called ‘greats’ a select few ‘Legends.’ Danny McGrain is both.