Remembering Bertie Auld

 

Remembering Bertie Auld

Bertie Auld approached life with a smile on his face and was one of the great characters of Scottish football. He learned his trade in the rough street games of Glasgow’s working-class community and was steeled further playing in the Junior league with Maryhill. There was no doubt he was a tough cookie on the field of play but he could play the game too.

The boy from Panmure street in Maryhill wasn’t from a traditional Celtic family but from the day in 1955 when he returned home from Celtic Park clutching a £20 signing on fee given to him by Jimmy McGrory, he was Celtic to the core. His fiery temperament and lippy nature ruffled a few feathers in the stuffy days of the 1950s and  after less than a hundred games for Celtic, the club sold him to Birmingham City where he won the League Cup in 1962-63 and appeared in the Inter-Cities Fairs cup final. (A forerunner of the UEFA Cup)

One of football’s great raconteurs, the stories Bertie told are the stuff of legend. He recalled playing for Birmingham in a European tie and noticing the referee was fellow Scot, Tiny Wharton. He approached Wharton and said before kick-off, ‘You know, we’re the only two Scots on this field so any chance you could do us a wee turn tonight? Tiny ignored him until later in the game when Bertie clattered an opponent. The six-foot four referee approached him saying, ‘Remember you said there were the only two Scots on the field? Well, there’s only one now. Off!’

Bertie had some measure of revenge when he returned to Celtic in the mid-1960s. He asked Wharton what would happen if he called him a bastard. Wharton replied that he’d send him off. He then asked, ‘what if I just think you’re a bastard?’ Wharton replied, ‘I can’t do anything if you just think it.’ To which Bertie replied, ‘well I think you’re a bastard!’

His time at Birmingham also saw him lay out the golden boy of English football, Johnny Haynes of Fulham. He recalls in his book the incident in the following words…

‘As we trotted back Haynes was giving as good as he got, ‘I’ll get you the next time you little Scottish bastard.’ I snapped as we reached the centre circle and thought it would be a good idea to give him a dull one. I whacked him. Our pitch was hard as flint and he went down like a sack of spuds. His head thudded off the surface and he just lay there.’

Bertie was sent off and as he trotted from the field, Fulham’s hulking centre half Maurice Cooke approached him to extract some revenge. To the astonishment of all, the little Scot clocked him too and left him on his back on the turf.

Bertie’s brand of tough, incisive football, combined with a certain gallusness, made him a mainstay in the Celtic side Jock Stein constructed in the years after 1965. That side had an alchemy, a magic which made it more than the sum of its parts. From their experienced old goalkeeper, Ronnie Simpson to a defence in which the full backs were expected to attack as much as they defended and the imperious McNeill was backed up by that great reader of the game, John Clark. The midfield comprised of the dynamic Bobby Murdoch ably assisted by Bertie Auld. These two could tackle, run and pass with an accuracy which suited the pace of Lennox and the virtuoso ball playing genius of Jimmy Johnstone. Up front Wallace and Chalmers posed a threat to any defence.

It is recorded that as Celtic lined up in the tunnel beside the tanned athletes of Inter Milan on that hot day in Lisbon in 1967, Bertie sensed they needed a spur. He began to sing the Celtic Song as the bemused Italians looked on. Soon every Celtic player was belting it out, and Inter knew they had a real game on their hands. The eleven pale Scots proceeded to tutor Inter on the art of attacking football and the 2-1 score line barely registers Celtic’s mastery that day.

Bertie Auld was a man of his time and never forgot his roots. He’d be seen standing chatting to fans, posing for photos with them or signing autographs for far longer than modern professionals would. He epitomised the spirit of the Lisbon Lions and took huge pride in what they had achieved. Above this he was also a lifelong friend to all the players he played with at Celtic and he simply loved their company. So many video clips exist showing him happy and at ease among his old comrades, his infectious laughter echoing around the room. It was obvious that that band of brothers had great love for each other.

As the old brigade leave us one by one, we are left with memories and thankfully a video record of their brilliance to show the young who never saw them play. For me Bertie will be the man holding the ball in the air after defeating Leeds United at Hampden in 1970. He will be the gallus Maryhill lad winding up Herrera’s Inter in the tunnel in Lisbon. He will also be the man who took such pride in wearing that hooped shirt and in entertaining the fans. Above all he was one of us and he loved Celtic with a passion that so many of us share. That shone through in his interactions with the fans, his tales, his jokes and his willingness to attend supporters’ functions from Lanarkshire to Las Vegas.

His great rival at Rangers, John Greig, once stood in the tunnel at Ibrox before a game with Bertie nearby. ‘How much is your win bonus today?’ Greig enquired. Bertie replied, ‘we’re on a fiver each if we win.’ Greig smiled, ‘Really, we’re on ten quid win bonus.’ ‘Aye,’ said Bertie, ‘but we’re guaranteed it. You’re getting nothing.’ That was Bertie, a sharp wit, a sharp footballer and a man forever recognised as Bertie Auld; Celtic legend.

He'd like that.   

Bertie Auld (1938-2021)