Heartfelt John Clark Tribute from Willie Wallace and the Brisbane CSC | OneFootball

Commiserations And Congratulations To The Men Who Made The Mighty Lions Roar…

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I must admit to feeling that bittersweet sensation just seconds before chatting with Birthday Bhoy, Willie ‘Wispy’ Wallace. This grand young Lion is celebrating 85th years on the planet, and 58 years since he gave the vast, global Celtic support the best days of our lives.

As always, Jock Stein’s former striker had me on my knees laughing with tales of misdeeds and impromptu stunts down in Seamill-but only when The Boss wisnae lookin’.

Naturally, having congratulated him on another year round the sun on behalf of the Brisbane Celtic Supporters’ Club, (of which Willie is our club Ambassador), I gently broached the passing of his great friend and fellow Lion, John Clark.

John Clark, Celtic FC. Photo The Celtic Wiki

It was poignant, since ‘The Brush’ departed on the same day (but different year) as Willie was born, June 23rd. Their arrival and departure dates coincided, just as their love for Celtic did.

There’s always a mischievous grin behind Wispy’s tales, and, despite his obvious grief, today was no different. He went on;

“Aye, John was a lovely fella. Quiet, but not as you would think. He was one of the boys too, and would get up to the same as the rest of us when the big man disappeared for an hour or so.

“We would go out to Vegas with the Celtic supporters for the convention, and he always made time for them. They’ve all got their stories. Olive and I tricked him one year, and he roared like a drain. We had just arrived when I sent Olive over to surprise him, although he hadn’t seen her in ages.

“Olive tapped his shoulder and said, ‘Hey, what’s a girl got to do to get a drink around here?’ John didnae recognise her and said, ‘What? Who are you?’ He looked over and saw me, and we fell about laughing.”

(In the absence of his wife who didn’t come to Vegas) John felt he was obliged to dismiss the attentions of the ladies at the party. Another plus for the man; Faithful through and through…

“John came to me when we were out in New York for a tournament, looking bemused. I asked him what was up, and he told me that he’d asked the switchboard operator to ‘put me through to Holytown’. He wanted to speak with his wife in Scotland. The operator replied, ‘Certainly sir!’

“The call went through and the lady at the other end opened the conversation with, ‘Hello, welcome to Jerusalem!’ I was in fits; It wisnae the Holy Town he was looking for!”

01.08.2015. Scottish Premiership. Celtic versus Ross County. John Clark waves to the Celtic support on flag day. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

What was it like to play alongside the man?

“Well, he was a protector for big Billy (McNeill). Cesar was brilliant in the air and a great organiser, but that’s where John earned his nickname. He was quick and a good reader of the game. If one of Billy’s passes went astray, John would be guaranteed to sweep up after him. He could pass the ball out of defence and, could not only win the ball back, but he was a lovely distributor.”

John was famous for his multi-roleplay after he retired. What were his strengths?

“You know, he was great with the youngsters, happy to give them his advice. He was always available for them, and that’s a good start for them. And the players. They knew they could always go to him if they were struggling, and he’d listen to them. He always wanted to help people, a lovely guy.”

Scottish Youth Cup Final. 2015. Celtic versus theRangers. Scott Brown with Lisbon Lion John Clark. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Not bad, getting football advice from a Lisbon Lion! So, it’s fair to say then that John left us in a better place?

“Aye, he had a good and full life. He surrounded himself with a great group of guys and seemed quietly content with his lot. He was a family man. John was unique and will always be remembered by us all.”

I felt the sadness in Willie’s voice and decided to retire the conversation with that by wishing Wispy a ‘Happy Birthday’ on behalf of all of us. He softened his voice again.

“Yes, thanks Eddie. I celebrated my 85th birthday quietly with my family and loved ones. But…I’m missing my pal.”

May 21st 2017, Celtic Park, ; Scottish Premiership Celtic FC vs Hearts; Tom Boyd, Jim Craig and Willie Wallace stand behind the trophy Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Happy Birthday to our friend and Ambassador, the legend who is Willie Wallace. And, sadly, commiserations to the Clark family on the loss of a man we all came to love, inside and outside the game. Rest in God’s Eternal Peace, John Clark.

Lions to the core.

Eddie Murray, Brisbane CSC

Willie Wallace, European Cup Final 1967. Celtic 2 Inter Milan 1.

* Just before the news broke yesterday about John Clark’s passing we were about to post a feature on Willie Wallace as he celebrated his 85th birthday.

This included a video from the Brisbane CSC where Willie had done a Q&A session a week or so before and is well worth a watch as we treasure our remaining four Lions – Willie Wallace, Bobby Lennox, Jim Craig and John Fallon as we mourn the loss of John Clark, a Celtic man to the core.

Here’s Willie’s Q&A with the Brisbane CSC…

A belated Happy Birthday to Willie Wallace, Heart of a Lion….

Earlier today we published Mike Maher’s tribute to John Clark on behalf of the New Zealand CSC.

“I clearly remember the first time I heard of John Clark,” Mike Maher

In what was an appropriate coincidence I had just finished posting a comment on your story about Jim McGinley’s exploits in getting thousands of Celtic fans to Lisbon, and was heading for bed when my phone pinged.

It was a message in the Whats App group I share with Neil Houston, Michael Sherry and Alex Owens. We were four “Baillieston Bhoys” who had gone to Lisbon and witnessed the greatest day in Celtic’s history. And now we had learned that another of those “Lions” had died.

Generations of Celtic fans who were born in later decades still revere the Lisbon Lions and mourn the loss when any of them pass away. However for people like Neil, Michael, Alex and myself, who were fortunate enough to see these players in their prime, the memories evoked at times like these are not just about football games – there are also more personal recollections.

John Clark scores the winner in Celtic’s 1-0 win over Hibs at Easter Road in the Scottish cup replay in March 1961. Photo The Celtic Wiki

I clearly remember the first time I heard of John Clark. Wednesday 15 March 1961. On the previous Saturday my father had taken my brother Gerry and myself to Celtic Park for the Cup Quarter Final tie against Hibs. Celtic never challenged for the title in those years and this was reflected in the average league attendance which was under 20,000. The Cup was different though. On that day there was a crowd of 56,000. I had to stand on my tiptoes at times to see the game and in fact relied on the roar of the crowd to confirm that a late shot from Stevie Chalmers had gone into the net to give us a replay at Easter Road.

Being a school day on the Thursday meant that Gerry and I were in our beds before the game finished. Not that we were sleeping as we discussed what was likely happening through in Edinburgh. Eventually we heard the bedroom door softly open. Dad came into the room and told us the great news – Celtic had won 1-0! “Guess who scored ” he asked.

We started off with the obvious candidates – “John Hughes?, Stevie Chalmers? Willie Fernie?” All of these were met with a shake of the head from Dad. So we moved back down the park. “Pat Crerand?, Bertie Peacock?”

“No” said Dad “Bertie was injured and didn’t even play”. In those days there were no substitutes and no bloated first team squads. If Bertie Peacock was injured then it would likely be the reserve team left half who would have taken his place. But who was he? My brother and I didn’t know so gave up answering.

John Clark, Celtic FC. Photo The Celtic Wiki

“It was John Clark” Dad explained with a very satisfied smile on his face. Happy that Celtic had won and that he had stumped us with his question.

Even when Bertie Peacock recovered from his injury John kept his place in the first team for the rest of the season including a Cup Final defeat at the hands of Dunfermline, who were managed by a certain Jock Stein.

John played in the opening games of the following season but over the course of that term Billy Price began to secure the left half slot, although John did occasionally feature at right half.

1962/63 saw John’s appearances very limited. Only a couple of League games and an outing in Celtic’s very first home European tie against Valencia. That was an unfortunate occasion for John though. Celtic were awarded a penalty early on which gave them a great opportunity to reduce the two goal deficit from the first leg. There didn’t seem to be any great rush from the rest of the players to take the kick and even from our vantage point on the terracing behind the goal Dad and I could see there was a bit of nervousness from John as he stepped up to the spot. Not surprisingly the penalty was missed.

1963/64 saw John establish himself in the Celtic starting XI. This included an exciting run to the semi finals of the European Cup Winners Cup which ended in Budapest with a defeat that owed a lot to tactical naivety. At that time John was playing on the right of the half back line made up of Clark, McNeill and Kennedy which a famous song of the time told us was “the best there’s ever been “. Those of us going to the games realised though that those lyrics owed more to poetic licence and rhyme to actuality!

Celtic 3 Rangers 1 – September 1964 – A rare Celtic win over Rangers, the first in the league since 1957. Photo The Celtic Wiki

The following season John continued in his right half role. The season started reasonably well. For the first time in my Celtic supporting life we actually won our League Cup section. We even beat Rangers in a League game for the first time since 1957! However the Ibrox men beat us in the League Cup final and our League form nosedived.

The Scottish Cup was once again our only hope of silverware. By the time that tournament got underway we knew that Jock Stein would be taking over as manager. Among Big Jock’s skills was his ability to see what players were capable of doing and getting them to do it. Simple really.

I reckon that three players more than others really benefited from Big Jock’s arrival – Jimmy Johnstone, Bobby Murdoch and John Clark.

John Clark, Celtic FC. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Prior to Jock Stein, team selections could be odd. Even when we had a settled team you were never really sure of players’ roles. The first thing Jock did was to move Bobby Murdoch from inside right half and switch John Clark to left half. But for John that was not just a move to the other side of the field. Jock recognised what John’s ability was, and how best to use it for the team’s benefit.

“Luggy” wasn’t particularly fast. He did not need to be. His awareness and reading of the game more than compensated. In the 1965 Scottish Cup Final with Celtic desperate to cling on for a first Cup of 11 years it was John Clark who was in place to clear a net bound shot from Dunfermline.

John Clark in action as John Fallon gathers the ball in the 1965 Scottish Cup final win over Dunfermline. Photo The Celtic Wiki

The players and the fans celebrated that as if he had scored for Celtic. And a couple of years later, in the Estadio Nacional, when we all held our breath as Ronnie Simpson came way off his goal line to challenge an Inter player – who was there to pick up his back heel flick ? John Clark.

READ THIS…God bless John Clark, Celtic to the Core – John’s Celtic Story

John Clark in Lisbon during the 1967 European Cup Final, Celtic 2 Inter Milan 1. Photo The Celtic Wiki

In a team with many flamboyant characters John Clark may have appeared a quiet man but his impact on the team was immense. And of course he was a nice guy too.

I was lucky to have met John on several occasions. The first was at my Uncle John’s funeral in Holytown. My aunt Meg, uncle John’s wife, was from Chapelhall and was friendly with John and he had got to know my uncle and his two sons who were all big Celtic fans.

By coincidence the next time I met John was shortly after Meg’s funeral in 2000. I was back over in Scotland for a few weeks and had called into Big Billy’s pub in Torrisdale Street for a pint and a blether. Billy had to leave as he had an appointment at Celtic Park. He suggested that I come with him so we could continue our chat.

READ THIS….God bless John Clark, John the Brush – John’s Celtic Story

John Clark at training with Jock Stein watching on. Photo The Celtic Wiki

When we arrived at the Park John Clark met us and took us into the home dressing room. After expressing his condolences about Meg, he showed me around the place and after that the three of us sat in the dressing room having tea and biscuits and I was able to listen to two Lisbon Lions discussing some of their great European experiences.

In 2010 I was back on another trip this time with my son, Sean. It was his first visit to Scotland , and his first chance to see Celtic in the flesh. We had arranged to meet with Jim Craig prior to a home game with Kilmarnock and he took us into the players lounge where we met several former players including John who recalled my previous visit 15 years earlier.

READ THIS…John Clark – A life worth remembering, the key to immortality

John Clark, reminding everyone of the score in the 1967 European Cup Final in Lisbon. Photo IMAGO

And despite not being born until 1990 my son knew all about the Lisbon Lions and was thrilled to meet John and the others. The last time I met John was in 2017 at the Lisbon Anniversary Mass in St Mary’s. I managed to get a brief chat with him at the end of the service.

John’s passing is a sad moment but it also brings back so many wonderful memories. Thank you John for all you did for Celtic and for us Celtic Supporters.

Requiescat in Pace

Mike Maher – New Zealand CSC

Spurs striker Jimmy Greaves (c) challenges John Clark of Celtic during a friendly match at Hampden Park between Tottenham Hotspur and Celtic on August 5, 1967 (Photo by Don Morley/Allsport /Getty Images)