Willie Wallace remembering fellow Lisbon Lion, John Fallon | OneFootball

‘Wispy’ Remembering John Fallon…

John Fallon in goals for Celtic, Real Madrid 0-1 Celtic, Testimonial – Alfredo Di Stefano, 7 June 1967. Photo The Celtic Wiki

I was left with egg on my face today after a call from Willie ‘Wispy’ Wallace. I had sent himself and Olive an all-too-often-these-days condolence text in regard to the sad passing of fellow Lisbon Lion, John Fallon. They didn’t know.

Having offered my apologies for the crude method in which I delivered the news, it was not long before the stories, the memories, and the laughter began.

As always, in a bid to lift his spirits after news such as this, he lifted mine, and our ‘Heart of a Lion’ came to the fore, offering tales of the unexpected – again, not all of which I could put in print!

Charlie Gallagher, Willie Wallace and John Fallon at the Greenock CSC in May 2017. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

We talked about Fallon’s crossbar-swinging escapade at Hampden in ’65 after Cesar had headed Celtic to Scottish Cup glory against Dunfermline, setting Celtic off on a triumphant journey, one we are still luxuriating in today.

Willie recalled, “He was like a wee boy, full of fun and always up to something. Did you know he only played one game that season? Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in Alfredo Di Stefano’s testimonial.”

I joked that would have been the perfect game since “Jinky had the ba’ most of the time, and John never got his hands dirty!”

John Fallon at the Greenock CSC in May 2017. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Wispy roared, like a Lion, strangely enough…

“Aye, the wee man had the ba’ for the majority of the game. Sanchis, the Madrid left back laughed about it, saying he didnae know where the ba’ was most of the time!

Di Stefano himself said after the game that they were gonna bring on another ba’, one for Jinky and one for Real. But Peter, he was a good goalie. It was only due to the fact that Faither (Ronnie Simpson) was in goal that he never got as many games as he would have liked. But, he was some backup!”

John Hughes, John Fallon and Willie Wallace at the Greenock CSC in May 2017. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“Peter?”

“Aye! Peter Brady-The Invisible Man! Wee Bertie used to ca’ him that because he was rarely seen in goal in the Lisbon season!

He had a few good pals around Parkhead at the time; Chopper (Bobby Murdoch), Wille O’Neill, Bobby Lennox, and John Clark.”

His voice dimmed.

Aye, we lost John recently too, eh?”

“Indeed Willie, it’s tough seeing all our heroes moving on.”

John Fallon and Willie Wallace on book signing duties at the Greenock CSC in May 2017. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“Aye, I was in a group of about 20 guys who used to walk the Burleigh Heads coastline down here. (In the Gold Coast, Australia). I’m the only one left.”

I told him that my wife Ursula and I went to mass at the weekend and there was a wedding party outside. I joked that our married life used to be full of weddings; now, funerals are the norm. Such is life.

I’m pretty sure that Willie has plenty of mileage left in the tank as we discovered when Olive escorted him up to our recent Brisbane Celtic Supporters Club function, held in his honour. Despite his dodgy hip I reckon he could still stick one into the Ibrox net, just for old time’s sake.

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

There are only three Lions left now-Wispy, Lemon and Cairney. We should cherish our time with them and enjoy their stories and anecdotes of times past. After all, we the supporters are part of the story!

I’m grateful for the heartwarming chat, Willie. A true great, always on hand to bring the past to life, even when it hurts.

John Fallon leads the Celtic celebrations on the bench as Celtic reach the European Cup Final with a 0-0 draw away ti Dukla Prague to give Celtic a 3-1 aggregate win. Photo The Celtic Wiki Dukla Prague v Celtic

Thanks for the memories and ‘Vale, Holy Goalie’. Your warm smile and deep- rooted affection for the Celtic family has ensured your legendary status among us.

Rest in Peace John Fallon. You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Eddie Murray

Celtic confirmed the sad news last night about the passing of John Fallon, not only a wonderful Celtic player but also an absolutely brilliant Celtic SUPPORTER all of his life.

You’d see John in the away support, one night up at Dens Park after Celtic were denied a free-kick at the edge of the area, deep into stoppage time, with the game goalless, John stood addressing the Celtic support leaving the ground roaring at us that it’s OUR FAULT for accepting that cheating.

Everyone knew that he had a point. He cared deeply about Celtic and that passion never left him. God bless John Fallon, Lisbon Lion.

After every game John would share a telephone conversation with David Potter, who of course was John biographer and they’d both have their say on what they had just witnesses – good, bad or indifferent. Knowing both you’d imagine that one thing about these regularly chats is that they’d never be short!

Rest in peace John, the original Holy Goalie…

Here’s Celtic’s sad statement….

Everyone at Celtic Football Club is deeply saddened at the news that former Celtic goalkeeper and Lisbon Lion, John Fallon, has passed away at the age of 84.

John joined Celtic in 1958 and went on to make almost 200 appearances for the club over a 14-year period.

He was part of the Celtic side that clinched the 1965 Scottish Cup, Jock Stein’s first trophy win as manager, and he is well remembered for his acrobatic and joyous celebration that day as Billy McNeill’s late winner ended an eight-year trophy drought for the Celts.

the original holy goalie, John Fallon, with his European Cup medal

Throughout his time with Celtic, John helped the club to six league titles, five League Cups, two Scottish Cups and the European Cup, which was won in the heat of Lisbon in 1967.

John was Celtic’s only substitute on that famous May evening in Portugal, when he and his team-mates entered in to football folklore by reaching the pinnacle of European football.

After leaving Celtic, John went on to play for Motherwell and Greenock Morton before retiring from the sport in the mid-1970s.

His love for Celtic, however, was a constant throughout the years, and he followed the club at home and away for the rest of life.

His passing comes as a great sadness to us all, and the thoughts and prayers of everyone connected with Celtic Football Club are with his family and friends at this sad time.