Big Jock Stein.

Jock Stein whilst playing at Celtic.

Jock Stein was born on October 5th 1922 at Burnbank which is near Hamilton West Train Station in the town of Hamilton , Lanarkshire.  He left school aged 15 and started work as a miner in 1937. He joined the Blantyre Victoria Junior Football Club in 1938.  In 1942 he became a Semi-Professional  Player with Albion Rovers and he was still working as a miner at the time.

He later became Full Professional in 1950 with Welsh Team AFC Llanelli. Earning the princely some of £12 per week. He was bought by Celtic Football Club in 1951 for £1,200. and the following year he was made Club Captain. He was with Celtic up until 1956 and played 148 games but only scored 2 goals. He retired from playing due to ankle injuries. Whilst he was Club Captain at Celtic they won the Coronation Cup in 1953, the League Championship and Scottish Cup Double in 1954.

He later became Celtic’s Youth Team Coach. During 1960 he took on the role of Manager at Dunfermline. In 1961 they won the Scottish Cup.  In 1964 Stein returned to Celtic FC and became the team’s first non-catholic Manager. They won the Scottish Cup 6 weeks after his arrival. The following season Celtic were Scottish League Champions (the first time in 11 years!). They also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup -Winners-Cup!

Jock Stein with the Celtic Team.

Billy McNeil, Jock Stein and John Clark.

The following season Celtic reached the Scottish Domestic Treble of the Scottish League Cup, the League Championship and the Scottish Cup. And of course in 1967 Celtic Football Club won the European Cup after beating Inter Milan in the finals! Big Jock Stein led Celtic to 9 successive League Championships. He was awarded the CBE in 1970. He was seriously injured in a car accident in 1975. In 1978 he left Celtic and was Manager at Leeds for a brief period of time, until he became Manager of Scotland’s National Team.

Jock Stein Manager at Scotland.

Alex Ferguson and Jock Stein.

Stein led Scotland in the 1982 World Cup but they lost on goal difference to the Soviet Union during the group stages.  Stein introduced a young Alex Ferguson as his Assistant during qualifications for the 1986 World Cup. Ferguson at the time was manager at Aberdeen. On the 10th September 1985 Big Jock Stein died after suffering a heart attack at the end of a 1-1 Draw with Wales at Ninian Park in Cardiff. He was only 62 years old!

The fateful moment when Jock Stein suffered his heart attack caught on camera!

 

Written by

Hamilton Historian

Terence (Terry) Murphy.

 

Ref. Jock Stein Wikipedia and various football magazines.