Tom Campbell – ‘Coats, Jackets, Shirt Sleeves… and Nudity’

I have written several books about Celtic, and I always opted to have the illustrations in them show Celtic men in action (and wearing the hoops, of course). In my opinion, I rarely think of our heroes in street clothes, no matter how smart or trendy they may be and I try not to think of them as ever growing old. In my mind’s eye, they are always young, superbly fit, and wearing green-and-white.

However, on occasion over the years, such as in interviews former Celtic players have turned up neatly dressed (and to outsiders looking more-or-less as ordinary men). For me it is always disconcerting to talk to a former player in jacket and tie, to talk about past games and to notice the grey hair and thickening girth and at the same time to remember him as he was in his youth.

‘Disconcerting’, yes but not always disappointing.

The first Celtic player I met was one of the truly great ones, Jimmy Quinn (who scored three times to lead Celtic to a 3-2 win over Rangers in the 1903 Scottish Cup final). Perhaps I should explain that I never actually saw the great Jimmy Quinn play…

“Mr Quinn, Mr Quinn, could you, I mean would you…”

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