Celtic players past and present came together with fans young and old to say a final goodbye to club legend John Hughes in the Glasgow sunshine, with a service at St Mary’s Church in Calton and a cortege which passed by Parkhead.
The Coatbridge native was part of Jock Stein’s legendary 1966-67 squad which swept all before it, winning the domestic treble as well as defeating Internazionale to become the first British team ever to lift the European Cup.
Hughes wasn’t on the field that day in Portugal, with injury ruling him out, but few would argue his status as a Lisbon Lion and, as one banner outside the stadium put it, a Celtic man until his last breath.
There are so few of them left now, those men who stunned Europe. Willie Wallace is living out his golden years in Australia, but Jim Craig, John Clark and Bobby Lennox were all present to say a final goodbye.
Ange Postecoglou’s current squad, also paying their respects on Friday, could be in no doubt about the shoulders on which they stand.
Back at Celtic Park, fans waited patiently in the baking heat for their chance to bid a fond farewell. Paradise, they call it, and perhaps somewhere beyond our ken, Yogi is back on its hallowed turf with Billy McNeill, Jinky Johnstone and the other immortals.
For supporters old enough to remember, there’s a sense of a generation fading into the pages of history as they joined their younger counterparts in respectful applause of the cortege.
Alex Smith, 73, of Sandyhills recalled: “I remember a pre-season friendly in 1965, Celtic played Sunderland down at Roker Park. The late, great Jim Baxter of Rangers had gone down there - Celtic hammered them 5-0 and big Yogi scored two goals. He ran amok.
“There was the League Cup final in ’65, two penalty kicks against Rangers. The game against Leeds United and Jackie Charlton where he scored the goal at Hampden.”
“It’s a family thing, in those days you were all part of the Celtic family. It’s a generation of players you grew up with. I saw him as a young, young boy in the team and then… it’s a sad thing for any Celtic supporter.”
Known as Yogi due to his bear-like physique, Hughes bagged 197 goals in 435 appearances for the Parkhead club and remains their eighth highest scorer of all time.
Those who saw him are keen to emphasise he was far more than a bruiser - but it’s clear the former Scotland international could handle himself.
Bill McGraw, 76, of Auchinairn said: “There was a day he fouled (Rangers captain) John Greig. Greig went to jump up and saw big Yogi standing over him and just laid back down again!
“There was another time he got booked against Rangers – it always seems to be against them – and he walked past Willie Johnston. He said something to Hughes, who kneed him in the privates and didn’t even get sent off!”
At the church too stories were told of the late legend’s prowess, with former teammate Jim Craig, friend and biographer Alex Gordon and Hughes’ son, also John, paying tribute.
Mourners heard tales of scoring five goals in sandshoes borrowed from McNeill, the dozens of trophies and that legendary performance against Leeds United and Jackie Charlton in the 1970 European Cup final.
In the end though John Jr echoed that banner outside the stadium as he explained how his dad would want to be remembered. Not for one goal, or one game. But as a Celtic man until his last breath.
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