The Celtic Rising: David Potter on The Day Everything Changed – Part 2

Photo The Celtic Wiki And so the great day dawned. It was a bright, pleasant spring day, but it was not like any other spring day. Was this to be the day of deliverance, or was it to join the previous four Scottish Cup finals in its crushing disappointment?

It was probably the case that Dunfermline were the better side – their League position certainly indicated that – but on the other hand, as the perspicacious Celtic supporters kept pointing out – they could not win last week against St Johnstone when they had to win to keep themselves in the League race. Yet their men were all fit today and in Willie Cunningham they had an able Manager and tactician. They still had two men left from their win in 1961 – Alex Smith and Harry Melrose, whereas Celtic had five in Billy McNeill, John Clark, Charlie Gallagher, John Hughes and Steve Chalmers.

But of course, the key thing was that Jock Stein had changed sides. The journey to Glasgow for supporters that bright Saturday morning was animated with a surprising amount of conversation about who was going to win the League, rather than the Cup. There was still in 1965 among Celtic supporters a general respect (not exactly love or affection, however) for Hearts and a general dislike of Kilmarnock, who wore blue, were managed by Willie Waddell and had “kicked Billy and Boaby aff the park” that awful day last August at Rugby Park.

So if Hearts won, drew or even lost 0-1 today, they would win the League and that would not necessarily be the worst outcome in the world. “Ah dinnae like them, mind, but at least they are no’ Rangers! ” Pleasure was then expressed at the almost total collapse of Rangers this season.