Celtic legend Bobby shares his memories

Written by Andrea O'Neill

NETTING Celtic’s first ever European goal and taking home a Scottish Junior Cup winner’s medal are among the cherished memories of local football great Bobby Carroll.

Now, 50 years on from that defining moment when he signed on the dotted line at Celtic Park, the modest former right-winger looks back on his striking career and tells the EK Mail why, for him, the late great Jock Stein changed the face of the Scottish game.

Bobby, 70, said: “I remember turning 21 on the Wednesday, on the Friday I won the Junior Player of the Year trophy and on Saturday I won the Scottish Junior Cup. Then I was called up to Celtic and went straight into the first team, so that was a good week.”

A prolific scorer at junior level with 78 goals in a single season for Irvine Meadow, Bobby caught the eye of former Hoops boss and Parkhead goal machine, Jimmy McGrory.

This saw him kicking off his premier league career against boyhood heroes Partick Thistle, before carving his name in the Celtic history books with his first competitive wonder goal – against Valencia in 1962.

However, it was under the legendary gaze of then reserve coach Jock Stein that the young player really honed his skills. He added: “Jock Stein changed it all. I left about two months before Jock came back to Celtic. I wish I had played in his team because he didn’t believe in changing it every week. He had a settled team and stuck to it and his tactics were amazing. He knew the other teams inside out.

“Before, we just ran up and down the terraces at Celtic Park – but he trained his players properly.”

The father-of-three also revealed that he has been left with a daily reminder of the ‘big man’ proving that Jock’s straight-talking methods never fell on deaf ears. He said: “Jock would always try and toughen players up. He once asked me to hit him after training so I took a swing, but he blocked it and got me a cracker in the ear.

“I’m partially deaf to this day, he had hands like shovels.”

Now retired and happily settled in Calderwood with wife Ann, 64, Bobby enjoys weekly jaunts to ‘paradise’ where he taught his son Paul, 41 - who once played midfield for the ‘Medda’ (Irvine Meadow) - all about the beautiful game. He added: “My father died when I was 13 so he never saw me play. He would have been a Celtic supporter so I know he would have been as proud of me as I am of my sons.”

EK Mail - Bobby Carroll
April 2009