BERTIE AULD OF HIBERNIAN F.C., SCOTTISH CUP FINAL JERSEY
6TH MAY 1972

vs. Celtic F.C., UMBRO label, stitched crest inscribed SCOTTISH CUP FINAL 1972, and number 12 verso, long sleeved

The Bertie Auld Collection.

Whilst Bertie Auld spent most of his playing career with Celtic F.C., successful periods as both player and manager at several other clubs cannot be overlooked. Certainly, whether you’re a Brummie from the West Midlands or a Jag from Maryhill, the name Auld could mean more to you than Lisbon Lion.

He first signed for Celtic from Maryhill Harp in March 1955, a tenacious and talented seventeen-year-old who combined a marvellous touch with tenacity and aggression. It is often said that too much of the latter saw Auld loaned to Dumbarton in 1956, before signing with Birmingham City for £15,000 in 1961.

He went on to become an integral part of the team during something of a golden age. This would include a debut win vs. Inter Milan (a team he seemed to enjoy beating) in the 1961 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-final. Though they eventually lost the final to Roma, Bertie did go on to lift some silverware with the team, helping them to their first League Cup vs. arch-rivals Aston Villa in 1963.

His development as a player did not go unnoticed, and he was eventually re-signed to Celtic by Jock Stein in 1965. The following six years with the club, and all the time after, secured him as one of the greatest and most loved players in their history.

An important move in his career came in 1971, when he joined Hibernian on a free transfer. Whilst he only tallied a dozen or so appearances over two seasons, he combined his role as player with that of trainer, coming to focus on the latter.

This would springboard him into his first managerial position, when in 1974 he was brought in by boyhood club Partick Thistle. He would spend a successful six seasons with them, securing promotion to the topflight in 1976, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup twice (1978, 1979), Scottish League Cup (1975), and Anglo-Scottish Cup (1977). His success and great affinity with the support continues to be remembered, with him being inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2011. A large Bertie Auld flag still stands proud in the North Stand at Firhill.

Upon Hibs being relegated in 1980, Bertie was brought back as manager in the hope of reviving the club. He did just that, immediately guiding them to promotion in his first season, though would eventually leave the club in 1982.

The shirt opposite comes from Bertie’s first spell with Hibs, during which time they reached the 1972 Scottish Cup final. The Cabbage had a solid run, even putting Rangers out in the semi-final replay. Whilst many of Auld’s Lisbon Lion comrades lined up to face him in the final, it was the new guard of the Quality Street Gang who stole the show. Three goals from Dixie Deans, two from Lou Macari, and one from his old captain Billy McNeill, saw Celtic lift the trophy 6-1.