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Title: Charlie Tully: Celtic’s Cheeky Chappie
Author: Tom Campbell (Author)
Published: 2008
Player Homepage: Charlie Tully
Synopsis
Charlie Tully was a legend. Coming to Glasgow in 1948, he transformed the fortunes, on and off the pitch, of Celtic. After the wartime years the famous Glasgow club had slumped to the edge of relegation but things were different with Charlie’s arrival: the crowds rolled up to see this brilliant inside forward whose display of extraordinary talent recalled memories of by-gone Celtic heroes.
Tully’s fame was assured when he took on Rangers’ famed and feared Iron Curtain defence and tore it to shreds in an epic 3-1 victory at Celtic Park. And there are people who still swear that they saw Charlie Tully sit on the ball during that particular Old Firm match!
The legend grew – as did the stories…but one thing could be said of Charlie Tully: very often his exploits exceeded the myths surrounding him.At Brockville in a Scottish Cup tic against Falkirk, with Celtic two goals down, he scored directly from a corner kick, had the goal disallowed, and scored again with the retaken corner!
A few months earlier he had scored for Ireland against England at Windsor Park with a similar corner kick from the left, and that was after the cheeky Tully had assured his immediate opponent, Alf Ramsey, that the Englishman would never be picked for his country again after he had finished with him!
And in the twilight of a career that brought silverware and a league flag to Celtic Park, he was outstanding at Hampden Park when Celtic defeated Rangers in the 1957 League Cup Final by 7 goals to 1…Charlie Tully belonged to a time when players were underpaid and exploited, but he played football with a smile on his face, a man born to entertain and captivate, but a footballer above everything else.
This book is a vivid and passionate biography of the legendary player, written by acclaimed club expert Tom Campbell. It contains fifty striking images.
Review
(by David Potter)
The author quite clearly has a tremendous admiration for Charlie Tully, one of Celtic’s greatest ever players. But this is more than merely a biography. Charlie Tully is put in his context of being born and brought up in poverty-ridden Belfast in 1924, of the collapse of Belfast Celtic in 1949, of Charlie’s move to Glasgow in 1948 and of his tragically early death in 1971.
The author rightly condemns the shambles that was Celtic in the 1950s and points the finger at the guilty men who saw Celtic with better and more talented players than Rangers, nevertheless come second best – and not even that some times! Incompetence (breathtaking sometimes) at the top is dealt with, as are hints of corruption on the playing field.
This book is not an encomium of Tully – his faults, like his reluctance to train as hard as he should and his fondness for alcohol in later life, are detailed, but the talent of Charlie Tully shines through. It is an honest appraisal of a basically lovely, brilliant but occasionally irresponsible player.
This book, well written and well researched, is worth its price, and will be an asset to the bookshlef of any football lover.
Product Details
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd (1 Aug 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1859836704
ISBN-13: 978-1859836705
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.2 x 3 cm
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