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Title: My Search for Celtic’s John
Author: Tom Greig
Published: 2003
Player Homepage: John Thomson
Synopsis
This fascinating biography into the life and times of a Celtic legend traces his roots from birth and upbringing in Fife, Scotland to the national stage as Glasgow Celtic’s legendary goalkeeper. In over 220 pages, and with 38 photographs, many unseen before from private and family collections, the author has uniquely traced the story of John Thomson.
An interview with the author can be found at:
http://www.celtic-connection.com/sports/sports2004_04_1.html
“My Search for Celtic’s John” – by Tom Greig
Celtic Football Club has had many legends over the years – from Jock Stein and Jimmy Johnstone to Henrik Larsson and Martin O’Neill. When he died tragically following events on the football field at the age of twenty-two, John Thomson was the first-choice goalkeeper of Glasgow Celtic and Scotland, and already acknowledged as a sportsman of legendary status. More than thirty thousand attended his funeral in his native Fife and, over seventy years on, his grave remains a shrine of pilgrimage for Celtic fans the world over.
Making full use of oral history techniques, eye witness accounts, archival and medical records and sifts of contemporary newspapers, this book is a study of John’s personal life, his schooldays and meteoric rise from juvenile football to international stardom. It traces the surviving family of John’s sweetheart to learn what became of her after John’s death.
There is the account of the accident itself, its sorrowful aftermath, and the heartrending effect it had on Rangers’ Sam English. Along the way, the author challenges some astonishing misinformation surrounding the player and reveals some fascinating coincidences too. It includes some never-before-published photographs and a guided tour of John’s birthplace.A percentage of all profits from the sale of this book will be donated to a Motor Neurone Disease charity.
Honouring Johnny
It is with the greatest of pleasure that I have seen a major withdrawal from our website, namely all of the items encouraging support for the major honouring of John Thomson. It was a telephone call seeking comment from BBC’s Reporting Scotland during the morning of September 24th which broke the news to me that our beloved Johnny would shortly be inducted into the SFA’s Football Museum Hall of Fame. I was so thrilled to hear the news of the honour which ismassively merited and long overdue, but in no way diminished in its sweetness. It has been a long road for the huge number of Thomson fans and friends who were active in seeking this accolade for the greatest goalkeeping genius our country has ever known, and we will all be united in delight come mid-November 2008 when the “Prince of Goalkeepers” officially takes his place in this pantheon of fame.
I wish to record my heartfelt gratitude: to the Celtic Chairmen and Boards of Directors over the years who, either in private or in public, have nurtured the memory of John Thomson; to “The Celtic View” for unfailingly helping me to sustain my end of the campaign on Johnny’s behalf; to the hundreds of fans and friends in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, Canada and the USA who have signed the petition on my website, or who have contacted me to express their support and ask how they could help; to my son, Dr Lorne Greig, for the excellence and creativity of his website support; to all the staff at the Hall of Fame Museum for being patient in turn with my passion, irritation and recurring disappointment; to all my friends in the kingdom of Fife whose phone calls have kept me from sleep since the news came through; to the members of the John Thomson Memorial Committee there for all their efforts through their annual tournament and their lobbying of politicians local and national; to my dear friend, Tom Kirk from Dundonald, Fife, who taught me the merits of patience and perseverance; and finally to all Celtic fans wherever they may be, past and present, who have kept his memory alive down the years, and for those yet to be who will come to revere him too.
There will be a grave today in Bowhill, Cardenden, which will be decked in flowers and memorabilia, and which forever will truly “warmer, sweeter be”. Justice has been done. If you have played a part in this success, my heartfelt thanks to you all.
Review
My Search For Celtic’s John
(Review from NotTheView)
Tom Greig
‘My Search for Celtic’s John’ by Tom Greig is a recommended addition to your Celtic bookshelf for two very good reasons: the first is that a percentage of the sales go to a Motor Neuron charity; the second is that it’s brilliant.
John Thomson’s story has passed into the rich fabric of Celtic’s folklore, and whether it’s through stories recounted by older relatives, the moving lyrics of the song bearing his name or the haunting cine film of the calamitous collision with Sam English which resulted in him losing his life in trying to prevent a goal being scored against the Hoops, we all think we’re familiar with it. This book goes way beyond these assumptions and paints a broader canvas, which is at the same time enlightening, informative and moving.
The life and career of this remarkable young athlete – he had already played for Scotland before he died at the tender age of 22 and had a reputation which had spread far beyond his native country – are presented in incredible detail, a tribute to the author’s meticulous research and genuine feeling towards his subject.
Contemporary written accounts are augmented with eyewitness testimony ranging from childhood friends and acquaintances from Fife to someone who attended the fateful Old Firm game itself. They lend immediacy to the book that marks it out as a genuine heavyweight contender in the Celtic history category. Not the View
A fascinating read for any fan, Greig’s tribute is an essential part of the reading list for any Celtic supporter.
Scotland on Sunday, 2.11.03
Beautifully written…a valuable publication…a must for anyone who wants to know about this tragic moment in our history.
Celtic View, 19.11.03
This book is quite simply a masterpiece, and for anyone with a slightest interest in Celtic, Scottish football or Fife, it is a must read.
David Potter, Celtic Historian
Greig’s attention to detail here is stunning. It’s first class reporting of the like we rarely see these days. It’s a book that will make you feel pride and sorrow at the same time.
E-Tims website review
Unputdownable!
Eugene MacBride
Absolutely engrossing…one of the most enjoyable books I have read for a long time.
Vincent McSherry (owner of 166 Celtic books!)
Splendid!
Dominic Currie
A recommended addition to your Celtic bookshelf…it’s brilliant!
Not the View Fanzine
I have just had the greatest pleasure in reading your excellent book. I started reading it mid-afternoon Saturday and did not put it down until I had finished it at 1.30am on Sunday morning.
Peter Sweeney
It was the first time that I had ever written to the author of a book that I had enjoyed so much, and I have already re-read the book since I wrote to you.
Dave Makin
Congratulations on the best football biography I have ever read…..a real masterpiece. A lot of painstaking research enabled you to bring the magic of Johnny Thomson back to life.
Ian Fraser, Lochgelly, Fife
Tom Greig also appeared on the BBC’s radio programme “Past Times” in the spring of 2004, interviewed by Mark Steven at Ibrox and Parkhead Stadia. He was also interviewed by Dave Marshall on Saga Radio in late autumn 2004.
Product Details
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Ogilvie Writings (17 Oct 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0954913507
ISBN-13: 978-0954913502
Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 14.8 x 1.4 cm
External Links
Reviews
My knowledge of the Celtic Legend that was Johnny Thomson had been limited to what I’d read in the many Celtic related books available and to anecdotes from my Celtic supporting family members. What I already knew centred ‘round that fateful September day in 1931 and how this brave young goalkeeper had lost his life at Ibrox in a game against Rangers.
This book increased that knowledge a hundredfold.
Tom Greig has written an excellent book that not only covers the tragic incident in some depth, but also offers so much more information on Johnny Thomson, “the laddie frae Cardenden”.
Using a variety of methods, including talking to family friends and those present at Ibrox that day, medical records relating to the injuries sustained and newspapers reports of the accident, Greig weaves a fascinating story that not only focuses on Thomson’s playing career, but also offers an insight into Thomson the person and the places he grew up in which shaped his tragically short life.
The author began his search for Celtic’s John almost by chance. During an idle moment in the Fife village of Cardenden, Greig was wandering around the local Bowhill Cemetery when he happened upon the final resting place of Johnny Thomson. The grave and headstone covered with the green, white and orange floral tributes of Celtic supporters, intent on keeping Johnny Thomson’s memory alive.
Fortunately for us, as Celtic-minded readers, this encounter was the beginning of a quest that would lead the author into writing one of the most fascinating and personal biography’s of a Celtic player I have ever had the pleasure of reading. In doing so, the author also dispels many of the myths that have surfaced regarding the Thomson Legend.
The early part of the book concentrates on the Thomson family and their transient lifestyle in the early part of the 20th Century, as the deeply religious John Thomson Snr. and his family moved around the central belt of Scotland and its many coalfields following work, finally settling in the mining village of Cardenden.
Childhood friends and natives of Cardenden add insightful information on the young Johnny and his formative years, including the story of how, as a youngster, a family friend was given the poignant warning from Mrs Thomson, Johnny’s mother, when he told her he was into football, and played in goal: “Dinnae be a goalkeeper, laddie! Look whit it did tae ma Johnny.”
The book also covers Johnny’s early football career, his signing for Celtic, and subsequent debut, at 18 years old, on February 12 1927 in a match against Dundee at Dens Park. We are also informed of little known fact that Thomson was loaned out to Ayr United, where he played a couple of Reserve games early in his Celtic career.
Newspaper accounts and testimonies from his contemporaries also help paint a picture of a unique young talent, who it was said would surely have went on to become one of the world’s greatest ever goalkeepers.
Although an emotive subject, there is the odd bit of humour, like the story Jimmy McGrory told of noticing Johnny being unusually quiet at half time during one game. On enquiring into the reason, his young team-mate said he was tired of elements of the crowd calling him a ‘papish bastard’! Trying to make him feel better, McGrory told him that they called him that all the time and not to worry, only to receive the jocular retort, “It’s all right for you Jimmy. You are one!”
Keep The Faith’s very own David W. Potter also contributes a comprehensive appendix to this chapter of the first class games Thomson played in his four and a half year career with Celtic, as well as International appearances for Scotland. (In his 4 full caps for Scotland, Thomson kept 3 clean sheets, losing only one goal in the other, to Wales.)
Another theme of the Johnny Thomson story is the many coincidences surrounding his life. One relating to his future career concerns Wellesley Juniors, the Fife team that Thomson played for before signing for Celtic. Wellesley Juniors were a team formed after the demise, during the First World War, of a local team called Denbeath Celtic, who had been formed by the Irish Catholic community.
Wellesley also played in the Green and White Hoops and had strong links to our own Club. No surprise then that the performances of the young goalkeeper were brought to the attention of Celtic manager, Willie Maley.
The author’s attention to detail and depth of research is truly awesome and make the chapters on the young goalkeeper’s tragic death at Ibrox on that autumn day in September 1931 an incredibly emotional read, as are the details of the effect his untimely death had on his family and the village of Cardenden.
In his quest to understand the circumstances surrounding Thomson’s death, the author shows the medical reports of Thomson’s condition to a senior authority in the medical profession who opines that death was a certainty given the state of neuro surgical knowledge at the time – Thomson was effectively doomed from the moment of impact. The accounts of the Fatal Accident Inquiry into Johnny’s death are no less harrowing and at times feel distant and almost business-like.
The 30,000 mourners who attended the funeral, and the further 5,000 who turned up for the memorial service a few days later, go to show the high regard and esteem this young goalkeeper was held in.
To many, he was, quite simply, The King of Goalkeepers.
The book also contains details of a Johnny Thomson Trail, which will take you around many of the places in Cardenden today associated with this Celtic Legend, ending at Bowhill Cemetery, Thomson’s final resting place. A trail I, for one, will endeavour to embark on, one day soon.
Many never seen before photographs and so much more than I have been able to detail here can be found within the pages of this magnificent story.
I can only finish this review by saying that if you have any interest in the history of Celtic, and the players who helped shape it, buy this book. You will not be disappointed. Keep the Faith
They never die who live in the hearts they leave behind.” – Glasgow Celtic manager, Willie Maley, penned this tribute at the untimely death of 22 year old first-choice, Glasgow Celtic goalkeeper John Thomson, who died tragically during a football game between Celtic and Rangers on September 5, 1931.
Scottish-born author Tom Greig recently spoke to The Celtic Connection about his newly published book, My Search for Celtic’s John. He said, “If I were to take you today some 70 odd years on to the grave of John Thomson, it would still be maintained with dignity and care and visited by football fans, not just Celtic fans but of other clubs, because he was a Scottish international goalkeeper.
“His grave is festooned with flowers, scarves, bonnets and memorabilia from all over the world. What always intrigued me was the uniqueness of John Thomson that he should be remembered when statues of great parliamentarians are entertained in street squares only by pigeons – yet a 22-year old boy could inspire such affection and love all these years on. I decided to find out for myself what was so unique about John Thomson.”
Tom Greig began his career as a teacher before going on to become a college lecturer where he trained student teachers. Before retiring he spent the last 24 years as an Inspectorate of Schools of Scotland.
It was while giving a lecture to head teachers in Fife that he decided to take a walk through the tiny mining village community on his lunch break, mainly to see if he could learn anything that he might impart to his history students.
“Quite by chance,” said Greig, “I came upon a little graveyard and I went in to have a look and there it was…the huge headstone and grave of John Thomson. As I rested at his graveside, I began to realize that I wanted to know more about John Thomson.
“It was well documented that Thomson was a sportsman of legendary status and most of the chapters written about him were in generalities and about the man’s death. It was the social and personal history that seemed to be lacking, nobody had ever written a book of any substance about him.
“I had written two previous books, one was an educational textbook on activity learning for children and the other was the history of the Clyde Football Club, and I had no intention of writing another book. But because I couldn’t seem to find the answers to my many questions about John Thomson, and because his name kept slipping in and out of my consciousness, I decided to push the research further and write a book.”
This decision proved to be a lot more difficult for Greig than he ever expected. On several occasions he returned to Thomson’s grave for inspiration when he came up against a brick wall in his research. But just when he least expected it, something serendipitous would fall his way and the right person would be there to help him find the pieces to the puzzle.
Among Thomson’s many attributes, he was known as the Prince of Goalkeepers and a gentleman both on and off the playing field. He was a deeply religious person having been brought up by his parents in an extreme Protestant sect called the Church of Christ, which was a little to the right of Baptist thinking.
Thomson carried his faith and bible with him throughout his outstanding and exceptional career. Football fans came from all over just to see Thomson in action on the playing field and they were awed and inspired by his physical prowess. It has been said that his eyes never left the ball until it was out of play.
Renowned for his bravery and fearlessness, Thomson’s dive at the feet of Rangers forward Sam English as he went to shoot was visible evidence of those virtues. As English shot, Thomson’s head took the full impact of the other player’s knee, leaving the goalkeeper unconscious and his head bleeding. He died later in hospital having never regained consciousness after the accident. Thomson’s death stunned football fans and was particularly hard felt by everyone connected with Celtic.
“One of the most exciting parts of my research was finding Margaret Findlay, who was John Thomson’s sweetheart,” said Tom Greig, “not only was it historically the most difficult part of my research but also because the leads I had were insignificant. Fortunately, a little luck sometimes falls your way upon meeting the right person.”
In summing up the end result of his long hours of research, Greig said, “I rest content in the belief that I have got as close to Johnny as anyone who has tried before. I’m not an overly-sentimental man but there were many occasions in my search for Celtic’s John when I found a lump in my throat, been close to tears and even been moved to them.”
You don’t have to be a football fan to read My Search for Celtic’s John because the dedication and values of John Thomson are as much an inspiration today as they were back then. But for football historians and lovers of the game this book would be of great interest. Another bonus of My Search for Celtic’s John is some rare and never-before-published photographs of John Thomson Catholine Butler You know it’s getting near Christmas when the bookshelves start to groan with Celtic histories. Is there any club in the world with such a fascination with the past? This time round we’ve got books about the last ten years, books about the first manager, books about the European adventures, books about the top ten all time great Celtic throw ins, books about our star man and books about the men who have managed Celtic. Anyone would think that book publishers know that Celtic fans will buy any old tat so long as it has the word “Celtic” on the front of it. And you know what? They’re right. Have you picked up the Celtic Annual for 2004 yet? It’s bloody brilliant. Big colour pictures of all your favourite stars, by the way I made up one of those above books.
Anyway, it’s easy to dismiss yet another Celtic book published at this time as a cheap attempt to exploit an all too eager market. However, every once in a while a piece of work is created about our club that is so clearly a labour of love you just have to own a copy of it for yourself. “My Search for Celtic’s John” by Tom Greig is one of those books. From the off it’s clear that this isn’t your usual “let’s exploit the Celtic market” publishing event.
With it only being available on the net from www.thethomsonlegend.com nobody is going to get rich selling this and that’s a shame because not only does it deserve to be a great success but a percentage of the sales go to a Motor Neurone charity.
Every Celtic fan knows, or thinks they know, the story of John Thomson. Its part of the incredible history of our club that this young man died due to injuries sustained whilst playing against our old foes. Many of us will have seen the gut wrenching, jerky, black and white images of the goalkeeper diving down at the feet of Sam English and then the silence as we see his arm frozen in that gruesome pose, frozen in time and frozen in our history. However, what do we really know about this man? I must confess to being shocked at my own ignorance of this sad event. Maybe it was just me but I’ve never thought to look past the images, it’s never occurred to me to think beyond that single event and see the men and women involved, it’s never crossed my mind that I should look behind the mythology and see those jerky, slightly surreal Pathe news images as real lives. This book takes one desperately sad tale in Celtic’s history and turns those black and white images into all too painful colours. It’s an emotional read.
My initial thoughts regarding this book weren’t overly positive. If it is true that you should never judge a book by its cover then it’s also the case that you should never judge an author by a title. When I first heard that this tome was to be called “My search for Celtic’s John” I couldn’t shake the feeling that here was an author putting himself into a story that had no need for anyone else to become involved. It smacked of self indulgence. How wrong I was.
Greig tells the story of the life of John Thomson with care and real love of his subject. Make no mistake – this isn’t just about that terrible day, this is as much a celebration of this young Celt’s life as it is about how that life ended. Greig tells of his attempts to learn about Thomson. He heads to Cardenden and talks with one of John’s childhood friends. He finds someone who actually attended John’s final match. He even tracks down a man who, if circumstances had been different, may well have become Thomson’s brother-in-law. From this source we learn much about the keeper’s life.
The chapters are filled with anecdotes regarding this incredible player. My personal favourite is the tale of a newly painted ceiling. Thomson, being a goalie who always liked to test himself, jumps up and touches this ceiling leaving a couple of fingerprints. Subsequently the owners of the house in which this occurred feel it wrong to paint over these fingerprints once John is gone. It’s a great wee story and it says so much about
Thomson and his place in our history. We get a feel for a young, energetic, enthusiastic man – at 22 years old he’s in many ways still a big daft boy jumping up and touching freshly painted ceilings. And those fingerprints act as a metaphor for the impact he had upon our club’s history. Even though he is long gone this player must and will never be forgotten by this or any other generation.
Greig is really performing the task of a true historian here – he’s recording oral history and eye witness accounts and turning them into something that will stand the test of time. We owe this former school inspector a heartfelt thank you (and as a school teacher it’s not often you’ll hear me say that) for preserving memories that would otherwise soon be lost. And on top of that it’s fascinating to see the process of researching a book like this laid out in front of us. Greig takes the reader through the process of tracking down those that may have known Thomson, he shows the detective work that’s involved in retelling a tale from the increasingly distant past and he’s honest enough to point out when dumb luck plays a part.
If first half of this story concerns itself with the life of John Thomson then the second half must sadly tell of his death and the impact it had on those around him. Greig’s attention to detail here is stunning. He explains everything in great depth – from the reaction of the fans and players to the interior of the ambulance that would have taken Thomson to the Victoria Infirmary. Nothing is omitted. Every fact and detail regarding this sad event is put down on the page. Its first class reporting of the like we rarely see these days.
John Thomson was only 22 years of age when he died. He had already represented his country at international level and was hailed as one of the best keepers of his generation. In 224 pages Greig opens up this young life and presents to us a story about a man, a boy in fact, with everything ahead of him. It’s a book that will make you feel pride and sorrow at the same time.
e-Tims