Craig, Jim

“There are a lot of dentists, son, but not everyone gets the chance to sign for Celtic!”

Jim Craig’s nickname is ‘Cairney‘. Why? It stems from a school drama on TV based in Glasgow (called “That Man Craig“) where the lead character was played by “John Cairney” and that’s been it for him ever since. Even Jock Stein used it.

There could not have been a much luckier man than Jim Craig on his signing. He signed under McGrory and just in time for Jock Stein to arrive at the helm at Celtic and take everyone at the club on a glorious trophy-laden journey. Jim Craig was not initially a certain piece in the jigsaw for Jock Stein, however some good performances pushed Jim Craig into the limelight and he leapfrogged Willie O’Neill and Ian Young as the main right-back

The pinnacle for Jim Craig was inevitably the European Cup final in 1967. A glorious occasion and a magnificent crowning after a trophy laden season at home made the club the most special in football. For Jim Craig the day actually has some mixed memories. After just seven minutes, Jim Craig was judged to have fouled a player in the box leading to Inter Milan’s opening goal via a penalty. A very big blow and the match had only just kicked off.

From a book on ‘The Lisbon Lions’, Jim Craig recalled about that incident. Likely fearful of the vengeance from the manager, Jock came over to Jim Craig and simply threw an arm around him and said, “Don’t worry, Cairney [Craig’s nickname] that was never a penalty. Never in a million years. Don’t blame yourself. Put it behind you. Show them what you can do in the second half.”

So was it a penalty? That is the question that has been most asked of Jim Craig by all Celtic fans wherever he goes (much to his bemusement). It’s mostly to wind him up a bit, but on the umpteenth time of asking we can only begin to understand his bafflement. To quote him: “It was never a penalty!“, but it was given. An Inter Milan player was running at Craig and he anticipated that the player was going to put the ball across to the other foot. Craig ran across his path and there was contact, and that was that with a penalty awarded and converted.

Thankfully the penalty was not conclusive and in many ways played into Celtic’s hands as the Celtic players played to their strengths and bombarded the opposition till the First Team got the winning goals. Jim Craig more than made up for it during the game as all the players fought together, and set up one of the goals that more then paid back for his earlier error….it was his surge forward and measured pass to Tommy Gemmell in Lisbon that led to Celtic’s equaliser. He had gone from zero to hero, and experienced a range of emotions far wider than any of the other players on the pitch.

However, at the end of the game, after Celtic had won the trophy, Jock Stein’s tone became much darker to Craig: “What on earth were you thinking about at the penalty? What a stupid tackle. You almost cost us the European Cup with that daft tackle.” Jim Craig acknowledges that this was typical of the boss. “He knew the right buttons to push at the right time.” It was a definite lesson learnt.

Generally, a less brash character than many of his playing colleagues, he was still rated by his peers and had some class. Truth is that out of all the players in the squad, he was likely the least naturally gifted player. He was not world class but an honest hard working pro and in some ways the weakest point in the Lisbon Lions but this must be taken in context of the overall strength of the side. Jim Craig had still the ability to walk into many first XI’s then and now.

Despite this he still earned his place in the squad and made a name for himself. He managed to play for Scotland just the one cap although this can be put down to various factors but it never got in his way.

He was a rare goal scorer but managed to grab a goal in the 6-2 League Cup final of 1969 v Hibs after scoring twice in the semi final against Morton and he scored a vital goal in a 1968 European Cup tie at Parkhead. In September 1969 he was ordered off at Ibrox for an altercation with Willie Johnston but Celtic bravely held on to win 1-0. He had several towsy affairs with Johnston in games v Rangers and was unfortunate enough to score an own goal against them in February 1970 in the Scottish Cup but recovered his composure to help Celts storm to a 3-1 win.

He continued to play a role for Celtic in the golden age but a combination of his part-time dental work (for his future career) plus the arrival of Davie Hay and Danny McGrain meant that Jim Craig in time was played less and less, and he didn’t figure in the European Cup final of 1970. He did still make the first team on many occasions including later cup finals. He won the Scottish Cup in 1971 and 1972 with Celtic and was, unusually, a sub in the 4-1 debacle against Partick Thistle in the 1971 League Cup final. In the 1972 European Cup semi-final against Inter Milan he showed great courage by taking a penalty in the shoot out and scoring.

One story is of Jock Stein’s temper and he could let fly if he wasn’t happy with the team’s performances. After one bad first half display, the Celtic team were getting a telling-off in the dressing room. Each player was given a separate dressing down and then he turned to Jim Craig who hadn’t been playing in the first half: “And you, Cairney, just how bad are you that you can’t even get in this team? [half in jest]”

In 1972, after 231 games, 6 goals and 14 domestic honours, Jim Craig decided to move on, making his final appearance at Hampden in Celtic’s record 6-1 Scottish Cup final victory over Hibernian in 1972. Stein announced to the players that Jim was to retire in the dressing room before the game and it’s said that gave the players greater resolve on the day and they did not let him down with a devastating display. Jim had one of his finest games also and it was from his long surges on the right that Celtic scored two late goals. It was a fine send off for a great Celtic player.

Post-Celtic
Much to the chagrin of many people, he left to go to Hellenic FC in South Africa (apartheid years). This wasn’t an environment for a good decent man like Jim Craig and after only 6 months he returned back to the UK to end his career at Sheffield Wednesday. With hindsight he should have stayed as he was only 29 and had good years in him but Jim still reckons that playing full back in the Lions team was the hardest position and had taken its toll. With Hay and McGrain now on the scene he chose to move on.

After finishing up, Jim Craig returned to dentistry and made a comfortable career for himself. Sport still runs in the family, and one of his sons (also né James Craig) was a rugby prodigy at one time being blessed with exceptional pace. Although his rugby career faltered, the younger Craig still managed three caps for Scotland and a short professional career.

One thing for sure is that unlike his false teeth wearing colleagues (e.g. Ronnie Simpson etc), Jim Craig can be said to have had the finest set of gnashers in Celtic’s history (only Frank McAvennie’s compares). Another mark that set him apart from others in the squad.

Still very much a Celtic man, his more polished and formal manner has leant him to be the first choice for television interviews on anything Celtic related. He also has penned (or at least co-written) some excellent books on Celtic and the club’s history, and has been a regular penning short history articles on various Celtic sites.

Notably, he played a part in the days of the Celtic Takeover. As well as standing up for his father-in-law, board member James Farrell, he assisted the ‘Rebels‘ in gathering support and shares. He even lost a role at Radio Scotland for his appearance at a ‘Save Our Celts‘ rally but priorities come first and he wanted what was best for Celtic. For that the Celtic support respect him fully as he stuck his neck out on this one.

Since 2010, he has been the patron of the Celtic Graves Society, a major honorary role that helps celebrate the lives of the great players & staff throughout Celtic’s history, and to promote their stories.

He was announced in July 2019 as as a new Club Ambassador, a role that Billy McNeill had held up to his then recent passing away.

At time of writing, Jim Craig is a popular front man for Celtic TV, and even though the hair may have gone all grey and the wrinkles taken over the face, his teeth are still as perfect as ever.

In August 2024, he had the honour to raise the flag for the league title win 2023/24 on the first league match of the new season, and he still looked as proud as ever, with everyone very humbled to see him there being honoured as he deserved.

---

Quotes

“There are a lot of dentists, son, but not everyone gets the chance to sign for Celtic!”
Jim Craig’s dad telling him the simple facts on his signing

“I signed for the club on January 7, 1965, when I was still a full-time student, and little more than two years later we won the European Cup.”
Jim Craig

“Probably his most famous goal was the equaliser in the European Cup Final, although with great modesty might I point out that he received such a perfect pass along the 18-yard line that his granny could have knocked that one in.”
Jim Craig, from his eulogy at the funeral of Tommy Gemmell

---

Playing Career

JIM CRAIG’S CELTIC CAREER
	LEAGUE			LEAGUE CUP			SCOTTISH CUP			EUROPE			OTHER			TOTALS
	APPS	SUB	GLS	APPS	SUB	GLS	APPS	SUB	GLS	APPS	SUB	GLS	APPS	SUB	GLS	APPS	SUB	GLS
65-66	15		0	0		0	4		0	4		0	0		0	19	0	0
66-67	17	1	0	1		0	4		0	5		0	0		0	22	1	0
67-68	22		0	8		3	0		0	2		0	4		0	34	0	3
68-69	32		1	5		1	6		0	6		1	1		0	44	0	3
69-70	20	4	0	6		0	1	2	0	2		0	2		0	29	6	0
70-71	22		0	5		0	3		0	4		0	0		0	30	0	0
71-72	16		0	4	1	0	3		0	5		0	0		0	23	1	0
	144	5	1	29	1	4	21	2	0	28	0	1	7	0	0	201	8	6
OTHER	Glasgow Cup, World Club Championship

__________	_____________________	League Appearances	Goals
Jan. 1964	Celtic	0	0
1965/66	Celtic	15	0
1966/67	Celtic	18	0
1967/68	Celtic	22	0
1968/69	Celtic	32	1
1969/70	Celtic	24	0
1970/71	Celtic	22	0
1971/72	Celtic	16	0
1972	Hellenic (SA)	?	?
1972/73	Sheffield Wednesday	2	0
1973/74	Sheffield Wednesday	4	0
1974/75	Waterford United P/Man	?	?

Honours with Celtic

European Cup

• 1966-67

Scottish League

• 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70
• 1970-71, 1971-72

Scottish Cup

• 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972

Scottish League Cup

• 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70

---

Pictures

• Player Pics

Links

• Lisbon Lions

Books

• Jim Craig – Right Back To 67, A Lisbon Lion Diary

Articles

• On Lisbon (and it was never a penalty!)
• Miscellaneous Articles

---

Jim Craig on himself

On Joining Celtic
” . . . my performances for the national football team attracted the attention of a few senior clubs and I was asked to go and train at Celtic. But I had been accepted to study dentistry at Glasgow University and so I struck a compromise. I played for their third team on a Saturday from season 1961/62. It comprised youngsters, players coming back from injury and those who had fallen out of favour. Dentistry, though, turned out to be time-consuming. I had classes every morning and saw patients every afternoon. The only time I could study was in the evening so, at the end of first year, I dropped out of football altogether. The right-back in the Celtic team at that time was Dunky McKay and I thought he was a great player. I felt I had no chance of shifting him and making a career for myself as a professional player. At the start of my fourth year, I played for Glasgow University. Unknown to me, a Celtic scout called Joe Connor had kept tabs on me and started watching my games. He spoke to me in the January of 1965 and asked me up to the club. I went up to Parkhead and met the manager, Jimmy McGrory and signed for them. To begin with, I trained two evenings a week and played for the reserves at the weekend.”

On making his debut
“I made my debut the next season against Go Ahead of Holland in a European Cup- Winners’ Cup game. I can remember sitting on the bus going up to the ground with supporters who were talking about the game. Nobody had a clue who I was. I did well in a 1-0 victory and got glowing reports in the papers.”

On being sent-off in Europe
“In the next round, we drew Dynamo Kiev. I was having a little spat with one of their players in the away leg in Russia when somebody ran up and punched me. I reacted and was ordered off. In fact, I was escorted off the pitch by two Red Army privates complete with machine guns. After the game, Jock asked me to apologise to chairman, Bob Kelly. I told him: ”I’m not apologising because I didn’t do anything.'”

On being sent off against Rangers
“My opponent in most Old Firm games was Willie Johnston. It was Willie who caused me to get ordered off for the second and final time in my career. He ruffled my hair after I had scored an own goal and said: ”Well done”. Then he had a couple of kicks on an ankle injury. I cracked. Tiny Wharton was the referee. He always addressed you by your number. He called me over to him and said: ”Mr Two. Now, I did warn you before about some of your tackling. I’m afraid I will be booking you and ordering you off.”

On Lisbon
“None of us were aware of the magnitude of what we were doing in our European Cup run in season 1966/67. We just came in to the club every day, trained hard and furious and played each game as it came. Nobody was very analytical about it.”

On giving away a penalty in European Cup Final
“I knew their player was good on his left side and anticipated he was going to put the ball across to that foot. So, I ran across his path and there was contact. But there was no way in the world I expected the referee to award a penalty. I had taken a long time to persuade my father to come to the final. When the penalty was awarded I just wondered what on earth he was thinking sitting up in the stand. Apparently, he turned to my uncle Phillip and said: ”I’ve come all this way to see that!””

On The Lisbon Lions
“Ronnie Simpson joined as goalkeeper and was very experienced. Ronnie was excellent on his line – he seldom came off it.

“But Tommy Gemmell, Billy McNeill and I were all 6ft 1in and were quite capable in the air. Ronnie used to play with his false teeth out and was always shouting instructions at us. I could never understand a word he said which, for a trained dentist, was quite unusual.

“Big Tommy was full of fun. Along with Bertie Auld, he always gave off a tremendous air of confidence before a game. As a player he had great panache and style as well as a tremendous shot.

“Bobby Murdoch was a magnificent player. He would come and help you when you were in trouble, take the ball, wait until you were in a better position and give you possession again. Bobby was talented, hard-working and had two good feet.

“Billy [McNeill] was superb in the air. I’ve never seen better. The number of times he would thread his way through a crowded penalty area and get his head to the ball was uncanny.

“John Clark was always there when you needed him. He read the game very, very well and, like all the guys in that defence, was calm and collected.”

---