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Personal
Fullname: Sean Fallon
aka: The Iron Man
Born: 31 July 1922
Died: 18 January 2013
Birthplace: Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland
Signed (player): 21 March 1950
Left (player): 2 August 1958 (retired)
Position: Centre-half, Full-back, defence
Debut: Clyde 2-2 Clyde, League, 15 April 1950
Internationals: Ireland
International Caps: 8
International Goals: 0
Assistant Manager: 1962-1975
Acting Manager: 1975
Chief Scout: 1975-1978
Biog as player
| “I can never hope to find words to express my feelings at becoming a member of the Celtic Football Club.” Sean Fallon |
Born in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, Sean Fallon played for Celtic. and became a legend at the club during his playing days from 1950–1958, playing as a full-back and centre-forward. He made 254 appearances, scoring 14 goals. He also earned 8 international caps with the Republic of Ireland.
A keen sportsman, Sean Fallon was captain of the Sligo Swimming Team who regularly took to the foundering Atlantic around Rosses Point deep in Yeats’ country. It would certainly take the hardiest of souls to call such a thing recreation, so the captain of that crowd must have been a bit of a standout, despite his rye concession that he won the Henry Cup twice because he knew where the current ran – which always helped him in quicker than the other lads. He was also a talented Gaelic Footballer, playing for Craobh Ruadh until falling foul of the old “vigilante rule” which dictated that you could not play Gaelic if you played “foreign sports” like that oul Brits game – soccer.
Sean Fallon’s Celtic story began quite literally, by an accident. Joe McMenemy (son of the Celtic legend Jimmy McMenemy) saved Sean Fallon’s sister, Lilly, from drowning at Lough Gill. Sean Fallon invited Joe McMenemy back to his house and the Scot returned the compliment by sending Sean Falllon presents of a Celtic shirt and Willy Maley’s book “The Story of the Celtic“.
Sean Fallon started his football career with St. Mary’s Juniors and also played Gaelic football for Craobh Ruadh. He also played for McArthurs, Sligo Distillery and Longford Town before he arrived at the Showgrounds in 1947 to play for Sligo Rovers. He then joined Glenavon in the north before impressing Celtic with his performance for the Irish League against the League of Ireland.
Sean Fallon continued to play soccer in Ireland, eventually finding himself at Glenavon – where he finally succeeded in doing what he was aiming to do all along – impressing Celtic. He was signed and made his debut in the last game of the 1949/50 season – when Celtic were still drawing themselves away from the doldrums which had almost saw them relegated. The following year, Sean had helped them to win The Scottish Cup in the McPhail Final against Motherwell. In 1952 he was made Captain of Celtic.
“I was just an ordinary player with a big heart and a fighting spirit to recommend me.” – Sean Fallon.
Within a year of his debut he had helped the team win the Scottish Cup, beating Motherwell, 1-0. Sean Fallon said later:
“As I walked off Hampden Park I felt I had got everything out of life I had ever wanted. I had become a member of the famous Celtic F.C. and holder of a Scottish Cup badge all in one year”.
Two years later Sean Fallon would also have a cup final goal to celebrate as he scored in the Scottish Cup Final as Celtic went on to defeat Aberdeen in front of 129,000 fans! The 1950’s were generally a barren period for Celtic, with a few major triumphs providing rare moments of joy for the long-suffering support. The league & cup double of 1953/54 was one of them, however Sean Fallon suffered a broken collarbone against Hearts in October which kept him out for most of the season. In the days before substitutes were allowed he left the pitch for twenty minutes only to return with his arm in a sling and continued playing.
Despite all of this, perhaps Sean Fallon’s finest moment at Celtic begins thus. In Hamilton there sat a wife and young family, the husband and father a professional footballer plying his trade at Welsh Club Llanelli. Jock Stein was looking for a way back home to Scotland. He was brought back by Celtic legend and all-round gentleman Jimmy McGrory, and although the great man has refuted it in interviews – it was widely accepted that he was brought back as a veteran to look after the youngsters, play in the reserves and act as a stop-gap first team centre-half.
Jock Stein’s return was mocked, according to Fallon, by Charlie Tully – who asked him what Celtic were doing signing an old guy like that. Sean Fallon, who was actually five months older than Jock Stein, got his own back on Tully and the other younger members – by asking Jock Stein to be his vice-captain. After that, Jock Stein was off-limits to the critics. As the opening sentiments of this following post show – it was an act Stein never forgot:
“My closest friend in the team was Bertie Peacock but I chose Jock over him mainly because I wanted to prove to the other lads that players his age weren’t washed up.” – Sean Fallon
The captaincy of the side, which had passed to him in 1952, was taken over by Jock Stein. Sean Fallon was back to full fitness for another momentous occasion in Celtic’s history – the League Cup final victory in 1957, when Celtic beat Rangers 7-1 at Hampden Park. The match has since become known as Hampden in the sun.
Sean Fallon’s performances in a Celtic jersey earned him the nickname of ‘The Iron Man‘.
While injury played some part in the rest of Sean Fallon & Jock Stein’s playing days – the men formed a bond, they liked the betting, they liked the cinema – but most of all, they loved talking football. If you were to walk down Sauchiehall Street in the middle of the 1950’s it would not be strange to pass the window of Ferrari’s and see Jock Stein, Sean Fallon and Bertie Peacock all sitting in, talking players and tactics.
Both men’s careers were eventually ended by injury. Playing careers that is. Fallon was forced to retire in 1958 through injury but his influence and importance at the club continued. Their friendship and mutual respect however were to come together in later years to provide all the faith, training, discipline and self-belief required to lead a troupe of young local players to the immortal European Cup success in 1967.
He became assistant to Jock Stein when Stein took up the post of manager in 1965.
When Jock Stein survived a near-fatal car crash in 1975, Sean Fallon took over as caretaker manager. He was an integral part of Celtic’s success under Jock Stein, when he was the manager’s right-hand man and his powers of persuasion were often called upon to secure the signatures of promising young players who would go on to become Celtic greats – including David Hay, Danny McGrain, Kenny Dalglish, and Packie Bonner amongst others.
Biog as coach
“He [Jock Stein] phoned and asked me to come over and see him one night Hibs were playing at home to Aberdeen.
‘You know I’m coming as manager,’ he said, ‘and I know you’ll be disappointed. But I want to reciprocate for you making me your deputy by asking you to become my assistant’.” – Sean Fallon
While well known as a Celtic legend by all those familiar with his story, Sean Fallon possibly does not enjoy the reputation he deserves among the wider Celtic family. Looking back through his life, it is hard to imagine a man having been so smitten with a football team as Sean Fallon was with Celtic. He always referred to “my Club” with a deference akin to religious piety, at odds to his gravelly Connacht drawl.
After playing they both coached reserve Celtic sides and both impressed then chairman Bob Kelly with how they worked with the players under their control. The next few years had been cause for much speculation and rumour in Celtic history. Some say that Jock Stein left the Club because he thought he had gone as far as a Protestant man could go at Celtic. That may have some truth (although no evidence of such). It may be a more pertinent point that he would not have been content to take a Celtic job which in those times included the inevitable input of the larger-than-life and highly interfering Bob Kelly.
Whilst everyone loved Jimmy McGrory the man, his position as manager was very much ceremonial as Bob Kelly had a major influence by constantly meddling in team affairs. So Jock Stein left Celtic to manage Dunfermline to prove his ability, but Sean Fallon stayed on.
During that time Sean Fallon developed what turned into a real eye for a player. Sean Fallon is credited by some with bringing Ronnie Simpson to Celtic, ironically after he impressed at Hibs while under the tutelage of Jock Stein. It is well known that of all the Lisbon Lions, only Willie Wallace was a Jock Stein signing – however it seems likely that Sean Fallon would have had a hand in the choosing of most of the grand number who went on to be part of the Lisbon Lions:
“It was Sean Fallon who complimented the youth policy with a few shrewd signings in the interim between McGrory and Stein – now they were ready to be moulded.” – Celtic: The Official History DVD
When it became time (incidentally the ‘time’ eventually being supposedly decided by fan pressure) for Jimmy McGrory to eventually be replaced, Stein was the fans’ favourite – however rumour persists that Bob Kelly wanted Sean Fallon to be the manager and Stein to be his second in command. Rumour also persists that this scenario was put to Stein who, knowing what was required, sent the Celtic back to think again. Bob Kelly eventually realised that the fans were right, and came back to offer Jock Stein the job as his and his alone.
Another man could have been annoyed. Not Sean Fallon:
“I wasn’t disappointed but just happy to serve my club in any way I was wanted. And gratified when Jock then said he chose me because he could trust me implicitly. ” – Sean Fallon.
Sean Fallon also claims that in that initial meeting as manager and right-hand-man at Celtic – Jock Stein asked him what he thought of a young player called Davie Hay. Sean Fallon said he thought he was cracking player – but he was off to Chelsea to play for Tommy Docherty:
“Jock told me that if I wanted to stop that happening I should make my way down to the Caledonian Hotel where Davie was with his dad waiting to meet Tommy Docherty. I did, spirited them back to Paisley in my car, and convinced them to sign for us even before we arrived. I don’t think the Doc has ever forgiven me for that.” – Sean Fallon.
Sean Fallon played a pivotal role for Celtic. Sean Fallon was the man whom the players could confide and turn to when needed. Jock Stein was a hard man but also very much fatherly, and this could mean some tough love at times. Sean Fallon helped to compliment him for the first team in coaching and player management.
“I’m proud that we achieved something no other team has but it was just all about living the dream with my club.” – Sean Fallon
Together they turned the club into a giant fortress of which we all are in their debt to. Sean Fallon’s part in the club’s success can never be underestimated. Every great manager has a great man to work along with him, and for Jock Stein it was Sean Fallon.
The problem has been that the Celtic support are all so much in awe of Jock Stein that the support have generally unintentionally overlooked Sean Fallon’s part in all the great success. That needs some realignment. Sean Fallon is deserving of every plaudit possible.
It wasn’t all good and easy. Sean Fallon filled in for Jock Stein after ill-health and a serious car accident in the Summer of 1974 rendered him temporarily incapable of fulfilling his duties – but Sean Fallon could not do the job his friend and confidante did with such class.
It wasn’t an easy time, and one man that Sean Fallon couldn’t handle was the precocious George Connelly, who walked out on Celtic for the last time and Sean Fallon didn’t have the strength to tackle him. This season proved the first since Jock Stein’s return as manager that the club’s trophy cabinet remained bare. The task of following on from Jock Stein was likely more than have may have been asked of anyone, especially of the dedicated Celtic servant that was Sean Fallon.
Sean Fallon was replaced as Stein’s assistant in 1976/77 and put in charge of scouting. He took up his new role with dedication, although has admitted that the demotion “hurt deep in the heart” – but even being interviewed as an 83 year old man in 2005, he preferred to use the platform not to outline his own complaints but rather to orate his still bitter criticism of the way Jock Stein was treated by Celtic in the end.
In his job as Celtic Scout, Sean Fallon went on to prove he had a superb eye for a player – and is credited with the acquisitions of Danny McGrain and Kenny Dalglish among others – he also brought a youthful Packie Bonner to Celtic from Donegal in 1977. In 1978 he was seen as surplus to requirements and unceremoniously given the sack by the Board along with Jock Stein’s assistant Davie McParland.
In came Billy McNeill and John Clark with Jock Stein eventually moving to Leeds Utd. McParland went on to manage Hamilton Accies and Sean Fallon would take up a position with Dumbarton. Typical of the big man, he only accepted the Dumbarton position as long as no one else would be shown the door.
Too often regarded as a peripheral figure, his love for the Club, his abilities as a player, as a coach and also as a scout have had a profound impact on the way Celtic FC has been shaped since his joining. As Celtic fans, we all owe him a debt of gratitude for all that he has done.
In 2002, he was awarded the ‘Freedom of Sligo’ award as a mark of the respect his community has for all his life’s work and achievements.
Through all his days at Celtic, his friendship with Jock Stein remains the most poignant role he played:
“A week before Jock died we were down south for a game and he was just the same as all those years before in Ferrari’s, telling me this player and that player wouldn’t make it and asking what I thought. I miss those conversations.”
On 18th January 2013, he passed away peacefully in the early hours of the morning at the age of 90. He died a much-loved man, surrounded by his family. His last public act for Celtic was to unfurl the league winners flag at the start of the 2012/13 season, Celtic’s 125th anniversary season, and there are few others as befitting as worthy of this honour. He will be missed by all the Celtic family.
The Celtic support could not ask for anymore or any better of a person as we had from Sean Fallon.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1950-1958 | 177 | 31 | 31 | n/a | 254 |
| Goals | 8 | 2 | 2 | – | 14 |
Honours as player
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Scottish League Cup
Honours as coach
European Cup
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Scottish League Cup
Quotes
“I can never hope to find words to express my feelings at becoming a member of the Celtic Football Club.”
Sean Fallon
“A better man couldn’t have got the job.”
Jock Stein on Sean Fallon
“I played hard and I respected opponents who did the same. I believe that tackling is part and parcel of the game, and it can be as much an art as any other part of football.”
Sean Fallon, Celtic’s Iron Man in the 1950’s.
“As I walked off Hampden Park I felt I had got everything out of life I had ever wanted. I had become a member of the famous Celtic FC and holder of a Scottish Cup badge all in one year.”
Sean Fallon
“I’d have signed for Celtic for nothing….You can’t buy a dream.”
Sean Fallon
“Jock and I lived for the game, and for Celtic”
Sean Fallon
“You do what’s best for the club and not for yourself”
Sean Fallon
He once assessed his own talents as a player by saying:
“I was just an ordinary player with a big heart and a fighting spirit to recommend me.”
“I was just happy to serve my club in any way I was wanted.”
Sean Fallon
“Why would I walk out on a club I’d always dreamt of being a part of? Manchester United is a great club, but it’s not my club.”
Sean Fallon
“Every club in Britain should employ a man of his calibre.”
Lou Macari on Sean Fallon
“Johann is thinking our offer over very carefully.”
Dumbarton boss Sean Fallon, on the club’s attempt to sign Johann Cruyff, 1980
“One Saturday night there was a knock at the door and standing there was Sean Fallon, one of the nicest men I have ever had the pleasure to know. Sean has now left Parkhead and that makes me sad. He was my first contact with Celtic and was in the true Celtic mould. The club meant everything to him and 27 years service ended with the teams poor run last season. Certain players within the club should have had sleepless nights when Sean was sacked, for their poor efforts must have had a big hand in him going. I know i hardly slept the night he was leaving. Eleven years ago though Sean was still very much part of Celtic’s backroom staff … as chief scout … and when he came to ask me to sign I couldn’t find a pen quick enough.”
From Danny McGrain’s biography (1978)
”What a fantastic man and it’s a privilege for me to be here.”
”I think it’s very difficult for people who are successful to remain humble, it’s a touch of greatness. Sean always had that greatness.”
Alex Ferguson (at Sean Fallon’s Funeral)
Youth player: “Did you play against Rangers?”
Sean Fallon: “No I kicked as hard as I could against them!”
Pictures
Articles
- Big Jock Sein’s Biggest Pal Remembers him (The Scotsman)
- Misc Articles & Interviews
- 1957: Celtic 7-1 Rangers, League Cup – Sean Fallon recalls the game
- Sean Fallon: 1978 Post-Celtic
- Obituaries
- Funeral
Links
Video
KDS
Anecdotes
1) First one is taken from George Connolly`s autobiography.
Connolly`s best mate apart from Davie Hay was Davie Cattanach who played centre half for a bit with Celtic and was a bit of a hard man by the sounds of it. he had a chapter in Connolly`s book and told this story
“We were playing Rangers one day and Alex MacDonald always made a nuisance of himself against us and was a nasty wee player. He was doing the same again today so i decided enough was enough andI was gonna take him out.
When the chance arose I caught him round about the neck with my studs, i wasn’t even booked and he was stretchered off. We went in at half time and I was feeling quite please with myself until Mr Stein got a hold of me. He tore strips off me, telling me the tackle was a disgrace and I should be ashamed of myself etc, etc. I was suitably chastened and went to find a quiet corner in the dressing room.
Next thing was I felt an arm going round my shoulder andI turned round and there was Sean Fallon. He whispered in my ear “Son, that`s the greatest tackle i ever saw on a football pitch”.
2) Second one from George McCluskey
Celtic were playing Sasechring Zwickau (spelling) in cup winners cup in east germany, think it was 1975/76. Stein had been injured in a car crash so Sean Fallon was taking the team. Everyone was in the dressing room and it was 10 minutes to go to kick off and Mr Fallon was going round every player in the dressing room giving them the gee up for the game when someone puts their hand up and says
“What`s the team Sean?”
3) (from Ghirl on KDS forum)
When I was a wee girl in the 60s I went with my dad to Parkhead to pay for his supporters club’s tickets. He went back as the guy gave him a pound too much in his change – a lot of money then. Mr Fallon ran after us and asked why he did that, why he didn’t keep it? My dad said he didn’t want the guy to lose his job if the books didn’t balance and, besides, he’d be robbing Celtic. Mr Fallon was almost bursting with pride and said that’s what makes this club great. Then, from nowhere, he produced this lollipop and gave it to me.
Months later we trotted back to Parkhead to get a stand ticket for wee Matt, one of our neighbours whose legs had finally given up. He was already carried to and on/off the supporters bus but finally admitted he’d have to leave the jungle for the stand or miss the match. They turned us away, said they were all sold out as it was a big match. Mr Fallon was passing and called us back. My dad was totally shocked that he remembered us, especially when he asked how I’d liked my lollipop. I remember him ruffling my curls and saying ‘how could anyone forget such a golden haired lass?’ He then asked us to wait and came back with two tickets and wouldn’t take any money. My dad explained we only needed one but Mr Fallon insisted he keep it as Matt would need someone to by him a cup of tea at half time and look out for him.
I remember being disappointed he didn’t give me another lollipop but even at that age you could tell he was a gentleman to the core. God bless him.
4)(JohnGreig… of KDS forum)
Sean Fallon must have been introduced to tens of thousands folk throughout his life.
I was privileged to have been introduced to him before a school’s U-18 Cameronian Cup semi-final at Rosebury Park in the spring of 1976.
He was very generous with his time and asked me about of my Mum and Dad and siblings.
I was in absolute awe. This was SEAN FALLON taking an interest in my life.
He wished me good luck in the game, shook my hand and gave me a wink as he left us.
I next met Sean Fallon in late October 1977.
I was sitting next to him at the funeral of the man who had introduced me to him 18 months before.
On the way out of the church, he turned to me and asked after my family by name.
Requiscant in Pace
Sean Fallon.
We lost 1-0
Falcao and Fallon: the age-old debate
Posted on July 31 2013 at 10:00
source: http://www.backpagepress.co.uk/blogs/blog/tag/BackPage
Today would have been Sean Fallon’s 91st birthday. Or that, at least, was what he told us. Fallon’s biographer, Stephen Sullivan, looks at the doubts surrounding the Iron Man’s date of birth amid reports of a prominent modern-day equivalent.
WHAT do Sean Fallon and Radamel Falcao have in common? The short answer: very little.
Falcao recently made the fourth major move of his flourishing career, joining Monaco for a French-record fee of £50 million. An outlay exactly 1000 times smaller took Fallon to Celtic in 1950, and he would stay exactly where he was for the next 28 years. The Irishman agreed a wage of £10, a hefty pay-cut from the £14 he made as a part-time player at Glenavon with a day job in a Lurgan bakery. Needless to say, no such sacrifice was required of Falcao in Monte Carlo. The Colombian striker is said to be pocketing a tax-free weekly pay packet of £270,000.
Yet these very different players from very different eras might, if recent reports are to be believed, have something in common after all. A TV news channel in Colombia caused something of an uproar last week when it produced photographic evidence suggesting Falcao is not 27, as he claims, but 29. Denials inevitably followed but amid claim and counter-claim, it seems no-one is entirely sure of the truth.
For those old enough to remember, this will be reminiscent of the situation in which journalists, supporters and team-mates found themselves with Fallon. The Iron Man, in the words of former Herald journalist Ian Paul, “kept his age as secret as a KGB code”. Indeed, in the researching of his story, what I found both amazing and amusing was that even Sean’s closest friends were kept firmly in the dark.
During a chat with George Stein, Jock’s son, around this time last year, mention was made of Fallon’s upcoming 90th. “Are you sure?” came Stein’s reply. “I’m always dubious when it comes to Sean and his age. He and my dad used to laugh about it, and Sean would always insist that he was the younger of the two.”
Fallon, in fact, was two months and five days his colleague’s senior. Yet maintaining the pretence had led to some revealing conversations when Stein first arrived from Llanelli in 1951. “Some of the others in the team were saying to me, ‘Imagine signing an old guy like that. What use can he be?’” Sean recalled with a smile. “Charlie [Tully] was one of the worst. ‘Him? That old fella could be my grandfather’, he’d say. What they didn’t realise was that, although Jock was getting on a bit by that stage, I was even older.”
At the age of 26, Fallon had still been an anonymous amateur footballer in the Leinster Senior League. Moves from Longford Town to Sligo Rovers and onwards to Glenavon followed over the next 12 months but it seemed that he had left it too late to achieve his dream of playing for Celtic.
Then, having been selected to represent the Irish League against the League of Ireland at Dalymount Park on St Patrick’s Day 1950, word reached him that his performance would be assessed by the Celtic manager, Jimmy McGrory. “I could barely contain my excitement,” he said of receiving the news.
When McGrory returned to Ireland within days with the sole purpose of adding this rugged full-back to Celtic’s ever-improving squad, Fallon fretted that his age could prevent the realisation of his greatest ambition. So it was that he was tempted into a bending of the truth that makes the Falcao allegation seem trivial by comparison.
“Because the move was so close, I didn’t want anything to put Celtic off,” he explained. “That would have killed me. I was nearly 28 and worried they might think I was a little old, so when Mr McGrory asked me my age, I told him I was 22. Now, that might sound dishonest but it was something a lot of professional players did in those days, particularly in Ireland. The clubs weren’t interested in seeing your birth certificate and checking whether you were telling the truth. All they wanted to know was: could you play and were you fit?
“Celtic seemed convinced that I could play, and I knew myself that I was one of the fittest players in Ireland, so I didn’t feel as guilty about the lie as I might have done. I knew that, God willing, I had a lot of good years ahead of me and that my age wouldn’t be an issue. And so it proved. I played over eight seasons at Celtic and I would like to think I gave the club good service. They weren’t disappointed with me, I know that.
“Eventually though, I had to tell the truth about my real age when the club was going on a tour and had to sort out new passports for the players. I was always getting pulled to the side wherever we travelled because of my Irish passport, so it was decided that I needed a British one like the rest of the players. Naturally, I didn’t want to get caught out if the British authorities checked my date of birth against the official Irish records. I’d have got the jail! So I came clean. I was a bit nervous about telling Mr McGrory but I needn’t have worried because he was such a kind man and accepted my explanation without any anger or disappointment at all.”
Not only did McGrory keep his cool; he also kept Fallon’s secret. For decades, and despite the odd whisper and knowing wink, the Irishman’s age remained unknown to all but a select few within Scottish football. That explains why the Daily Express report on Sean, aged 36, joining Celtic’s coaching staff in 1958 includes praise for the retention of this “30-year Iron Man”.
The Express was not alone in being fooled. Fallon’s performances in the preceding seasons had, after all, hardly been those of a veteran player in the process of decline. “Sean always got away with that dodgy birth certificate because he was one of the fittest players around,” said Bertie Auld, a colleague in the Celtic sides of that era.
Though guilty of misleading Celtic about his age, Fallon’s proved to be a victimless crime. Through 254 appearances and beyond into his silverware-laden spell as Jock Stein’s assistant, he ensured that the £5000 fee, not to mention McGrory’s faith, was repaid many times over. Should Monaco obtain from Falcao anything resembling the sterling service provided by Celtic’s Iron Man, their £50 million will have been money similarly well spent.