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Fullname: Francis Michael Munro
aka: Frank Munro
Born: 25 October 1947
Died: 16 August 2011
Birthplace: Broughty Ferry, Scotland
Signed: 14 October 1977 (loan); 30 Dec 1977 (permanent)
Left: April 1978 (free)
Position: Defence/Centre-half
First game: St Mirren 1-2 home 15 October 1977 league
Last game: Clydebank 2-3 away 8 April 1978 league
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 9
International Goals: 0
Biog
Frank Munro was brought to Parkhead by Jock Stein as a surprise replacement for the injured veteran sweeper Pat Stanton on 14th October 1977.
At nearly 30 years of age, Frank Munro had enjoyed a decent career with Dundee United, Aberdeen and Wolverhampton Wanderers – (where he was a huge fans favourite) – and when he signed on loan in October 1977 from the Molineux club he was viewed as bringing valuable experience and strength to the Celtic defence.
A dependable defender, he had played for Scotland as recently as 1975 and was seen as another signing coup by Jock Stein.
However, he was arriving relatively late in his career, and some felt he was a little out of shape and that his best years were behind him.
His debut, 24 hours after signing, turned into a nightmare. Having surprisingly been named as captain, Frank Munro scored an unfortunate own goal and was given a torrid time by a young Frank McGarvey as Celtic crashed 2-1 at home to Alex Ferguson’s St Mirren.
The big man did settle after that poor start and his loan deal was made permanent in December for a fee of £20,000. However he never really convinced the Celtic support of his long-term value, but he was playing in a poor team struggling to live up to the talents of even an ageing Pat Stanton.
Following his debut, he had a good run with Celtic, undefeated in the games he played with the first team, but then from the turn of the year, Celtic lost 2-1 to Ayr Utd then the first team just collapsed with a run of losses in the league ended ironically with a win over his old side Dundee Utd.
Despite this poor run, Frank helped Celtic to their 13th successive League Cup final in March 1978 and the Celts were most unfortunate to go down narrowly by 2-1 to Rangers at Hampden. He played his last game for the Hoops on 8th April 1978 in a 2-1 defeat to Motherwell, a few days after that League Cup final as a substitute for the injured Roddy MacDonald as Celtic went down 3-2 to relegated Clydebank at Kilbowie.
Celtic finished the season in what was then an unimaginable 5th place, with 15 league defeats through the season conceding 54 goals. He was not solely responsible, but it was a season to forget for Celtic, and Jock Stein was to step down at the end for Billy McNeill to take over.
His former side, Dundee Utd finished 3rd in the league but still way behind Rangers who took the title with Aberdeen second.
After 22 appearances Frank Munro was released by the club in April 1978 soon after his last game. In July 1978 he moved to Australia to play for Melbourne Hellas.
Frank Munro suffered poor health later in life and passed away on 16th August 2011 aged 63.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1977-78 | 14 (1) | 2 | 5 | 0 | 21 (1) |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
none
Pictures
Articles
Tributes after death of ex-Wolves player Frank Munro
17 August 2011 BBC Last updated at 15:19Tributes have been paid to former Wolverhampton Wanderers player Frank Munro who has died aged 63.
The Scottish international made 371 first team appearances for Wolves in the 60s and 70s.
The club’s website said Mr Munro had suffered a heart attack and passed away at the city’s New Cross Hospital on Tuesday.
Former Wolves goalkeeper Phil Parkes described Mr Munro as a “lovely fellow” and “quality player”.
Mr Munro was part of the Wolves side that made it to the UEFA Cup Final in 1972 and he gained a League Cup winners’ medal two years later.
The club has sent its condolences to Mr Munro’s family and friends.
Scotland and Wolves star Frank Munro dies age 63
BBC
Munro was capped nine times for Scotland
Former Scotland and Wolves defender Frank Munro has died at the age of 63, suffering a heart attack some 11 years after a debilitating stroke.
Dundee-born Munro, a centre-half, also played for Dundee United, Aberdeen and Celtic and was capped nine times.
He made 371 appearances for Wolves between 1968 and 1977.
Munro was a member of the team that reached the inaugural Uefa Cup final in 1972 and won the League Cup with the Molineux club two years later.
Former Celt, Frank Munro passes away
By: Joe Sullivan on 17 Aug, 2011 16:53Celticfc.net
FORMER Celt Frank Munro passed away yesterday (Tuesday) at the age 63 after suffering a heart attack in New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.
The Dundee-born centre-half started at Tannadice and moved to Aberdeen before joining Wolverhampton in January of 1968. He was a mainstay at Molineux as it was at Wolves where he spent the bulk of his career and none other than Jock Stein was a long-time admirer of the player.
The Celtic fanatic’s dream came true when Stein arranged a deal with Wolves and Frank travelled back north for a trial period with his Bhoyhood heroes as he neared the end of his career.
He made his Celtic debut in a home game against St Mirren on October 15, 1977 and was made captain for the day but, unfortunately, scored an own goal in a 2-1 win for the Paisley side.
That slip didn’t deter Stein, though, and the loan-deal was made permanent in December, although the defender only played 21 games for Celtic before he was freed in April 1978.
The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic Park are with the Munro family at this sad time.
Frank Munro, Jock Stein’s last signing for Celtic, dies at 63
Published Date: 18 August 2011FRANK Munro, the former Scotland defender whose death at the age of 63 was announced yesterday, held the distinction of being the last player Jock Stein signed as Celtic manager.
But his brief and unsuccessful spell with the Parkhead club was simply a footnote to an otherwise outstanding career which had its highest points during almost ten years at Wolverhampton Wanderers where he is still regarded as one of the greatest and most popular players to pull on the old gold shirt. Munro was a key figure in the Wolves side which reached the Uefa Cup final in 1972 and won the League Cup two years later. He also captained the squad which won the old Second Division title in 1977.
Capped nine times for Scotland, Munro had been in poor health since suffering a stroke back in 1994. He still lived in the Wolverhampton area and his passing late on Monday night following a bout of pneumonia has been greeted with huge sadness at the Molineux club.
The Wolves official website was inundated with tributes to Munro from supporters. Former Wolves and England striker John Richards, who scored the winning goal in the 1974 League Cup final against Manchester City, had remained in touch with Munro. “We had all resigned ourselves to hearing this news sooner or later,” said Richards, “but it is still very upsetting to know we have lost a good friend and a player who supporters of a certain age will remember with a lot of affection.”
Born in Broughty Ferry, Munro started his career as a youth player at Chelsea before signing for Dundee United in 1963. A striker in his early years, he was popular at Tannadice before he was recruited by Aberdeen, then managed by Eddie Turnbull, in October 1966.
Munro scored Aberdeen’s first-ever European goal on his way to a hat-trick in the 10-1 thrashing of KR Reykjavik in a Cup Winners’ Cup tie at Pittodrie in 1967. He netted 14 times in 59 appearances for the Dons before earning a £55,000 move to Wolves in January 1968. Ronnie Allen, the Wolves boss, had been alerted to Munro when he scored a hat-trick for Aberdeen against Wolves in a close-season match in Washington the previous summer.
He established himself as a centre-half at Wolves where his 371 first team appearances sees him sit at 20th place in the club’s all-time list. Munro earned his first honour as a Wolves player when they defeated Hearts 3-2 on aggregate in the 1971 Texaco Cup final. The following season, he scored in both legs of the Uefa Cup semi-final against Ferencvaros but had to settle for a runners-up medal when Wolves lost 3-2 on aggregate to Tottenham in the all-English final.
Munro’s performances for Wolves led to him winning his first Scotland cap as a substitute in a 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland at Hampden in 1971, the first of four appearances for his country that year. He had to wait until 1975, the year after he helped Wolves lift the League Cup at Wembley, to play for Scotland again. He made five more appearances that year, including the 5-1 defeat by England at Wembley, with his final outing in a 1-1 European Championship qualifying draw against Romania in Bucharest.
In October 1977, five months after leading Wolves to the Second Division title, Munro made a surprise loan move to Celtic. Jock Stein, in what would prove his last season as manager of the club, had been a long-time admirer of Munro and saw him as an ideal replacement for the injured Pat Stanton.
Stein named him captain for his debut but Munro scored an own goal in a 2-1 home defeat to a St Mirren side managed by Alex Ferguson. Nevertheless he subsequently impressed Stein enough to make the move permanent in December 1977, the £25,000 fee paid to Wolves going down as the legendary manager’s final purchase in the job. Munro helped Celtic reach the League Cup Final, where they lost 2-1 after extra time to Rangers, but it was an abject season for the Parkhead club who finished fifth in the Premier Division while their great rivals claimed the domestic treble.
After just 21 appearances for Celtic, Munro was released in April 1978. He moved to Australia to play for South Melbourne club Hellas and, apart from a brief spell as player-coach at Albion Rovers, remained down under until settling back in Wolverhampton in the early 1990s.
- Last Updated: 17 August 2011 11:07 PM
- Source: The Scotsman
- Location: Edinburgh