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Fullname: Alistair Robert Hunter
aka: Ally Hunter, Alistair Hunter
Born: 4 October 1949
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 24 January 1973 from Kilmarnock
Left: 15 April 1976 to Motherwell
Position: Goalkeeper
First game: Airdrie 1-2 away 27 January 1973 League
Last game: Dundee United 2-1 home 31 January 1976 League
Internationals: Scotland / Scottish League XI
International Caps: 4 / 1
International Shut-outs: 1 / 0
Biog
Goalkeeper Alistair Hunter signed for the Bhoys in January 1973 from Kilmarnock for a reported £40,000 fee after impressing against Celtic in the 1972 Scottish Cup semi final. He was always a Celtic fan as a kid so his signing was a great achievement for him.
Ally Hunter had sprang to prominence in 1972 with his fine performances for Kilmarnock and was rewarded with a place in the Scotland squad for their trip to Brazil for a four team tournament in the summer of 1972.
He was signed when Jock Stein became impatient with his goalkeepers Williams and Connaghan. His debut came in a shock 2-1 league defeat at Airdrie on January 27th but despite that disappointing start he quickly endeared himself to the Celtic support with some fine displays and in the Spring of 1973 he was instrumental in Celtic’s title success as the team went seven consecutive games without conceding a goal.
In May 1973 Ally Hunter became the first Celtic keeper since Ronnie Simpson to play for Scotland at Wembley and had a fine match despite the 0-1 defeat. He was now the recognised Celtic and Scotland number one, however he lost a soft goal to Nehoda against Czechoslovakia at Hampden and although Scotland won 2-1 that night and qualified for the 1974 World Cup finals, Ally received severe criticism in the media for the Czechoslovakia goal.
His Celtic displays at this time were still impressive and he had earned rave reviews after a magnificent performance after Celtic’s 1-0 league victory at Ibrox on 15th September 1973.
For the next 18 months Ally Hunter alternated with Denis Connaghan as first choice Celtic keeper as Jock Stein appeared unconvinced by either man. Jock Stein said of him: “He’s a worrier, he blames himself for every goal.” For some this can work to their advantage but not in Ally Hunter’s case. When you have to worry about what Jock Stein will do or say after your performance, that can affect any player. Jock Stein was a hard task master although he was fatherly too, and knew best how to handle players. On the other hands, many historians believe that managing goalkeepers was a possible weakness of his.
Sometimes Ally Hunter could be saved by the rest of the team. For example, despite losing three goals to Joe Harper of Hibs, Celtic won the League cup final by 6-3 in October 1974 with Ally Hunter in goals.
After the 0-3 defeat at Ibrox on 4th January 1975 Stein lost faith with him and when Peter Latchford arrived that February, Hunter became second choice. His last opportunity was against Dundee United on 31st January 1976 and, sadly, he lost a soft goal scored by Henry Hall after only 30 seconds of the game.
Ally Hunter moved on to Motherwell for £20,000 a few weeks later, but left Celtic with a very decent record.
At his best Ally Hunter was the equal of many Celtic goalkeepers from over the years and it is a pity he appeared to have lost confidence after that Czechoslovakia game in 1973.
In a later interview, in a retrospect on his career at Celtic he looked back on his time with so much pride:
“I look back on it as a great time. I was lucky enough to catch the great side, the Lisbon team and there were still about seven or eight of them playing. I really look back and think I was privileged to a certain extent to be able to play with these players. It makes you feel good to think you were part of that side so of course I look back with great memories.”
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1973-76 | 60 | 10 | 17 | 4 | 91 |
| Shut-outs: | 31 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 43 (47%) |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Scottish League Cup
Pictures
Anniversary of Ally Hunter signing for the Hoops
By Joe Sullivan
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2022/january/24/anniversary-of-ally-hunter-signing-for-the-hoops/
It was 49 years ago today, on January 24, 1973 that goalkeeper, Ally Hunter signed from Kilmarnock.
Here we revisit some previous interviews with the former Celt.
ON JOINING CELTIC
It just came out of the blue, to be honest. The day before it happened I was asked if I would be interested, so the cat was out of the bag when I said yes. The next day I was in Glasgow, and was called down to Kilmarnock. Jock Stein was there and the deal was done. What a fabulous team it was when I joined Celtic – Billy McNeill, Bobby Murdoch, George Connelly, Jimmy Johnstone – every single player in that team was a household name. Moving into a club like Celtic where winning was in the genes is what players notice when they arrive and leave. It’s the general attitude to matches – you are expected to win and everything is programmed towards that. Other teams try to do their best to win, but at Celtic your whole programme is about winning games and winning games well. The dressing room could have been intimidating, but it wasn’t. Celtic have always been a family club and if someone comes in that’s the way you are treated. In some ways, it’s difficult to go into a side full of legends but in other ways it was easy as there were no airs and graces about these guys. They were a family team and they welcomed you in.
ON HIS DEBUT
It wasn’t the best of starts, put it that way! The team had been struggling a bit but my debut was a game we were expected to win. Things went a bit wrong, though, I can’t remember it in too much detail as you might imagine, but it was definitely a disappointing start. I’d just signed that week so I was thrown right in, but I wasn’t particularly nervous. After training for a couple of days I felt good, but it was just one of these games when things started to go wrong. You’re going there full of great hope, thinking it was your big chance to change your life, so it was definitely a great sinking feeling when the two goals went in and you’re heading towards the end of the game with defeat a strong possibility.
Hunter and Brogan.jpg
ON HIS CELTIC HIGHLIGHT
The first league championship I won at Easter Road would be my highlight. Things hadn’t been going well up until the turn of the year. I’m not saying I did it myself, but things turned the corner after the New Year, and after I arrived. We went and won the league on the last day of the season and that was a special moment. Six months earlier we would never have thought we would have been in that position. That was one of the biggest memories I have, winning the league championship. Not many people do it. It was a lovely sunny day at Easter Road and it was just a great feeling. It doesn’t get any better than that.
ON WORKING UNDER JOCK STEIN
I don’t think it was a secret that he didn’t like goalkeepers very much! Jock was the master. He could send you out to the park and you knew you were going to win the game, not through being big-headed, but by the confidence he could instil in you. He could set up a team and know how they would play and how they would control it, but the goalkeepers were always that factor X – where anything could happen. So he used to get frustrated with goalkeepers and he wasn’t a man to fall out with as most people will tell you. It wasn’t easy, I must be honest. You just had to focus yourself and hope for the best.
ON ONE GAME THAT STOOD OUT
Funnily enough, after my first game against Airdrie, one of the next games was a Wednesday night game against Kilmarnock, so I was back there within a couple of weeks. It was a wet, snowy night, not the night you wanted to play. After the Airdrie game, I was a bit concerned, going back there, wondering how it was going to go. But I had a really good game that night. Kilmarnock were obviously trying to do everything they could to beat me. After that, I felt I was accepted into the team and we had a great run through to the end of that season. So that was memorable. But we played in Jackie Charlton’s Testimonial, I played at Liverpool for Ron Yeats as well. We also faced Benfica and teams like that. Those were big games with big players, and the excitement of that sticks with you.
ON HIS CELTIC CAREER
I look back on it as a great time. I was lucky enough to catch the great side, the Lisbon team and there were still about seven or eight of them playing. I really look back and think I was privileged to a certain extent to be able to play with these players. It makes you feel good to think you were part of that side so of course I look back with great memories.