HIBERNIAN supporters troubled by their team's recent form could have their depression at least partly lifted by making the trip to Broadwood for tonight's friendly with Clyde. There, along with their rivals, they will have the opportunity to remember and celebrate better times.
The match will recall an era when both clubs were among Scottish football's regular trophy gatherers, most specifically by marking the 50th anniversary of the 1958 Scottish Cup final, when a well-balanced and closely contested match yielded a 1-0 vic
tory to Clyde and their second triumph in the tournament in four years.
For the visiting fans, of course, the occasion will also bring a poignant reminder of the "curse" which has prevented the Easter Road side from winning the trophy since 1902. But the presence of the seven surviving members of the 1958 team and the five from Clyde who are still with us will also afford an opportunity to recollect that Hibs in the decade from the late 1940s won three league championships.
Eddie Turnbull, a member of the Famous Five, undoubtedly remains the most revered of a group that also comprises Lawrie Leslie, Jacky Plenderleith, John Grant, John Baxter, Tommy Preston, and John Fraser. The Clyde quintet is made up of Tommy McCulloch, George Herd, Willie Finlay, Joe Walters and the goalscorer from half-a-century ago, John Coyle.
In recalling the match yesterday, McCulloch, the Clyde goalkeeper, confirmed that, even back then, there was already a hint of a "bogey" about Hibs' relationship with the cup. It had been, after all, 56 years since their previous triumph and they had lost another four finals in the interim.
"I've always thought Hibs were a bit unlucky in that '58 final," said McCulloch, now 73 and still living on the south side of Glasgow. "Andy Aitken had been a very good player for them in the rounds before the final, and especially when they beat Rangers in the semi-final.
"But Andy was injured quite badly early in the match and then again some time later, and he was virtually a passenger. No substitutes in those days, of course, so Hibs were seriously handicapped. Before his injury, Andy had shown what he could do when he came in from the right and drove the ball across the goal area.
"Wee Joe Baker, who was a terrific player, was only about four yards out when he hit the shot. I just threw my hands up, instinctively, as you do, and somehow not only prevented the goal, but held on to the ball.
"I suppose most of the Hibs people thought Joe should have scored then and, if I had just pushed the ball back out to him, he probably would have. It was too early in the match to call it a turning point, but it certainly saved us from going a goal down."
Apart from Coyle's rather untidy winner, most people who saw that match – including this reporter, standing in the old schoolboys' enclosure at Hampden Park – recall the incident when Baker moved forward to reach a cross and sent the ball into the net with his hand.
In at least one respect, modern players would have nothing to teach those of the past; wee Joe wheeled away in celebration, in a clear attempt at convincing the match officials he had headed the ball over the line.
"There was a second when it looked as though he might get away with it, too," McCulloch recalled. "The referee clearly hesitated, unsure of what had happened. But he looked to the linesman, who had seen the offence clearly and signalled a free kick to us.
"It was a very tight game and Johnny Coyle's goal was another instance of Hibs' bad luck. Johnny hit the shot on the turn and, as Lawrie Leslie moved to make the save, it deflected off big John Baxter and into the other corner. Lawrie had no chance.
"What a lot of people won't realise nowadays – and probably won't believe – was that the match was so close because the teams had so many quality players, so many internationals. That Clyde team had eight players who were capped by either Scotland or the Scottish League before or after that final and Hibs would be similar.
"If I had to pick a man of the match, though, it would have been Mike Clinton, who was a terrific defender for us, but went about his work in a quiet way. We had exceptional ball players like George Herd on the right and Tommy Ring on the left, but Mike would be about the first who played as a kind of 'sweeper' centre-half, quietly mopping up behind his partner, Willie Finlay. It was just that the term sweeper hadn't been invented then.
"They were different times, though. I mean, we paraded along Main Street in Rutherglen and had a celebration afterwards, but I was still at Central Station in Glasgow by eleven o'clock, in time to catch the last train home to Cardonald."
The full article contains 852 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
