For some football clubs, the number of trophies that they’ve added to the trophy cabinet is such that there is no real reason to differentiate between the managers that won them. In some ways, that is the case at Celtic, with the Scottish club currently winning the title most seasons. One thing that doesn’t happen on a seemingly yearly basis, though, is the Bhoys winning the European Cup. It is for that reason that the men that brought the trophy that is now known as the Champions League to Celtic Park are held up on a pedestal, with the manager who masterminded it, Jock Stein, more than most.
Becoming a Player
Born in the Lanarkshire town of Hamilton on the fifth of October 1922, John Stein was the only boy out of four children had by George Stein and Jane Armstrong. George was a coal miner, which was a common profession for the people in the local area to enter into, but John, who became known as Jock, wanted to avoid that if possible. He saw football as his way of making it out of Hamilton without having to go into the mines, leaving school in 1937 to briefly become a worker in a carpet factory. He did have to go down the pit for a time, but saw his chance in 1940.
That was when he was offered a contract to play for Burnbank Athletic, only for his father to refuse to allow him to go. He then joined Blantyre Victoria, which was another club based locally with junior players. His first time playing for a senior club came on the 12th of November 1942 when he was on trial at Albion Rovers, taking part in a game that ended in a 4-4 draw against Celtic. He signed for the club on the third of December, continuing to work as a miner in the week because this was a reserved occupation during the Second World War, meaning he could continue to play on a regular basis.
Signing for Celtic
During his time at Albion Rovers, Stein played 236 matches and scored nine goals. In 1950, Stein was approached by a former teammate to sign for Llanelli, a non-league club in Wales. This allowed him to become a full-time professional, who was paid £12 a week. They had signed numerous Scottish players, but when their application to join the Football League was rejected and rumours of financial troubles circulated, all but two of them left. Stein became disillusioned with the club, whilst his wife Jean had a desire to return to Scotland, so he began looking for a way out.
🗓 #OnThisDay in 1951, Jock Stein signed for Celtic FC as a player from Llanelli. pic.twitter.com/Y9MSnCp95l
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) December 4, 2016
Thinking that he might have to quit football and become a miner once more, Stein was recommended to Celtic by a reserve team trainer named Jimmy Gribben. The Scottish side paid £12,000 to sign him, initially arriving as a reserve before injuries meant that he was moved into the first team. He was appointed vice-captain in 1952 and then became captain in his own right when Sean Fallon broke his arm. Celtic came eighth in the 1952-1953 season, but their large fanbase meant that they were invited to take part in the Coronation Cup, beating the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.
Moving into Management
The success enjoyed at the Coronation Cup continued into the next season, when the Bhoys won a League and Cup double, which was their first since 1914. The club was sent to watch the FIFA World Cup in 1954 as a reward for their play, where Stein was impressed by Hungary. The club missed out on the league and lost in the cup final of the following season, then during the 1955-1956 campaign, Stein suffered persistent ankle problems that forced him to retire. Having officially retired at the start of 1957, he was invited to become a Celtic reserves coach in the July.
He won the Reserve Cup in his first season in the role, but was told by the chairman of Celtic that his Protestant faith meant that he would progress any further there. As a result, Stein became the manager of Dunfermline on the 14th of March 1960, with the club being mired in a relegation battle. They hadn’t won a game for four months, but won their first six games with Stein at the helm. In the months that followed, the club’s fortunes improved immeasurably and they won the Scottish Cup for the first time in 1961, beating his former club Celtic 2-0 in a replay.
Becoming Celtic Boss
Under Stein, Dunfermline impressed in the European Cup Winners’ Cup and came fourth in the league, then did well in the Fairs Cup, beating Everton. It emerged that Hibernian were looking to replace their manager, with Stein confirmed as his replacement on the 30th of March 1964. The club was struggling, in spite of previous success and a large support base. They were in 12th place when Stein arrived, revitalising the squad and leading them to victory in the Summer Cup. In the 1964-1965 season, Real Madrid were invited for a friendly and 32,000 people watched Hibs beat them 2-0.
Hibernian Manager 𝐉𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 at Easter Road during a training session in 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟒 pic.twitter.com/0mw5dqjK3Q
— Hibernian Retro (@HibernianRetro) September 10, 2024
Wolverhampton Wanderers were looking for a new manager and approached Stein, who himself went to the Chairman of Celtic, Bob Kelly, to essentially ask for the manager’s job. He was initially offered the assistant manager’s role alongside Sean Fallon, then a joint-manager position with him. Stein rejected them both, so Kelly eventually relented and offered him full control. Hibs desperately wanted him to stay, but becoming the Celtic manager had been his ambition since he had first been a player there, so on the 31st of January it was confirmed that he would leave at the end of the season.
Winning the European Cup
In the end, Stein left for Celtic in the March, having arranged for Bob Shankly, brother to Bill, to take over as Hibernian manager. When he was appointed as Celtic manager, he became the first Protestant to be given the role. The club had been struggling in the league, but had made it to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. They forced a replay against Motherwell and won that 3-0, setting up a final against Dunfermline, which they also won. That resulted in Celtic winning the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1954 and Stein winning over supporters almost immediately thanks to his tactical intelligence.
The following season, Celtic won the League Cup final against Rangers but were beaten by Liverpool in the Cup Winners’ Cup. They also won the league for the first time in 12 years, but lost the Scottish Cup final. He told his players they could ‘win everything’ at the start of the 1966-1967 season, going on to make the final of the Scottish Cup, which they won 2-0, as well as taking the title to the last day where they needed a draw in the Old Firm derby to win. It finished 2-2, handing them the title win. In the European Cup, they made it to the final, where they defeated Inter 2-1.
That meant that Celtic had become the first British team to win the European Cup, as well as becoming the first British man to win a European treble. They had also won the League Cup, meaning that they were the only team to win a ‘quadruple’. A year later, Celtic won another League and League Cup double, then the following season won the domestic treble. In 1970, the Bhoys made it to the European Cup final again, but lost to Feyenoord. Manchester United attempted to bring him in as manager but he refused, being appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Life After Celtic
In the 1970s, Stein led Celtic to nine consecutive Scottish league titles as well as other trophies. Such was Celtic’s success that attendance of league matches dwindled, causing the Scottish Football League to restructure how it worked in 1975. That year, Stein was in a bad car crash and nearly died, with Sean Fallon taking over as manager in his absence. He returned for the 1976-1977 season, leading them to the league title by nine points and winning the Scottish Cup by beating Rangers 1-0. They struggled the following season, though, and Stein was persuaded to stand down.
In the August of 1978, Stein took over as Leeds United manager. Just 44 days later, however, he left his role in order to take over as the Scotland manager. He had previously worked as part-time manager of the Scottish national side in 1965, leaving to concentrate on Celtic. He took on the role permanently this time, however, and made it to the World Cup in 1982, losing in the group stage. On the tenth of September 1985, Scotland were playing Wales in Cardiff. Stein suffered a pulmonary edema, dying in the medical room. He was 62 years old.