Jock Stein

Born in Burnbank, Lanarkshire, Stein saw football as his escape from the Lanarkshire coal mines. In 1937 he left Greenfield school in Hamilton and after a short time working in a carpet factory went down the pits to become a miner. In 1940, Stein agreed to sign for Burnbank Athletic, but his father vehemently objected. Soon afterwards, he instead joined Blantyre Victoria, another local junior club.

Stein first played for senior club Albion Rovers as a trialist in a 4–4 draw against Celtic on 14 November 1942. Three weeks later, manager Webber Lees signed Stein for the Coatbridge club. He continued to work as a miner during the week, which was a reserved occupation during the Second World War. This allowed Stein to play regularly, as many of their other players were serving in the Armed Forces. He had a brief loan spell with Dundee United in 1943. Rovers won promotion to the First Division in 1947–48, for only the fourth time in the club's history. During the 1948–49 season, Rovers conceded 105 goals, won only three league games out of 30 and were relegated back to the Second Division.

He was initiated into Scottish Freemasonry in Lodge Blantyre Kilwinning, No.557, (High Blantyre, Glasgow) on 13 November 1945, passed on 24 January and raised on 28 February 1946.

He married Jeanie McAuley in 1946 and they were together until his death 39 years later. They had a son George and daughter Ray. Ray died of cancer on 9 September 2006 aged 59, and was outlived by her mother, who died on 2 August 2007 at the age of 80. George was living in Switzerland by the time of his father's death.

In 1950, having been approached by former Albion Rovers teammate Dougie Wallace, Stein signed for non-league Welsh club Llanelli. For the first time in his career, he became a full-time professional footballer, earning £12 per week. Llanelli had gained promotion to the Southern League in 1950 and signed several Scottish professionals. In 1951, the club's application to join the Football League was rejected and there were rumours of financial problems. All but two of the Scottish professionals left.

In December 1951, on the recommendation of reserve team trainer Jimmy Gribben, Celtic bought him for £1,200. He was signed as a reserve but injuries incurred by first team players resulted in him being elevated to the first team. In 1952 he was appointed vice-captain; when captain Sean Fallon suffered a broken arm, the captaincy was passed to Stein.

Celtic finished eighth in the Scottish League during 1952–53 and were only invited to the pan-British Coronation Cup tournament due to their large support base. Celtic beat Arsenal, Manchester United and Hibernian to win the trophy. This success was built upon in 1953–54, as Stein captained the side that won a League and Scottish Cup double. It was their first League championship since 1938 and first League and Scottish Cup double since 1914. As a reward for their achievement, the club paid for all of the players to attend the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland. Celtic had also sent their players to watch the England v Hungary match in 1953. Stein was influenced by Scotland's poor preparation and the impressive performance of Hungary. Stein received his only international recognition in 1954, when he was selected for the Scottish Football League XI. It was not a happy experience for Stein, as his direct opponent, Bedford Jezzard, scored two goals as The Football League XI won 4–0 at Stamford Bridge.

In 1954–55, Celtic finished second in the league and lost the 1955 Scottish Cup Final to Clyde. Stein was forced to retire from football after suffering persistent ankle injuries during the 1955–56 season. While playing in a friendly in Coleraine in May 1956, he landed awkwardly and rolled over on the ankle. Two weeks later he had an operation to remove a bone nodule, after which he was ordered to rest until fully recuperated. While on a holiday in Blackpool, the ankle irritated Stein, who found that it had become septic. He was no longer able to flex the joint and had to stop playing, officially retiring on 29 January 1957.

In July 1957, Stein was given the job of coaching the Celtic reserve team. His squad included a number of young players who would later play under him in the first team, including Billy McNeill, Bobby Murdoch and John Clark. In his first season as a coach, Stein won the Reserve Cup with an 8–2 aggregate triumph over Rangers. Despite this success, according to football journalist Archie MacPherson, Stein was told by club chairman Robert Kelly he would not progress further at Celtic due to his Protestant faith; Celtic had only previously appointed Catholics as manager, though one of these, Willie Maley had spent 50 years at the club and Stein was only the fourth person to be appointed Celtic manager, after Maley, Jimmy McStay and Jimmy McGrory, who was manager for 20 years. It was later suggested that Stein was allowed to leave Celtic temporarily with the intention of later appointing him manager, but MacPherson found no evidence for this.

On 14 March 1960, Stein was appointed manager of Dunfermline. When Stein was appointed, the team were only two points above last place and mired in a battle against relegation. The team had not won in four months, but then won their first six matches managed by Stein. To build upon this initial success, Stein signed Willie Cunningham and Tommy McDonald from Leicester City. Dunfermline became a powerful force and Stein guided them to their first Scottish Cup victory in 1961, winning 2–0 in a replayed Final against Celtic. This success prompted job offers from Newcastle United and Hibernian, both of which were rejected by Stein.

Stein was appointed manager of Hibernian in March 1964. Although Hibs had a bigger support base than Dunfermline and had enjoyed success in the 1950s, the club was struggling. Hibs had narrowly avoided relegation in 1963 and were sitting in 12th place when Stein was appointed. The players noticed an immediate difference from previous managers as Stein took an active part in practice sessions. Stein built his defence around John McNamee, who had been discarded by Celtic, and Pat Stanton. In midfield he had Pat Quinn and Willie Hamilton, who were talented players but had under-achieved. Hamilton had problems with drinking and gambling, but he produced his best performances under Stein's guidance. Stein led Hibs to victory in the Summer Cup, their first trophy in ten years. Neil Martin scored regularly and was capped for Scotland under Stein.

He returned to Celtic in March 1965, becoming the club's first Protestant manager and the fourth manager in club history. Celtic were struggling in the league and continued to have mixed results, winning his first game 6–0 at Airdrie, but then losing 4–2 to Hibs and 6–2 to Falkirk. In the period between the announcement of Stein's move to Celtic and his arrival, Celtic had progressed to the semi-finals of the 1964–65 Scottish Cup. Celtic were drawn against Motherwell, who had dangerous forwards such as Joe McBride and Willie Hunter. Stein prepared the Celtic players with tactical advice, which they had never received before. Celtic came from behind twice against Motherwell to force a replay, which they won 3–0. This set up a final against Dunfermline, who had beaten Hibs in the other semi-final. Celtic again came from behind twice before Billy McNeill scored the winning goal, giving Celtic their first Scottish Cup since 1954.

For the 1965–66 season, Stein made one major signing, Joe McBride from Motherwell. McBride rewarded Stein with 43 goals that season. Celtic lost the first Old Firm derby that season, but gained revenge by winning the League Cup final against Rangers. Celtic reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but were beaten 2–1 on aggregate by Liverpool. Five minutes before the end of the second leg at Anfield, Bobby Lennox appeared to score a goal that would have put Celtic through on the away goals rule, but it was controversially disallowed for offside. Celtic were involved in a tight Scottish league championship race with Rangers, who they also played in the 1966 Scottish Cup Final. The final was lost after a replay, to a goal by Kai Johansen. Stein blamed John Hughes for failing to mark Johansen. Celtic won the league championship, however, for the first time in 12 years.

Four days after the second leg against Dukla, Celtic defeated Aberdeen 2–0 in the 1967 Scottish Cup Final. Celtic were involved in a close race with Rangers for the Scottish league championship, decided by an Old Firm game at Ibrox on the final day of the league season. Celtic needed a point to clinch the championship. Archie Macpherson wrote in his biography of Stein that it was one of the best Old Firm games he had seen, as both sides played without a fear of losing: Rangers needed the victory to win the championship, while Stein believed Celtic's best chances lay in attacking their opponents. Rangers took the lead in the 40th minute, but Celtic equalised within a minute thanks to a "scrambled effort" by Jimmy Johnstone. Celtic went 2–1 ahead with 15 minutes remaining, when Johnstone beat some opponents then fired a left-footed shot high into the net. Roger Hynd scored an equalising goal for Rangers, but the match finished in a 2–2 draw and Celtic won the championship.

The following season, Celtic won the League and League Cup for the third season in a row. In 1969 they won another domestic treble, their second in three years. In 1970, Stein led Celtic to a League and League Cup double; they also finished runners-up in the Scottish Cup. He also guided them to their second European Cup Final, knocking out Benfica and Leeds United en route, but they lost to Dutch side Feyenoord in Milan. Around this time, Manchester United made efforts to persuade Stein to join them as manager. Stein declined their advances, a decision he later told Alex Ferguson that he regretted.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1970. Stein would have been knighted instead if not for an infamous Intercontinental Cup final match against Racing Club where four Celtic players were sent off.

Ally MacLeod had just resigned as Scotland manager, having clung to office for only one match after their failure at the 1978 World Cup. Stein advised commentator Archie Macpherson to make it publicly known that he would be interested in taking the job. Cussins, who had sacked Brian Clough after just 44 days in charge of Leeds in 1974, refused permission for the Scottish Football Association to speak to Stein. Cussins could not convince Stein to stay, however, and he resigned to accept the position of Scotland manager. Stein had been manager of Leeds for just 44 days, like Clough, although his tenure and departure had no bitterness or rancour.

The 1970s brought continued success on the domestic front. During this time Stein's Celtic completed a record of nine consecutive Scottish league championships, equalling a world record held at the time by MTK Budapest and CSKA Sofia This sustained success became routine to the extent that attendance figures fell during the later part of the run, with the decline at Celtic being above the league average. This prompted the Scottish Football League to consider league reconstruction, which was enacted in 1975.

Stein was badly injured in a car crash in 1975; he nearly died but eventually recovered. For most of season 1975–76, Sean Fallon assumed control as manager. Stein returned to his position at the start of the 1976–77 season. Davie McParland joined Celtic at this time, replacing Sean Fallon as assistant manager and working under Stein. McParland took charge of the 'tracksuit' aspects of coaching at Celtic whilst Stein watched from the touchline, still not fully recovered from the serious car smash he was involved in the year before. Stein signed Hibernian's long-serving captain, defender Pat Stanton. Later on in the season, Stein signed attacking midfielder Alfie Conn from Tottenham Hotspur. It was a transfer that surprised many, given Conn had played for Rangers in the early 70s, winning the European Cup Winners' Cup for them in 1972 and scoring in a 3–2 win over Celtic in the 1973 Scottish Cup Final. Conn became the first footballer post-World War II to play for both Rangers and Celtic. Celtic, helped considerably by Stanton's organisation of the defence, went on to win their tenth league and cup double; Celtic finished nine points ahead of Rangers in the league and beat them 1–0 in the cup final courtesy of an Andy Lynch penalty.

After Willie Ormond resigned as manager of Scotland in May 1977, Stein was approached about replacing him, but confirmed that he intended to remain at Celtic. Amidst overwhelming optimism incited by incumbent manager Ally MacLeod that Scotland would achieve great success at the 1978 FIFA World Cup, Stein was one of the few to caution against this: something he would be proven right in, as Scotland subsequently failed to qualify from the group stage.

Celtic struggled in the 1977–78 season and Stein was persuaded to stand down. He was allowed to nominate his successor, Billy McNeill, and Stein thought an agreement was in place for him to join the Celtic board of directors. Celtic instead offered a management position in their pools company, which Stein rejected as he believed he still had something to offer football. A testimonial match for Stein was played against Liverpool at Celtic Park on 14 August 1978. After the game, the Liverpool manager Bob Paisley encouraged Stein, who was three years younger than Paisley, to stay in football. There was also the example of Bill Shankly, who had experienced an unhappy retirement since leaving Liverpool in 1974.

In August 1978, Stein was appointed manager of Leeds United. The players at Leeds received the news well, but were concerned that Stein had never shown any previous interest in managing in England. Early results were mixed, although the Leeds chairman Manny Cussins detected some improvement from the previous few seasons, when Leeds had slipped from their dominant position in English football. Attendances at Elland Road were low and Stein apparently missed the pressure of big games against foreign opposition.

Stein was appointed Scotland manager on a full-time basis on 5 October 1978, which was his 56th birthday. 65,872 attended his first game in charge, a 3–2 win against Norway at Hampden, despite the bus services in Glasgow being on strike. Stein had picked a team with only players based in England, but he felt that he could bring through more home-based players. He also believed that Scotland had tended to play with too much emotion and naivety, which he wanted to replace with an emphasis on retaining possession of the football. Two defeats to Belgium meant that Scotland failed to qualify for the 1980 European Championship. This was followed by losses to Northern Ireland and England in the 1980 British Home Championship, which led to some criticism in the media.

Scotland began their qualifying campaign for the 1986 FIFA World Cup with a 3–0 win over Iceland at Hampden Park in October 1984. Paul McStay scored twice in the first half, and came close to getting a hat-trick when he struck the crossbar in the second half. Charlie Nicholas scored Scotland's third goal. Stein observed that Scotland "won with style" and singled out winger Davie Cooper along with McStay for the flair they both displayed. The Scots turned in an even better showing in their next tie, a 3–1 home win over Spain. Two first half headed goals from Mo Johnston gave Scotland a 2–0 lead at half-time. Spain pulled a goal back in the second half, but with 18 minutes remaining Kenny Dalglish dribbled past three Spanish defenders before striking a powerful shot high into the net for Scotland's third. It was Dalglish's 30th international goal, equalling the record held by Denis Law. Stein described the win over Spain as "the most satisfying since I became [Scotland] manager", adding that "we scored three goals against a quality team that came to defend". Spanish manager Miguel Muñoz praised the Scots' performance, describing them as "tremendous". Performances and results were more mixed in the later qualifying ties, losing the return match in Spain, going down to a 1–0 defeat against Wales in Glasgow and scraping a narrow 1–0 win over Iceland in Reykjavík. Scotland went into their last qualifying tie, away to Wales, needing at least a draw to secure a play-off spot.

On 10 September 1985, Scotland played Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff, in a 1986 World Cup qualification match. Wales had been leading 1–0 by a Mark Hughes goal, before Scotland were awarded a penalty kick with 9 minutes left. Davie Cooper scored to make the score 1–1; the resulting draw secured a qualification play-off against Australia. Stein, who had been in poor health and under intense pressure, suffered a heart attack at the end of the game and died shortly afterwards in the stadium's medical room. He was 62 years old. Stein was cremated at Linn Crematorium in Glasgow, at a private ceremony at which many past and present football figures were in attendance.

In 2002 Stein was voted the greatest ever Celtic manager by the club's fans, and he was voted the greatest Scottish football manager in a 2003 poll by the Sunday Herald newspaper. A bust of Stein was presented to Celtic by a supporters' group and now sits in the foyer of the stadium.

On 5 March 2011 a greater than lifesize bronze statue of Stein, by the sculptor John McKenna, was unveiled outside Celtic Park. The statue depicts Stein holding the European Cup. Celtic chairman John Reid said;