Ronnie Simpson

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This article is about the Scottish football goalkeeper. For the Scottish rugby union player, see Ronald Simson.

Ronnie Simpson
Personal information
Full name Ronald Campbell Simpson[1]
Date of birth (1930-10-11)11 October 1930
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 19 April 2004(2004-04-19) (aged 73)
Place of death Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1946–1950 Queen's Park 78 (0)
1950–1951 Third Lanark 21 (0)
1951–1960 Newcastle United 262 (0)
1960–1964 Hibernian 123 (0)
1964–1970 Celtic 118 (0)
Total 602 (0)
International career
1948
Great Britain
1953–1957 Scotland B 2 (0)
1967–1968 Scotland 5 (0)
1968 Scottish Football League XI 1 (0)
Managerial career
1971–1972 Hamilton Academical
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ronald Campbell Simpson (11 October 1930 – 19 April 2004) was a Scottish

Great Britain in the 1948 Olympics,[3] but was not selected for Scotland until 1967. He made his international debut in the famous 3–2 victory against England at Wembley
.

Club career

Simpson started his senior career with amateur club

Second World War.[2][4] He was 15 when he made his first Scottish Football League appearance in August 1946.[5]

After completing his

1955.[2]

After nine years and almost 300 appearances for Newcastle,[6] Simpson returned to Scotland, with Hibernian, in 1960.[2][7] His performances helped to save Hibs from relegation in 1962, but he fell out of favour under the management of Jock Stein due to his attitude in training.[2] Hibernian sold Simpson to Celtic in 1964 for £4,000.[2]

Thought to be in the last throes of his career, Celtic signed Simpson as cover for

1964 Scottish League Cup Final.[2] His sense of humour made Simpson a popular figure in the team, who nicknamed him "Faither", on account of his relative old age.[2]

The highlight of his time at Celtic was winning the

Scottish League Cup, Simpson stood alone as the first goalkeeper to win the European Treble and remains the only goalkeeper to win the fabled Quadruple.[9][10][11]

He suffered a dislocated shoulder in 1969,

1970 European Cup Final and to retire as a player that year.[2]

International career

Simpson represented the Scotland Youth side in a match against England Youth played on 25 October 1947 at Belle Vue, Doncaster. He was selected by

Great Britain squad in the 1948 Olympics. Great Britain finished fourth, losing a bronze medal playoff to Denmark.[2]

Simpson also played for the

Scottish League once, in 1968.[15]

Style of play

Simpson was small in stature for a goalkeeper, at just 5 feet 10 inches.[2] He compensated for this with an unorthodox style of shot-stopping, using his elbows and shoulders to block shots.[2] He also had top-class foot movement and ball distribution skills.[2]

Personal and later life

Simpson's father Jimmy Simpson also played for Scotland,[2] and enjoyed notable success as a centre-half for Rangers and Dundee United in the 1930s.

After Ronnie Simpson retired as a player, he was manager of

Edinburgh City Council in the 1970s.[16] Simpson died from a heart attack on 19 April 2004.[17]

Awards

In 2002, Simpson was named in Celtic's greatest ever team, ahead of

Pat Bonner.[18]

He was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in November 2011.[19]

Honours

Club

Newcastle United[2]

  • 1955

Celtic[2][8]

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Ronnie Simpson". Barry Hugman's Footballers.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Ronnie Simpson". The Daily Telegraph. 22 April 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Ronnie Simpson". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  4. ^ Paterson, Colin (1 May 2013). "Airdrie coach's pride at Jordan Allan debut". Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. Scottish & Universal Newspapers. Archived from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  5. ^ Simpson, Ronald Campbell, QPFC.com
  6. ^ "Player Details : Ronald Campbell Simpson". Toon1892.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  7. ^ Hibernian player Ronnie Simpson, FitbaStats
  8. ^ a b Celtic player Ronnie Simpson, FitbaStats
  9. ^ "Who has won a treble, including domestic league and cup titles, plus the European Cup or UEFA Champions League?". UEFA. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  10. ^ Jensen, Neil Fredrik (1 June 2022). "Celtic 1967 – the only quadruple winners". Game of the People. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  11. ^ Sinnet, Bobby; Jamieson, Thomas (16 June 2023). "Fallon, John Player Details". FitbaStats. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  12. ^ a b "England 2-3 Scotland". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  13. ^ Oldest and Youngest Players and Goal-scorers in International Football, RSSSF, 20 September 2018
  14. ^ Scotland B player Ronnie Simpson, FitbaStats
  15. ^ "Ronnie Simpson". LondonHearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  16. ^ Brian Glanville (22 April 2004). "Obituary: Ronnie Simpson". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Lisbon Lion Simpson passes away". The Guardian. 20 April 2004.
  18. ^ "Jinky best-ever Celtic player". BBC News. 9 September 2002. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  19. ^ Pattullo, Alan (14 November 2011). "Pat Crerand and Terry Butcher among new boys in Hall of Fame". The Scotsman. JPI Media. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  20. ^ "Fellow Lions lead farewell to Ronnie Simpson". HeraldScotland. 28 April 2004. Retrieved 19 May 2019.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ronnie_Simpson&oldid=1211342962"