Tommy Gemmell

Tommy Gemmell

Gemmell (1971)
Personal information
Date of birth	(1943-10-16)16 October 1943
Place of birth	Craigneuk, Scotland
Date of death	2 March 2017(2017-03-02) (aged 73)
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Left back
Youth career
1959–1961	Coltness United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1961–1971	Celtic	247	(37)
1971–1973	Nottingham Forest	39	(6)
1973	Miami Toros	0	(0)
1973–1977	Dundee	94	(8)
Total		380	(51)
International career
1966–1971	Scotland	18	(1)
1965–1968	Scottish Football League XI	5	(0)
Managerial career
1977–1980	Dundee
1986–1987	Albion Rovers
1993–1994	Albion Rovers
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas Gemmell (16 October 1943 – 2 March 2017) was a Scottish

Playing career

Celtic

In October

Gemmell made 418 appearances for Celtic and scored 63 goals.[12] This total comprised 247 league (37 goals),^[11] 43 cup (5 goals), 74 league cup (10 goals) and 54 European (12 goals) appearances. His record for penalties was 34 goals from 37 attempts.^[13] He placed sixth for the Ballon d'Or in 1967 and 24th in 1968.^[14][15]

In his book, Lion Heart, Gemmell revealed that, during his time at Celtic, he was on the receiving end of sectarian abuse from certain teammates; he and teammate Ian Young had been the target of "a handful" of colleagues who had wanted an all-Catholic team.^[3] He also stated that he received verbal abuse on several occasions from some supporters of Old Firm rivals Rangers due to his perceived status as a 'turncoat' (as a Protestant who played for Celtic), such as when attending matches many years after retiring.^[3]

Later career

In December 1971, Gemmell transferred to Nottingham Forest to cover for Liam O'Kane. At the end of that season Forest were relegated from the top flight.^[16]

In 1973 he had a short stint with the

After retiring as a player, Gemmell stayed to manage Dundee from 1 June 1977 to 15 April 1980.[4]^[21] He signed Jimmy Johnstone, his former teammate at Celtic, for Dundee.^[3]

Gemmell later managed Albion Rovers from 1986 to 1987^[22] and again from 1993 to 1994.^[23]

Later life and death

In 1994, Gemmell sold his collection of Celtic medals at auction for £32,000; they were purchased by Glasgow businessman

Gemmell died on 2 March 2017, aged 73, after a long illness.[12]^[4][26] His funeral was held on 10 March with a procession starting from Celtic Park, and was attended by former teammates, serving Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson.^[27]

References