John Clark: The quiet Lisbon Lion who helped Celtic roar in Europe

Rhyl Journal

7 hours ago

From player to coach, assistant manager to kit man, the defender from Lanarkshire served the Parkhead club in eight decades before his death at the age of 84.
His main honours from over 300 games played for Celtic are four league championship medals, three Scottish Cup gongs, four League Cup final triumphs and, of course, the European Cup medal for the 2-1 win over Inter Milan in Lisbon in 1967.
Clark, though, was well known for his modesty. He said: 'I never wanted any of that (fame or celebrity). It wasn't me. I preferred being in the background.'
He was born on March 13, 1941 in Bellshill and was brought up in Chapelhall and Holytown.
Aged just 10, his railwayman dad John was killed by a train.
Clark told the Herald: 'He'd been working on the tracks and a signal was supposed to operate, but it never did. The train appeared from nowhere and killed him instantly.
'It left my mother (Lilly) a widow, with two young kids, and six months pregnant with another. I'll never forget that day.'
As he grew up, Celtic were his team.
John made his Celtic debut in 1959 and would go on to make well over 300 appearances in the hoops, with his finest hour coming in the heat of Lisbon in May, 1967.
While John was one of our greatest, he never saw himself as that, his own humility never allowing him to do so 💚🦁
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) June 23, 2025
'The first major game I first saw Celtic was against Clyde at Hampden in the Scottish Cup final in 1955 – and Celtic lost the replay,' he told the club's website.
'When I left school, the first game I can remember was Celtic against Manchester United at Celtic Park.
'It took place in the afternoon because it was in our pre-floodlight days. I had just got a job, it was my first day at work and I asked if I could get away early.
'Luckily the guy was a Celtic supporter and let me away, as you wouldn't get many people letting you away on your first day in the job.
'So I managed to go and watch the Busby Babes. And the year before I signed for Celtic I was on the Hampden terracing for the 7-1 game (against Rangers). Those are the games that stick out.'
Clark played for Larkhall Thistle before he signed for the Hoops as a 17-year-old in 1958, making his debut in a 5-0 win at Arbroath a year later.
However, it the 1960-61 season that he made his mark as a left-half with Jock Stein, who arrived in 1965 to revolutionise the Parkhead club.
Clark was switched to sweeper beside captain Billy McNeill and became a lynchpin of the side, integral to their relentless success for the rest of the decade.
His final game for Celtic came on May 1, 1971 when Stein brought the Lisbon Lions together to take a final bow at Celtic Park in a 6-1 win against Clyde (Ronnie Simpson's shoulder injury meant he was involved only in the warm up).
He left Celtic for Morton in the summer of 1971 with team-mate Stevie Chalmers and he retired there two years later.
For all his success at Parkhead, Clark earned only four caps for Scotland, making his debut against Pele's Brazil in 1966 at Hampden Park where the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
He also played European Championship qualifiers against Wales and Northern Ireland the same year with his final appearance in dark blue coming against Russia in 1967.
After finishing playing with Morton, Clark returned to Parkhead as a coach in 1973, helping with the youths and reserves before joining former defensive partner McNeill as his assistant manager at Aberdeen and Celtic.
Clark went into management himself and had spells with Cowdenbeath, Stranraer and Clyde in the 1980s and early 90s before returning to Celtic Park as a kit man in 1997.
He was a fixture at the Celtic's Lennoxtown training complex where he would see players come and go, many not initially familiar with the club great.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of John Clark following his passing today.
A Celtic stalwart and beloved member of the Lisbon Lions, John was also capped by Scotland during a glittering playing career. pic.twitter.com/bPOWN04Hum
— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) June 23, 2025
In a Daily Record interview in 2014, he said: 'Well, I don't go about telling them. But the players spread the word. They will come up and ask if it's true.
'If they are down in my room I just show them the photograph of us with the European Cup. I'll say to them, 'There have been big changes since then but take a look at that. The thing in the middle with the big handles is the thing you'll always want to win. I won it!'.'
Clark treasured his life-long association with the club.
'I was a Celtic supporter, a Celtic player, it's been my life,' he said in a matchday programme interview.
'I get a lot of satisfaction when I think that I started my working life with Celtic and I'll finish it with them. I've really enjoyed my life. When I look back I couldn't ask for any more. I've been a really lucky guy.'