John Clark

1941 —

Clubs: Celtic, Morton.

John Clark was born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, in 1941 and signed for Celtic in 1958. He served the club as a player until 1971 and is best remembered as being a member of the “Lisbon Lions” team that won the European Cup in 1967.

John was one of the unsung heroes of the team. A clever wing half or sweeper, his quick reading of the game made him an ideal teammate for Celtic’s centre half and captain Billy McNeill. Clark’s effectiveness as a sweeper earned him the nickname “The Brush”.

John was at Celtic Park for six of the famous “nine in a row” seasons. He also won four Scottish Cups and four League Cups, scoring once in 185 league appearances for the Celts. Along with Tommy Gemmell he was ever present in the Celtic team during the remarkable 1966-67 campaign. Clark was capped four times for Scotland and also played twice for the Scottish League. After 13 years at Celtic he moved to Morton and spent two seasons at Cappielow before retiring in 1973.

Clark had two spells as Assistant Manager at Celtic Park under Billy McNeill and is currently employed by the club as kit man, a position he has held for over 20 years, making him the longest serving Celt after Willie Maley.