The Old Celtic Park

Anyone got any good photos or stories of it they'd like to share?

I've only ever been to the current stadium. I did see the current stadium before the JS stand was completed and we had the wee temporary stand there.




Don't think I'd have fancied being behind the goals for games, the fans look miles away from the pitch. And at the bottom left of the picture above, was that a wee industrial estate?

 

My main memory of it was constantly being terrified of falling off the barriers.

My dad would sit me on them so I could see the game. One time we scored I fell off so after that I use to just sit there in fear of falling everytime we'd go up the park.

Suppose I was fortunate we were pretty * in early 90s and didn't score much.

Moving to Hampden in 94 was such a game changer for me, I was able to actually enjoy us scoring goals and could celebrate

 

Do you have a fear of heights or falling these days?

 

I know it’s not that long ago it went down but mind that old school? There was rumours for years it couldn’t be knocked down but Celtic were going to buy it and then it into a cafe/museum.

 

Haha no. Definitely just a childhood thing

 

Would give my left arm just to be back in the old ground once more. In the jungle with my pals. A couple of which aren't here anymore.

 

Any photos of the old stadium mate?

 

Same... as long as nobody pishes on the back of my leg.

 

Haven't bud. Really now wish I had. Went to my first game in 1982 against hearts aged 6. And wee jean ( my maw) would have leathered me if I had took her good kodak camera out the house

 

See i never actually experienced that in all my years going. Know plenty that did though

 

I've heard that this used to happen at the old park.

Did that no warrant a punch in the moof though?

That would be my first reaction to someone pishing on me. It must have caused loads of fights back in the day.

Heard that before the alcohol ban folk were * in empty beer cans and lobbing them over the seperating fence into the rangers fans and vice versa.

you'd want to stand as far away from that separating fence as possible

Sure

 

Hampden 94 was another awful season. Tommy Burns first year and we actually won the Scottish Cup. But the 'home' games at Hampden were brutal.

Pish. Soulless. Nae atmosphere. Half empty. It was even half empty for the last old firm game of the season (we won 3 nil). So for that game u could buy a ticket easily on the day, or pay at the gate maybe even. Unheard of for when we played them

Paul Byrne. Mark McNally. Willie Falconer. The list of top names was breathtaking

 

I'm the same..had brilliant times especially the centenary year...1 of my best mates who used to bring the sandwiches and pork pies no longer with us. The years after the centenary were tough watching those * steam roll us and since finding out they were cheating.

 

Dad took me when I was wee and we tended to sit in the main stand, lovely orange seats . Used to get a wee slip from the ticket office with your seat number on it, I've got them in the loft actually, will look them out. I was a nervous wreck back then and was my first experience of big crowds.

On occasions the stand was sold out so we stood in the Celtic End but round beside the floodlight, had a great view of a Mike Galloway screamer against Dundee Utd.

Always had to get my packet of Celtic crisps, again, which I've kept empty ones of.

Here's me at the "old" tunnel, maybe 1991??

 

Ahh the centenary season. The best season in my lifetime. The next 5 or 6 years not so much

 

The European games in the early 70's, crowds of 75,000 and could never understand why my dad or anyone else never parked in Barrowfield as it was always empty.

Always stood in the Jungle just in line with the 6 yard box. First job was to find 6 empty beer cans that weren't squashed or full of pish to make a wee platform to stand on. Was in line with the Rapid Vienna player who got "hit" with the bottle. Bottle should never have been thrown but never went within 10 feet of the guy.

The huns end where the home and away supporters were always in the same area, when a fight broke out a big "no mans land" circle appeared with the bottles getting lobbed from either side.

Police constantly paraded round the track with fans regularly getting marched away for whatever they'd done.

Always St John's (or whatever they're called) ambulance people constantly running into the crowd to cart people (usually pished) away on stretchers. Usually there attention called for by people waving white hankies

 

Yep, lots of that happened.

 

Buster, myself and a couple of mates were nearly in line with that incident as well. We must have been quite close to each other

 

Makes you laugh, going home stinking of pish from the old terracing. Football in the 70s and 80s, good times.

 

The Huns must’ve felt really nostalgic when they were drinking out of toilets in 2022.