The Old Celtic Park

I'm sure the toilets just ran along most of the jungle, not all. I could be wrong though. Didn't spend a lot of time there. I was young but still knew those toilets were awful.
And my Dad took me to the 1976 European Cup Final. I was 10 years of age but what it did I remember most was the Bayern Munich fans. I loved every second of it, and instilled in me a love for Bayern Munich I still have to this day. No where near the love I have for the greatest team in the world, Celtic FC, but a love I still have.

 

Off topic but l stayed near Hampden and went up to hang about and was going to nip back and watch it on the telly. A St Etienne fan asked us if we had a ticket and pulled out a wad of them and gave us 1 each. Swapped a tricolour for a St Etienne flag and remember all the French handing out triangular (like jubilees) cartons of red wine.

 

£1.50 to get in.

Getting in early, going to the back of the jungle so we could be right in with all the singing etc. Only to have to move to front by the time the game kicked off cause we couldn't see * all.

If we got separated, meeting under the floodlight pylon between the jungle and celtic end at the end of the game

The red ash bus park beside the graveyard at the rangers end.

Albert kidd doing a lap of honour before warm ups on the 1st game of the 86/87 season.

Trophy day against dunfermline 88. Standing directly in front of the white wall above one of the entrances up to the celtic end, cracking view. At the early goal there was a surge forward, I got crushed against the wall and passed out. Came to on a gurney going past the dugout seriously confused. Sent to the royal in an ambulance and missed the rest of the day.

 

You must be as hard as *!!!!!!

 

Naw I just liked it.

I still like it. Although a lot of the same sights are gone now.

You've have had to be hard as * to walk the London Road way up by Bridgeton Cross or Duke Street up by Bristol Bar.

Gallowgate was and is our territory. San Toi or Calton Tongs (ya bass) I believe. But Celtic territory anyway

 

Hun pal was in the hun end at Hampden late 70's and two heavies came up to him rattling a bucket, "you'll be wanting to make a wee donation to the cause" (UDA/UVF) "No thanks" he replied only to be told "we weren't asking"

 

I've heard of a lot of stories of similar things in the terracing. People crushed and passing out and being crowd surfed to the ambulance folk pitch side.

It was all treated as normal up until Hillsborough.

I was in the Celtic End and the Jungle in it's last days....no massive crowds to speak of. 40k against rangers probably the biggest.

My father says last uncomfortable game on the terracing was 88 winning league v dundee....a good few folk hospitalised apparently

 

Heard stories of this before.

How the * do u accidentally end up in the rangers end though you have to ask? It's pretty obvious when your going through the turnstile

 

Played a midweek game against Falkirk late 80's, attendance 8,000 and when we came out the ground within 5 minutes there was practically nobody else round about us. Walked through Bridgeton Cross and they had a young guy out challenging people while all the rest of them were standing in the pub doors ready to step in when it kicked off. Luckily for us he was mouthing off to someone else at the time. There were a few comments shouted at us to get a reaction. Never walked through that shithole again.

Drove through it minutes before that poor lad got murdered in the 90's

 

* kiosks right next to the toilets and i mean right next to them. You could smell them overwhelmingly while getting your pie and bovril. Nobody batted an eyelid though. Whit Health and Safety? you were lucky if you didnae get a * end in your chips

 

He was a hun

 

I'm on a comedown man and this guys frying my nut

 

I seen some Celtic man, in the 90s, well trained *, must have been a boxer or something.....knocked out 3 of them right in front if their daft bandstand at the cross. They had spat on his daughter walking past. He sparkled them. One after the other, scarfs, ulster flags and all

* impressive. I was just a teenager. This was like a van damme movie to me at the time

 

Mid 80's when attendances were mid to high teens, they signed that * Johnstone and we thought, "big crowd today, best get up early" Absolutely mobbed, must have been anything between 40/50,000. Kelly/White official attendance 28,000

 

Ah sorry. Misread your original post.

It's good to have hun pals....it makes you feel better about yourself....constant moral booster....things could always be worse

 

How much do u think the old park could hold though? Having no official capacity it's anyone's guess.

60,000 tends to be the regular figure quoted for big games
Although it depends how far back u go. 1930s crowds are some crazy figures.

Also it couldn't have held that much when switching Leeds game to hampden in 1970 was nessescary.

 

The European games l went to in the early 70's regularly had official attendances of 75,000. Add on the lift overs, people who skipped in and the thousands the old board skimmed off for themselves and you could have another 20,000 at least. When leaving these games along Janefield Street you just got swept along with your feet barely touching the ground.

The Leeds game at Hampden could have had another 30/40,000 in that night yet my memory of it was being on the front wall in the wee enclosure in front of the south stand and there being plenty of room

 

The bonnybridge bus had to park at Shawfield (Clyde's old park) and they had to walk to hampden from there...it was that busy...ma da tells me....and there was a lot lot less vehicles in 1970 obviously.

Apparently the Hampden terracing was better than Celtic Park and less crushes would happen at Hampden cause it was designed better. Celtic Park was smaller and had a log of 'bottle neck' areas that could be really dangerous

 

Even when the ground was packed to the rafters in the 80s the official attendance would be 40- 45k.

Some folk used to say that was deliberate on the clubs part due to tax reasons. It was probably more to do with the amount of people that would dodge in.

That Dundee game was nuts. I was right down the front of the celtic end for that but you could barely move up the aisles it was that packed.

 

No wonder folk would run on the park at the end of the game... to get out of the crush probably.

Really dangerous and careless when u consider it now