One week in April 1968

By John Glackin.

It meant a lot for a 13 year old kid, going to Hampden for the first time
On the day we won the Scottish Cup – was there an Old Firm Conspiracy – you bet there was…

Across Glasgow, as 56,000 souls attended the Cup Final, Rangers played Aberdeen in a League game, critical to the former, in that a win would contribute to the League title.

Wasn’t to be – Aberdeen won, and, irony of ironies, Alex Ferguson, formerly of the PARS parish, even scored for his Ibrox hopefuls…

The Cup Final had 56,000 in attendance, and this other game had 35,000 – maybe this explains why this crowd for a Cup Final was lower than expected for a national occasion……

There’s part scepticism about all this – it might have been because we knocked the European Champions out, on the way to our day at Hampden….

Anyway, back to the Paranoia….

What followed on the following Tuesday, gave Dunfermline a record crowd, never likely to be beaten at home.

The 28,000+ fans, from Fife & Glasgow, witnessed a celebration from 2 Trophy teams, a PARS lap of honour with the Cup, thousands locked outside, and the harrowing sight of Weedgies stuck up the Floodlight pylons…

The score was 1-2, almost incidental on the night, and it gave an introduction to George Connelly, a local boy indeed, in his first Celtic outing.

When we won the Cup on the Saturday, massive celebrations ensued, all the way back to Fife. We ran 3 busses from Inverkeithing, and, from what I can recall, quite a few of our bus bodies, went adrift in Glasgow…….

As for me, I spent the Saturday evening in a teenage tantrum, coz the 2 adult stalwarts who were my minders, had done their supervisory duty, left me sitting on my council house stairway, suitably forgotten, and they were last seen bouncing off the tables in the Queens Hotel……..

Great weeks to follow – there was a PARS Cup Night at the Civic Centre – Scottish Cup in full regalia – for fans, players & aficionados…….

It didn’t happen too often – but it happened then….

To the boys of ’68 – thanks for the build-up, the performance on the day, the stunning European years to follow, and the impact on the town.

JOHN GLACKIN – aged 63 and a half……