Jock Stein

Widely regarded as the father of modern Scottish football, Jock Stein was a giant of the game. His death in September 1975 at the end of the Wales-Scotland World Cup qualifying match in Cardiff was felt as a personal loss by the millions of fans who idolized him, and plunged Scotland into mourning. In this biography by the Scottish football writer Ken Gallacher, friends, fans and players share their memories of the man, his life and his legend. Born into a mining family, Jock Stein worked down the pits for eleven years before turning to full-time professional football at the age of twenty-seven. He bcame an influential captain of Celtic, and when his playing career was cut short by an ankle injury he made the change to manager. Full of energy and original ideas, he not only steered Celtic to nine League Championship titles in a row - a record unlikely ever to be equalled - but also guided them to a famous victory in the 1967 European Cup, the first British side to win that prestigious competition.
He left Parkhead in 1978 to manage Leeds United, having survived heart trouble and a car crash that almost killed him, but two months later he returned north to take control of the Scotland team. He took them to the World Cup finals in Spain in 1982, and they were half-way to qualifying for the Finals of 1986 when he died. This book, written with the full co-operation of Jock Stein's family, recreates the character of an extraordinary man and reflects on his achievements in the game he dominated for almost a quarter of a century.