John Hughes was a colossus at Celtic. A giant. But fellow Lisbon Lion Jim Craig knew that long before the duo even got to Parkhead after a first fearsome encounter during the pair’s school days.
Hughes’ tragic passing at the age of 79 has deeply saddened Celtic fans across the globe. Being part of the club’s most-successful squad who went all the way in Lisbon in 1967 to lift the European Cup during an incredible period of success places him forever in their hearts. Yogi’s character and style also made him a hero.
Wholehearted, brave, yet crucially, extremely talented to such an extent his pal feels he was underrated by many. Jimmy Johnstone was the undoubted wizard of the squad with his skills but Craig says Yogi wasn’t far behind. Hughes’ tally of 187 goals puts him in an elite bracket of Celtic players. Craig had felt the force of that scoring knack even before the duo went to Celtic.
He’d had first-hand experience of the attacker’s power and nose for the net before he’d even stopped putting a school bag over his shoulder. He said: “What memory of John stands out?
"I have to go even further back to before Celtic. When I was 15 at St Gerard’s secondary school in Govan, we were entered in the Scottish Cup and drawn against St Pat’s, Coatbridge. None of us knew where it was. In those days, you tended to stay in your own area!
“Anyway, their bus arrived and there was this giant who came off it. We were all 15 years old. I was about 5ft eight and skinny as a poker and this giant came off the bus. He looked like a colossus. From another planet, to be honest!
“They beat us 6-0 and he scored all six from centre-forward. Fortunately I was at right-back that day and I managed to avoid him for most of the game. I became an expert at picking just the right time to tie my laces!
“That was my first memory of coming across him. Then when I got to Celtic Park he was bigger again. One day I asked him about that game and he said, ‘Aye, I think I remember’. I said, ‘You think? Six goals? You should remember it!’’
Hughes just took those traits from youth into a magnificent first-team career at Parkhead which spanned a dozen years. He scored on his debut and just kept going.
Some of his most iconic goals will live forever in memory. Two in the 1965 Scottish Cup Final to beat Rangers. One against Leeds in front of a record-breaking attendance at Hampden in a European Cup semi-final of 1970.
The list is almost endless yet it wasn’t just his talents. It was his nature which appealed as Yogi was loved by fans and team-mates. Craig said: “John was a big, easy-going fella and one whose talent was not always appreciated.
“I mean Jinky in terms of sheer ability on the ball was in a class of his own. But next to him was Yogi and for a guy his size and build, he had wonderful control with a ball at his feet.
“Doing those runs we used to do in training between the cones, Yogi was like a ballet dancer. A big, burly ballet dancer, right enough! But he would glide around and take the ball wherever he wanted.
“The great thing about our team is that, although we were not in and out of each other’s houses every day, we would just sit wherever when you went down for breakfast at a hotel together because every single person got on. We were the same on the park and John was as friendly and approachable as everyone else.”
The powerful play and at times aggressive style which sparked Feed The Bear chants did, however, combat another side. Craig said: “John used to worry about things a bit. That sometimes interfered with his play.
“At that time you didn’t get any help. Outside the physical aspect, there was no help or anything like that before a game. If you said you were a bit nervous, or had an injury, or felt a bit below-par, it would be dealt with back then by an: Ah just get on with it, it’s a game of football.
“Everyone was treated like that. Not just in football. Everything was. Times have changed. You were just told to get on with it.
“For example, in this day and age, I look at athletes at the Commonwealth Games. If one of them said they were feeling a little bit below-par or carrying a slight injury, I’m sure they wouldn’t be told just to get on with it.
“You get some who are very confident and sail through life with no issues at all. Then you get ones with a lot of talent and ability like Yogi had but sometimes have that drawback of being unsure over what’s expected of them in a game. But John overcame it all right. He did it brilliantly. What he did at Celtic was just superb.”
He certainly did. The levels of admiration and love for him have been shown with the outpouring of emotion and tributes.
Craig has no doubt where his pal ranks in the history of the Celtic. Quite simply, he said: “John is among the greats. The number of goals he scored in the number of games he played puts him right up there.”
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