When the McNeill family asked Celtic supporters to celebrate the life of Billy they got exactly the response that they would have hoped for.
His Celtic days, well certainly from 1965 is well documented but there were plenty of other aspects to his life with the back story adding greatly to the legend.
Born during the second World War into an immigrant Lithuanian family there weren’t many creature comforts to enjoy in his early life in Bellshill.
As his football career developed at Our Lady’ High School he caught the eye of Blantyre Victoria who gave him a real life grounding in football where no allowances are given to bright young talents.
After a very long apprenticeship at Celtic the trophies finally arrived, his life had developed from Bellshill through the south side of Glasgow and onto Newton Mearns where he put a lot into the local community, watching closely the sporting development of his grand-children.
Among the Saint Cadoc’s congregation he would find some familiar faces including Tommy Burns, Sean Fallon and Davie Hay. Newer Celt’s such as Chris Sutton would also discover the man behind the legend, someone that was happy to mix with fans and share the memories of his incredible career.
Amidst the outpouring of emotion today, it’s also worth remembering that Billy is the grandchild of Lithuanian immigrants to Scotland
We have Kafis and Ursula Walatkaviczus to thank for deciding to to settle in Bellshill and for providing us with our most iconic sporting moment pic.twitter.com/hmfW79lrmI
— CelticResearch (@CelticResearch) April 23, 2019
On 17 March 1940 , Billy McNeill was baptised in Holy Family Mossend
The same font still stands today in our Parish
Pictured is a copy of his baptismal record, A photo of him at Holy Family PS & his Iconic photo of himself with the European Cup#BillyMcNeill #hailcaesar pic.twitter.com/SOVUmK78KM— Sancta Familia Media (@sfmmossend) April 23, 2019
It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of former @OLHSMotherwell pupil Billy McNeill today. A great ambassador for Scottish football and an excellent role model for many pupils, not only past and present, but for many years to come. RIP
— Our Lady’s High (@OLHSMotherwell) April 23, 2019
We are saddened to learn this morning of the death of former Vics player and Celtic & Scotland captain, Billy McNeill. Everyone at the club has been devastated by this news and pass on our deepest condolences to Billy’s family and friends. pic.twitter.com/1HHlYtTueD
— Blantyre Victoria (@BlantyreVicsJFC) April 23, 2019
All of us at St Cadocs Youth Club would like to offer our deepest condolences to the McNeill family following the passing of Scottish football legend Billy McNeill. Billy was a massive supporter of our club and was a regular attendee at SCYC matches over the years. #RIPLegend
— St Cadocs Youth Club (@StCadocsYC) April 23, 2019
