Evan Williams has claimed that there were 200,000 fans inside Hampden for Celtic’s 1970 European Cup semi-final win over Leeds United.
As soon as the draw was made the match was switched away from Celtic Park but even with an official capacity of 136,000 Hampden couldn’t cope with the demand.
The match had everything- it was Scotland v England and Stein v Revie, two of the most prominent managers of the age alongside Bill Shankly and Matt Busby.
No hype was required but with Celtic winning the first leg 1-0 at Elland Road the return leg at Hampden virtually brought Scotland to a halt.
Barely any Leeds fans bothered making the journey to Glasgow with every which way used to gain entry into Hampden which consisted of three huge sweeping terraces with two stands holding around 15,000 supporters.
In a feature with Williams, in goals for Celtic on the night, the BBC Scotland website reports:
Before we recount Williams’ story of the time, 50 years ago, that Celtic beat Leeds United in the second leg of the European Cup semi-final at Hampden – “they say the crowd was 136,505, but it wasnae, it was 200,000” – we have to go back to Donald Burke, long gone now but a mentor to Williams from boyhood.
Billy Bremner opened the scoring for Leeds after just 14 minutes to level the aggregate scores.
Celtic weren’t to be denied, roaring back with goals from John Hughes and Bobby Murdoch early in the second half completing a double over the English champions.
How many fans were inside Hampden for the match will never be known but what can be said with certainty is that it was much more than 136,505 going by the accounts of eye-witnesses.
CLICK HERE for match details from the Celtic Wiki.