Football in the mid-seventies was a world away from the modern game as the rarely seen video clip of Tommy Burns illustrates.
Back as Celtic’s first 9-in-a-row was coming to an end fans used to stand on large terraces drinking from cans and bottles and dumping them exactly where they stood.
Young players, known as apprentices before the phrase starlets was created, would spend Monday morning sweeping away mountains of glass and tin, into a skip and off to who knows where, re-cycling centres hadn’t been considered as the young TB earned his weekly wage.
Do you recognise who it is that’s doing a fine job of brushing down the empties on the terracing at the old Celtic Park ? pic.twitter.com/MXSAc3OZq4
— Highland__Paddy (@Highland__paddy) April 4, 2020
In April 1975 Burns made it from the terraces onto the pitch for his first team debut, becoming one of the most significant players at the club during the eighties.
Early in the eighties alcohol was banned, from inside the ground and on supporters’ buses, the result of a pitched battle at Hampden after Burns had helped Celtic to victory in the 1980 Scottish Cup Final over Rangers.
Burns returned to the new look Celtic Park in 1995 and built a team to fill the stadium. Almost 12 years on from his death his memory lives on as strongly as ever as he straddled the ages from player through to manager and Head of Youth Development.