Simply the BEST

[gbhibby]

https://twitter.com/unitedrewind/status/1575428671149580289?t=6svtPUp_iwHCB1n0MWZv1g&s=19
Better than all the rest

Sent from my SM-A127F using Tapatalk

[OldEast]

https://twitter.com/unitedrewind/status/1575428671149580289?t=6svtPUp_iwHCB1n0MWZv1g&s=19
Better than all the rest

Sent from my SM-A127F using Tapatalk

The greatest I've seen.

[Lago]

https://twitter.com/unitedrewind/status/1575428671149580289?t=6svtPUp_iwHCB1n0MWZv1g&s=19
Better than all the rest

Sent from my SM-A127F using Tapatalk
Privileged to have seen him play for Hibs, even though his best days were past.

[hibeg]

I was there for most of his games, debut at St Mirren was a let down🥺
Legs had gone but still some player
Ally McLeod was good in that soul destroying season as well.
Late 70s onwards were not the greatest time for Hibs, drove me to drink 😂

[BILLYHIBS]

Legs had gone but still a class act

Highlight

Mazy solo goal versus Dundee on a Tuesday night in 1980 in a 2-0 win at Easter Road where he bobbed weaved dribbled and dummied his way through the Dundee defence beating at least eight players twice to be greeted by Ally Donaldson not even moving only applauding after the ball had entered the net

Lowlight

15000 Hibbies at Easter Road on a freezing sunny Sunday for an important Scottish Cup tie at Easter Road versus Ayr United only to be told five minutes before kick off that Willie Murray would be playing instead of George Best

Saw most of his games yes the pace and dribbling skills had gone but he still had the vision fitba brain 40 yard passing and entertainment value that made him worth the admission money alone

[gbhibby]

Legs had gone but still a class act

Highlight

Mazy solo goal versus Dundee on a Tuesday night in 1980 in a 2-0 win at Easter Road where he bobbed weaved dribbled and dummied his way through the Dundee defence beating at least eight players twice to be greeted by Ally Donaldson not even moving only applauding after the ball had entered the net

Lowlight

15000 Hibbies at Easter Road on a freezing sunny Sunday for an important Scottish Cup tie at Easter Road versus Ayr United only to be told five minutes before kick off that Willie Murray would be playing instead of George Best

Saw most of his games yes the pace and dribbling skills had gone but he still had the vision fitba brain 40 yard passing and entertainment value that made him worth the admission money alone
The game against Dundee was a masterclass, what I remember was also his passing ability that night, 40 to 50 yard passes to teammates right on the button.

[leftpeg]

Legs had gone but still a class act

Highlight

Mazy solo goal versus Dundee on a Tuesday night in 1980 in a 2-0 win at Easter Road where he bobbed weaved dribbled and dummied his way through the Dundee defence beating at least eight players twice to be greeted by Ally Donaldson not even moving only applauding after the ball had entered the net

Lowlight

15000 Hibbies at Easter Road on a freezing sunny Sunday for an important Scottish Cup tie at Easter Road versus Ayr United only to be told five minutes before kick off that Willie Murray would be playing instead of George Best

Saw most of his games yes the pace and dribbling skills had gone but he still had the vision fitba brain 40 yard passing and entertainment value that made him worth the admission money aloneSure Willie Murray got a hat trick that day!....Bestie was out on the randang with the French rugby team

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

[BILLYHIBS]

Can still feel the sense of disappointment

Hibs won 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals the goals coming from Duncan Lambie and Ally( Bestie couldnae lace ma boots ) Macleod 😀

Willie Murray was a good player for Hibs never let us down

Bestie was put up for sale on the Monday

[JimBHibees]

Sure Willie Murray got a hat trick that day!....Bestie was out on the randang with the French rugby team

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

Nah Hibs Ayr Eddie May scored a winner in injury time. Huge crowd massive queues can remember seeing Ian Durrant in the queue he as with all must have been gutted when Best wasn't playing.

[bigwheel]

Nah Hibs Ayr Eddie May scored a winner in injury time. Huge crowd massive queues can remember seeing Ian Durrant in the queue he as with all must have been gutted when Best wasn't playing.

Unless I’m confused with the point you’re making….Eddie May would have been around 12 / 13 years old when Best played for Hibs ..Durrant the same age


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[BILLYHIBS]

Nah Hibs Ayr Eddie May scored a winner in injury time. Huge crowd massive queues can remember seeing Ian Durrant in the queue he as with all must have been gutted when Best wasn't playing.

1986

It was going to be our year ah tell ye !

We did reach the League Cup Final

[oneone73]

1986

It was going to be our year ah tell ye !

We did reach the League Cup Final

Wasn't that 85?

[BILLYHIBS]

Wasn't that 85?

Yip was the same season though 27/10/85

Eddie May scored the winner in a hard fought Scottish Cup tie Feb 86 versus Ayr United and against Celtic March 1986 in the never to be forgotten 4-3 victory

GGTTH

[Pagan Hibernia]

The 1966-70 version of Best… ridiculously good and world class and I hope Man Utd fans lucky enough to have been around at the time and going to games realise how privileged they were..

the 1979-80 version that we got? Well it was an exciting chapter in our history I suppose but that’s about the height of it

[Mick O'Rourke]

The night before the Ayr game,George teamed up with Blondie/Debbie Harry.
He must have swithered,had more bubbly, then tossed a coin..

Hibs or Debbie !!? :dunno: :greengrin


Oor Jackie Mac tells the Debbie Harry story in this real good article on George and Hibs.


https://www.scotsman.com/news/george-best-hibs-flawed-genius-2443544

[Numptie]

Best lived up to our motto 'Persevere' - When at Hibs he took a medication that makes you sick every time you drink alcohol. But he battled through and managed to keep on drinking. My pal and me went to the first game early to see Brit Ekland and saw them both get out the limousine.

[Mick O'Rourke]

Best lived up to our motto 'Persevere' - When at Hibs he took a medication that makes you sick every time you drink alcohol. But he battled through and managed to keep on drinking. My pal and me went to the first game early to see Brit Ekland and saw them both get out the limousine.


Mrs Angie Best would not have been happy at that :greengrin

Britt certainly jumped aboot!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

The 1966-70 version of Best… ridiculously good and world class and I hope Man Utd fans lucky enough to have been around at the time and going to games realise how privileged they were..

the 1979-80 version that we got? Well it was an exciting chapter in our history I suppose but that’s about the height of it

That's how I remember it as a young lad.

[tamig]

Legs had gone but still a class act

Highlight

Mazy solo goal versus Dundee on a Tuesday night in 1980 in a 2-0 win at Easter Road where he bobbed weaved dribbled and dummied his way through the Dundee defence beating at least eight players twice to be greeted by Ally Donaldson not even moving only applauding after the ball had entered the net

Lowlight

15000 Hibbies at Easter Road on a freezing sunny Sunday for an important Scottish Cup tie at Easter Road versus Ayr United only to be told five minutes before kick off that Willie Murray would be playing instead of George Best

Saw most of his games yes the pace and dribbling skills had gone but he still had the vision fitba brain 40 yard passing and entertainment value that made him worth the admission money alone

I was at Cappielow for his first no-show. We were all gutted. The thing I remember about that Ayr game was that there was a huge Ayr support there. Equally as disappointed as us when there was no Georgie Boy.

[Donegal Hibby]

This is before my time but i was told when he signed for Hibs in a interview ' He was asked why he signed for Hibs and stated the pubs were open a hour later in Scotland than England . Any truth in this ?

[Donegal Hibby]

Best was a legend one of the true greats . World class player going by the footage of him I've watched

[Hibbyradge]

This is before my time but i was told when he signed for Hibs in a interview ' He was asked why he signed for Hibs and stated the pubs were open a hour later in Scotland than England . Any truth in this ?

I don't think the pubs were open an hour later then, but I'm certain to there's no truth in that story anyway.

[Mick O'Rourke]

This is before my time but i was told when he signed for Hibs in a interview ' He was asked why he signed for Hibs and stated the pubs were open a hour later in Scotland than England . Any truth in this ?

Widnae have mattered.
Hibs,in their wisdom,or Tom Hart to be precise,ensconsed an alcoholic in an expensive and 24 hour licensed hotel,frequented by celebs/people as famous as George.
George,as it became clear,loved that arrangement.
It is also said he frequented the Jinglin Geordie pub in Fleshmarket Close.
Now George might have thought that was a pub he could "hide" in.
Well,no,some reporters at the Scotsman/Evening News were never out of there.
Scotsman publications staff entrance was opposite the pub door !
I used it for 2 years!

George and Hibs made a few bob during his time here.
There is no doubt some players resented the leeway George got.
Never mind the wages !
Eddie Turnbull was no longer top dog either.
He soon left Hibs. George left,too. ....
.....So did Hibs...down a division!


I,like many other fans,i met George when he was here.
Autograph signing in the Hibs Club.
My eldest grandson has the George Best Hibs scarf many bought at the time.

[flash]

Poundshop Ally McLeod.

[JimBHibees]

Brilliant appreciation of Best in one of the Hugh Mcilvanney interviews with Geoff Webster for BBC. When you listen to these and obviously Hugh is the star however they are genuinely brilliant and a must listen imo. Shows how far BBC Scotland sport has fallen

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02wfnvv

[Mick O'Rourke]

Poundshop Ally McLeod.

Are you trying to belidl George Best?

[gbhibby]

Are you trying to belidl George Best?
Best better than Ally,Aldi

[One Day]

Can still feel the sense of disappointment

Hibs won 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals the goals coming from Duncan Lambie and Ally( Bestie couldnae lace ma boots ) Macleod 😀

Willie Murray was a good player for Hibs never let us down

Bestie was put up for sale on the Monday

Ah, Duncan Lambie, remember him

[Fergos]

Nah Hibs Ayr Eddie May scored a winner in injury time. Huge crowd massive queues can remember seeing Ian Durrant in the queue he as with all must have been gutted when Best wasn't playing.

They brought a big support, got jumped by their casuals and done with a golf brolly as I waited for my pal. Lovely stuff.

Delighted when the last minute winner went in.

GGTTH

[superfurryhibby]

Widnae have mattered.
Hibs,in their wisdom,or Tom Hart to be precise,ensconsed an alcoholic in an expensive and 24 hour licensed hotel,frequented by celebs/people as famous as George.
George,as it became clear,loved that arrangement.
It is also said he frequented the Jinglin Geordie pub in Fleshmarket Close.
Now George might have thought that was a pub he could "hide" in.
Well,no,some reporters at the Scotsman/Evening News were never out of there.
Scotsman publications staff entrance was opposite the pub door !
I used it for 2 years!

George and Hibs made a few bob during his time here.
There is no doubt some players resented the leeway George got.
Never mind the wages !
Eddie Turnbull was no longer top dog either.
He soon left Hibs. George left,too. ....
.....So did Hibs...down a division!


I,like many other fans,i met George when he was here.
Autograph signing in the Hibs Club.
My eldest grandson has the George Best Hibs scarf many bought at the time.

Best’s signing seemed unbelievable to me as a 15 year old Hibee. With hindsight it was a desperate measure from Tom Hart who would have been better served letting Eddie Turnbull sign a couple of decent players and avoid that relegation that was looming.

In the end it was the final curtain on Turnbull’s long association with Hibs and It also brought the curtain down on Hart’s ownership ( did he not sell up to Kenny Waugh soon after relegation?).

Shows how far the club had fallen in that decade or so. From one of the best sides in Britain, full of top class international players, with one of the best managers in the country to scraping the barrel in the second tier of Scottish football. The years that followed were particularly grim. Rattling around on yon auld terracing watching Bertie Auld’s side...... 0-0 draw.

[BoomtownHibees]

Nah Hibs Ayr Eddie May scored a winner in injury time. Huge crowd massive queues can remember seeing Ian Durrant in the queue he as with all must have been gutted when Best wasn't playing.

Best played for Hibs 1979-80 didn’t he? Not sure how games from 1985 & 1986 are being spoken about

[gbhibby]

Best’s signing seemed unbelievable to me as a 15 year old Hibee. With hindsight it was a desperate measure from Tom Hart who would have been better served letting Eddie Turnbull sign a couple of decent players and avoid that relegation that was looming.

In the end it was the final curtain on Turnbull’s long association with Hibs and It also brought the curtain down on Hart’s ownership ( did he not sell up to Kenny Waugh soon after relegation?).

Shows how far the club had fallen in that decade or so. From one of the best sides in Britain, full of top class international players, with one of the best managers in the country to scraping the barrel in the second tier of Scottish football. The years that followed were particularly grim. Rattling around on yon auld terracing watching Bertie Auld’s side...... 0-0 draw.
Can't see a supermarket reference here

[gbhibby]

B(est) & M(cLeod) a good partnership.

[CropleyWasGod]

Best’s signing seemed unbelievable to me as a 15 year old Hibee. With hindsight it was a desperate measure from Tom Hart who would have been better served letting Eddie Turnbull sign a couple of decent players and avoid that relegation that was looming.

In the end it was the final curtain on Turnbull’s long association with Hibs and It also brought the curtain down on Hart’s ownership ( did he not sell up to Kenny Waugh soon after relegation?).

Shows how far the club had fallen in that decade or so. From one of the best sides in Britain, full of top class international players, with one of the best managers in the country to scraping the barrel in the second tier of Scottish football. The years that followed were particularly grim. Rattling around on yon auld terracing watching Bertie Auld’s side...... 0-0 draw.

Bertie knew the safe way

[gbhibby]

Best's downfall was that he refused to
Co-operate with team managers.

[BILLYHIBS]

Ah the good auld days wae ‘Bertie The Bunnet ‘ RIP

“You start with a point don’t lose it”

36 points a season safety

Grim to watch

Used to keep all his medals in his top drawer

If anyone disagreed with him he would say you show me your medals and I’ll show you mine allegedly 😀

[tamig]

Best played for Hibs 1979-80 didn’t he? Not sure how games from 1985 & 1986 are being spoken about

He also played in 80-81 in the First Division.

[JimBHibees]

Best played for Hibs 1979-80 didn’t he? Not sure how games from 1985 & 1986 are being spoken about

Fair enough bud must have got mixed up with another game.:aok:

[Keith_M]

Didn't Best play at ER, for San Jose, in a testimonial game in 1984(?)

[Donegal Hibby]

Widnae have mattered.
Hibs,in their wisdom,or Tom Hart to be precise,ensconsed an alcoholic in an expensive and 24 hour licensed hotel,frequented by celebs/people as famous as George.
George,as it became clear,loved that arrangement.
It is also said he frequented the Jinglin Geordie pub in Fleshmarket Close.
Now George might have thought that was a pub he could "hide" in.
Well,no,some reporters at the Scotsman/Evening News were never out of there.
Scotsman publications staff entrance was opposite the pub door !
I used it for 2 years!

George and Hibs made a few bob during his time here.
There is no doubt some players resented the leeway George got.
Never mind the wages !
Eddie Turnbull was no longer top dog either.
He soon left Hibs. George left,too. ....
.....So did Hibs...down a division!


I,like many other fans,i met George when he was here.
Autograph signing in the Hibs Club.
My eldest grandson has the George Best Hibs scarf many bought at the time.
Interesting stuff Mick . When I mentioned the pub remark about Best I said I was told it but I think I read it in a Hibs book ( wish I could find the book) what sticks in my mind about it was in the same book I read a chapter about another player we had with probably same problem Best had ' Willie Hamilton ' If I remember right we had been playing abroad and Willie had got Man of the match or player of the tournament and was awarded a silver shield I think it was and when he couldnt get it into his bag ,He bent it over his knee to get it to fit . That's the two things I remember now what was in the book . Bests comments about pubs open a hour later in Scotland when most players who sign for a club now a days say ' I've always wanted to play for this club' And the shield Willie Hamilton bent.Now I'm probably wrong on both these as I do get things quite wrong at times. :greengrin

[BILLYHIBS]

Didn't Best play at ER, for San Jose, in a testimonial game in 1984(?)

5/10/1981 3-1 to the Hibees

Derek Rodier 2 and the late great Erich Schaedler

Interesting footage of the first leg ( full game ) a 4-2 win for the Cabbage

https://youtu.be/VUCP_pffNQs

[Keith_M]

5/10/1981 3-1 to the Hibees

Derek Rodier 2 and the late great Erich Schaedler

Interesting footage of the first leg ( full game ) a 4-2 win for the Cabbage

https://youtu.be/VUCP_pffNQs



Cheers, Billy.

My memory obviously playing tricks regarding how much later it was after he left.

[SideBurns]

Didn't Best play at ER, for San Jose, in a testimonial game in 1984(?)

I'm sure he played in Jackie Mac's testimonial v Newcastle?

[Mick O'Rourke]

Interesting stuff Mick . When I mentioned the pub remark about Best I said I was told it but I think I read it in a Hibs book ( wish I could find the book) what sticks in my mind about it was in the same book I read a chapter about another player we had with probably same problem Best had ' Willie Hamilton ' If I remember right we had been playing abroad and Willie had got Man of the match or player of the tournament and was awarded a silver shield I think it was and when he couldnt get it into his bag ,He bent it over his knee to get it to fit . That's the two things I remember now what was in the book . Bests comments about pubs open a hour later in Scotland when most players who sign for a club now a days say ' I've always wanted to play for this club' And the shield Willie Hamilton bent.Now I'm probably wrong on both these as I do get things quite wrong at times. :greengrin


Hibs did an 8 week summer tour of North America in 1964.
It was to promote the game over there.
Other teams from throughout UK and Europe also took part in a mini league.
Willie got an award after a game. It was a silver salver.
Willie had it under his arm about to board a domestic flight in the US or Canada.
He was told it could not be taken into cabin.
So Willie fitted it into his Pan-Am airline shoulder bag :agree:
My brother told me that version.
Hibs team back then absolutely loved Willie.Jock Stein too.
Willie did not have the dependence on drink George had.
Nowhere near.He just got drunk quick!"

Link below to a great article/tributes written after Willie passed away.
When Willie retired from football .He went back to laying bricks.
Nowadays Willie would not need to do that.He would be rich !
George Best would have loved Willie Hamilton. On the football field !

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/hamiltons-forgotten-genius-lit-lives-2474732

[Donegal Hibby]

Hibs did a summer tour of North America.
Willie got an award after a game. It was a silver salver.
Willie had it under his arm about to board a domestic flight in the US or Canada.
He was told it could not be taken into cabin.
So Willie fitted it into his Pan Am shoulder bag :agree:
My brother told me that version.
Hibs team back then absolutely loved Willie.
Willie did not have the dependence on drink George had.
Nowhere near.He just got drunk quick!"

Link below to a great article/tributes written after Willie passed away.
When Willie retired from football .He went back to laying bricks.
Nowadays Willie would not need to do that.He would be rich !
George Best would have loved Willie Hamilton. On the football field !

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/hamiltons-forgotten-genius-lit-lives-2474732
Really interesting read with what you posted and the Scotsman article.Find it fascinating hearing and reading stuff on our great clubs history ,ex players and games and so on.lots to find out and learn too Thanks for the interesting posts and the Scotsman article very much appreciated :aok:

[gbhibby]

5/10/1981 3-1 to the Hibees

Derek Rodier 2 and the late great Erich Schaedler

Interesting footage of the first leg ( full game ) a 4-2 win for the Cabbage

https://youtu.be/VUCP_pffNQs
Is Derek still involved with the Spartans?