George Best Hibs debut.

[erin go bragh]

🗓️| 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 in 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟗 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 made his debut for Hibernian away to St.Mirren
One of the world's greatest ever players played for us.

[BILLYHIBS]

Was there a big travelling support and lots of curious neutrals 13798 brave souls turned up which was a good home gate for St Mirren

Looked slower than in his heyday and a bit overweight had lost the pace and mazy dribbling solo runs but still had the vision, football brain, awareness and range of passes pinging 40 yard balls out to Tony Higgins that made him a delight to watch and well worth the admission money

Scored a last minute consolation goal in a 1-2 defeat taking a short corner from Ralph Callachan and curling a shot high past Billy Thomson from the edge of the box

[He's here!]

🗓️| 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 in 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟗 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 made his debut for Hibernian away to St.Mirren
One of the world's greatest ever players played for us.

The following week at home to Partick, a game which in those grim times would normally have attracted about 5k, saw a crowd of nearly 25k.

[Itsnoteasy]

🗓️| 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 in 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟗 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 made his debut for Hibernian away to St.Mirren
One of the world's greatest ever players played for us.

Got the programme, signed by the man himself.

[babahibs]

I was there with my brother and dad, jeez, was it really 45 years ago..........

[Stanton Spence]

I was also there and my mate ran on the pitch during the warm up to get his autograph it’s been a long 45 years 😂

[Ralphy C]

I was also there and my mate ran on the pitch during the warm up to get his autograph it’s been a long 45 years 😂my 1st ever league away game, ball came over towards the corner flag during warm up and GB came to get it and my mate jumps on pitch and passes the ball to him. small claim to fame but not many people could say theyve passed the ball to George Best.
:flag:

[Keith_M]

When Best arrived at Hibs, we had one win from the previous fourteen games.

Sounds spookily familiar.

:rolleyes:


p.s. We were relegated that season, so that's possibly an omen

[leith lynx]

Was there and remembering it pished down all day, well worth the drenching tho! As somebody else said, 45 years, WTF.

[wookie70]

The following week at home to Partick, a game which in those grim times would normally have attracted about 5k, saw a crowd of nearly 25k. I think there was 25k on the east terracing that day.

[HarpOnHibee]

When Best arrived at Hibs, we had one win from the previous fourteen games.

Sounds spookily familiar.

:rolleyes:


p.s. We were relegated that season, so that's possibly an omen

Just goes to show that a marquee signing doesn't carry a team, not when surrounded by dross. We need a combination of players that can gel together into a functional unit. What we have right now is not a functional unit.

[Hibiza]

The following week at home to Partick, a game which in those grim times would normally have attracted about 5k, saw a crowd of nearly 25k.

My Father rip, took me to that one .

[flash]

I still remember him opening the tyre fitters at Piershill along with his Miss World wife.

That's the equivalent of Messi opening a new Lidl nowadays.

[He's here!]

Just goes to show that a marquee signing doesn't carry a team, not when surrounded by dross. We need a combination of players that can gel together into a functional unit. What we have right now is not a functional unit.

To be fair to Best he did his best to carry the team when he played, which wasn't that often due to his off-field issues. Inspired us to a cracking win over Rangers and a battling draw with Celtic. His goal in the latter game seemed to carry the Celtic keeper into the net!

[Bostonhibby]

I still remember him opening the tyre fitters at Piershill along with his Miss World wife.

That's the equivalent of Messi opening a new Lidl nowadays.

Me too, there was a prize draw at the time and my mum won it, cannae remember what she got but Best presented it, half the pub were there[emoji16]

Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk

[Liberal Hibby]

To be fair to Best he did his best to carry the team when he played, which wasn't that often due to his off-field issues. Inspired us to a cracking win over Rangers and a battling draw with Celtic. His goal in the latter game seemed to carry the Celtic keeper into the net!

Yup - that's how I remember it too. There was also a cup semi at Hampden v Celtc which if I recall correctly Best (along sometimes with Ally McLeod) played everyone off the park (including Jock Stein's champions) for about 20 minutes. Then they just stopped playing (they were both at the time able to play longer than that). After that Celtc went on to score five without reply. It was as if Best realised there was no point in playing as he was so far ahead of everyone (bar McLeod) that there was no point.

[Lancs Harp]

Spirit in the Sky

[darwenhibby]

Just goes to show that a marquee signing doesn't carry a team, not when surrounded by dross. We need a combination of players that can gel together into a functional unit. What we have right now is not a functional unit.


And as Eddie Turnbull said in his book!
If he’d been given that money on 3 players we would not have been relegated.
Still good to have a world class legend playing for the Hibs

[Ray_]

Yup - that's how I remember it too. There was also a cup semi at Hampden v Celtc which if I recall correctly Best (along sometimes with Ally McLeod) played everyone off the park (including Jock Stein's champions) for about 20 minutes. Then they just stopped playing (they were both at the time able to play longer than that). After that Celtc went on to score five without reply. It was as if Best realised there was no point in playing as he was so far ahead of everyone (bar McLeod) that there was no point.

:agree: In the next day's Sunday's, Best was named MOTM.

[Pagan Hibernia]

Hibs wasn't Best's finest hour and nor was his time here Hibs' finest hour.

Still, I'm glad it happened. He sprinkled stardust on the place for a handful of games

[Ray_]

And as Eddie Turnbull said in his book!
If he’d been given that money on 3 players we would not have been relegated.
Still good to have a world class legend playing for the Hibs

Unfortunately, our performance in the transfer market had gone seriously downhill long before relegation. Henderson, Scott, Fyffe, Ward, and Hutchison were just some of the reasons we failed to replace Harper as a regular goal scorer until Irvine, Cowan, and Durie in the eighties.

[gbhibby]

When Best arrived at Hibs, we had one win from the previous fourteen games.

Sounds spookily familiar.

:rolleyes:


p.s. We were relegated that season, so that's possibly an omen
So that will be Ronaldo coming to us in January then
🙏🏼

[wookie70]

I still remember him opening the tyre fitters at Piershill along with his Miss World wife.

That's the equivalent of Messi opening a new Lidl nowadays. I was there too. Him and Angie Best

[greenginger]

I still remember him opening the tyre fitters at Piershill along with his Miss World wife.

That's the equivalent of Messi opening a new Lidl nowadays.

It was a Kwik Fit depo. I wonder if Tom Farmer was there .

[norhfc]

45 years is mental, I was there as a young 15 year old. Me and my mates missed his goal as we where making our way out behind the old stand at Love St.

[BILLYHIBS]

I remember just before he signed he made a half time presentation out on the pitch during a boring 1-1 draw versus Kilmarnock in front of 5500

As he was introduced to the crowd all necks were straining up into the Stand to get a better view of Angie Best

Highlights : Dancing on Ice versus Rangers in a 2-1 win at Easter Road

Rolled back the years with a fine individual goal in a 2-0 win over Dundee in front of 5000

Lowlight : Failing to turn up for a Scottish Cup tie versus Ayr United after being out on the lash with the French Rugby team and Blondie

[Ray_]

I remember just before he signed he made a half time presentation out on the pitch during a boring 1-1 draw versus Kilmarnock in front of 5500

As he was introduced to the crowd all necks were straining up into the Stand to get a better view of Angie Best

Highlights : Dancing on Ice versus Rangers in a 2-1 win at Easter Road

Rolled back the years with a fine individual goal in a 2-0 win over Dundee in front of 5000



[/Lowlight : Failing to turn up for a Scottish Cup tie versus Ayr United after being out on the lash with the French Rugby team and Blondie

If I remember correctly, Bestie was initially sacked because of this and during the same weekend, we announced Peter Cormack's return.

[Liberal Hibby]

Lowlight : Failing to turn up for a Scottish Cup tie versus Ayr United after being out on the lash with the French Rugby team and Blondie

I suspect most people would count that as a career highlight to be honest...

[babahibs]

A night with Debbie Harry or playing for Hibs?
That's a difficult one........

[He's here!]

I remember just before he signed he made a half time presentation out on the pitch during a boring 1-1 draw versus Kilmarnock in front of 5500

As he was introduced to the crowd all necks were straining up into the Stand to get a better view of Angie Best

Highlights : Dancing on Ice versus Rangers in a 2-1 win at Easter Road

Rolled back the years with a fine individual goal in a 2-0 win over Dundee in front of 5000

Lowlight : Failing to turn up for a Scottish Cup tie versus Ayr United after being out on the lash with the French Rugby team and Blondie


Some footage of the Rangers game here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV3p4UIot4w

I still remember that win being a brilliant Christmas present after what had been such an awful season up until then. My dad wouldn't take me to games against the Old Firm and I remember waiting excitedly to watch it on Sportscene that night, refusing to believe we'd actually won until I saw it!

Lovely first goal. Had forgotten Colin Campbell scored the winner...a small measure of revenge for being denied a stonewall penalty against Rangers in the Scottish Cup final that year!

[BILLYHIBS]

Ally Donaldson later said in an article the goal George Best scored against him that night was similar to the undernoted goal he later scored in the NASL

https://youtu.be/o8wGN5uDaVg?si=D0HSm5_XumRc7fYx

[Lago]

The following week at home to Partick, a game which in those grim times would normally have attracted about 5k, saw a crowd of nearly 25k.
And I and my late father in law were there. 👌

[weecounty hibby]

Some footage of the Rangers game here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV3p4UIot4w

I still remember that win being a brilliant Christmas present after what had been such an awful season up until then. My dad wouldn't take me to games against the Old Firm and I remember waiting excitedly to watch it on Sportscene that night, refusing to believe we'd actually won until I saw it!

Lovely first goal. Had forgotten Colin Campbell scored the winner...a small measure of revenge for being denied a stonewall penalty against Rangers in the Scottish Cup final that year!

My memory may be playing tricks but I think that win against the hun also had a fair bit of bother on the terraces. I think that the tarts game had either been cancelled late or abandoned and a pretty large number of them came into the Hibs end late on. Along with their big cousins from the west it led to quite a battle

[wookie70]

The goal against Celtic where Latchford ends up in the net is still one of my favourite ever Hibs goals. I know it is apples and oranges but you look at that team with passes being played ahead of men and decent finishes and you wonder how modern footballers are so poor with the ball. That was a crap Hibs team back then too but I still think they were mostly better on the ball and that is on pitches like ploughed fields. I can't imagine many would have a second touch as a sending off tackle like half our team these days

[weecounty hibby]

The goal against Celtic where Latchford ends up in the net is still one of my favourite ever Hibs goals. I know it is apples and oranges but you look at that team with passes being played ahead of men and decent finishes and you wonder how modern footballers are so poor with the ball. That was a crap Hibs team back then too but I still think they were mostly better on the ball and that is on pitches like ploughed fields. I can't imagine many would have a second touch as a sending off tackle like half our team these days
Again, memory might be playing trick but I remember that game. We were, as you say, pish at the time and celtic were champions. They were singing about being champions but when best scored there was a huge cheer and a very defiant round of Hibees, Hibees. Funny what you remember, or not as the case may be! But I'd love to have an Ally McLeod in the team now

[He's here!]

Ally Donaldson later said in an article the goal George Best scored against him that night was similar to the undernoted goal he later scored in the NASL

https://youtu.be/o8wGN5uDaVg?si=D0HSm5_XumRc7fYx

He looks slimmer there than he did playing for Hibs before that.

[wookie70]

Again, memory might be playing trick but I remember that game. We were, as you say, pish at the time and celtic were champions. They were singing about being champions but when best scored there was a huge cheer and a very defiant round of Hibees, Hibees. Funny what you remember, or not as the case may be! But I'd love to have an Ally McLeod in the team now

He was a very good player and looking at the clips a bit more mobile than I remember. Oh to have his vision and weight of pass now in the team not to mention his finishing from outside the box. Football is more about legs and aerobic ability now compared to feet, heart and baws back in the day. I know which version I preferred especially looking at those crowds and the atmosphere we used to have. I'd also consider myself the least fortunate generation of Hibs fans as I missed the Tornadoes. The olders guys at least got the Tornadoes and some were lucky enough to see the Famous Five and the big European games in front of massive crowds on for a pittance compared to today's prices. Getting back on topic though at least I got to see one of teh greatest players to have ever played in a Hibs strip and scoring goals against the Uglies. That will never happen again

[Bridge hibs]

The goal against Celtic where Latchford ends up in the net is still one of my favourite ever Hibs goals. I know it is apples and oranges but you look at that team with passes being played ahead of men and decent finishes and you wonder how modern footballers are so poor with the ball. That was a crap Hibs team back then too but I still think they were mostly better on the ball and that is on pitches like ploughed fields. I can't imagine many would have a second touch as a sending off tackle like half our team these daysI was at that game and if memory serves me right the pitch was icy, that made the Best goal even better because of the underfoot conditions

[Pagan Hibernia]

He looks slimmer there than he did playing for Hibs before that.

Maybe the California climate agreed with him.

I just find it generally sad watching George in the latter stages of his football career because you can see how time and alcohol abuse has ravaged his body. Different times of course and early to mid 30s then can't be compared to now with the advancements in training, discipline and diet, but he just doesn't look like George Best to me in those Hibs clips. The Best of 1966-71 was a tiny thin waif who just glided past people as if they weren't there. By the late 70s of course he still had the talent and vision, but he wasn't George Best

[ancient hibee]

19th anniversary of his death today.

[Pagan Hibernia]

19th anniversary of his death today.

Same date as Maradona 4 years ago

[Keith_M]

My memory may be playing tricks but I think that win against the hun also had a fair bit of bother on the terraces. I think that the tarts game had either been cancelled late or abandoned and a pretty large number of them came into the Hibs end late on. Along with their big cousins from the west it led to quite a battle


You're not misremembering, there was a large number of Huns in the top section of the East Terrace, and they were throwing bottles down on the Hibs fans in the lower section.

A load of the more radge Hibs Fans moved up the back to 'politely discuss their behaviour'

[He's here!]

Maybe the California climate agreed with him.

I just find it generally sad watching George in the latter stages of his football career because you can see how time and alcohol abuse has ravaged his body. Different times of course and early to mid 30s then can't be compared to now with the advancements in training, discipline and diet, but he just doesn't look like George Best to me in those Hibs clips. The Best of 1966-71 was a tiny thin waif who just glided past people as if they weren't there. By the late 70s of course he still had the talent and vision, but he wasn't George Best

He was still good value for those of us who saw him tho.

[Billy McKirdy]

The following week at home to Partick, a game which in those grim times would normally have attracted about 5k, saw a crowd of nearly 25k.

The last game I went to with my old man, he passed the following June having seen us get relegated, still a memorable day seeing Georgie Best superstar playing in a Hibs top.