It was a year book-ended by extreme sadness as a result of the Ibrox and Clarkston disasters; one being a deadly football stadium crush on January 2, the latter earning the dubious distinction as Scotland’s worst peace-time explosion on October 21.
Fifty years on, these twin tragedies, which claimed almost 90 lives, are still mourned, debated, and discussed in fine detail.
Meanwhile, there were other seismic events in Glasgow that were making headlines far beyond the dear green place.
In June 1971, the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders consortium went into receivership as a result of a policy by the then Conservative government to cease offering further support to so-called “lame duck" industries.
In an effort to keep the yard open, union representatives at the shipyard, led by figures including the late great Jimmy Reid, decided to stage a “work-in”, completing the yard’s orders and hopefully dispel the notion that the workers were work-shy.
The government relented to the demands of the workers in February 1972, creating two new firms: Govan Shipbuilders and Scotstoun Marine Ltd.
Prominent financial backers of Reid’s campaign included ex-Beatle John Lennon, who contributed £5,000.