Lawrie Reilly: Centre forward who had everything

IT would only take a minute or two in Lawrie Reilly’s company to understand what made him tick as a footballer.

Lawrie Reilly with shirts he wore for Hibs and Scotland in the Hibs museum at Easter Rd. Picture: Kenny Smith

Direct and to the point, he was always straightforward and never one to sit on the fence. No room for doubts or hesitation. Just go for it. One of life’s enthusiasts and a guy bubbling with energy. Overall, the ideal temperament for a top-class centre-forward.

There were, of course, also certain God-given talents such as tremendous skill, vision and athleticism.

However, Lawrie’s natural mental aptitude for such a role struck me first when I interviewed him for Sunshine on Leith: Hibernian’s Finest Sons (Mainstream) and he dismissed his nickname “Last Minute Reilly” with a wave of the hand.

“Ach, it was a load of nonsense. Just newspaper talk. One had worked out I had scored 19 last-minute goals. But what about all the goals I got, say, in the 44th or 46th minute? It was just because one of them happened to be on such a famous occasion at Wembley in 1953. But I always played to the whistle, like any pro should, so there was nothing special about it. “

Typical Lawrie. Never one for frivolity or fuss. But his ability to cut through not just the flannel, but defences saw him score 22 goals in 38 caps for Scotland, a better strike rate (0.58) than Denis Law (0.54) or Kenny Dalglish (0.28). Lawrie also scored 14 times in 14 appearances for Scottish League XI.

But what was so iconic about Lawrie is five of these goals came at Wembley, at a time when the annual match against England was the pinnacle of the international football calendar. Will there ever be another Scot who can claim such an accolade?

Lawrie was in a class of his own, a big-time player who always produced on the highest stage – unlike many other great players, including even the man he revered as the greatest of them all, Gordon Smith.

Lawrie also liked to stress he couldn’t fail to score as the focal point of a forward line such as the Famous Five. He was unstintingly generous in his praise and respect for Smith, Eddie Turnbull, Bobby Johnstone and Willie Ormond.

He was also the only one of the Five who was born and bred a Hibs fan, a point this one-club man liked to emphasise. The Hibs support never forgot and held him dear to them.

On a few occasions I was honoured to be on a panel with him at a fan forum where he always got a standing ovation. One time Pat Stanton, Mickey Weir and I were asked which of the young guns blooded by Bobby Williamson and flourishing under Tony Mowbray would go on to be the biggest star? As the three of us mused over an answer, Lawrie butted in.

“None of them. They’re no’ fit to lace Pat or Mickey’s boots”.

He was right and it brought back the first time I’d spoken to Lawrie. It was in his pub, The Bowler’s Rest and my loudmouth cousin was waxing lyrical about Alex Cropley as the greatest Hibs midfielder of all time.

“Is that not right, Lawrie?”

“Sh***. He’d never have got a game with the Famous Five.” And he carried on pouring pints.

Of course, Lawrie knew what he was talking about. He was that rare thing, a truly great player. But he wore it all lightly and was always accessible to fans because he was one of us. He never tired of recalling his favourite game, the most exciting he’d ever seen. “New Year’s day 1973. That 7-0 walloping of Hearts had everything”.

The only time I ever saw him down was after the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Dundee United in 2005. As I climbed back on to our bus he seemed distraught.

“Lawrie,” I asked “are you all right?’

“I’ll never see it happen,” he muttered and looked up at me. “I’ll never see them win the cup”.

He’d told me years before his only regret was he’d never won the Scottish Cup with Hibs.

“We won three league championships, but God just didn’t want it to happen. It was such a big thing to win the cup in those days. The league was not as important as it is today with the European Cup. But with the cup you could come back and parade it through Edinburgh.” He was also the only one of the Five who was a native son of the city.

That day, he thought, was his last chance. It came to mind again when I previewed this year’s final for The Scotsman which Lawrie missed due to his health and he was right. He never did live to see it happen.

But while Lawrie Reilly never got that medal or saw his beloved Hibs win that trophy, what he gave to Hibs and Scottish football during his career was so much more, not least for those remarkable feats at Wembley.