Jock Stein - Playing Career

Playing Career

Born in Burnbank, South Lanarkshire, Stein saw football as his escape from the Lanarkshire coal mines. In 1937 he left Greenfield school in Hamilton and after a short time working in a carpet factory went down the pits to become a miner. In 1940, Stein agreed to sign for Burnbank Athletic, but his father vehemently objected. Soon afterwards, he instead joined Blantyre Victoria, another local junior club.

Stein first played for senior club Albion Rovers as a trialist in a 4–4 draw against Celtic on 14 November 1942. Three weeks later, manager Webber Lees signed Stein for the Coatbridge club. He continued to work as a miner during the week, which was a reserved occupation during the Second World War. This allowed Stein to play regularly, as many of their other players were serving in the Armed Forces. He had a brief loan spell with Dundee United in 1943. Rovers won promotion to the First Division in 1947–48, for only the fourth time in the club's history. During the 1948–49 season, Rovers conceded 105 goals, won only three league games out of 30 and were relegated back to the Second Division.

In 1950, Stein signed for non-league Welsh club Llanelli. For the first time in his career, he became a full-time professional footballer, earning £12 per week. Llanelli had gained promotion to the Southern League in 1950 and signed several Scottish professionals. In 1951, the club's application to join the Football League was rejected and there were rumours of financial problems. All but two of the Scottish professionals left.

Stein initially left his wife Jean and young daughter Ray in Scotland when he moved to Llanelli. His family moved down soon afterwards, but his council house in Hamilton was burgled about eight weeks after they moved. Jean wanted to return to Scotland, and Stein accepted her desire in light of his own disillusionment with the problems at the club. When asked what he would do by the Llanelli manager, Stein said he would probably quit football and become a miner again.

In December 1951, on the recommendation of reserve team trainer Jimmy Gribben, Celtic bought him for £1,200. He was signed as a reserve but injuries incurred by first team players resulted in him being elevated to the first team. In 1952 he was appointed vice-captain; when captain Sean Fallon suffered a broken arm, the captaincy was passed to Stein.

Celtic finished eighth in the Scottish League during 1952–53 and were only invited to the pan-British Coronation Cup tournament due to their large support base. Celtic beat Arsenal, Manchester United and Hibernian to win the trophy. This success was built upon in 1953–54, as Stein captained the side that won a League and Scottish Cup double. It was their first League championship since 1938 and first League and Scottish Cup double since 1914. As a reward for their achievement, the club paid for all of the players to attend the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland. Celtic had also sent their players to watch the England v Hungary match in 1953. Stein was influenced by Scotland's poor preparation and the impressive performance of Hungary. Stein received his only international recognition in 1954, when he was selected for the Scottish Football League XI. It was not a happy experience for Stein, as his direct opponent, Bedford Jezzard, scored two goals as The Football League XI won 4–0 at Stamford Bridge.

In 1954–55, Celtic finished second in the league and lost the 1955 Scottish Cup Final to Clyde. Stein was forced to retire from football after suffering persistent ankle injuries during the 1955–56 season. While playing in a friendly in Coleraine in May 1956, he landed awkwardly and rolled over on the ankle. Two weeks later he had an operation to remove a bone nodule, after which he was ordered to rest until fully recuperated. While on a holiday in Blackpool, the ankle irritated Stein, who found that it had became septic. He was no longer able to flex the joint and had to stop playing, officially retiring on 29 January 1957.