FIFTY years ago today, eleven men went to Lisbon and came back as Lions.

Amongst them, Saltcoats’ very own Bobby Lennox. 

When Celtic won the European Cup, becoming the very first Scottish, British, and non-Latin club to do so, the Lisbon Lions instantly became ingrained in the history of Scottish Sport and celebrations and Saltcoats’ favourite son was an integral part of that journey to immortality. 

Born in August 1943, the young Bobby always said he was too shy to join in at football and didn’t start playing until he was 12-years-old. He was spotted by Celtic when playing for Ardeer and signed up for the current Scottish Champions in 1961 and made his debut the following year in a 2-1 win over Dundee. 

Bobby’s greatness on the footballing field cannot be underestimated. He was a menace to any defence that he came up against, a natural-born goal scorer and the ultimate professional. When you look at Celtic’s greatest ever team, Bobby is there. When you look at the top scorers of all time, Bobby is there in second place, ahead of Henrik Larsson and only behind the great Jimmy McGrory. When you look at the top appearances for the club, Bobby comes in at number seven and sits on the list alongside fellow Lisbon Lions Jimmy Johnstone and Celtic’s best ever captain, Billy McNeill. 

A career that started and ended in Glasgow’s East End, only split up by a six month stint in the United States in 1978, Bobby Lennox was, and still is, a massive part of Celtic football club but also a massive part of North Ayrshire and the Three Towns. 

Bobby had the chance to move to Glasgow when playing for the Hoops but the home town hero decided to stay true to his roots and remain in Saltcoats, where he remains to this day with his loyal wife Kathryn. 

Although he was only capped ten times for Scotland, Bobby will always be remembered for that goal he scored in the defeat of then World Champions England at Wembley in 1967. 

Many continue to admire Bobby and what he did for football in the area and just last year a campaign was launched to get the great man a statue in his home town. The campaign is going from strength to strength with the first of three stages set to start in the very near future. 

The support is testament to the man and the way in which he is respected is testament to his character. 

Football fans of all persuasions and from all over the local area have great respect for the man that put the wee seaside town of Saltcoats on the map. 

Saltcoats, Lennox and Lisbon will now always be linked together because of what happened on May 25, 1967. 

The Buzzbomb – a local hero, legend and friend to many. 50 years on and still making so many people smile.