Billy McPhail, the younger brother of former Hoops skipper John, enjoyed a brief but memorable Celtic career.

A clever and skilful centre-forward McPhail signed for the Bhoys in May 1956 from city rivals Clyde and he made his debut in a 2-1 League Cup win at Aberdeen on August 11th.

The signing was seen as a gamble with McPhail’s career with the Bully Wee being badly hit by a series of injuries.
But there was no doubting the talent of the player and in two seasons at Celtic Park he ensured his eternal place in Celtic history and in the hearts of all followers of the Bhoys.

In his first season (1956/57) Billy – who was nicknamed ‘Teazy Weazy’ - scored twice in the League Cup final replay as Celtic defeated Partick Thistle 3-0 to lift the trophy for the first time. He was to return to Hampden the following year and it was then that he would really make his mark in football folklore.

On October 1957 in front of 82,000 supporters at Hampden Billy McPhail scored a wonderful hat-trick as Celtic retained the League Cup with a now legendary 7-1 routing of rivals Rangers.

McPhail simply massacred Rangers centre-half Valentine that afternoon. He beat him in the air, he beat him on the ground. Valentine simply couldn’t get anywhere near his man. McPhail ran his marker ragged all afternoon and such was the torment of the player and the Ibrox club’s support that a shower of bottles rained down from the Rangers end as Billy calmly slotted home his third – and Celtic’s sixth.

Unfortunately the injury jinx returned to haunt McPhail and after just two seasons in the Hoops his career came to a sadly premature end due to knee problems. He had played 57 games and scored 38 goals as a Celt.

Billy McPhail was a consistently excellent performer but it will be for his Hampden performances that this hugely popular player will forever be remembered.






NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:

Hoops bid farewell to hat-trick legend Billy
News of the World (London, England)
April 6, 2003
Estimated printed pages: 1


CELTIC legend Billy McPhail has died in hospital after a long battle with illness.
The former Parkhead star, 75, died on Friday night at Glasgow's Canniesburn Hospital.

Billy, from the city's Maryhill district, is survived by wife Ophelia, a retired shop-owner.

The striker become a Hoops hero when he scored a hat-trick during Celtic's 7-1 win over Rangers in the 1957 League Cup final. Billy and his team-mates -including Bobby Evans, Bertie Peacock, Willie Fernie and Charlie Tully -were immortalised in poems and songs written about the day by ecstatic Celtic fans.

The star player joined the Celts in 1956 and also played for Clyde and Queen's Park in a career spanning 17 years.

He was widely known for his Ronald Colman-style moustache.

In 1998 he launched a legal battle to claim benefits for the dementia he said was caused by heading leather balls.

A benefits appeal tribunal ruled against him.