We visited McTear’s auction house in Glasgow to view the Bertie Auld football shirt collection
We visited McTear's Auctioneers to view The Bertie Auld Collection which is set to be auctioned on 12 October at exactly 10.30 in tribute to the late Lisbon Lion and Celtic legend. James Bruce who is a Valuer and Auctioneer at McTear's spoke through some of the standout pieces in the collection which included shirts from across Europe including jerseys from Dukla Prague, Leeds United, Feyenoord and Benfica as well as an Inter Milan shirt from the 1967 European Cup final.
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00:00 And the gliders, they'll take what we win.
00:06 My name's James Bruce.
00:07 I am the sporting specialist here at McTeers Auctioneers.
00:10 And we are absolutely honoured and privileged to present to you
00:16 the Bertie Auld Collection.
00:17 It's a collection that sort of encapsulates his playing career.
00:21 17 jerseys, a pair of shorts with that iconic number 10 on it,
00:25 and many of his programmes from throughout that time
00:28 playing and managing as well.
00:30 We've picked out some jerseys in that collection.
00:32 We're going to get you to just talk through some of them.
00:34 So we'll start at the far left.
00:37 It is the jersey from the European Cup semi-final in 1967.
00:42 A rather iconic Ducla Prague jersey first.
00:45 Yeah, I mean, for me, it's one of the ones that immediately catches your eye.
00:49 Just that logo itself on the shirt and a club that for a while
00:56 was no longer in existence.
00:58 But during that spell were a very dominant force within
01:02 not simply Czechoslovakia, but also within Europe.
01:06 Indeed, coming into the 1966/67 competition,
01:10 they'd reached the quarterfinals on, I believe, three occasions.
01:14 And they entered this year feeling somewhat resolute.
01:17 They feel that a strong squad and they actually saw off
01:22 Ajax, Ajax of Renis Michels, of course,
01:26 with the talismanic Johan Cruyff on their way to get to this semi-final here.
01:31 Now, this semi-final, of course, played over two legs
01:34 against Jock Steen's Lions.
01:37 The first leg rezoned in 3-1.
01:40 But what I find interesting about this game,
01:43 Steen built his reputation on playing beautiful, inventive football,
01:46 as he so rightly called it.
01:49 And during this game, after beating them 3-1 at Park Head,
01:55 he set up in a more defensive formation
01:58 just to secure Celtic's progression to the final in Lisbon.
02:02 After the match as well, this shirt was swapped with Bertie,
02:06 with a player called Josef Fazanovski,
02:07 who was something of a stalwart for the team himself.
02:10 But what an iconic shirt and an incredible part of the collection
02:15 in that season, of course.
02:16 We'll skip forward three years onto another European Cup semi-final,
02:21 Hampden Park, the venue for this one,
02:24 not Celtic Park, even though Celtic were the home side.
02:26 A Scottish football legend, Billy Bremner, who came up against Old,
02:31 but again, the great Leeds United team of Don Revy
02:33 just weren't enough to beat Jock Steen's side.
02:36 Yeah, as you say, Don Revy, a dominant force within English football,
02:41 and it was the perfect setting up for that Battle of Britain.
02:46 Billy Bremner as well.
02:48 And again, I would say this about the collection,
02:50 we've got a number of shirts and a number of them relate to key players,
02:54 whether that be Pete Kizer or indeed Rinas Israel,
02:59 who played for Feyenoord.
03:00 And it talks to the gallus nature of Bertie Olden
03:04 that he wasn't afraid after winning in many instances
03:09 and also after losing to go up to these players
03:12 who obviously respected him as well and swapped shirts.
03:15 No, this game itself stands out to me.
03:18 We've got that iconic Leeds shirt by the iconic player, Billy Bremner.
03:23 But more surrounding that, it was Billed as that Battle of Britain, as I said,
03:28 and Celtic, I believe, they won 1-0 in the first leg.
03:32 - Jordan Lee. - Yeah.
03:33 Wonderful goal at Elland Road to take the game
03:37 into that second leg at Hamden, all to play for.
03:41 And just when Billy Bremner struck this goal-scorer shirt there then as well
03:47 to bring the game level and aggregate,
03:50 Celtic come out and managed to secure the 2-1 victory
03:54 and with it the unofficial title of Champions of Britain.
03:58 But, yeah, what a shirt, what a player,
04:00 and another magnificent part of this collection.
04:03 But here again, this comes with winning.
04:05 And even the backroom staff, Neely Mawken and Sean Fallon,
04:09 see, they were characters in their own right.
04:11 They had played the game at the highest level.
04:13 And if at any time you felt as if you were having a bad game,
04:18 there were so many good players about you that they could carry you.
04:22 That was a fabulous team.
04:24 It wasn't where you're gonna win, it was how many you're gonna win by.
04:28 The same season, James, after that Battle of Britain victory over Leeds United,
04:31 Celtic get to the European Cup final 1970 in Milan, they face Fiannaord.
04:37 Of course, Celtic will be coming up against Fiannaord
04:39 in this season's European competition,
04:42 but again, it's another iconic European football jersey.
04:45 Yeah, as you mentioned, it's terrific to have that tie for this competition.
04:51 Hopefully, we do a wee bit better this time,
04:53 because going back to 1970, Celtic were the favourites.
04:57 There was no doubt about that, a team with European pedigree going into that game.
05:03 And it came to be what was known as Lisbon in reverse.
05:08 Three years on from the iconic final, where they triumphed over Inter,
05:13 Celtic come up against the Dutch counterparts,
05:18 who go on to clinch the tie 2-1, despite an early lead from Celtic.
05:23 No, it was, as said, a triumphant win for Fiannaord,
05:29 the first and only European Cup.
05:32 And it sort of opened the door, I suppose, for other Dutch teams,
05:37 including later on Ajax, of course, and their style of total football.
05:42 But another iconic shirt relating to a European campaign there.
05:47 And we'll move on to the shorts next.
05:49 I think, obviously, 60s Celtic, no numbers on the back of the jersey,
05:54 but certainly players identified by the numbers on the shorts.
05:58 And I think in the history of Celtic football club,
06:00 the number 10 will always be associated with the late Dete Bertie Old.
06:04 With Bertie Old, of course.
06:05 And I absolutely love these.
06:08 As you said, comparing them to the shirts which don't have their number,
06:12 this is just so readily identifiable as Bertie Old.
06:16 And actually brings up an interesting point.
06:19 When we hold the auction on the 12th of October,
06:22 in respect of his nickname, the sale will start at 10.30.
06:26 So 10.30 Bertie, and these are his iconic shorts.
06:30 Next up, Lisbon 1967, Celtic's greatest ever victory.
06:35 And of course the opposition in that day, the great Inter Milansi,
06:39 who were a dominant force in European football.
06:41 The Catenaccio playing football of Inter,
06:45 and again a team with European pedigree who were expected to lift that trophy.
06:50 Of course, in the heat of Lisbon, the Lions went out,
06:54 they lifted the big cup up and brought it back,
06:58 the first time it had been on British shores.
07:00 Originally, and for a long time,
07:02 this was believed to have been Armando Piqui's shirt from that game.
07:07 It is now believed that he didn't wear this during the European campaign,
07:12 but irregardless of that, it's still a shirt that as soon as you look at it,
07:17 it's readily identifiable as being one from that period,
07:22 and is one that certainly conjures up images of that glorious victory in Europe.
07:28 And almost takes you back to the tunnel as well in Lisbon.
07:31 Yeah, of course.
07:32 And particularly when we're thinking about old, you know,
07:35 singing the Celtic song, getting the boys g'd up against these tanned,
07:42 Italian film star looking players in the likes of Pichi, Bidin and Marzola.
07:49 Falling on from that, of course, we've got another interesting shirt here.
07:52 This one actually relates back to that 1970 campaign,
07:59 which ultimately ended in defeat for Celtic.
08:03 But this was an interesting one.
08:04 This was, of course, the Benfica match, the second round tie versus Benfica.
08:10 The first leg was a glorious 3-0 victory,
08:14 and everything seemed set for Celtic to progress to the next round.
08:19 However, Benfica were no mugs.
08:21 They took the game to Celtic in the second leg.
08:25 And what happened then was a 3-0 victory for them, which ultimately ended.
08:32 There was no penalty shootouts in these days with a coin toss to decide who progressed.
08:37 No, Celtic progressed.
08:39 However, Steen and Bob Kelly, despite progressing,
08:43 were still not quite happy with this being a means to resolving who would progress.
08:47 So they petitioned to what eventually became a rewriting of the rules
08:53 to get rid of coin tosses.
08:56 Again, a shirt swapped with Bertie Olds,
09:00 and one that is another jewel amongst the collection here.
09:04 And again, probably a player, obviously it isn't as Jersey,
09:07 but again, you'd think a UC Bill right away when you see that.
09:09 Oh, completely.
09:10 And there's so many shirts here.
09:14 We're talking about a golden age of footballers,
09:16 whether it be Eusebio, Johan Cruyff, Bremner,
09:21 some of these within the collection,
09:24 some just shirts that conjure up those memories of that period.
09:28 And now the oldest jersey that we've got out here.
09:32 Famously, the Lisbon Lions didn't get a lot of Scotland caps, of course.
09:36 This is one of those caps that Bertie Olds got,
09:39 but maybe not the most memorable.
09:41 Oh, completely.
09:42 You're spot on, Declan.
09:44 Now, the Lisbon Lions, as you said,
09:47 were woefully neglected by the national side,
09:51 and there's been various thoughts and hypotheses
09:56 surrounding that as to why that was the case.
09:59 Bertie Olds, there's actually an interesting thought
10:04 as to why perhaps he didn't get so many international caps.
10:08 And that relates actually back to this first game in 1959,
10:12 his international debut versus the Netherlands.
10:16 A good, strong 2-1 victory for Scotland,
10:21 but during which was sadly marred in the 93rd minute
10:25 when a fracas erupted on the pitch.
10:29 Bertie Olds himself involved and received the first
10:33 in the history of Scottish internationals,
10:36 the first ever red card.
10:39 True to his...
10:43 He was a strong, hard player and obviously won many an accolade,
10:49 but perhaps that was one accolade he didn't particularly want.
10:51 And it is believed that although he went on to win two more caps
10:56 for the national side in that same year,
10:58 that this being a period during which the teams themselves
11:04 would put forward their players
11:06 to the International Selection Committee,
11:08 it's believed by some that Bob Kelly was involved.
11:11 He was so embarrassed that he was involved in saying,
11:13 "I don't want Bertie representing the national team again."
11:17 So sadly after those two further caps,
11:19 he never pulled on the full international shirt again,
11:22 even though he went on to greater success with the Lisbon Lions.