Players past and present have paid their respects at the funeral of “Celtic great” John ‘Yogi’ Hughes.
A service was held at St Mary’s Church in the Calton area of Glasgow, whose church hall was the birthplace of the current Scottish champions.
Supporters paid tribute when the funeral cortege later made the short journey to Celtic Park.
One of his four children, also called John, said: “We remember a giant of a man.”
Hughes, who died earlier this month at the age of 79 after a short illness, scored 189 goals in 416 games for Celtic from 1959 to 1971, winning a European Cup-winners’ medal in 1967 and playing in the 1970 final after netting in the semi-final victory over Leeds United.
“Fun-loving, terrifying, abrasive, generous, hilarious, soft-hearted but hard as nails, with iron will, stubborn single-mindedness and focus, and gritty determination necessary in all those who make it to the top,” was how his son described him.
“He was a handsome, charismatic, fearless bear of a man, and he was our idol whose affection we sought out at every opportunity.”
Former team-mate Jim Craig recalled his first encounter with Hughes in 1958 in a Scottish Schools Cup match with the powerful forward playing for St Patrick’s High School of Coatbridge.
Craig, who came from Govan, said: “This giant came off the bus, four or five inches taller than any of us with a build to match.
“Once the game began he took control of the play from the centre-forward position and scored all of the St Pat’s goals in a 6-0 victory.”
Seven years later, former right-back Craig joined Hughes in the Celtic team.
“He was even bigger and stronger by then yet, most surprisingly for someone of that build, he had a superb first touch and a great ability to go past opponents using that touch and speed,” he said.
“The result was an excellent return of goals, many of which were in crucial games. Even more remarkably, many of those were scored from the outside-left position rather than centre-forward.
“John Hughes was undoubtedly a Celtic great, but, more importantly, a thoroughly nice man.”
Current manager Ange Postecoglou and his first-team squad attended the service and described it as “a fitting tribute to one of the legends of this football club.
“Everyone spoke really well, particularly his youngest son, because it’s not just about the footballer, it’s about the man as well,” the Australian added.
