Charlie Tully: Celtic's Cheeky Chappie

Author: Tom Campbell

Charlie Tully: Celtic's Cheeky Chappie

Charlie Tully was a legend. Coming to Glasgow in 1948 he transformed the fortunes, on and off the pitch, of Celtic. After the wartime years the famous Glasgow club had slumped to the edge of relegation but things were different with Charlie’s arrival: the crowds rolled up to see this brilliant inside forward whose display of extraordinary talent recalled memories of by-gone Celtic heroes. Tully’s fame was assured when he took on Rangers’ famed and feared Iron Curtain defence and tore it to shreds in an epic 3-1 victory at Celtic Park. And there are people who still swear that they saw Charlie Tully sit on the ball during that particular Old Firm match!

The legend grew - as did the stories ... but one thing could be said of Charlie Tully: very often his exploits exceeded the myths surrounding him.

At Brockville in a Scottish Cup tie against Falkirk, with Celtic two goals down, he scored directly from a corner kick, had the goal disallowed, and scored again with the retaken corner! A few months earlier he had scored for Ireland against England at Windsor Park with a similar corner kick from the left, and that was after the cheeky Tully had assured his immediate opponent, Alf Ramsey, that the Englishman would never be picked for his country again after he had finished with him! And in the twilight of a career that brought silverware and a league flag to Celtic Park, he was outstanding at Hampden Park when Celtic defeated Rangers in the 1957 League Cup Final by 7 goals to 1...

Charlie Tully belonged to a time when players were underpaid and exploited, but he played football with a smile on his face, a man born to entertain and captivate, but a footballer above everything else.