“A Real Honour” – Celtic Icon Jim Craig On Statue Plans

Jim Craig has never been one for the spotlight, but the Celtic great is about to be cast in it permanently.

Plans were unveiled on Wednesday for a statue of the Lisbon Lion in Govan, right across from his old primary school, St Anthony’s on Govan Road. It is a fitting location for a player who never forgot where he came from.

Craig, now 82, played his part in Celtic’s greatest day on 25 May 1967. That night in Lisbon secured immortality for the team. Now, nearly six decades on, his own place in stone is being secured in the area that shaped him.

Speaking to STV News, Craig admitted the whole thing still feels slightly surreal.

“I never thought I would be immortalised in picture, nevermind in stone.

“I’ve been fortunate to go through my life as a Lisbon Lion where I get treated very well wherever I go – apart from Ibrox I suppose!

“But no, I get treated in every Celtic household very very well indeed. It’s been a privilege to be feted like that.

“So to hear there was a statue being done, it was just the icing on the cake, you could say, and I’m very delighted about it.”

There is humour there, as always with Craig, but also a clear sense of gratitude. He knows exactly what that team means to supporters, and how it has shaped his life since.

He also made one request:

“I would hope that somebody will recognise me as the full-back in the Lisbon Lions team, so it’s up to the guy, the sculptor, to do a good job so they recognise me, you know!

“But no, it’s a great honour and a great privilege to get it done. We were lucky at the time, because eleven guys came from within a radius of 50 miles of Celtic Park. Quite remarkable.

“Everyone played their part in the iconic team. I feel so lucky to have played with them.”

That point still lands. Eleven players, all local, all part of something that has never been matched. It is why these tributes matter. They are not just about individuals; they are markers of what that team represented.

Tommy Gemmell’s statue was unveiled recently in Craigneuk, with former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill delivering the address. Craig now follows, another reminder of a generation that set the standard.

Before it all, Craig was studying dentistry at Glasgow University. He only turned fully professional with Celtic in 1965.

Everything that followed speaks for itself.

This latest tribute brings things back to where they started. Govan, a young boy with a football, and a path that would lead all the way to Lisbon.