The Scotland Epistles Football Magazine

So here’s another cover with John Greig shaking hands with Bobby Moore. This was from the previous year’s Auld Enemy encounter at Hampden which unfortunately we lost 4-3. Two goals from Jimmy Johnstone and one from Denis Law weren’t enough to stop us losing.
However, this is a preview issue for the 1967 match and we all know how that one finished, surely? Just in case you didn’t we hammered England 3-2 with goals from Bobby Lennox, Law and Jim McCalliog to become the unofficial World Champions!
So open the first page and what do you get? With the title saying “It must be Eng-land, Eng-land”, a guy called Pat Collins is “reviewing the Wembley meeting of the World Champions and Scotland “
There is some interesting narrative in it too, in reference to England’s World Cup win; “ many still doubt the worth of that England achievement. The Scots are out to make nonsense of the contention of those, myself included, who will forever insist that the best team won the World Cup.”Sounds a bit like just because you keep saying it doesn’t mean it’s true.
A bit further on he is talking about how great England fans were the previous year during the World Cup Finals and says “ And for once the Englishmen will be backed real cheers, like those of last July and not the tiny whimper of yesteryear” Oh dear got that wrong too.
Further on in the magazine, John Greig is saying “England may be World Champions but they’re not world beaters” Too right John. In another article well known Scottish journalist Ken Gallacher tips the Scots to win.
There’s also fresh faced photos of Ronnie McKinnon and Billy Bremner in club colours. There is also some clips of games from yesteryear but too many showing English goals, although there is a nice shot of Hughie Gallacher scoring from the 1928 Wembley Wizards game.

There’s also a two page article on the Mighty Atom: Bobby Collins and his move to Bury from Leeds. Bobby had a fifteen year career with Scotland which included a six year gap between ’59 and ’65. In total Bobby played 31 games for Scotland scoring ten times
. Going back to the first article, Pat Collins say ‘he pays scant attention to the recent Under 23 game between the countries”, however quite interestingly there is a match report on the game. Scotland beat England 3 – 1 at St. James Park Newcastle. The first goal being scored by Jim McCalliog who of course would make his full international debut at Wembley scoring a goal in the 3-2 defeat of England. Jim also graces the back cover of the magazine.

The full Under 23 line up was Bobby Clark (Aberdeen), Jim Whyte (Aberdeen), Hugh Tinney (Partick Thistle), Pat Stanton (Hibs), Tommy McMillan (Aberdeen), Eddie Gray (Leeds), Peter Cormack (Hibs), Tommy McLean (Kilmarnock), Jim McCalliog (Shef. Wed), Jim Smith (Aberdeen) and Ian Mitchell (Dundee Utd). Jim Smith and Peter Cormack were the other scorers. Seven of the team would go on to full honours; Clark, Stanton, Gray, Cormack, McLean, McCalliog and Smith.

David Stuart

First posted on Facebook May 19th, 2015