The Scotland Epistles Football Magazine

So here’s another magazine cover from Charlie Buchan’s football monthly of July, 1964 this time. The photo is from the Home International match against England in April of that year. 4 Englishmen and one lone Scot who seems to be causing a bit of a panic. The Scotsman is of course Alan Gilzean, then of Dundee, playing in his third game for Scotland. The England players are Bobby Moore, Gordon Banks, Johnny Byrne and on the goal line Ray Wilson. Perhaps they were right to be panicked as Gilzean would score the only goal of the game in the 72nd minute in front of a Hampden crowd of 133,245.
Gilzean would go on to score 12 goals for Scotland in 22 games which is a really good return for a Scottish striker. There can’t be too many Scots who can claim to have scored against West Germany / Germany three times, having scored a double in a friendly shortly after this game in a two all draw. Gilzean also scored in a World Cup Qualifier in October 1969, which saw the Scots go down 3-2 to an 81st minute goal and our dreams of Mexico ’70 went that way too. Mind you nor can there be too many Dundee players who have scored four goals at Ibrox either. For further reading on Gilzean, I wholeheartedly recommend ‘In Search of Alan Gilzean: The Lost Legacy of a Dundee and Spurs Legend’ by James Morgan. In the Scotland team, two players were making their debuts, goalkeeper Campbell Forsyth of Kilmarnock and John Greig of Rangers. Forsyth would play 4 games in total for Scotland, Greig rather more. In fact, Greig would play in the next 20 consecutive games for Scotland and overall amassing a total of 44 caps, scoring three goals including his unforgettable 88th minute winner against Italy at Hampden in a World Cup Qualifier in November 1965.
The full Scottish line up was; Forsyth, Alex Hamilton (Dundee), Jim Kennedy (Celtic), Greig, Billy McNeill (Celtic), Jim Baxter (Rangers), Willie Henderson (Rangers), John White (Tottenham), Gilzean, Denis Law (Man Utd.) and Davie Wilson of Rangers.

There’s not much of Scottish interest going on in the magazine itself except for an unusual action photo of Denis Law from a Scandinavia v Rest of Europe game (probably not that unusual as Denis was most likely going full tilt at the time). Denis was one of three Scots in the Europe line-up, which also included Jim Baxter and among the subs Alex Hamilton. The game was held to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Danish Independence. Europe won 4-2 with Denis getting a goal, alongside Eusebio and a Jimmy Greaves brace.
Law and Baxter had represented the Rest of the World in a game against England the year before to mark the anniversary of the forming of the Football Association. England won the game 2-1 with Greaves scoring again as did Denis.