It was inevitable one of Celtic’s greatest showmen would end up on the big stage but he never expected to be collecting a BAFTA.
That was Bertie Auld. League winners medals, Scottish and League Cup gongs, and the Big Cup (European) to boot.
Add in the Glasgow Cup and a Quizball trophy in that famous season in 1967.
But he could also add an award from the acting fraternity to his huge collection of accolades.
An Oscar is the only thing that was missing and you wouldn’t have put it past wee Ten Thirty if he put his mind to it.
Celtic and Scottish football are mourning the loss of one of the all-time greats.
Barely 5ft 5ins but a giant of our game. A Lisbon Lion and also so much more than that.
There will be tears in the green and white half of Glasgow, but also beyond, at the lost of a legendary player and a remarkable man at the age of 83 after a battle with dementia.
Fellow Lion Jim Craig has also lost another of his team-mates and a dear friend. Devastated doesn’t cut it.
But he’s not alone.
Auld lit up every room he ever entered. Even if it was full of the great and good of the big screen.
Craig said: “We had such great laughs over the years. That was the thing with Bertie, he has such a tremendous fun way about him.
“There are just too many laughs to mention – or print in a newspaper, that’s for sure.
“We went all over the world together. We even ended up on the stage at the BAFTAs at one point.
“It was for the Lisbon Lions documentary a few years ago and the directors won an award. They got us up on the stage.
“We were killing ourselves laughing, being up there alongside all the famous actors and actresses.
“Wee Bertie fancied himself in that company though.”
Auld could have done a turn on the silver screen but perhaps stand up would have been his calling.
The Parkhead great will always be remembered as a sensational player in a special team but he’ll also go down fondly as one of the funniest characters to ever grace Scottish football.
Auld’s devastating wit didn’t come after he hung up his boots. He was just as sharp in his playing days, and his one liners are legendary.
Like the famous one with Rangers rival John Grieg.
The pair famously once talked bonuses in the tunnel before a match.
Asked what he was on for winning. Auld said: “A fiver.’’
Greig replied he was on £10. “Aye but ours is guaranteed!” Bertie said.
He wasn’t wrong.
“That was Bertie,” Craig said: “He was just an enormous personality with a devilish sense of fun. On and off the field.
“He was razor sharp and while he could more than handle himself on the pitch, he was just as likely to have opponents in stitches as well.”
Auld would also have them in knots. He didn’t follow a conventional path to Parkhead.
Auld first pitched up as a kid in 1955 and was converted from a full back into a winger but his temper could be his undoing.
The red mist saw him shipped out to Dumbarton on loan and then on to Birmingham before Sean Fallon persuaded Jock Stein to bring him back to Paradise. Stein thought he might have been asking for trouble.
Instead he found inspiration and the rest is history.
Auld was more than a footballer though – even if he was an exceptional one. It was his personality that shone just as brightly way beyond his playing days and secured his place in the hearts of generations of supporters.
Craig said: “He was a fantastic player. Him and Bobby (Murdoch) were the heartbeat of the team.
“He could do everything. Everyone knew he could tackle but he could also pick out the perfect pass and he could run all day. He was a wonderful player but an even better person.
“Bertie was so easy going and down to earth, and also a very kind man. He’d go out his way to help others and give his time.
“It was total contrast to the ferocious player he was on the pitch.
“You couldn’t have a more different character. Bertie is one of the great characters of the Scottish game and undoubtedly one of the Celtic all-time greats. That goes without saying.
“The thing about Bertie is he always loved meeting the fans and everyone who met him got the same guy every time.
“It’s just that enormous personality and sense of fun. Everyone who met him felt like they were his best friends.
“He’d meet Celtic fans of all ages – kids whose dads might not even have seen him play – and they loved him just the same.
“He was a great servant to Celtic over the years, even long after he was a player, and his relationship with the fans showed that.
“He was adored by the supporters and they will all be devastated like we all are at the news.
“Myself and my wife Elizabeth are devastated and we send all our love to Liz and the family. It’s very upsetting news and all we can do is offer our support. We are with them.”
The club offered their condolences as well.
A statement said: “Everyone at Celtic Football Club is devastated to hear of the passing of Lisbon Lion, Bertie Auld and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time.
“Bertie was a legend of the club and he was adored by the entire Celtic Family. Rest in Peace Bertie, You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
The world’s a stage and Auld was the star of the show.
