Walking out of the Hampden tunnel on Saturday with Sir Alex Ferguson is an experience Nicky Hood will always remember, as the Scottish Football Association officially honoured his late father Harry with a Scotland cap.
The Celtic legend was one of four former players who were honoured with a cap for a Scotland tour in the close-season of 1967, when they played against Israel, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Auckland Provincial, Vancouver All Stars and New Zealand Under-23s, which were not recognised as full internationals.
Some of the games were later recategorised, and on Saturday, Harry Hood's family, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Holt and the family of Alan Anderson were all honoured.
It helped that Scotland also beat Israel 3-2 in a crucial World Cup qualifier, and Nicky says that completed a great day for him, his mum Kathleen, sisters Lisa Wishart and Siobhan Edwards and her son and his nephew Harry.
But he said it was a shame his dad wasn't able to pick up the award himself, having sadly passed away at his Bothwell home in 2019.
Nicky, 51, who is a director of his late father's Lisini Pub Company, said: "It was a lovely day.
"It was supposed to happen last year, but didn't, because there were no fans due to Covid, so the SFA got in touch last week through my mother.
"It was a nice bit of recognition for the family, but obviously for my dad. It's just a shame he wasn't here to get it in person, but it was a lovely day. We were well looked after, and it was a good result as well.
"There were a lot of football greats there, like Sir Alex Ferguson, who lived in the same street as my mum and dad when I was a kid in Simshill in Glasgow.
"My mum knew Alex from back in the day, they lived in the same street, so there was a wee bit of history going back.
"My mum hadn't seen Sir Alex Ferguson in years, and he was in great form and couldn't have been any nicer as they had a catch-up.
"He was quite honoured as well. You could tell he was really chuffed to be made up as well.
"My dad was obviously on the same tour as Alex Ferguson back in 1967, and he was saying a lot of nice things about my dad.
"To walk out of the tunnel with Alex Ferguson, for me personally, was a massive honour.
"The SFA couldn't have been any nicer and it was a good day for the family."
Nicky was pleased that Harry was given recognition by his country, given how highly regarded he is by Celtic fans, and supporters of other clubs.
He said: "My dad was top goal-scorer in the 1970-71 season when he played with Celtic, and he just never seemed to get the call-up for Scotland then, so it's nice to get some recognition now.
"There were a few other ex-players there, like Roy Aitken, who was very complimentary towards my dad.
"My dad was leaving Celtic as Roy was coming into the team and he said my dad was a massive help to him, so that was nice of him."
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