In Praise of Caesar-Billy McNeill by Alex Gordon
May 8, 2021 12:53:42 GMT
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stu77 likes this
Post by Deleted on May 8, 2021 12:53:42 GMT
I can hardly believe it's been 2 years since Big Billy passed on.A victim of dementia which, some have claimed,was a result of his headering of the ball throughout his long career.
I last saw Billy when I was over at the new Southern General Hospital in Govan in late 2018. I didn't recognise him at first as he looked a forlorn figure in a wheelchair being push along the hospital foyer by his wife, Liz.
It's strange as our eyes met and I recognised who he was, I wondered if he remembered the customer who used to drink in his pub in Torresdale St in Govanhill in the 80's and 90's?
Probably not but it makes you think when you see what dementia can do to a giant of a person much less a giant of a sportsman.
This book contains around 2 dozen personal recollections by former players, managers, opponents and colleagues of Billy's including Alex Fergusson, Bertie Auld, Bobby Lennox John Greig, Denis Law and Roy Aitken to name a few.
Players like Billy McNeill are rare but men of the calibre of Billy are even rarer.
10/10.
I last saw Billy when I was over at the new Southern General Hospital in Govan in late 2018. I didn't recognise him at first as he looked a forlorn figure in a wheelchair being push along the hospital foyer by his wife, Liz.
It's strange as our eyes met and I recognised who he was, I wondered if he remembered the customer who used to drink in his pub in Torresdale St in Govanhill in the 80's and 90's?
Probably not but it makes you think when you see what dementia can do to a giant of a person much less a giant of a sportsman.
This book contains around 2 dozen personal recollections by former players, managers, opponents and colleagues of Billy's including Alex Fergusson, Bertie Auld, Bobby Lennox John Greig, Denis Law and Roy Aitken to name a few.
Players like Billy McNeill are rare but men of the calibre of Billy are even rarer.
10/10.
