Joe McBride

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Joe McBride (b.Govan, 10th June 1938) was a Scottish footballer who played for Celtic, Hibernian, Motherwell and Dunfermline Athletic. His career at Celtic was cut short due to a major injury.

A truly wise man once wrote: "McBride? He's no use - all he can do is score goals." And that is exactly what made him one of the most prolific Strikers ever. A strike rate of over 91%!

While speculation in football is essentially meaningless, it is a reasonable suggestion that if Joe's career had not been seriously interrupted by injury at such a crucial point, he might have established an unparalleled club scoring benchmark. In the glorious Season in the Sun of 66/67, he had amassed an astonishing 37 goals before Christmas and despite not kicking another ball following his breakdown at Pittodrie, he remained the country's top-scorer at the end of that season.

Sadly for Joe, by the time he had regained match fitness a year later (though it was doubtful whether he was ever fully fit again), events had overtaken him. Celtic were now a major force in Europe and Stein, a man of unwavering determination once his mind was made up, had evolved a system around a main strike force of Chalmers and Wallace. Joe McBride as perennial squad player was unthinkable and he moved on a year or so later to play out the rest of his career with relative success at Hibs and Dunfermline. In the minds of those who saw him in his peak, though, he will always be, simply, 'SuperJoe'.

McBride was rated the very best by two Celtic legends:

• Jock Stein, who made Joe his first Celtic outfield signing (from Motherwell in the summer of 65') described him as the quintessential striker, a man who stuck the ball in the back of the net when he couldn't think of anything else to do with it.
• The great Jimmy McGrory included him at centre-forward without a moment's hesitation in his all-time Celtic XI.

The courage, style and obvious relish of his performance in the 'hoops', allied to the cruel way he was robbed of his rightful destiny, won him the undying affection of a generation of Celtic supporters. For whom Joe McBride will always be an honorary Lisbon Lion.

Joe McBride made 94 appearances for Celtic scoring 86 goals. He won two caps for Scotland.