Bobby Murdoch
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert White Murdoch | ||
| Date of birth | 17 August 1944 | ||
| Place of birth | Rutherglen, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 15 May 2001 (aged 56) | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1959–1962 | Celtic | ||
| 1959–1961 | → Cambuslang Rangers (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1962–1973 | Celtic | 291 | (61) |
| 1973–1976 | Middlesbrough | 95 | (6) |
| Total | 386 | (67) | |
| National team | |||
| 1965–1969 | Scotland | 12 | (6) |
| 1965–1969 | Scottish League XI | 5 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1981–1982 | Middlesbrough | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Bobby Murdoch (17 August 1944 – 15 May 2001) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Celtic and was one of the Lisbon Lions, the Celtic team who won the European Cup in 1967.
Brought up in Rutherglen, he lived there for most of his life and attended local St. Columbkillle's Primary school (where a classmate was Tommy McAvoy who went on to become the long-serving MP for the area), before moving to Our Lady's High Secondary in Motherwell. Murdoch first joined Celtic in 1959, earning £3 per week as a part-time player while also being employed as a sheet-metal worker. He played for junior club Cambuslang Rangers for two years to gain experience before joining Celtic as a full-time professional.
Murdoch initially played for Celtic as an inside right, but only showed signs of being a reasonable performer in that position. This was in a period where players were not well developed by Celtic due to a lack of quality coaching.Jock Stein moved Murdoch to right half soon after he was appointed Celtic manager in 1965. With that simple action, Murdoch was the first player to significantly benefit from Stein's arrival. Playing in the deeper position allowed Murdoch to use his long passing ability more effectively. He still continued to score at least 10 goals a season, knocking in shots from cutbacks by Bertie Auld or Jimmy Johnstone.
During his time at Celtic, he won eight Scottish League titles, four Scottish Cups and five League Cups, as well as the 1967 European Cup Final winners' medal. Murdoch's shot was deflected by Stevie Chalmers to score Celtic's winning goal. Murdoch also played in the 1970 European Cup Final, when Celtic lost 2–1 to Feyenoord. In total, he made nearly 500 appearances for Celtic and scored approximately 100 goals.
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