Jim Craig

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Lore & Background

A student at St Gerard's School in Glasgow, Craig studied dentistry while playing for the University of Glasgow representative team. He joined Celtic on amateur terms in 1963 to finish his studies, turning professional in January 1965. Manager Jock Stein valued his ability to overlap as a modern wing-back, displacing Willie O'Neill and Ian Young as the regular right back. During his time at Parkhead, he made 239 appearances, scoring 6 goals, and collected 14 domestic honours before leaving for South Africa in May 1972.

In Their Own Story

After departing Celtic to live in South Africa, Craig played for Hellenic FC for six months before returning to Britain. He joined Sheffield Wednesday, where the club paid Celtic £10,000 compensation as they had retained his registration. He retired from football in 1973 to focus on his dentistry career. Later, he briefly served as player-manager of Waterford United starting in July 1974 but stepped down in December due to a domestic problem.

Reader's Guide

Jim Craig's career highlights include winning the European Cup in 1966–67 and seven Scottish First Division titles between 1965–66 and 1971–72. He earned one cap for Scotland and retired in 1973. In later years, he appeared as a pundit on BBC Scotland's Sportscene in the 1980s and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2026 New Year Honours.

Did You Know?

• Craig studied dentistry at the University of Glasgow and joined Celtic on amateur terms in 1963 to complete his studies.
• He made his final appearance for Celtic in the victorious 1972 Scottish Cup Final before moving to South Africa.
• His son, James Craig, was capped four times for the Scotland national rugby union team between 1997 and 2001.
• Craig originally from Leith, his father supported local rivals Hibernian.