Ronnie Simpson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Signed by Celtic for £4,000 initially as backup to John Fallon, Simpson became first choice after Fallon was blamed for a defeat in the 1964 Scottish League Cup Final. Despite being nicknamed 'Faither' due to his age relative to teammates, he led the team to a clean sweep of trophies in 1966–67. In the European Cup final against Inter Milan, Simpson made a notable save with his knees from a Sandro Mazzola header and was praised for his fancy footwork on backpasses. He is the first goalkeeper to win the European Treble and remains the only one to win the Quadruple.

In Their Own Story

Simpson's career began at Queen's Park, where he became the youngest person to represent a Scottish league club in 1945 at age 14 years and 304 days. After National Service, he moved to Third Lanark and then Newcastle United for £8,750, winning FA Cups in 1952 and 1955. He returned to Scotland with Hibernian in 1960 but fell out of favor under Jock Stein before moving to Celtic in 1964. His time at Celtic peaked in 1967 when he won the European Cup, Scottish League, Scottish Cup, and Scottish League Cup. An injury in 1969 caused him to miss the 1970 European Cup final, leading to his retirement that year.

Reader's Guide

Ronnie Simpson played for Celtic from 1964 until his retirement in 1970. His style compensated for his small stature (5 feet 10 inches) with unorthodox shot-stopping using elbows and shoulders, alongside top-class footwork. He earned five full caps for Scotland, including a debut in the famous 3–2 victory over England at Wembley in 1967. Post-retirement, he managed Hamilton Academical for a year, served on the Pools Panel, and was an Edinburgh City Councillor. He was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in November 2011.

Did You Know?

• Simpson became the youngest person to represent a Scottish league club at Queen's Park in 1945, aged just 14 years and 304 days.
• He made his Scotland international debut at age 36 years and 196 days, setting a record for the oldest player to make their debut.
• Simpson was nicknamed 'Faither' by Celtic teammates because of his relative old age compared to the rest of the squad.
• He represented Great Britain in the 1948 Olympics, where the team finished fourth after losing a bronze medal playoff to Denmark.
• In the 1967 European Cup final, Simpson made a famous save with his knees from a Sandro Mazzola header.