15 May 1974 - "...A Three-Hour Tour, A Three-Hour Tour ..."

On 15 May 1974, several Scotland internationals were out in the early hours of the morning in Largs, a town on the Firth of Clyde, about 33 miles from Glasgow. They had beaten Wales 2-0 at Hampden Park just a few hours before and had an upcoming match against England on the 18th, so Scotland manager Willie Ormond sent them out for a few hours to enjoy themselves.

After a few drinks, they were returning to the team hotel by the beach when midfielder Jimmy "Jinky" Johnstone (right), who played his club football for Celtic, climbed into an empty rowboat. Rangers fullback Sandy Jardine jokingly kicked the boat out into the water before anyone realized that it had no oars. The tide began pulling Johnstone out to sea, so a couple of other players - Celtic's David Hay and Hibernian's Erich Schaedler - found another rowboat and set out after Johnstone. Unfortunately, their boat began to leak, forcing them back to shore as Johnstone's boat continued drifting away.

Johnstone was eventually rescued by the coastguard service and the story - known as "The Largs Boat Incident" - became a media sensation. It had little effect on Johnstone, however, who went on to lead Scotland to a 2-0 win over England three days later.

30 September 1944 - The Best Bhoy

On 30 September 1944, winger Jimmy Johnstone—voted by supporters as Celtic's greatest player—was born outside Glasgow.

Only five feet, four inches tall but possessing a balance of speed and control that earned him the nickname "Jinky," Johnstone joined Celtic in 1961 at the age of sixteen and made his first-team debut the following year. In all, he spent thirteen seasons with Celtic, scoring 129 goals in 515 appearances.

In 1967, he helped the team to a record-setting quintuple by winning four domestic trophies—the league, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, and the Glasgow Cup—and becoming the first British team to lift the European Cup. For his part, he finished third in voting for that year's Ballon d'Or. While at Celtic, he also won eight more league titles, three more Scottish Cups, four more League Cups and returned to the European Cup final in 1971.

He suffered from alcoholism, which impaired his career and led to frequent battles with Celtic manager Jock Stein. Johnstone left the club in 1975 and spent the next four years making a handful of appearances for clubs in the United States, England, Scotland, and Ireland before retiring in 1979.

In 2001, he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, which eventually claimed his life in March 2006 at the age of 61.

15 May 1974 - "... A Three-Hour Tour, A Three-Hour Tour ..."

On 15 May 1974, several Scotland internationals were out in the early hours of the morning in Largs, a town on the Firth of Clyde, about 33 miles from Glasgow. They had beaten Wales 2-0 at Hampden Park just a few hours before and had an upcoming match against England on the 18th, so Scotland manager Willie Ormond sent them out for a few hours to enjoy themselves.

After a few drinks, they were returning to the team hotel by the beach when midfielder Jimmy "Jinky" Johnstone (right), who played his club football for Celtic, climbed into an empty rowboat. Rangers fullback Sandy Jardine jokingly kicked the boat out into the water before anyone realized that it had no oars. The tide began pulling Johnstone out to sea, so a couple of other players - Celtic's David Hay and Hibernian's Erich Schaedler - found another rowboat and set out after Johnstone. Unfortunately, their boat began to leak, forcing them back to shore as Johnstone's boat continued drifting away.

Johnstone was eventually rescued by the coastguard service and the story - known as "The Largs Boat Incident" - became a media sensation. It had little effect on Johnstone, however, who went on to lead Scotland to a 2-0 win over England three days later.