STANTON Patrick 1944 HIBS LEGEND
Patrick Gordon Stanton was born in 1944 in Edinburgh. He is the son of Michael Stanton and Bridget Doolan Gordon . He is also the first-cousin of Denis Madigan Stanton [author’s husband]
Patrick’s Great Grandmother Maria Whelahan married Andrew Stanton. Her brother was the first captain of Hibernian FC. The family originates in County Mayo and Roscommon in Ireland. Pat married in 1968 to Margaret Parker and they have three children [tbc] Kirsty, Patrick and Kenneth.
FROM WILKIPEDIA
Stanton is the great-great nephew of Michael Whelahan (a founder of Hibernian and its first captain) and the great-nephew of Hibernian centre forward James Hendren. He signed for the club in 1963 and made his professional debut later that year. He established himself in the Hibs first team, playing either in defence or midfield. Stanton captained Hibs when they won the 1972 Scottish League Cup Final.
Stanton left Hibs in 1976 when he was transferred to Celtic in a swap deal for Jackie McNamara, Sr. Jock Stein, who had briefly managed Stanton at Hibs in the 1960s, identified Stanton as the man to stop Celtic conceding soft goals. This was an apparent success, as Celtic won the Scottish Cup and the Scottish league championship in 1976–77.
Stanton suffered a bad injury early in the 1977–78 season, which eventually forced his retirement from playing. Hibs and Celtic played a testimonial match for Stanton on 30 April 1978.
STANTON has had a long association with the club from standing in the terraces as a supporter to pulling on the famous green jersey, and to leading them out as the Club’s manager. Pat has done it all.
Completely unaware of the award, Stanton was stunned when his name was read out as the winner of the Special Recognition award.
“Being a Hibs supporter, this means a lot,” he said as he tried to hold in his emotions speaking to Hibs TV. “Starting off playing for the club, you would never, ever think you’d have a night like this.
“Getting this is a Hibs thing! It’s tremendous.”
After collecting the award on stage, he received special messages from Sir Alex Ferguson, John Blackley and David Gray – all three praising him for his contribution to football and Hibernian FC.
“These guys are all friends of mine, I’ve known them for years, so for them to find the time to come on and say nice things is really good. You can still be surprised even at my age!”
He ended by admitting what the award meant to him…
“I’m a Hibs supporter. Just to play for the club was a big thing and I never thought I’d go on to play so many games or still have an association with a club.
“My dad would be proud of this. He really would be pleased
Pat has had a long association with the club from standing in the terraces as a supporter, to pulling on the famous green jersey, and to leading them out as the Club’s manager. Pat has done it all.
Completely unaware of the award, Stanton was stunned when his name was read out as the winner of the Special Recognition award.
“Being a Hibs supporter, this means a lot,” he said as he tried to hold in his emotions speaking to Hibs TV. “Starting off playing for the club, you would never, ever think you’d have a night like this.
“Getting this is a Hibs thing! It’s tremendous.”
After collecting the award on stage, he received special messages from Sir Alex Ferguson, John Blackley and David Gray – all three praising him for his contribution to football and Hibernian FC.
“These guys are all friends of mine, I’ve known them for years, so for them to find the time to come on and say nice things is really good. You can still be surprised even at my age!”
He ended by admitting what the award meant to him…
“I’m a Hibs supporter. Just to play for the club was a big thing and I never thought I’d go on to play so many games or still have an association with a club.
“My dad would be proud of this. He really would be pleased
THE CELTIC YEARS
Pat Stanton was a Hibernian legend when he signed for the Bhoys in a shock swap deal in September 1976 with Celtic’s Jackie McNamara (sr) moving in the opposite direction.
The veteran had spent 13 years with the Edinburgh side – his first and true love – and was just a couple of weeks short of his 32nd birthday when he made the surprise switch to Parkhead. The signing would prove to be a Jock Stein masterstroke.
As a Hi-Bee he played mostly in midfield and was named Scotland’s Player of the Year in 1970, the season Celtic made it to a second European Cup final. He had played briefly under Stein at Easter Road, captained the club for six years and scored one and created the other goal in the 2-1 League Cup final victory over Celtic in 1972 and led his Hibs side to two Drybrough Cup victories, both against Celtic, in 1972 and 1973. He was inspirational for Hibs in their 7-0 thrashing of Hearts at Tynecastle in January 1973 and was also a regular in the Scotland squads between 1969 and 1974.
Stanton was a class performer. Stein deployed him in a sweeper role and his quality and experience would prove invaluable to a young Celtic side desperately struggling to reach the standards and expectations set by the Lisbon Lions. A decade after European Cup glory the Celts’ had failed to qualify for the European Cup for the second successive season. After years in the shadow of Stein rivals Rangers were now top of the tree. Thankfully Stanton’s impact and influence was immediate
Quotes & anecdotes
1) Pat On Signing For Celtic: “I was at home, resting before an evening derby with Hearts, when I got a call from Eddie Turnbull ,” recalls Stanton. “Eddie had Jock with him, and he came on and said: ‘Would you like to join my team?’ I said yes, and travelled to Parkhead that night. I found out later that Celtic had tried to buy me a few times.”
So Stanton signed on September 1 – with Jackie McNamara moving in the opposite direction – and was introduced to his new teammates wearing a classic Arthur Montford-style checked jacket (“It was so loud you needed volume control, but I was proud of it”).
Generally a midfielder at Hibs, Stein told him to play sweeper, and three days later he made his debut against Rangers at Parkhead. “All I could think was: ‘Please don’t make a mistake’, but the game ended 2-2 and it was a great experience.”
2) “When Jock Stein signs you, you’re not doing too bad.”
Pat Stanton (2013)
3) “I thought Hibs were a big club, and they were and are, but Celtic are something else again. I just loved that everyone from the woman that made the tea to the fella that cut the grass were all supporters of the team. That was the Celtic.”
Pat Stanton
4) (Caltonbhoy of KDS forum): Of all the players I have watched playing football in Scotland against Celtic, Pat Stanton is the best I have seen – He was Class Personified in everything he did on the park
GROWING UP IN NIDDRIE
Niddrie, in Stanton’s youth, was a boisterous housing scheme in Edinburgh where just about every working man was employed by one of the four nearby breweries and just about every boy was a footballer being tutored by the city’s top juvenile teams. “I only knew one who wasn’t. When he called round my house and my dad asked him which was his club and he said he didn’t play football, the old man looked at him like he’d come down from Mars.”
Pat’s crafty old mum, who nudged her son less than gently into the arms of Hibs with a lesson in harsh financial realities after Jambos boss Tommy Walker made a contract offer when he was with Bonnyrigg Rose.
Stanton said: “I spoke with my dad and he told me to go to Hearts if I wanted. But he couldn’t help but speak like a supporter, even reminding me Hibs had a better strip.
“My mum never got involved in conversations about football but she came through from the kitchen to tell us we’d forgotten something really important – bus fares.
“I had five brothers and every Monday morning she would leave money on the kitchen table for everyone to get to work. It was cheaper, about tuppence, to go from Niddrie to Easter Road than it was Tynecastle.
“Interest from Hearts forced the hand of Hibs, where I was on a schoolboy form, and manager Walter Galbraith was at the door shortly afterwards asking me to sign full-time
The Hib’s icon and his wife, Margaret, were left distraught when Oliver Porter, now three, suffered a brain haemorrhage within hours of being born with his twin brother, Luca. Their daughter Kirsty and her husband Graeme have four sons.
A build-up of cerebral fluid meant Oliver then had to undergo emergency surgery aged just two weeks – the first of a series of operations which saw him go under general anaesthetic 30 times and spend the first seven months of his life at the Sick Kids. But thanks to support provided by the Child Brain Injury Trust (CBIT), the family has bounced back, Pat now helps in fundraising for this charity
