John Baxter.
Footballer
Born: October 15, 1936.
Died: December 12, 2014.
JOHN Baxter, who has died aged 78 after a long battle with heart problems, was one of the cornerstones of the Hibs team for a decade from 1957, playing over 300 games for the Edinburgh club.
A Glasgow boy from Anderston, he always joked, when driving over the Kingston Bridge: "We've just driven through my bedroom". He signed for Hibs, from junior side Benburb, in 1955, although he then had to go off and do his national service, which was spent with the Army, stationed in Malta. This delayed his Hibs' debut until 1957, when, still sporting a deep tan from his two years in the Mediterranean, he was blooded, against Aberdeen.
The square-jawed Baxter, known to team mates as "Chinny" or "Stanley", soon established himself in the middle of the park and played a big role in Hibs' march to the 1958 Scottish Cup final, which they lost 1-0 to Clyde, thereby continuing the Hibs cup "curse" which has lasted since 1902. Indeed, that final was particularly hard on Baxter, because Johnny Coyle's cup-winning goal for the Bully Wee, was deflected, off Baxter's toe, past Lawrie Leslie in the Hibs' goal.
Later that year, however, Baxter won his solitary representative honour, when he played in the Scotland Under-23 team which lost 1-0 to Wales at Tynecastle. Nominally a left-half with his club, Baxter was switched to the right for that game, the left-half jersey going to another Baxter, the legendary Jim, then still of Raith Rovers. Still, if a player cannot switch positions to accommodate a genius, when can he?
Baxter was a regular presence in the Hibs' team which enjoyed some monumental European nights in the early sixties, playing in the legendary European ties against Barcelona and Napoli, before, at the end of the 1966-67 season, his time was up at Easter Road.
He and Willie Hamilton scored the goals in the 2-1 win over Rangers, which was Jock Stein's final game as Hibs' manager, but, he had more-painful memories of his time under another Easter Road, legend Eddie Turnbull, while Turnbull was coaching at the club.
Towards the end of the season, to break-up the training, Turnbull decided the players would have a game of baseball. Joe McClelland, at bat, hit a scorching "home run", immediately threw away his bat, which hit Baxter in the face, breaking his jaw and taking-out several teeth. Poor Baxter was out of action for some time, sporting a cumbersome plaster, and getting little sympathy, allegedly, from Turnbull.
Former team mate John Fraser remembers Baxter as a terrific team mate, whom he described as: "The dynamo at the heart of the Hibs team of the time".
He is similarly well-remembered by Pat Stanton, who fondly recalls the way saxter encouraged the younger Easter Road players of the time. A good old-fashioned "box-to-box" midfielder, the energetic and forceful Baxter would win the ball, to allow team mates such as Pat Quinn or Willie Hamilton to sprinkle star dust on it.
He moved on from Hibs to serve Falkirk for a season, before running down the curtain on his professional football career with a season with Clydebank.
After football, Baxter went to work for William Collins, the well-known printers in Bishopbriggs, remaining there until retirement. He lived in Newlands and was a long-term member of Cowglen Golf Club. Golf was his main hobby, although he and some of his cronies enjoyed weekly swimming and sauna sessions, whilst holidays were mainly spent at his static caravan at Prestwick.
John Baxter was married to Moira for 56 years; she, daughters Shona and Kay and grand-sons David and Ryan survive him.
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