Hundreds of mourners have paid their last respects to former Hibernian and Scotland player Lawrie Reilly.
The Hibs first team and manager Pat Fenlon were among those in attendance at a funeral service in Edinburgh yesterday for the last surviving member of the club's Famous Five forward line.
Reilly helped the side win three league titles in the late 1940s and early 1950s and holds the record for the most goals scored by a Scot against England.
The 84-year-old died in hospital in Edinburgh last Monday after a long battle with bone cancer and is survived by his wife Iris and son Lawrence.
During the service at the city's St Andrew's and St George's West Church, tributes were paid by broadcaster Grant Stott, former footballer Pat Nevin and author Ted Brack.
Forth One DJ Stott, who came to know Reilly well through hosting hospitality at Hibs games, said he would be remembered as a gentleman who had time for everyone.
Nevin said Reilly was a winner who played with style, panache and imagination and made fans' dreams come true. Off the pitch he was loved and respected for being "generous, self effacing and a gentleman," he said.
Brack, who co-wrote Reilly's autobiography, said he would have been a multi-millionaire player today but was a man in a million besides. The big-hearted footballer was "intelligent, cheerful, determined, full of interest and completely loyal", he said.
Former Hibs players also paid tribute to the "legendary" footballer outside the church in George Street.
Close friend Tommy Preston knew Reilly from the age of 16 when he was a player with Edinburgh Thistle, Hibs' nursery team at the time.
"To me he was a great lad, one of the very best," he said. "He was an excellent player, full of fire. He had the fire in his belly all the time."
Former Hibs coach John Fraser said Reilly and the other members of the Famous Five - Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond - helped him and other younger players breaking through.
"He was up there with the greatest. He was not only a Hibernian legend, he was a Scottish team legend. The whole of Scotland knew who Lawrie Reilly was, and he never let them down," Mr Fraser said.
Pat Stanton, former Hibs captain and manager, said he had seen Reilly play at Easter Road as a boy and later came to know him as a friend.
"He was a really nice man, a terrible loser - he loved to win and loved to beat you - but he was a really nice man and it was a pleasure knowing him," he said.
Reilly was a quiet man with a great sense of humour, and a terrific player, Mr Stanton said.
"He would score goals today. He got the name of Last-Minute Reilly where he scored a lot of goals very late in the game and that was just him - he just played till the game was finished."
Calls for a permanent tribute with a statue of Reilly and the other members of the Famous Five have been made by fans. Stanton said: "I think that would be a great idea. I can't think of any more deserving case. They are synonymous with the history of the club."
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