Tortolano's arrival at Easter Road, in 1985, heralded the beginning of an 11-year spell which, even today, has Hibees choking on their Chicken Balti pies at the thought of it.
Signed from West Bromwich Albion as a left-winger with an eye for goal, Tortolano (allegedly) turned down interest from Liverpool in favour of a return home with Alex Miller's side.
A sprightly start to his career in the capital, which included two assists in a 4-3 Scottish Cup win over Celtic, convinced Hibs supporters that this was no ordinary Joe. They were wrong, he was a very ordinary Joe. For his part, Miller convinced himself that Tortolano was the answer to his lack of defensive quality and converted the onetime Scotland Under-21 winger into a left back. It was to have some memorable consquences - if only for their comedic value.
1988: Tortolano is sent off for a tackle on Gordon Strachan in the opening minutes of Gordon Rae's testimonial against Manchester United. Strachan leaves the field on a stretcher.
1991: Tortolano is sprung from the bench against Rangers at Ibrox. He controls a cross beautifully and drills the ball past John Burridge, his own goalkeeper.
1991 (again): Tortolano is booed by his own supporters as he warms up at Tannadice and quickly returns to the dugout without reappearing.
He was not impervious to his lot, though. "I didn't have too many problems in the first couple of years because I was doing well, " he later recalled. "I don't know what happened to my confidence after that first couple of years. I think someone took the confidence out of my body one night when I was asleep.
"I knew the lion was always ready to roar and all I was doing was trying to keep it quiet by feeding it all the time."
His spirits mauled, he departed the club in 1996, taking in stints with Falkirk (where, in a hilarious role reversal, he was sacked for abusing fans), Clyde, Stirling Albion and East Stirlingshire.
"When you slip down a couple of divisions you sometimes feel like wearing a crash helmet and a gum shield, " he said.
And that was just during the warm-ups . . .
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