Former Celtic, Coventry and Ayr defender
Born: June 5, 1944;
Died: September 24, 2018
JAMES Andrew “Jim” Brogan, who has died aged 74 after a lengthy battle against dementia, was one of those players, common in his time but rare today, who spent long years in an “apprenticeship” with Celtic, before eventually having his spell in the sun, winning medals and Scotland caps.
He was from a “Celtic-minded” family. Elder brother Frank was already a first-team player with the club when Jim arrived, like his elder brother, from that prolific Celtic nursery, St Rochs Juniors, in 1962. Frank earned his own place in Celtic folklore when he scored the club's 5000th league goal, before leaving, for Ipswich Town in 1964.
Before he left, however, the Brogan brothers did twice play together in the first team, after Jim made his debut, against Falkirk, in a league game in September, 1963. However, there was to be no quick breakthrough for Jim, who established himself as a regular in the reserves over the great early seasons of the Lisbon Lions. He understudied the great John Clark and got few chances to shine as success followed success for that great team.
Injury to Clark, in February, 1968 opened the first-team door to Brogan, who never looked back, slotting in alongside Billy McNeill as effectively as Clark had done, and, with regular first-team games, the medals and honours arrived.
He won a league championship medal at the end of the 1967-68 season, and the following year, as Celtic won their second domestic treble, he was a mainstay of the team. In 1969-70, he was a member of the team which reached Celtic's second European Cup Final, against Feyenoord, and the following season, by which time he had stepped back to left-back to replace Tommy Gemmell, such was his form.
In 1969 he had made the first of what would be two appearances for the Scottish League XI, against the English League, then, in April, 1971, he became Scotland's 835th internationalist, when Bobby Brown awarded him his first cap against Portugal, in a Hampden friendly. The start of a short run of four successive games in the national squad covering that match and the home internationals.
If his international career was short, his Celtic one, after his long wait for recognition, proved longer and more distinguished. He was one of Stein's most trusted players during the nine-in-a-row campaign, holding the fort as the Lions departed and helping to ease the path of such as Davie Hay, Danny McGrain, George Connelly and Kenny Dalglish from Quality Street Kids to Celtic icons.
Celtic released Brogan at the end of the 1974-75 season. Billy McNeill had retired after the Scottish Cup Final, the previous week, so when Stein sent out his side to face Rangers in the Glasgow Cup Final, at Hampden, on 10 May – the game given special status as it was used to mark the city's 800th anniversary. He recalled Brogan from the reserves – he had lost his place to Andy Lynch, and handed him the captaincy for his 341st first team appearance, a farewell, in front of 70,000 fans. Alas, there was to be no fairy-tale ending as the game finished Celtic 2 Rangers 2, with the trophy shared. He left Celtic with an escutcheon showing seven league championship medals, four Scottish Cup-winner's ones and three league cup winner's medals.
He then went off to spend 18 months with Coventry City, before returning to play out his career with Ayr United.
Brogan then entered the licensed trade, to some success, building up a string of pubs across the city and central Scotland.
He began to show signs of dementia in 2008, but he bravely battled his worsening condition over the next decade, showing the same bravery that had seen him dubbed “Crazy Horse” by the Celtic faithful.
A statement from Celtic said: "Jim Brogan enjoyed a very successful Celtic career, the reward for hard-work, perseverance and plenty of patience. Although he made a number of appearances in the first team, he had to wait until 1968, and an injury to regular sweeper John Clark, for an extended run in the top-team. After that, though, he never looked back.
"From there on, it was Lisbon Lion Clark that was used sparingly, as the tough and resolute Brogan formed a formidable partnership with Billy McNeill at the heart of the Celtic defence, which would be the base for a continued domination of Scottish football for years to come."Jim Brogan is survived by wife Joy, daughters Colette and Caroline, sons Anthony and Mark, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
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