The Ghosts of Cathkin Park: The Inside Story of Third Lanark's Demise

Description

The summer of 1967 was Scottish football's finest hour. Celtic won the European Cup. Rangers reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup. Kilmarnock got to the semis of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Scotland defeated world champions England at Wembley. It was the best of times. With one exception. Third Lanark Athletic Club, one of the country's oldest and most successful football teams, a founder member of the Scottish Football Association, and to date one of only four teams to defeat both Rangers and Celtic in the Scottish Cup Final, played its final game. And hardly anybody seemed to notice. Why? Michael McEwan brings rich archival research together with interviews with the key surviving players in the Third Lanark squad from that final season, as well as opposition players and other relevant figures from the era. Over 50 years on, the demise of Third Lanark remains one of Scottish football's darkest hours - and, by ludicrous coincidence, it occurred in the midst of one of its brightest.

Michael McEwan is a journalist from Glasgow. He is the Assistant Editor of PSP Media Group's portfolio of sports titles, which include Bunkered, Scotland's highest circulating golf magazine. He is a former winner of both the RBS Young Sportswriter of the Year and Evening Times Young Football Journalist of the Year awards and the author of Running the Smoke: 26 First-Hand Accounts of Running the London Marathon.

'compelling...beautifully written' -- Alan Patullo * Scotland on Sunday, Sports Books of the Year, 2021 * 'Third Lanark brought back to life in the most evocative way. Wonderful.' -- Tom English 'What a gem of a book. Richly researched, with interviews and anecdotes, this is a must-read for anyone who loves Scottish football. The death of Third Lanark, while a lingering sadness, is utterly fascinating and compelling' -- Graham Spiers 'A tale that will capture the soul of the Thirds fan. It is merely essential to the rest of us. A story from the past that has lessons for the present' -- Hugh MacDonald 'an engaging, enjoyable book' -- Graham McColl * When Saturday Comes *