'An era has passed . . . that Famous Five era has now drawn to a close'

staff reporter
Tuesday 23 July 2013

The words of Lawrie Reilly formed a coda to his autobiography published in 2010 and yesterday became an echo following the announcement that the former Hibernian forward had died, aged 84.

The book had given voice to a celebrated career as a Hibs player but had ended with the words of a fan. The final line was constructed with a sense of humour – a play on his nickname, 'Last Minute Reilly', the origin of which was his capacity to pop up with a goal late in a match – but also an earnest wish that the man would live to see his beloved club lift the Scottish Cup. Two finals in the last two years had given hope that such an ambition would be fulfilled, yet for once time ran out
before Reilly could celebrate.

Hibs' habitual disappointment
in the competition has often 
invited supporters to find refuge in nostalgia, a realm in which Reilly will always feature prominently.
He died yesterday having been the last living member of the Easter Road club's Famous Five – which comprised Reilly, Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond – and will be mourned affectionately since he had been the boy who became the fan, and the man who became the club hero. As a forward he would help Hibs to win three championships
in 1947, 1951 and 1952, while scoring 238 goals in 355 appearances. 
His haul of 187 league strikes 
is still a club record.

Yet he would be denied the Scottish Cup as a supporter. Reilly had reprised the role of a Hibs fan after he retired due to a knee injury at the age of 29, a duty which took him to Hampden to watch his team stumble in the 2012 and 2013 finals. "It's a very, very sad day," said
Pat Stanton, another revered Hibs player who had watched home matches with Reilly in their retirement. "You're talking about one of the top players that played
for the Hibs, playing in that fantastic forward line. There's been some great players that have played with the Hibs but he's been as good as anybody. And then you've got just his connection with the club, having been a Hibs supporter and then played for only Hibs in his career.

"Even up until recently he was going to the games regularly at Easter Road. He was a terrific man. An era has passed with Lawrie's passing. The crowds that he played in front of, the way the people dressed, even all that has changed, from the coats to the Hibs jerseys now. That Famous Five era has unfortunately now drawn to a close."

The tributes came from outside Easter Road, too, as Reilly's scoring touch had also been felt by Scotland –
his 38 caps having yielded 22 goals, including six against England. That statistic is prevalent as Gordon Strachan yesterday named the squad which will travel to Wembley for a friendly next month, with each player likely to be enlivened by the opportunity to emulate Reilly by scoring against the English.

One of his most famous strikes came in 1953, when he scored an equaliser at Wembley with just one minute to go, not that he would later wish to dine out on the moment.
"He scored six times [against England] but he never mentioned that," said Strachan yesterday. "Great players never tell you what they did – people already know. 
And he was a great player, that's 
for sure. He was always with Pat Stanton [at Easter Road]. Him and Pat were close together. They looked after each other."

Reilly remains Hibs' most capped player and was inducted into the Scottish Hall of Fame in 2005,
while his goal-scoring ratio for the national team was better than both Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law, and second only to Hughie Gallacher. "His achievements for Scotland have endured to this day," said Campbell Ogilvie, the Scottish Football Association president. "Hibernian's Famous Five are part of football folklore and Lawrie retained a love for football throughout his life."

It was a passion embellished by an ambition to watch Hibs win the cup. Fittingly, he had a chance in the last minute. It will always be regrettable that he was not able to celebrate such a moment as he had as a player.

Taken from the Herald