The World Cup is on and I confess I have little interest in soccer… I just about keep up with the scores, and wish luck to teams I feel I have a connection to, like us and the Netherlands, but really it is not my sort of thing at all. However, in the spirit of the moment, here is a soccer star, but one you may never have heard of, Bertie Peacock, commentated here in Coleraine.
Bertie started his footballing career with Coleraine Football Club, which was his town team. He was born there in 1928, and moved to Glentoran in Belfast in 1947, but was spotted by Celtic, the big Glasgow club two years later. It was a good move for Bertie; while there he won one league title, two Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups. He was also chosen to represent his country and gained thirty-one caps. Once he stopped playing he didn’t stop his commitment to the game and continued in various ways to support football in Northern Ireland. he died in 2004 aged seventy-six.
Make sure if you go to Coleraine you go and have a look at Bertie!
Filed under: Bits and pieces Tagged: Bertie peacock, Celtic, Coleraine, Coleraine Football Club, Glentoran
