Lochhead, Ian

Personal

Fullname: John Shearer Lochhead
aka: Ian Lochhead
Born: 26 Sep 1939
Birthplace: Partick, Glasgow
Died: 3 Nov 2004
Signed: 25 Sep 1958
Left: 2 May 1961 (free); 28 Dec 1961 (Dumbarton)
Position:Centre Forward
Debut: Clyde 3-4 Celtic, Scottish Cup, 23 Feb 1959
Internationals: none
*Note: All above confirmed by family to this site. His name is John Shearer Lochhead BUT he went by the name Ian, and never John.

Biog

Ian Lochhead was born in Partick, and moved to Drumchapel with his parents when a child, he was the only child of the family. He went on to play for Drumchapel Amateurs who were the top amateur side at the time, and played for his successful school side at St Gerards.

He won Scottish Schoolboy caps in 1957 & 1958. He was in the same schoolboy squad with some great names such as Billy McNeill & Craig Brown (ex-Scotland Manager) in 1957 and Craig Brown, Billy Bremner & Alex Ferguson in 1958.

The Drumchapel youngster and apprentice Ian Lochhead was just a day short of his nineteenth birthday when he signed for Celtic from Partick Avondale having been targeted by then reserve team coach Jock Stein.

The centre-forward made his competitive senior debut in a 4-3 Scottish Cup victory at Clyde February 23rd 1959, problematically he suffered from cramp in this first game and had to be taken off in extra-time. Less than a week later he was also in the side that knocked Rangers out of the cup at Parkhead by 2-1. He was said to have given opposition player Willie Telfer a torrid time, but apparently missed a sitter in that game when he headed over with the keeper out of the goal. How his life possibly could have been so much different if he had luckily got that goal.

The forward line he played in for Celtic – McVittie, Jackson, Lochhead, Wilson and Divers – was one of the youngest ever (by average age) fielded by the club, and was said to have set the start for the group of youngsters dubbed ‘The Kelly’s Kids‘, which included other notable young players at Celtic at the time (e.g. McNeil, Crerand, Clark etc).

Despite the quality of the youth at hand, it was actually a woeful time for Celtic. The last trophy Celtic won was in the year before Ian Lochhead arrived (League Cup victory in 1957) and the First Team did not win another major trophy again until 1965. For Ian Lochhead and any aspiring footballers, it was a poor time to be at the club as the first team was poorly managed, and this can be illustrated by the crushing 4-0 defeat by St Mirren in the Scottish Cup semi-final in April 1959 which he played in.

All his games were in the final quarter of the 1958-59 season, with a single appearance the next season in a 3-2 defeat by Dundee. His best notes were his back-to-back goals in the league scoring in a 4-0 win over Aberdeen then scoring in the following match in a 3-0 win over Hibs in Mar 1959.

In the aforementioned 4-0 win over Aberdeen on 25 March 1959, Ian Lochhead was scorer of possibly the most entertaining goal of the season, described as “a goal which had both speed and cunning“:

“Lochhead was fouled 20 yards out. Neil Mochan feinted with an “I’m-going-to-burst-the-net” drive and then cut the ball left to Auld, who whipped it instantly across the goalmouth and Lochhead ran both ball and body into the back of the next.” (Gair Henderson match reporter for newspaper)

He was part of the reserve side that won the 2nd XI Championships (Celtic’s first since the 1930’s) but that’s just for the record books, with all due respect reserve league titles aren’t so highly celebrated by the general support long after the event. On the other hand, it did demonstrate that there was talent burgeoning at the club which was to see the club in good stead in some time to come.

More often a reserve regular, Ian Lochhead played 12 first team games and scored three goals, which in fairness isn’t too bad a return at a poorly performing Celtic but it wasn’t to be for him at the club. There was a lot of chopping & changing of players in the first team during his time at Celtic, and this likely never helped his development.

Ex-Celt Bertie Auld in his opinion has said that the reason Ian Lochhead didn’t get more games was down to his physical shape. He was quite thinly built and struggled with cramp during games. As there were no substitutes in those days, then if there was an injury then the team were down a player.

Ian Lochhead was released in May 1961 and went on to briefly play for Dumbarton (signed Dec 1961), but left after only a few months after which he appears to have retired from the senior game in March 1962 aged only 22.

He’d actually a very good personal record in his short stint at Dumbarton (Division Two), scoring three goals in his five appearances, albeit with three defeats in these games. He’d actually scored one goal in each of his first three games for Dumbarton, so he could hold his head up high for his efforts at least. His departure was likely a big loss for Dumbarton it would appear.

Ian Lochhead sadly passed away suddenly in November 2004 in Erskine where he lived at the time.

Notes

1. As confirmed by his family, his given name was John Shearer Lochhead but the family called him Ian from an early age, and he was never referred to as John.
2. (from his son to this site) I met Bertie Auld a few years back and he remembered my dad fondly. first thing he said was that he was a gentleman. He said he was a great goal scorer particularly with his head. Bertie said that the reason he didn’t get more games was down to his physical shape. He was quite thinly built and struggled with cramp during games. As you know they had no substitutes in those days so if you got injured etc the team were down a player. That’s probably why he didn’t start too many games. I also met Alex Ferguson after he retired from Man U. again he remembered my dad and also said he was a great goal scorer. Ferguson also played for Drumchapel around the same time but not sure they were ever in the same team. Possibly.
3. (from his son to this site) He went to Dumbarton for a short spell but then left football to get a “proper” job. As you know they were not well paid back then and my dad was getting married to my mum. Prior to joining Celtic he was playing for his school team St Gerards and for Drumchapel amateurs. Both were very successful at the time. St Gerards won the Scottish schools u16 shield in 1955 and the senior shield in 1954. He was definitely in the team that won in 1955. on several occasions he played for his school team in the morning then Drumchapel in the afternoon. At the same time he was playing for Scottish schoolboys.

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

none

Pictures

• Player Pics

Links

• The Kelly Kids

From Alphabet of the Celts