Legends and Supporters | Celtic Books
Details
Name: Patrick Woods
aka: Pat Woods
Date of Birth: 1 June 1946
Died: 11 August 2025
Ref: Celtic historian & enthusiast, author of countless excellent & seminal books on Celtic
Biog
Pat Woods was born in Bangor, North Wales, but raised on Shettleston Road Glasgow, and is the author/co-author of a number of seminal Celtic books. He has watched Celtic at home and abroad over a period of half a century.
It is fair to say that Pat Woods is the most important and influential Celtic historian in the club’s history. He has been a crux which all the rest have fallen back on to detail and analyse the history of our club. His knowledge of the club has been greater than anyone else, such that he has been called ‘The Man in the Know’ by others.
Over his life he has amassed an incredible store of records on Celtic, including an estimated 46 volumes of notes & pictures on Celtic’s 1967 European Cup victory.
Pat Woods along with his colleague Tom Campbell have been the bridge between Willie Maley & today’s array of Celtic writers & historians. They have written a whole catalogue of books that can be defined as both seminal and rewarding.
Their early books laid the groundwork that have been invaluable to many others, and in many ways the work of everyone else has been almost a footnote to the incredible work begun by both Pat Woods and Tom Campbell. If there is one book that every Celtic historian will have on their shelves and still regularly thumb through then it is the exceptional ‘Dreams and Songs to Sing‘, a book that was even heralded by critics outwith of Celtic circles too for its quality and depth.
In 2017, at the annual Celtic players awards ceremony, a special recognition award was given to Pat Woods, in recognition of his work over many years and devotion to recording and telling the Celtic story in a number of books. Very highly deserved.
Notably, he has been said to be an intensely private man (shunning any limelight), so this was a great achievement to have him accept the award.
In 2019, he donated his incredible collection to Celtic, which was a very humbling moment. His work will be very highly valued amongst all the treasures at Celtic Park.
He passed away in August 2025.
Quotes
“Pat Woods was just the most generous, learned, humble and special man. He elevated Celtic’s literary tradition to place it at the zenith among football clubs. He wrote about Celtic’s history and became a truly honourable part of it – though typically blanched at being told so. God rest his soul.”
Journalist Andrew H Smith (Aug 2025)
“You know the club gave me a verbal warning because I promoted one of Pat’s books in the View – Dreams And Songs To Sing, I think – and didn’t do a story on the official Graham McColl book that came out around the same time. The rat phoned up the club to complain! When they asked me why I did it, I said because Pat’s book would be better. And Pat was a Celtic celebrity… though he would have hated me calling him that.”
Journalist Andrew H Smith (ex-Celtic View) (Aug 2025)
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2017 Award to Pat Woods for his contributions to Celtic’s historians
The fan who has spent lifetime chronicling the Lisbon Lions
By The Newsroom
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/the-fan-who-has-spent-lifetime-chronicling-the-lisbon-lions-1449049
Published 24th May 2017, 07:00 BST
Updated 4th Jun 2017, 20:50 BST
One of the best ways to chronicle history is to live through it. What is better still is researching it meticulously. Building a Ԭwritten archive without equal guarantees font-of -all-knowledge status.
Pat Woods is all of that, and so much more, when it comes to the Lisbon Lions. The unassuming 70-year-old is, indeed, the de-facto Celtic historian, having produced authoritative tomes about every aspect of his beloved club for almost four decades.
His eye for posterity can be traced far earlier, though. Woods reckons close on 15,000 supporters made the trek to the Iberian peninsula for Jock Stein’s masterminding of his Celtic team’s capture of the European Cup, the 50th anniversary of which arrives tomorrow.
Then nearly 21, he is probably one of the precious few fans who still has his ticket, not just for the game, not just for the train travel covering his London to Lisbon route, but for the “servico special” – one of the Portuguese trains laid on to ferry fans from the city centre to the Estadio Nacional on Lisbon’s outskirts.
Maybe the entire unforgettable experience of watching his team being kissed by the football gods in a sun-kissed foreign land that took him beyond his own for the first time had the profound effect of captivating Woods about capturing those memories. Yesterday, we made our way to a cubby hole behind the SFA stadium to delve into the treasure trove of covers, cuttings and classic snaps that represent the life’s work of collating the achievement of the Lisbon Lions. Stored within the Hampden museum for safekeeping, this archive runs to no fewer than 46 display cases.
All manner of items draw the eye but Woods, whose latest book, We’ll Always Have Lisbon, has just been published – subject matter self-explanatory – has some quirky collectables that particularly fascinate. A magazine emblazoned with the figure three to denote the third title Internazionale were supposed to secure the evening of their 2-1 defeat by Celtic is a real standout.
“It was produced after Inter had beaten Real Madrid [2-0 at the Bernabeu in the second leg of the teams quarter-final, to win 3-0 on aggregate],” he said. “The Italians thought the trophy then would be theirs.”
One small matter that Woods charts in his book written with David Frier – a retired lecturer in Portuguese studies, which meant he could access newspaper and police archives from the Lisbon side – is that most material produced in advance of the final had the wrong iconography for the trophy being played for, including the matchday
programme.
An image of the old European Cup was pictured on the front, but Uefa had by then commissioned a new design for the silverware after granting a request from Real Madrid to be allowed to keep the old one after winning it six times.
“One of the stipulations for the new cup was that is should be able to hold four bottles of champagne,” said Woods.
A pennant commemorating the 1967 final is fondly regarded by a man in essence a walking Celtic encyclopedia and it is no common or garden item. Bought by Woods a fortnight after he returned from an extended stay in Lisbon – “I was having such a good time and had an open-ended ticket, so I stayed till the Sunday [with the final on the Thursday]” – the fact that it has nothing to do with the club itself speaks of very different times.
“There was no club merchandise in those days, none whatsoever,” he said. “So private firms did cash in or, when it came to T-shirts, scarves or hats, these things were home made.”
Woods’ ability to burrow away to find the new and unknown about an event which has been pored over and picked apart for half a century is in itself worthy of recording. He never felt that revisiting 1967 – he previously co-authored the book One Afternoon in Lisbon almost three decades ago – would leave him sifting over the same old, same old.
“My research takes a lot out of me, so, if I wasn’t turning up anything new when I embarked on my research, I would have dropped it immediately,” Woods said.
“I go to Paris every year and since the Biblioteque Nationale was built in the 1990s, what you can obtain access to has grown greatly – as is true of what the internet allows.
“You can order in advance online in this Paris library and then scour through all manner of newspapers that are supplied to you in bound volumes – the best way to look up old newspapers. I can speak French and Italian and have a working knowledge of Spanish, so was able to read more than 50 newspapers from around the days of Celtic’s win in Lisbon.”
One Italian newspaper from a little later tickles Woods. It is an interview with Sean Connery, then promoting his latest Bond film You Only Live Twice. The headline reads: “Celtic’s triumph means as much to me as all my 007 movies put together”.
“Imagine that,” said Woods. The real world can feel reminagined with Woods’ archive.
Sadness as Celtic lose another legend, Historian Pat Woods has passed away
By Matthew Marr 12 August, 2025 No Comments
Celtic fans love arguing about the greatest ever Celt. Was it club founder Brother Walfrid? Maybe Willie Maley, the longest serving manager. Or Jock Stein, who led the Bhoys to their greatest day…
One of the reasons that fans can do this is the work of many men and women who have devoted themselves to researching Celtic’s history. Yesterday (11 August 2025) saw the sad passing of arguably the most important researcher when it comes to knowing Celtic’s story: Pat Woods.
Born in Bangor in Wales in 1946, he grew up in the east end of Glasgow, close to the team that would define much of his life. He was a devoted fan, travelling all across Scotland and Europe as part of this. However, his main Celtic connection was off the field.
As a librarian, he spent much of his professional life amongst Glasgow’s archives. Pat also chose to give up much of spare time in those same buildings, helping him amass a phenomenal knowledge of Celtic’s history.
This took him right back to the club’s beginning. Indeed one part of the Woods’ folklore relates to his iconic book (written with Tom Campbell) ‘The Glory and the Dream’. Published just in advance of Celtic’s 1988 centenary, this told a century of club tales.
It was said that his book irked many in the Celtic hierarchy. One matter that was examined in detail was the club’s foundation date, which was 6 November 1887. Of course, Celtic’s badge says 1888 – marking Celtic’s first game – but club officials felt this undermined the 1988 celebrations!
Of all the many topics in which Pat became an expert, arguably the most significant of these was the Bhoys’ 1967 triumph in Lisbon. As well as writing and co-authoring different books on the topic, he build up a huge library of research materials. These were later donated to the Mitchell Library, a place where Pat spent many a day as part of his research efforts.
In 2017, Pat’s contribution to Celtic’s heritage was acknowledged at the annual Player of the Year event when he was given a special recognition award. It was no mean feat to persuade him to accept this as he was generally a very private man.
Anyone who has read a Pat Woods book will have their own favourite. Perhaps those that most stand out are ‘The Glory and the Dream’ and ‘Dreams and Songs to Sing’ (both written with Tom Campbell) or the definitive account of Celtic’s 1967 success ‘One afternoon in Lisbon’ (written with Kevin McCarra). He also contributed articles to Celtic history fanzines such as The Celt.
And it’s not just books that bear his name which he has influenced. A huge number of other Celtic researchers have either benefitted from his help when writing their own publication, or simply been inspired by the work that he has done.
Fans will rightly debate who was the greatest Celt, and this will correctly focus on those men who have pulled on the Hoops (or stripes, before that). Hopefully those that do this will give some thought to the club historians who helped them “know the history.”
If ranking the importance of those people, Pat Woods would sit near – if not atop – that list. His death leaves a huge gap in efforts to learn Celtic’s history, but also prompts a reminder of his amazing work on this topic.
Requiescat in pace, Pat.
Matthew Marr
You can argue about the greatest Celts: Walfrid, Maley, Stein and so on.
And when it comes to the study of Celtic’s history, a few men also stand out.
At the top of any such list has to be Pat Woods, for his books and extensive research.
Requiescat in pace.#Celtic #CelticFC https://t.co/1Cc0UcsRBI pic.twitter.com/X69mQVcNaX
— Hail Hail History (@hailhailhistory)
Like any other Celtic fan who loves his Celtic History i’m very sad to here the news that the great Pat Woods has sadly passed away ✍️🏽 📚
Eternal Rest 🕯 pic.twitter.com/XSylK81MIY
— Celtic Curio (@Celticcurio) August 12, 2025
Last night saw the passing of Celtic historian Pat Woods. A dear friend and mentor, he was always ready to support and encourage any aspiring Celtic authors with his in depth knowledge on all matters Celtic. We shall never see his likes again. RIP 🍀 pic.twitter.com/MijtREu24P
— The Glasgow Irish (@55McCallum) August 12, 2025
Condolences after the passing of Celtic writer & historian, Pat Woods
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/august/13/condolences-after-the-passing-of-celtic-writer—historian–pat-woods/
General
By Celtic Football Club
13 Aug 2025, 10:39 am
Everyone at Celtic Football Club is extremely saddened at the news that Celtic writer and historian, Pat Woods, has passed away.
Pat’s lifelong love of Celtic involved more than just following the team, which he always did with great enthusiasm and devotion.
He was also the foremost chronicler of the unique and wonderful history of our football club, and there were few, if any, who knew more about Celtic than Pat.
His collection of documents, memorabilia and information about Lisbon, for example, was unrivalled, and he generously donated it all to the club back in 2019.
Two years previously, at the club’s annual Player of the Year awards event, Pat was presented with a Special Recognition Award for his commitment to the story of Celtic’s 1967 European Cup triumph in Lisbon.
Pat also put his knowledge to great use through writing numerous Celtic history books, including The Glory and The Dream with Tom Campbell, and One Afternoon in Lisbon with Kevin McCarra.
Pat was always a humble man and a generous help to any and all supporters who wanted to write about Celtic or even just find out more about the club.
The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic are with Pat’s family and friends at this very sad time.
Celtic writer & historian, Pat Woods
A TRIBUTE TO A GREAT CELTIC MAN
Pat Woods (1946-2025)
Legendary boxing writer, Nat Fleischer, founder of ‘The Ring’ magazine, once stated that ‘among the greats there is no greatest’.
However, this week saw the sad passing of Celtic historian Pat Woods, whose body of work and research on the club he loved, contradicts this view, as he was undoubtedly the most outstanding, influential and authoritative writer on the rich, inspiring fabric that is the Celtic story.
Born in Bangor, North Wales in 1946 and raised close to Celtic Park on Shettleston Road, Pat was educated at the Marist St Mungo’s Academy and spent his professional life with distinction in the city’s library service.
As a youngster, attending matches home and away with his father he became a fervent and loyal supporter of the club, cheering boyhood heroes, Stein, Evans, Peacock, Collins and the ‘Clown Prince of Paradise’, the inimitable Charlie Tully.
He endured the barren years of the ‘Kelly Kids’ era in the early 1960s and then the wonderful successes following Stein’s return to Celtic Park. His ‘annus mirabilis’ was, of course, Lisbon 1967, travelling to the city on the River Tagus on a 10-day return rail journey to witness a Celtic triumph, which in his own words, ‘captivated a continent’.
In the years that followed, Pat supported the team at home and abroad and began what was to be a distinguished writing career in 1986.
His work, including the magisterial The Glory and the Dream, Dreams and Songs to Sing and outstanding collaborations with Tom Campbell, Kevin McCarra and Lisbon Lion Jim Craig, provided unerringly accurate, vivid and entertaining narratives to a wide and appreciative public.
Pat’s writing captured the drama and colour of occasions, ‘glorious victories and honourable defeats’ and always conveyed the passion of Celtic supporters which he reflected, ‘shone like a beacon’.
As one commentator has observed, ‘he elevated Celtic’s literary tradition to place it at the zenith among football clubs’.
Pat’s contribution to Celtic was recognised in 2017, when the club honoured him with a Special Recognition Award to acknowledge a lifetime of outstanding work marked with his own special ‘charism’.
With typical generosity, he gifted to the club an unmatched 46-volume archive of extremely rare, printed and pictorial material from international sources, documenting Celtic’s 1967 European Cup victory. A life’s work and legacy which will encourage, inspire and inform those who seek to follow his path.
In tribute, distinguished journalist Andrew Smith has described Pat as a ‘special man’.
Indeed, he was special. In his integrity, his humility, his creativity, intelligence and unfailing kindness. A quiet man, but nevertheless, a giant and iconic figure in the history of the club and a man who enriched the lives of all who knew him.
TERRY DICK