WHEN Lawrie Reilly took the field against Rangers on Monday 21 April 1958 he knew it was to be his last appearance at an Easter Road ground he had lit up with his brilliant goalscoring feats for the past 13 years. It came as no surprise when Reilly graced the occasion with a goal – his 234th and last in a Hibs jersey – as Rangers were beaten 3-1 .
However, disappointment followed five days later when Reilly was left out of the Scottish Cup final and Hibs' jinx in the competition continued in a 1-0 defeat to Clyde.
In hindsight it was fitting that Reilly's glittering career finished in happi
er circumstances, with a goal in front of his adoring Easter Road crowd and a win over their great rivals from Glasgow. Under the heading "A Glory Night For A Great Hib: Reilly Must Have Raised A Cup-Final Problem", the following day's Scotsman reported: "Lawrie Reilly, who made his debut in a winning Hibernian team at Kilmarnock in October 1945, took leave last night – or did he? – of the game at the Easter Road he has adorned in the intervening years with the cheers of a 20,000 crowd ringing in his ears as a crescendo of thanks for a great career and his contribution to significant success."
Reilly's final goal put Hibs 2-0 up in the game, described as "a fast grounder in at a post".
Reilly was the spearhead of Scotland's greatest ever forward line, alongside Bobby Johnstone, Gordon Smith, Eddie Turnbull, and Willie Ormond, and he inspired Hibs to back-to-back championships in 1950-51 and 1951-52. Reilly also scored 22 goals in 38 Scotland caps, including five goals in five matches at Wembley.
In 1955 Reilly almost quit football after Hibs refused him a testimonial match – a matter which was eventually resolved by the SFA. Reilly, however, began to suffer from illness as pleurisy and pneumonia led him to miss much of the 1955-56 season. After a cartilage operation in May 1957, Lawrie returned the following season for what would be his last. He was no longer an automatic selection due to the emergence of the talented young striker Joe Baker, who was selected ahead of Reilly in the ill-fated cup final against Clyde.
The full article contains 393 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
