Celtic have confirmed that club legend and Lisbon Lion Stevie Chalmers has died, aged 83.
Thomas Stephen Chalmers is best remembered for scoring the winning goal for Celtic in the 1967 European Cup Final against Inter Milan, the most famous goal in Celtic history.
Stevie Chalmers, who wore number 9 in the Lisbon Lions' win against Inter Milan, passed away following a battle with illness.
READ MORE: Remembering Stevie Chalmers: Scorer of the most famous goal in Celtic history
The Celtic legend was surrounded by family when he sadly passed away.
It comes a week on from the passing of Billy McNeill, the club captain during the 1967 European Cup final.
In a statement, the club said: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Stevie Chalmers, our loving father and devoted husband to Sadie. The Celtic legend was surrounded by family when he sadly passed away.
"In recent times Stevie endured the toughest of battles, but just as he approached every game in a green and white jersey, he tackled his long-term illness with much bravery and dignity.
"Stevie, first and foremost, was a family man to his loving wife Sadie; their children, Stephen, Carol, Paul, Ann, Martin, Clare, grandchildren, great grandchildren and wider family members."
Family's great sadness as #CelticFC legend Stevie Chalmers passes away.
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) April 29, 2019
The club added: "He was also part of a wider family and community. His place in history is assured as one of the famous Lisbon Lions who lifted the European Cup for Celtic in 1967 when Stevie scored the winning goal to defeat Inter Milan 2-1 in Portugal. He felt honoured and privileged to have played alongside the Lisbon Lions, and this camaraderie and friendship carried on long after their playing days as the team became lifelong friends.
"Celtic was an integral part of Stevie’s life and he devoted much of his career to the famous Glasgow club. He was adored by Celtic supporters in Scotland and around the world, especially for his passion, loyalty and integrity. He felt humbled and honoured when inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
"Stevie was a role model for all, especially to his children growing up. In later years, he doted on his grandchildren and they, too, were a great source of love and laughter for Stevie.
Too awful for words to lose another brother within a week of Billy. RIP my friend and team-mate Stevie Chalmers. 😓 #THATgoal
— Jim Craig ⭐️ (@Cairney2) April 29, 2019
"In such times of sadness, we must celebrate a life lived to the full. As a family we ask that you remember Stevie with love and affection and take pleasure when recalling the many wonderful times he and his team-mates gave to us all through their wonderful skills on the pitch.
"A true gentleman, who will be sadly missed by so many, but will never be forgotten... The legend lives on."
Chief Executive Peter Lawwell paid tribute to Stevie Chalmers saying: “This is such terrible news, and on behalf of the club, I would first of all like to pass on my condolences to Stevie’s wife, Sadie, their children, Stephen, Carol, Paul, Ann, Martin, Clare, and their grandchildren.
“Stevie was a much-loved husband, father and grandfather, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this desperately sad time.
READ MORE: Celtic pay tribute to Lisbon Lion, Stevie Chalmers, who has died aged 83
“This is a particularly devastating time for the Celtic Family, with the passing of Stevie Chalmers coming so soon after his friend and former team-mate, Billy McNeill. My condolences also go to the Lisbon Lions, already mourning the loss of their captain, and now grieving the death of another one of their own.
“Stevie Chalmers was a Celtic legend, and one of the greatest goalscorers this club has ever seen. Indeed, only three other legends in Jimmy McGrory, Henrik Larsson and Stevie’s close friend, Bobby Lennox, have scored more goals.
“However, there is only one man who is able to lay claim to having scored the most important goal in Celtic’s 131-year history, and that man is Stevie Chalmers.
“When Stevie steered the ball home with just five minutes of the game remaining in Lisbon’s Estadio Nacional to put Celtic 2-1 ahead of Inter Milan, he ensured that Celtic created football history as the first British team to win the European Cup.
“It also guaranteed his place amongst the pantheon of Celtic greats, forever loved and revered by supporters of all generations.
“Yet, whenever I was lucky enough to meet Stevie over the years, his humility gave little indication of his incredible accomplishments as a player, which saw him win four league titles, three Scottish Cups, four League Cups and, of course, the European Cup, in the course of scoring 231 goals in 403 appearances in the green and white Hoops.
READ MORE: Neil Cameron: Celtic fans turn up in their thousands to pay their respects to Billy McNeill
“Like his team-mates, he remained a quiet, humble man, happiest in the company of his fellow Lions and his fellow Celtic supporters.
“These are the saddest of days for Celtic supporters, and the wider football world, as we mourn Stevie Chalmers’ passing and send our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.
“Though as we do, we also remember everything Stevie Chalmers did for Celtic Football Club, and in particular, that special day of May 25, 1967 when Stevie scored his historic goal.”
Celtic Chairman Ian Bankier, paying his own tribute to Stevie Chalmers, said: “Our thoughts are with Stevie’s wife, Sadie, and their family, at this desperately sad time.
“We all mourn his passing, and it is another devastating loss, following so soon after Billy McNeill’s death.
“Stevie and Billy, along with the rest of their team-mates, achieved extraordinary success in the green and white Hoops, and it was Stevie who ensured that already great players became Celtic legends.
“That goal in the Estadio Nacional is the most famous and important in our history, and it still gives every fan goosebumps whenever we see it again.
“Meeting Stevie was always a genuine pleasure as a supporter, and while always aware of everything he did for our football club, it was his humility which always stood out.
“We will always be thankful for Stevie’s incredible contribution to Celtic as we also offer our support to his family at this time.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel