Friday 13th wasn’t unlucky..it was as good as the day Hibs lifted Cup
Kane: Fending off Mercer’s bid was club’s greatest day
THE date was Friday the 13th. But for anyone with Hibs at heart there was nothing even remotely unlucky about it.
Thirty years ago today Hearts chairman Wallace Mercer’s outrageous bid to buy Hibs and merge the two Edinburgh giants into one was sunk after a tidal wave of emotion in Leith left the Tynecastle chief marooned.
To this day Paul Kane – a key member of the squad at that time but an even more passionate Hibee fan – argues it was and will forever remain the most important victory in the Leith club’s history.
Bigger even than the Scottish Cup triumph that ended a 114-year wait and sparked wild scenes.
Mercer’s plan was to assume enough shares in Hearts’ rivals – who had debts running into millions – to complete a takeover he claimed would create a single club capable of challenging the Old Firm.
But the businessmen who immediately mobilised a Hands Off Hibs campaign reckoned the property magnate was simply more interested in Easter Road and it’s potential for development.
Whatever the motive, Kane knows that if Hibs chairman David Duff had been convinced to sell his 11 per cent share in the club to the man who had already amassed a 62 per cent holding then his beloved club would not exist today. Famously the supporters won the day. Mercer pulled out in the face of fierce protests which he claimed included receiving bullets in the post. Sir Tom Farmer was persuaded to buy a controlling interest and Hibs were saved.
Kane said: “Friday 13th July, 1990. It’s a huge landmark in the history of the club.
“Like winning the Scottish Cup
in 2016. It was one of those moments you remember forever.
“Bigger in fact because if the sale to Mercer had gone through then they’d never have got that famous victory.”
Hibs fans had got wind of Mercer’s withdrawal and stood outside Easter Road in a sea of green and white.
“It’s a hugely emotional memory,” Kane said. “You see for yourself the pictures of fans crying. The Hibs Club was bouncing after the news broke that he’d pulled out. Everyone involved in the Hands Off Hibs movement went to celebrate.
“There are so many people that are Hibs fans now that won’t remember that time. But they can be assured the emotions, the tears, were every bit as strong as at
Hampden in 2016. So much effort had gone into it but only the people who went through that rollercoaster will remember it.”
It might only have lasted six weeks but for Hibs fans the battle to save their club had been epic.
Kenny McLean, one of the main drivers behind the Hands Off Hibs campaign, mobilised supporters. A petition gathered over 60,000 signatures in a matter of days.
Protests culminated in a huge rally at the Usher Hall which even attracted Hearts legends Gary Mackay and John Robertson to cross the divide.
Leith’s most famous twins, The Proclaimers, also joined the movement and their tear-jerking hit Sunshine on Leith became the anthem of the fight.
Pickets were organised outside the Bank of Scotland – who were backing Mercer’s bid – on the Mound. Supporters might not have owned the club but they played a key role in saving it.
Kane said: “The players only found out about Mercer’s bid at the same time as the fans and from that point anyone who cared for the club sprung into action. “It seemed to us he wanted to take Hibs out the game.
“Thankfully Mercer didn’t understand the emotions of football and what a club like Hibs meant to a supporter with the bond passed from grandad to father to son. It makes me proud to look back. The Hands Off Hibs movement was incredible.
“The day Joe Baker kissed the ground, myself and John Hughes were on the terracing with the fans and the power you could feel in the group was huge.
“At that point I was thinking more as a fan than a player. It was the topic of conversation with every person I met.
“You got involved in that fighting feeling that we would not be defeated.
“Kenny McLean was brilliant. He brought fans and business people together.
“They were even queuing at the Bank of Scotland to open accounts and then rejoin the queue to go in and close those
accounts. Just to disrupt them. It was affecting not only football but business too as the bank was backing Mercer. “If you look back he was a property magnate and the real estate of Easter Road would have been worth a lot.
“Hibs were in a weak financial position and Mercer sniffed an opportunity. “Thankfully David Duff was a Hibs man. He gets criticised but had 10 or 11 per cent of the club. If he had sold that then Hibs were finished. Done.”