Only Big Tam could have got away with wearing a red suit!
TOMMY GEMMELL was the mostconfident, flamboyant yet unassuming player I’ve ever encountered in almost half-acentury of football writing.
It was a unique combination for a unique person and player.
He won every honour in the game but was never flash. He spent time and money on everyone, despite never earning much out of football.
Gemmell often infuriated Jock Stein during their years together at Celtic, and usually paid the penalty by being fined or dropped.
Yet Tommy never lost his respect for Stein, even though the Celtic boss eventually forced him out of Celtic Park.
He will, rightly, always be remembered first and foremost for his services to Celtic. It can’t be anything else after winning 14 major honours, including the European Cup. A proper Parkhead legend. Yet his eight seasons at Dundee should not be under-estimated.
Dens Park was where I really got to know him properly after former Rangers manager, Davie White, signed him.
White knew only too well that Gemmell was a winner from his own
frustrating experiences of Old Firm management.
White inherited a decent squad, but immediately identified they lacked a leader.
Gemmell didn’t let him down and led Dundee to their first trophy in 11 years, ironically against Celtic in the 1973 League Cup Final.
Not long after, I invited him to a Scottish Football Writers Dinner.
He turned up wearing the recommended dress code, a twopiece suit – only it was bright red!
Obviously it caught everyone’s attention, yet Big Tam was not the least bit concerned. Not even when some wag told him not to open his mouth because someone might try to post a letter!
When White resigned in 1977, Dundee turned to Gemmell. He was only 34 but immediately stopped playing to become manager.
Not long afterwards, he phoned me. He was impressed with how hard the players were working in pre-season training and asked me to bring a case of lager and one of beer to Dens to help the players unwind.
Imagine that happening today where every item eaten or drank is monitored by sports scientists.
As much as Gemmell admired Stein, he was determined to bring his own stamp to management.
He treated every player the same, whereas Stein would put an arm round Jimmy Johnstone to encourage him, but give Gemmell a boot up the backside if he did something similar.
Johnstone was his first headline signing at Dens, but soon stepped out of line, taking a young Gordon Strachan out for a boozy lunch.
“When Tommy found out, he treated us like men and he was not too heavy with the repercussions,” Strachan recalled.
Dundee chairman Ian Gellatly once told Gemmell he was going through too much of the club’s alcohol with the Press after games.
Big Tam didn’t stop, though. He just started buying his own!
Gemmell lasted three years at Dens but his record suggests the Dundee board were too hasty in showing him the door.
His 60% success rate is higher than that of Bob Shankly, who led the Dark Blues to their only Scottish Championship success.
Tommy was sacked after he’d masterminded a 5-1 victory over Celtic, which was not enough to avoid the drop. Minutes after the final whistle, a Dundee director said to me: “Tell your pal this isn’t enough to save his job.”
Gemmell had a couple of stints at Albion Rovers after this, but was virtually out of football by the age of 40, far too young for someone with so much to offer.
He moved into insurance but never lost his enthusiasm for football.
And I’ll never forget Big Tam.