Tommy was a legend on pitch and in print

DUNDEE FC legend Tommy Gallacher was a rare example of someone who gained public acclaim in two careers.

Tommy’s family life was centred on football and he was the son of the peerless Patsy, who played 464 times and scored 192 goals for Celtic from 1911 to 1926.

Patsy left Celtic and signed for Falkirk in October 1926 for a fee of £1,500 but his wife died three years later, aged 35, while giving birth to their sixth child.

Two of his sons, Tommy and Willie, became footballers.

Tommy began his senior career at Queen’s Park, joining Dundee FC in 1947, although he had guested for the club during the war years.

Tommy played for Dundee in the game in April 1948 that might have seen Celtic relegated.

Celtic needed to win their final match, away at Dundee, to guarantee top-flight survival and scraped through 3-2 following a hat-trick from Jock Weir.

Not only was his father watching in the stand, Tommy’s elder brother, Willie, was actually playing for Celtic that day, after signing for the club in 1938.

The post-Second World War period was a golden era for Dundee.

Along with Doug Cowie and Alfie Boyd, Tommy formed the backbone of that famous team with the legendary half-back still fondly remembered by older Dundee fans.

Dundee went into the final day of the 1948-49 season a point clear at the top and needing a win at Falkirk to bring the league flag to Dens Park for the first time. But a missed penalty while the score was at 0-0 was a prelude to a 4-1 defeat, as a Rangers victory over Albion Rovers saw them leapfrog Dundee to take the title.

There was only one medal for Tommy and that was the 1951 Scottish League Cup when Dundee beat Rangers 3-2 in the final at Hampden.

Tommy retired in 1956 and joined DC Thomson as a sports writer, reporting on the fortunes of both Dundee teams at home and in Europe for almost 30 years.

The greatest moments of his journalistic career came when Dundee won the league for the first time in 1962 before chasing European Cup glory the following season.

Dundee prepared for the European Cup by taking part in a friendly tournament in New York which featured guest teams primarily from Europe. Tommy reported on the tournament and took several of the Dundee squad to watch the boxing at the St Nicholas Arena where a brash young heavyweight named Cassius Clay defeated Billy Daniels.

Tommy covered every game at home and abroad as Dundee rampaged through their European Cup campaign, which started with them thrashing Cologne 8-1 at Dens.

Bob Shankly’s side then beat Sporting Lisbon and Anderlecht but faced the mighty AC Milan, who ended Dundee’s run at the semi-final stage.

He retired from his job in 1985. The footballing world was united in grief when Tommy died, aged 79, in 2001.

Tommy married Cathy in 1952 and they had five children: Brian, Mark, Kevin, Sheila and Patricia.

Tommy Gallacher in his playing days and also his second career as a football writer and Cassius Clay, who he saw fight in New York.