Picture perfect gift of hero Billy will raise cash for charity
A RARE print of Billy Mcneill lifting the European Cup that is one of only a few in the world signed by all 11 Lisbon Lions, is going under the hammer to support a charity in the Celtic legend’s name.
The print captures the historic day Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup on May 25 1967 after beating Inter Milan 2-1.
A number of prints were autographed by the cup-winning team at a gala dinner in Glasgow in May 1998 – thought to be one of the last times the entire team were photographed together.
It is being auctioned on ebay to raise funds for the new Billy Mcneill Fund, which will support former players affected by dementia and will be officially launched at a major charity event in May.
The Celtic legend died on April 22 last year after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease several years earlier.
Brian Hamil, owner of Perfect Memorabilia, acquired a series of prints from the man who organised the gala dinner and checked their veracity with former Lisbon Lion Bertie Auld.
He said: “Bertie not only confirmed they were genuine autographs, but was able to recall them being signed and the event they were signed at.
“The next morning it was back in the car with every coin I could get my hands on and we became owners of the only commercially available fully signed Lisbon Lions items in the world.
“Our first print went to Scott Brown for his testimonial dinner and naturally he chose number 8 and it sold for a five figure sum to support his good causes.
“To launch the charitable aims of Billy’s foundation we would like to offer for auction print number 1 which will be auctioned over the space of a week on ebay, bringing much welcomed funds and awareness for this superb initiative.”
Billy Mcneill’s son Martyn said: “When we heard about the offer from Brian we were absolutely delighted.
“To have a print signed by all the Lisbon Lions is tremendous. We can’t thank them enough.”
The Billy Mcneill Fund will be officially launched on May 29.