Historical Trust plans to celebrate Hibs' 50 years in Europe

[Jamie]

Hibernian FC – Pioneers in Europe
by John Campbell

Hibernian has faced a number of Clubs considered giants in the European game, amongst their number being Juventus, Barcelona, Roma, Red Star Belgrade, Valencia, Liverpool and Sporting Lisbon but one Club not in the list is Rosenborg of Norway and yet they almost habitually qualify for the European Cup with participation in the knock out stages no stranger to them.

That same Rosenborg from Norway visited Easter Road in the First Round Second Leg of the UEFA Cup on Wednesday October 2nd 1974. Having lost the first leg 3-2 the Norwegians came boasting that they could reverse that scoreline to qualify for the second round and in those pre internet days your average Hibs fan had little information on the visitors to suggest they might not be right to be confident. After all the Norwegians had spied on Hibs the previous Saturday and watched them go down to a 1-0 defeat at home to St. Johnstone so it’s conceivable they might have actually believed their own hype.

A decent sized crowd assembled and was stunned into silence when the visitors took an early lead on the night. By the end of the 90 minutes however it was the Norwegian team which was stunned as Hibs rattled nine, yes nine, past their unfortunate goalkeeper Arve Thunshelle. Some wags on the night re-christened the goalie Thunshelleshocked whilst others, in numbers, kept singing for more goals with the final rendition being “We want ten”

I was there that evening and we tore the Norwegians to shreds in a display of fast attacking football. The programme I purchased before the game is amongst my prized Hibernian possessions but I may be parting company with it soon! The programme is now thirty years old but of course Hibs had played in Europe long before that having entered the inaugural European Cup competition in 1955 and reached the semi final before losing out to Stad Reims of France.

A 50th Anniversary of such importance should not and will not go unnoticed as it will be marked by the Hibernian Historical Trust which is planning a summer exhibition at the Stadium where memorabilia related to the many times Hibs have played in Europe will be put on display. I plan to offer my Rosenborg programme and would not have parted with it for any other reason.

Items will include strips worn in those games, programmes, tickets, photographs, pennants, silverware and much much more with the Former Players Association (FPA) offering up much of what is to be displayed. In conversation with Club Historian Tommy Wright, who is also heavily involved in organising events with the FPA, I learned that the display will go on for three or four months during the summer of this year and that there is a chance for Hibs fans to play their part in making it an even bigger success than it looks sure to be. The Historical Trust Committee is working very hard to secure as many items of interest as it can and wishes to appeal to any fans that have memorabilia reflecting Hibs in Europe to offer that up for display.

The Trust is a Registered Charity and so there is a choice of donating the memorabilia or simply loaning it to them for the event and items such as ticket stubs, programmes and photographs can be scanned and returned to the owner.

This display is sure to be popular with Hibs fans of all ages as it sets out to explain how European competition came about and how Hibs played a pioneering role in its early days. There will also be an opportunity to reflect upon the many wonderful players who have graced the Easter Road turf whether in a Hibs jersey or that of an opposing team.

I urge you to take this chance to share an important part of our Club’s history by offering up your memorabilia and allowing it to be seen by thousands of fans. You can do this by contacting Tom Wright on 0131 556 6820 or by emailing him at TomWright.1972@btopenworld.com and when you get in touch with Tom, be sure to mention to him where you read of this request!

Full details of when the event is due to commence will be notified in due course, as will details of an Hibernian Historical Trust Dinner where many former players, both from Hibs and opponents across the years, will be invited to attend. As they say, watch this space!