Bobby Lennox

The 'Buzz Bomb' winger who scored 301 goals for Celtic and was a Lisbon Lion.

Robert Lennox (born 30 August 1943) is a Scottish former footballer who played for Celtic and was a member of their 1967 European Cup-winning team, known as the Lisbon Lions. Lennox earned ten international caps for Scotland. With 25 trophies, including 11 league titles, he is one of Celtic's most decorated players. In 2002, Celtic supporters voted him a member of the club's all-time team.

Quick Facts

Full name: Robert Lennox
Born: 30 August 1943
Birthplace: Saltcoats, Scotland
Height: 1.72 m / 5 ft 8 in
Position: Outside Left
Total caps: 366
Total goals: 170

Lore & Background

Celtic signed Lennox from Scottish Junior team Ardeer Recreation on provisional forms in 1961 at the age of 18, and he made his first team debut the following March. He went on to score 301 goals in all competitions, second only to Celtic's all-time top scorer Jimmy McGrory's total of 468 goals. Of those, 171 were scored in the Scottish league, making him the fifth-highest league scorer for Celtic. He placed third for the European Golden Boot in 1967–68.

He won 11 League medals, eight Scottish Cup medals, and five League Cup medals (scoring 63 goals in the competition) and was a member of the 1967 European Cup-winning Celtic team, the Lisbon Lions, who defeated Inter Milan 2–1 in the Estádio Nacional stadium in Lisbon, Portugal. He played in a second European Cup final with Celtic in 1970, losing 2–1 after extra time to Feyenoord Rotterdam of the Netherlands at the San Siro stadium, Milan. He was an extremely fast winger and was known by fans as 'Buzz Bomb' or 'Lemon' as they thought he made defenders look like 'suckers'.

He left Celtic in March 1978, and moved to the United States to play for Houston Hurricane in their debut season in the NASL. After a disappointing three goals in 30 games for a struggling team, he got a surprise offer to rejoin Celtic in September 1978. It was a good move, as Celtic took the League Championship that year and the Scottish Cup in 1980. He was the last Lisbon Lion to retire as a player when he joined Celtic's coaching staff in November 1980.

Reader's Guide

Lennox made his debut for Scotland in a 2–1 victory over Northern Ireland in 1966, going on to win 10 international caps and scoring three goals in the process. He scored one of the goals in the famous victory over the then reigning FIFA World Cup holders England at Wembley in 1967, England's first defeat since winning the trophy. The goal made him the first Celtic player to score for Scotland at Wembley, and he later said it was a major moment in his life. Although he thought there was no particular bias, he believes that he and several of his Celtic teammates should have received more caps than they were given. His last appearance for Scotland was against Wales in 1970 at Hampden Park which resulted in a 0–0 draw.

Did You Know?

Possessing incredible speed and acceleration, Lennox cemented a reputation as a prolific goalscorer on the left wing.
Bobby Charlton said: 'If I'd had Lennox in my team, I could have played forever. He was one of the best strikers I have ever seen.'
Alfredo Di Stefano recalled: 'The Scotsman who gave me the most trouble was Bobby Lennox of Celtic.'
He was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in November 2005 and appointed an MBE in the 1981 New Year Honours.
His autobiography, A Million Miles For Celtic, was published in 1982.