The Life and Times of Last Minute Reilly

Book excerpt: Lawrie Reilly is one of Hibernian and Scotland's greatest ever players. A member of Hibs' legendary Famous Five forward line, he played a key part in the most successful period in the club's history. Lawrie's career was a real success story. He won the Scottish League title three times with Hibs and was the club's leading goal scorer for seven successive seasons - a record that remains unmatched. In Last Minute Reilly, Lawrie now reveals for the first time what it was like to be a member of the Famous Five, what made him the incredible player he was, his views on why his Hibs team never won the Scottish Cup and his thoughts on the characters in the game. He also tells the full story of why he decided to go on strike, who brokered the deal to get him back on the field doing what he did best and how he sustained the injury that ended his career before the age of thirty. In his international career, Lawrie Reilly achieved a goals per game record for Scotland that has never been bettered - 22 goals in 38 games. He was always at his very best against England and his knack of scoring late equalisers against the Auld Enemy earned him his nickname of 'Last Minute Reilly' along with everlasting popularity amongst Scotland fans. Last Minute Reilly is the story of a genuine footballing great, a legend of the game and one of football's true gentlemen.