With the sad loss of Peter Cormack this week, Scottish football has lost a true gem. At Hibs, he was legendary. A legend in the sport of Scotland. Despite not being on the staff, Peter had a significant impact on the kids at Easter Road when I was making my way into the first squad. He was good friends with Alex McLeish, therefore he would frequently attend training sessions and games. Big Eck did a fantastic job of speaking to us through the icons. We hadn’t read up on our history, so at first we thought they were random people. However, we quickly learnt all about players like Peter Cormack, Pat Stanton, and the Famous Five.
Peter’s playing career speaks for itself, and he was a nice man. such as signing with Liverpool under Bill Shankly, scoring for Hibs in a victory over Real Madrid, and taking home league and UEFA Cup triumphs. Imagine being referred to as the “final piece of the jigsaw” at Anfield by a manager of Shankly’s calibre before to a successful run. Greatest praise indeed.
He also had an incredible scoring record for a midfielder at the top level of play. You would never have guessed it when you chatted with Peter, but it’s incredible stuff. He had such humility. For the very reason that he never spoke about it, you would never have imagined he had accomplished so much. All he seemed like was a regular man you met on the street.
You can see the man’s humility from that. He was more concerned with how we were doing as young players making our way through his former team than he was about his career. A club he cherished. Peter and I had a few encounters at different events in the past few years. It was so disheartening to witness him battle dementia. It’s an extremely terrible disease. terrible for his family, and I’m thinking of them during this difficult time. He was a really beautiful man who will be sorely missed. Peter, rest in peace.