Lawrie Reilly facts for kids

Lawrance Reilly (born October 28, 1928 – died July 22, 2013) was a famous Scottish football player. He was known as one of "The Famous Five". This was a super strong attacking team for Hibernian in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The other players in the group were Bobby Johnstone, Gordon Smith, Eddie Turnbull, and Willie Ormond. Many people think Reilly was one of the best strikers in Scottish football history. He was even put into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2005!

Life as a Football Star

Reilly joined the Hibs team in 1946. He chose Hibs even though their city rivals, Hearts, also wanted him. He quickly became an important player for Hibernian. He scored his first goal against Queen of the South. In 1947, he scored his first of 18 "hat-tricks" (three goals in one game) for Hibs, also against Queen of the South. He played his first league game when he was just 17 years old.

Becoming a Regular Player

Reilly became a regular player in the team after Willie Ormond broke his leg. That same season, he was chosen to play for the Scotland national team for the first time. He scored a goal in a 3–1 win against England at Wembley. Later that year, the famous "Famous Five" attacking players played together for the very first time.

The "Famous Five" team played together often during the 1949–50 season. The team earned a lot of points that season. However, they lost the championship by just one point to Rangers. That season was also a bit sad for Reilly's international career. Scotland qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. But the SFA decided not to send the team to Brazil. This was because they didn't win the 1950 British Home Championship.

Winning Championships

In the early 1950s, Hibernian was one of the strongest teams in Scottish football. They won the league championship two years in a row! They won in 1951 and 1952. Reilly was a key player in both of these big wins. He was even the top goal scorer in the 1951–52 championship season.

Hibs finished second to Rangers in 1953. After that, the team's success started to slow down. But Reilly still played very well. He missed out on playing in the 1954 FIFA World Cup. This was because he was sick with a lung illness called pleurisy.

A Short Break from Football

Reilly almost stopped playing football completely. This happened after a disagreement with Hibernian. The manager, Hugh Shaw, would not give him a "testimonial match." A testimonial match is a special game played to honor a player's long service to a club. Reilly asked to leave the team, and the club agreed. But they eventually worked things out.

During this time, which lasted four months, Reilly took another job to help his family. The SFA helped them find a solution. This allowed Reilly to keep playing football and also keep his other job.

Later Career and Retirement

Reilly continued to score many goals after he returned to Hibs. He also played in the very first season of the European Cup. However, injuries started to make him miss more games. A knee injury eventually forced him to stop playing in 1958.

He played his last game for Scotland against England in 1957. It was the first time he didn't score a goal at Wembley. His last game for Hibs was in April 1958. He scored a goal in a 2–1 win against Rangers in that game. Later that year, he finally had a testimonial match. But rules from the SFA stopped him from playing in it.

Amazing Stats and Nickname

Reilly played for Scotland 38 times and scored 22 goals! He is the Hibernian player with the most international games. He is also fourth on the list of top goal scorers for the Scotland national team. He scored goals in 61% of his international games. This is better than many other famous players like Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law. Only Hughie Gallacher had a better scoring rate among players with more than 15 games.

He earned the nickname "Last-minute Reilly." This was because he often scored important goals very late in games. For example, he scored late goals against Northern Ireland and England in the 1953 British Home Championship. Reilly also scored 14 goals in 14 games for the Scottish Football League XI.

Reilly passed away in July 2013, when he was 84 years old. In August 2019, his two Scottish league championship medals were sold at an auction for £12,000!

Honours

• Scottish league champions (2): 1950–51, 1951–52

See also

In Spanish: Lawrie Reilly para niños

• List of Scotland national football team hat-tricks