George Best's stint in Cork 50 years on: 12,000 fans flocked to Flower's Lodge for his debut 

In the early 1970s, the NASL (North American Soccer League) began attracting some of the world’s biggest football stars, players happy to see out their twilight years in one of football’s least competitive leagues, earning salaries that far exceeded what they’d made during their prime.

Just look at the names: Pelé, Beckenbauer, Eusebio, Bobby Moore, Carlos Alberto, Gordon Banks, Johan Cruyff... the legends rolled in.

Of the top 40 players in FIFA's World Cup Stars (1966-'76), 20 eventually made the move to the States.

Among those preparing for their American adventures were three well-known figures who made a pit stop on Leeside: Geoff Hurst, Rodney Marsh, and none other than George Best.

Best, the most gifted of the three, had already secured his place in history, having won the Ballon d’Or in 1968, the only Irishman ever to do so.

He left his millions of fans — transcending even the bitterest of historic rivalries — yearning for more.

Yet he also left them with plenty to remember him by: a decade and more of majestic football, a miracle of speed and balance, fearless dribbles, and unbelievable goals.

Hugh McIlvanney, the legendary British sportswriter, captured Best’s genius most memorably, evoking his “bewildering repertoire of feints and swerves,” his “freakish elasticity of limb and torso,” and a “balance that would have made Isaac Newton decide he might as well have eaten the apple.”

But his genius came with a cost. Plagued by alcoholism for most of his adult life, his career and personal life were marked by controversy, culminating in a tragically early death.

In August 1975, Cork Celtic, league champions just a year earlier, embarked on a pre-season tour of southeast England, taking on non-league teams.

During a game against Dunstable Town, they encountered George Best, who had been lured to play for the English side with a “king’s ransom” deal.

After the match, over drinks, one of the Celtic directors casually asked George if he’d ever consider playing in Cork. “You’d never know — someday, maybe,” he smiled.

That “someday” came sooner than expected.

With attendances dwindling, Cork Celtic’s board sent star player Bobby Tambling — a former England international — on a mission to England to sign someone who could pull in the crowds.

Tambling, who knew Best from his Chelsea days, set up a meeting. A deal was struck: a rolling contract paying £1,000 per match. 

For context, the average wage in England’s top division at the time was just £116 a week.

Even a few years earlier, when Kevin Keegan left Scunthorpe for Liverpool, he had to haggle with Bill Shankly for a contract of just £40 a week. The manager reportedly told him, “show some gratitude, son... I’m about to pay £38,000 for you!”

When Celtic’s players were told Best was on the way, their reaction was a mixture of awe and disbelief: “We’ll believe it when we see it.” And then, they did.

George Best arrived at Cork Airport in late December 1975. His debut for Cork Celtic was scheduled for Sunday, December 28, against Drogheda United.

The game was moved from Turner’s Cross to the larger Flower Lodge in anticipation of a bumper crowd. Admission prices reflected the occasion: £1.50 for the stand, 70p and 50p for terraces, with children admitted for 30p.

Best had just ended a short-term deal with Fourth Division Stockport County, where he was already one of English football’s highest-paid players on a £300-per-match fee.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

His arrival drew 12,000 spectators, generating around £6,000 in gate receipts. The fans came with high expectations as it was only five years since the World Player of the Year accolade less than two years since he left Manchester United in 1974.

The match itself was a disappointment. Drogheda won comfortably, and Best, understandably unfamiliar with his team-mates, made little impact.

The headline in the Cork Examiner summed it up: “Best draws the fans but does little else as Celtic slump.” Meanwhile, his team-mates, mostly part-timer, were earning just £15 to £30 a match.

Best himself admitted to being underwhelming:

“It’s always hard playing your first game with a new team. It takes a while to get to know one another. I’d like to come back and show it can be different.”

Celtic manager Paul O’Donovan explained it perfectly: “It seems that Best’s appearance motivated the opposition more than it did Celtic, which defeated the purpose of bringing him here.”

Billy George, writing in the Evening Echo, added a poignant contrast: “There was a certain sadness that on the day George Best — still only 29 and, with more discipline, at the peak of his powers — was turning out in Cork, Manchester United were playing in front of a season-best crowd of 60,000 at Old Trafford.”

SHOCK

Best was left out of the following week’s squad for the trip to Finn Harps in Donegal. Ironically, Celtic played their best football of the season, pulling off a shock 3–0 victory that reignited their league campaign.

He returned a week later for a home tie against Bohemians on January 11. This time, the match was played at Turner’s Cross, with ticket prices bumped up by 20p. Best flew in the day before, stayed in Kinsale, and joined the team at the Country Club Hotel on the morning of the match.

This time, the team clicked.

Magill magazine’s Noel Barker later wittingly wrote: "All the trademarks were there. The jinking, almost insolent runs with the ball superglued to the boots, and the lean physique running at pace under flowing locks of hair as he darted past helpless defenders, as one team mate said, 'for fun'."

Bestie was there too, of course, but like many of his Cork Celtic team mates, and those in the crowd watching them take on Dublin side Bohemians, George was part of the support cast.

It was Brian McSweeny from the Cork suburb of Ballyphehane who ran the show that day, Sunday. January 11 in 1976. For 90 minutes, everyone else was eclipsed, even the genius from Belfast who this time showed some flashes of his genius.

Celtic won 1-0 before 9,000 fans, generating around £4,000 in gate receipts.

Suddenly, the prospect of Best staying until the season’s end seemed real — especially since the NASL didn’t start until April.

For their away match against Shelbourne at Harold’s Cross, Best was again drafted in — after Shels agreed to cover his match fee. Hopes were high for a 20,000 crowd, but it fell short, with around 7,000 spectators paying record receipts of £3,200.

Still, a huge improvement for a club whose average gate was under 1,000.

But the magic was fading.

Dick Brazil of the Cork Examiner reported: “The superstar hardly raised a sweat.” Shelbourne ran out comfortable 2–1 winners.

Not long after, Celtic received a bill from a Dublin hotel — for several bottles of champagne.

Best had left for England straight after the final whistle, leading many to believe the drinks had been enjoyed the night before the game. That would explain the sluggish performance.

That turned out to be his final appearance in a Cork Celtic shirt. He failed to fly in for the next match, and just like that, the Best chapter in Cork football came to a quiet, if not predictable, end. Just like he had done so many times before, he failed to show.

George died, 20 years ago, on November 25, 2005, at the age of 59 after a decade-long battle with alcoholism.

Despite all his fame Georgie only left an estate with a gross value of just £525,680, according to a grant of probate document, filed in a London Court in January 2007.

TV

George Best i gCorcaigh will screen on St Stephen’s Day at 8.15pm on TG4 and on the TG4 player.