Hibernian FC is deeply saddened by the passing of former midfielder Peter Cormack, aged 78.
Cormack - who went on to win some of the most coveted trophies in the game – passed away on Thursday evening.
Born in Edinburgh, Cormack was a classy, skilful midfielder who loved to entertain and certainly had an eye for goal!
After joining Hibs in 1962, the Scot immediately made his mark scoring on his debut against Airdrie, aged just 16 years and 130 days old; that goal was the first of his 106 for the Hibees.
Arguably his best season in Hibs green and white came under legendary manager Jock Stein. His goal at Easter Road in 1964 in a glamour tie against European giants Real Madrid is one that really stands out, in what was a successful season for Hibs.
Cormack played in some of the Club’s most iconic European nights. He scored Hibs’ third against Dino Zoff and Napoli in a 5-0 won over the then-Serie A leaders at Easter Road, a night that saw us over-turn a 4-1 first leg defeat to win 6-5 on aggregate! He was also part of the side that beat Porto, scoring a brace against the Portuguese side.
He made 182 league appearances, scoring 75 league goals before his departure to Nottingham Forest in 1970.
After a short spell in the East Midlands, Cormack then joined Liverpool four days before his 26th birthday. Bill Shankly was the manager and said the midfielder was “the final piece in the jigsaw”, that Liverpool team went on to win the league title on two occasions, the UEFA Cup, and the FA Cup.
Before leaving Anfield in 1976, he was described by Bill Shankly as one of his all-time Liverpool greats.
A spell at Bristol City followed, before he returned to Hibs aged 33 in February 1980, where he lined up next to George Best.
During his time at Easter Road he made 291 appearances and scored 106 goals in all competitions.
On the international front, Cormack was capped several times at both under-23 and inter-league level, before he made his full Scotland debut in a friendly against the reigning World Champions Brazil including the great Pele, in a friendly at Hampden in 1966. He went on to earn nine caps for his country.
Cormack switched to management with Partick Thistle in late 1980 and would subsequently take charge of Anorthosis and Botswana, before returning to the dugout in the early 2000s with Cowdenbeath and Greenock Morton.
In 2017, Peter Cormack was inducted into the Hibernian FC Hall Of Fame.
The thoughts of everyone at Hibernian FC are with Peter’s family and friends at this very sad and difficult time.
RIP Peter Cormack, 1946-2024
