The Thistle Archive

As a player, Peter's greatest success was with Liverpool in the early to mid 1970s, winning two league championships, one FA Cup and two UEFA Cup medals. Cormack also played for Hibernian (2 spells), Toronto City, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Partick Thistle (albeit just the once)! He collected nine full caps for the Scotland national football team, and was a member of the Scotland squad at the 1974 FIFA World Cup that went undefeated but did not advance out of the group stage of the tournament. The teenager had turned out for Scotland U-23s before being handed a dream debut against World Champions Brazil at Hampden Park on 25th June 1966:

I was little more than a boy, but I was playing against Pelé, who was the world’s greatest striker, and Gérson, who was the world’s best midfielder. I was still young enough to look up to big stars who had played in World Cups and big finals. These players were my heroes. But I was young and confident and had no nerves when I got out on the park. When you are that age you feel like you can take on the world and win.

Another future Jag (Stevie Chalmers) put Scotland ahead in the first minute but Brazil equalised through Servilio in the 16th minute, 1-1 the final score. Our boys bagged the biggest shirts on the park, Chalmers getting Pelé, Cormack getting Gérson! “There is something magical about that yellow Brazil jersey for everyone who cares about football, and it is priceless to me” said Peter. He earned another 8 caps, 3 more as a Hibee, then 5 as a Notts Forest player in 1970 and 1971. Surprisingly, there were no more during his Liverpool days, when he won two league championships, one FA Cup and two UEFA Cup medals. He did travel to the '74 World Cup in Germany, but did not feature. “Old Firm bias” claimed Peter. Being omitted from Willie Ormond’s team was the last straw: “Davie Hay was picked in my position – I couldn’t believe it. I bumped into Jock Stein, told him that if I could win the league with Liverpool and not make the Scotland team, I was done.”

Peter is described on his profile on the Liverpool FC website as “a skilful player with an eye for goal” and “a classy player who loved to entertain”. The article as a Hibernian Hall of Fame inductee says of him: “Once described as a skinny kid built like a greyhound, he was as hard as nails, his fiery fiercely competitive nature earning him several altercations with officialdom. According to a popular Hibs player of the time, Peter could do everything, pass, beat a man, tackle and head the ball. The versatile Cormack could also play anywhere, out wide, midfield, up front and even in goal as he once demonstrated when keeping a clean sheet for most of the match against St Mirren after goalkeeper Willie Wilson had gone off injured”.

As a player, Peter turned out against Thistle on 18 occasions, 16 times as a Hibee (scoring 8 times!) and twice as a Bristol City man. Perhaps surprisingly, the Jags came out on top with 9 wins to 8. Indeed, the first and last appearances (in Nov 1963 and May 1980) were Thistle wins over Hibs! It was just 7 short months after that last appearance when the 34-year-old Peter took the managerial reins for the first time, becoming the youngest to take charge of Partick Thistle since George Easton at the beginning of that century. Although there was some degree of expectation that he might also turn out as a player, this never really came to pass, although he continued to register himself just in case.

It came as a big surprise when he finally did make the teamsheet in October 1983, almost 3 years down the line! By that stage he was thought to be retired, but injuries and suspensions dictated the matter, and he was stripped for action on 1st October 1983 at Glebe Park, Brechin. At the time, Thistle were sitting pretty with a club-record 7 straight wins to open the league campaign, leaving them 4 points clear at the top. 4th placed Brechin were going well at the time to be fair, and they came out on top in what was described in the Sunday Post as “the battle of the bosses” - it was Ian Fleming vs. Peter Cormack squaring up as player-managers. Peter came on for John Buckley on 70 minutes, with Thistle trailing by one goal to nil. He almost made an immediate impact, being involved in a move which led to Kenny McDowall rattling the crossbar. Alas, a late sucker-punch put an end to the winning run; Brechin City 2 Partick Thistle 0. Peter never played again - he was harsh on himself!

Losing Maurice Johnston was the key moment of 1983-84 and, when it became apparent that Thistle were going to narrowly miss out on promotion again, Peter nobly tended his resignation whilst continuing to manage the team until the last game of the season. After Thistle, Peter went on to manage Anorthosis FC, Botswana, Cowdenbeath and Greenock Morton. He held roles of assistant manager and interim manager at St Mirren and was assistant manager at Hibernian. He retired from professional football after he left Morton in 2002. He went into the karaoke business and was a decent chanter himself! Following a number of years on the after-dinner speaking circuit, he spent time playing in celebrity golf events, working in his garden and helping with his six grandchildren. His son, also named Peter, played lower league football in Scotland for a number of clubs including Morton, Clydebank, Stenhousemuir & Albion Rovers. He also scored against Thistle although, thankfully, just the once for Stenhousemuir!

In these post-football years, symptoms of dementia began to appear and, in 2019, Peter, his wife Marion, 69, daughter Donna-Lee, 47, and son Peter Jr, 45, decided to go public with his Alzheimer’s diagnosis as his condition deteriorated. They took the brave decision following the publication of findings from a Glasgow University study, which linked the disease to playing football. Speaking to the Daily Record, Peter was sure that it was his prowess in the air during his career which had led to his Alzheimer’s diagnosis:

I loved my time as a footballer. It was a dream come true. I wasn’t the biggest but was always good in the air. I scored a lot of goals and won a lot of headers – I think that contributed to my condition. In those days, you’d do anything to stay in the team and that included playing through injuries. If you got a head knock or concussion, you’d just play on. People didn’t even know what concussion was. You’d just think you had a bit of a sore head. When the balls got wet and you headed it, it was like getting punched in the face. You’d just get on with it.

Peter is included in our feature piece, The Definitive Who's Who Of The Partick Thistle Internationalists →