Like Harry Truman, Ralston Is An Unlikely Figurehead. But He’s Earned His Acclaim.

What connects Anthony Ralston with a 1940s US politician?

There’s a famous photo from the 1948 US Presidential election.

It features a smiling man holding up a photo saying “Dewey defeats Truman”.

Anyone unfamiliar with the face would assume this was Dewey, celebrating his win over Truman.

In fact it was Truman.

A newspaper the previous day had gambled on the likely winner – and got it wrong.

That incident came to my mind after Wednesday night’s dramatic and amazing win at Dingwall.

Anthony Ralston’s late, late show was clearly unanticipated because various media outlets had already declared the game over at 1-1.

Various photos are now circulating online of these different reports, showing the perils of modern day instant reporting.

There are numerous false claims, such as the Ibrox club extending their lead to six points, Celtic falling further behind in the title race, and so on.

This has given a lot of amusement to Hoops’ fans who can revel in these journalistic errors, but they should do more than that for the Celtic team.

Wednesday night needs to be a catalyst, a moment in which the team shakes off some of the lethargy that has at times been evident.

Celtic are on a great winning run.

Ten wins in 11 league games, and even the 0-0 draw would have been a victory but for a last minute penalty miss.

But some of those games have felt a bit of a struggle, with the team not taking chances or finishing off opponents sooner. For example, four of the five most recent league wins have been by a single goal.

Dropped points on Wednesday would have been a major obstacle to any hopes of a league triumph, which is why the win was celebrated so raucously.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man. Ralston’s goal was a wonderful moment for the Celtic support, but even more for the player.

It’s strange the connections between Anthony Ralston and Harry Truman.

Aside from them both forcing newspapers to change their stories, neither of them were ever supposed to be where they were.

Truman was vice-president to Franklin Roosevelt, a minor political figure never expected to get the top job. Until Roosevelt died in office.

Similarly, Ralston was never meant to be in this position, as a darling of the Celtic support.

In previous years his impact on the Celtic first team was minimal, and his loan deals elsewhere had never carried with them any sense of achievement.

If Celtic fans had been told in July that he would get a new deal and be a first team regular, it would have filled them with horror. But not now.

Instead he is currently emblematic of the fight that Postecoglou needs in his team, and a shining example of how to turn around what seems to be a failing situation.

And of course what is truly to be hoped is that Anthony Ralston shares one other thing in common with Harry Truman.

In the end, regardless of what the newspapers wrote, they both end up as the winners.

Matthew Marr is a Celtic fan originally from Dundee. He is a regular contributor to the blog.