Games from the Past…..and Some Memorable Moments
Sponsored by the Jim Craig CSC, Belfast
Episode 17
A Game from the Past: 21st September 1912
When Celtic played Dundee in a league match at Dens Park on 21st September 1912, the game unfortunately degenerated into a very rough affair, with Celtic goalkeeper John Mulrooney receiving damage serious enough to put him out of the team for a month.
Manager Willie Maley tried out a Motherwell reserve keeper in the next game – a Glasgow Cup tie against Clyde – before giving Scottish junior internationalist Bob Boyle, at that time with Cowie Wanderers, his first team chance against Partick Thistle on 30th September 1912, when Celtic won 3-2.
And a Moment to Remember
Bob Boyle made 8 league appearances for Celtic that season, with a record of W5, L3. He also played in the Glasgow Cup final at Hampden on 12th October against Rangers – with 80,000 watching – but unfortunately Celtic lost 1-3.
Bob Boyle emigrated to the USA in 1914, came back to Europe to serve with the Canadian Field Artillery in the First World War, then returned across the Atlantic to play professional soccer with a club in Pittsburg
Episode 16
A Game from the Past: 1st September 1888
Outside-left John O’Connor made his Celtic first-team debut in the club’s first-ever Scottish Cup tie against Shettleston on 1st September 1888. As the names of the goal-scorers that day have never been precisely ascertained, we cannot say for certain that John might or might not have hit the net but he was certainly there on one of the big days in Celtic’s history.
Moment to Remember
John’s special moment came in another memorable match in Celtic’s history. On 24th November 1888, John was at outside-left when Celtic were beaten 1-0 by Clyde in a fourth round Scottish Cup tie. Celtic later protested that because Clyde had turned up late for the kick-off, the match had finished in dark and stormy conditions. The protest was upheld and in the replayed match, Celtic won 9-2!
Episode 15
Game from the Past: 12th March 1910
By the time Welsh international goalkeeper Leigh Roose made his Celtic debut against Clyde in a quarter-final tie in the Scottish Cup on 12th March 1910, he was already a doctor of Bacteriology and apparently quite a wealthy man. At Parkhead on that day, regular incumbent Davie Adams was down with flu and Leigh Roose was loaned out by his club – Sunderland FC – to help Celtic out for a specific reason.
When Scotland had played Wales at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock on 5th March 1910, with Leigh Roose in goal for the visitors, the Celtic and Scotland inside-forward Jimmy McMenemy had received some very rough treatment from Welsh player Llewellyn Davies, a kicking which put him out of the Scottish Cup tie mentioned above. As a form of compensation, as Celtic were without a recognised back-up keeper, the Welsh authorities – and Sunderland – arranged for Roose to guest for Celtic that afternoon.
Moment to Remember
Leigh Roose could not do much that afternoon to prevent Clyde winning 3-1 but one little cameo caught the attention of the watching crowd. When Clyde’s centre-forward Chalmers scored the third goal, the big (6 feet 1 inch) Welshman ran after him and shook his hand in congratulation?
That was Leigh Roose’s only appearance for Celtic. Four years later, he joined the Royal Fusiliers and tragically, was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, at the age of 39.
Episode 14
A Game from the Past: 15th October 1950
On 15th October 1950, John Jack ( born Jonas Kaduskeviechi) signed for Celtic, making his first-team debut in a league match against Motherwell on 22nd December 1951, when the half-back line read Evans, Stein and Jack. At that time, the centre-half was a part-timer, getting up at 4.30am to head for the pits and the coal face before reporting to Celtic Park for training in the evenings.
A Moment to RememberJohn went on to play 68 times for Celtic, all at centre-half. Probably his most memorable game – and a massive one for Celtic – was the League Cup Final
replay of 31st October 1956, when the Hoops beat Partick Thistle 3-0 to lift the trophy for the first time. The half-back line on that day read Evans, Jack and Peacock.
Episode 13
A Game from the Past: 15th November 1897
right back Jim Welford came into Celtic from Aston Villa in the autumn of 1897 and made his debut on 15th November 1897, unfortunately in a 1-4 defeat to Rangers in the Charity Cup…
And a Moment to Remember
Jim Welford went on to make 44 appearances for Celtic, becoming the first player to win both a Scottish Cup winner’s medal – in the 2-0 win against Rangers in the final on 22nd April 1899 – and an FA Cup winner’s medal, which he had collected when a member of the Aston Villa side which beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in the 1895 final.
Episode 12
A Game from the Past: 21st May 1903
.Inside-forward Willie Grassam was caption of West Ham when he signed for Celtic in 1903, making his debut against Hibs in a Charity Cup match at Cathkin on 21st May 1903 and like the rest of his teammates, wearing the green- and-white stripes….
A Moment to Remember
Willie Grassam played twice more for Celtic and in the second game, a league match against Third Lanark at Parkhead on 29th August 1903, he and the team wore the Hoops for the first time, unfortunately losing 1-3 in the process.
Episode 11
A Game from the Past: 19th October 1936
Goalkeeper James ‘Fox’ Foley (‘Fox’ for his red hair) who had already won a FAI Cup Winner’s medal with Cork FC in 1934, made his Celtic debut against Airdrie at Parkhead on 19th October 1936 in a 4-0 win. Between 1934 and 1936, Fox played 6 times for the Hoops, with 4 shut-outs.
A Moment to Remember
Fox got himself into hot water in a reserve match at Tynecastle on 28th November 1936. Under pressure, he drop-kicked the ball at the jeering mass behind the goal. There was a pitch invasion, Fox was head-butted but then arrested and later charged with assault.
At the trial in Edinburgh on 1st February 1937, left-back Jack Doyle and left-half Bertie Duffy denied that the ball had hit a spectator, both testifying that it had hit the wall behind the goal. Unfortunately, their story was not believed and Fox Foley was fined £2 with the option of 20 days imprisonment!
Episode 10
A Game from the Past: 4th January 1919
Outside right Scott Duncan was with Rangers in January 1919 when he was told by the Ibrox management that he could help Celtic out for two fixtures partnering Jimmy McMenemy, who had originally issued the invitation. He therefore made his Celtic debut against Third Lanark at Cathkin Park on 4th January 1919, when they won 3-2 and played again the following Saturday at Parkhead, in a 3-1 win over Clydebank. And that was the extent of Scott Duncan’s Celtic career.
A Moment to Remember.
After spells as secretary/manager with Hamilton Academical (1923-25) and Cowdenbeath (1925-32), Scott Duncan was appointed manager at Manchester United from 1932 to 1937, leading them to a Second Division title win in 1936. He then joined Ipswich Town in 1937, a non-league club at that point. The ‘Tractor Boys’ joined the football league in 1938 and Scott Duncan held the managerial reins until 1955, when he retired to Helensburgh.
Episode 9
A Game from the Past: 1st Jan 1919
Left back David Taylor joined Celtic on loan from Burnley in December 1918 and made his debut for the club on 1st January 1919, when the Ne’erday fixture at Ibrox finished in a 1-1 draw. David went to make another four appearances ( 5 in total) for Celtic before returning to Burnley in early 1920.
A Special Moment
in David Taylor’s case, it would be two special moments and they both occurred before he arrived at Parkhead. On 26th April 1911, at Old Trafford, David was in the Bradford City side which beat Newcastle United 1-0 in a replay of the FA Cup Final; and on 25th April 1914, he repeated the feat, this time for Burnley at Crystal Palace, when they beat Liverpool 1-0.
Episode 8
A Game from the Past: 27th November 1920
In the early 1920s, Tommy McInally was a big star for Celtic but had an unfortunate habit off the pitch of getting into trouble of one kind or another.
On 27th November 1920, for instance, he failed to turn up for a league match against Raith Rovers at Parkhead and Willie Maley gave 23-year-old Archie Longmuir his debut in McInally’s place.
The young man did OK, too, scoring twice as Celtic won 5-0.
A Special Moment
By 1921, Archie Longmuir was with Blackburn Rovers, by 1924 he had moved to Oldham Athletic and in June 1924, he was with Wrexham, where he spent the next six years before retiring.
Archie’s special moment, however, came in December 1935, when he won
£16,982-11s-4d on the Football Pools, the equivalent of roughly £680,000 today
Episode 7
17th August 1901 Celtic 1 – 1 Dundee
On 17th August 1901, a young outside-right called Alec Crawford made his first team debut for Celtic in a league match against Dundee at Celtic Park.
The Celtic team on the day was
McFarlane, Davidson, Battles, Loney, Marshall, Orr, Crawford, Divers, Campbell, Livingstone and Quinn.
Over the nest two seasons, Alec Crawford made another 9 appearances for the club, scoring 3 goals. More info on Alec on The Celtic Wiki here
Moment to Remember
Celtic played Rangers at Cathkin Park on the evening of 17th June 1902 in the final of the British tournament for the Ibrox Disaster Fund. With the match locked at 2-2 in extra-time, Celtic won a corner. Some reports say that Alec Crawford took the corner; others that it was Willie Loney. However, no matter who took it, when the ball came over, Jimmy Quinn used the shoulders of his teammate Tom McDermott to haul himself up into the air and power the winner home. So Alec Crawford played in one of the most memorable matches in the club’s history, when the first of the ‘special’ trophies came home to Celtic Park.
Episode 6
11th April 1923 Celtic 1 – 0 Hibs
On 11th April 1923, Celtic and Hibs met at Hampden in the Scottish Cup final. The Celtic team was Shaw, McNair, W McStay, J McStay, Cringan, McFarlane, McAtee, Gallacher, Cassidy, McLean and Connolly. In front of 82,000 people, the Battle of the Greens was a rather dour contest, in which the Celtic defence , well marshalled by right-back Alec McNair and centre-half Willie Cringan, constantly frustrated the Hibs attack. In the second half, Joe Cassidy scored the only goal of the game. A rather harmless lob forward by John McFarlane caught out the Hibs goalkeeper Willie Harper and Cassidy nodded the ball home, his 11th goal of a distinguished campaign.
A Special Moment
On 1st September 1926, Willie Cringan, centre-half in the above side, became Scottish champion at quoits.
Episode 5
1st January 1939 Rangers 1 – 1 Celtic
After receiving his schooling at St Aloysius’ College in Glasgow, Jackie Watters joined Celtic on a provisional contract in 1935 and was farmed out to St Roch’s for a few months. He then was given a full contract on 9th January 1937 and only ten months later, he made his first-team debut. With Malky MacDonald down with appendicitis, Jackie came into the team to face Arbroath in a league match at Gayfield and played his part in a 2-0 win. He played 9 times for Celtic but surely his most memorable game occurred at Ibrox on 1st January 1939, when a record League match crowd of 118,730 was present to see the Glasgow rivals draw 1-1.
A Special Moment:
in Jackie Watters’ case, the special moment must surely have been an incident away from football. On 6th June 1944, usually referred to as D-Day, Jackie was serving as a medic on board HMS Warspite which was engaged in both the bombardment of the Normandy coast and the landing of troops for the D-Day landings.
Episode 4
9th April 1962 Celtic v Rangers
Towards the end of season 1961-61, Dundee were in the driving seat in the league campaign, with Rangers in second place and Celtic in third spot. So, that arrangement put a little bit of spice into the final Old Firm clash of the season, in front of a crowd of 50,000 at Parkhead on 9th April 1962.
The Celtic team was Haffey, Donnelly, Kennedy, McKay, McNeill, Clark, Chalmers, Carroll, Hughes, Divers, Brogan (Frank) and it outplayed Rangers for most of the game. On a surface made difficult by driving rain, Celtic employed the right tactics of moving the ball quickly from man to man and using their wingers to full advantage. Unfortunately, after John Hughes had given Celtic the lead just before the interval, Rangers got an equaliser through Davie Wilson 12 minutes from time and the match finished in a 1-1 draw.
The Dundee team of that season, including great names like Bobby Cox, Bobby Wishart, Pat Liney (Goalkeeper), Alan Cousin, Andy Penman, Hugh Robertson, Alan Gilzean, Alex Hamilton, Ian Ure, Bobby Seith and the great Gordon Smith, went on to win the title.
Special Moment
At Broomfield on 1st October 1962, against Airdrie, just 6 months after the above match, Bobby Carroll, at inside-right in the above side, ran across to take a corner kick. As he bent down to put the ball in the arc, a black pudding came flying through the air and landed on the pitch beside him. As Bobby looked down, quite mystified as to what it was and where it had come from, a voice roared out from the terraces;
aye….and that makes two of ye!
Episode 3
9th May 1959 Celtic 5 – 0 Clyde Att: 26,082 Byrne (3), Mochan (2)
Celtic had won the Charity Cup in season 1952-53 but then went through five seasons without a further success in that competition. In season 1958-59, though, they reached the final after drawing with Rangers 1-1 in the semi-final and going through on the toss of a coin. Clyde were the opponents in the final at Hampden on 9th May 1959 and a crowd of 26,082 were there to see the action.
The Celtic team on the day was Haffey, Donnelly, Mochan, McKay, Evans, Peacock, Smith, McVittie, Byrne, Colrain and Divers. In the first 20 minutes of the match, Clyde played the more attractive football but were guilty of timidity in their tackling which allowed their opponents to control their early efforts. By the end, Celtic were so much in control that it was almost embarrassing and could have had many more goals but for careless finishing. The five goals came from Alec Byrne, with a hat-trick and two powerful free-kicks from Neil Mochan.
Special Moment
Neilly Mochan, at left-back in the above side, will forever be remembered in Celtic history for scoring a wonderful goal from all of 35 yards (that is how it is generally recalled by fans who were there; Neilly himself thought it was from ‘about’ 30 yards) in the Coronation Cup final when Celtic beat Hibs 2-0 at Hampden on 16th May 1953.
It was a magical night for Neilly, his team-mates and the Celtic support, as another of the special trophies was taken back to Celtic Park to join the Exhibition Cup (won in 1902), the Empire Exhibition Trophy (1938), the Victory-in-Europe Cup (1946) and the St Mungo Cup (1951).
What is less well-known is that Neilly had by then won two medals – for the Coronation Cup and the Charity Cup (on 9-5-53 ; 3-1 v Queen’s Park ) – and had yet to play a match at Celtic Park, having only joined the club on 8th May 1953.
Episode 2
16th April 1904 Celtic v Rangers
Willie Maley took over as Celtic secretary/manager in May 1897 and had some successes in his first years;-
League Scottish Cup Glasgow Cup Charity Cup
1897-98 Celtic
1898-99 Celtic Celtic
1899-00 Celtic
The club then went into a rather disappointing spell for the following four years, when not a single trophy arrived at Parkhead. Towards the end of season 1903-04, however, there was great excitement among the Celtic support, as the team had not only reached the final of the Scottish Cup but would be playing their local rivals Rangers.
The match was played on a fine afternoon at Hampden and attracted a crowd of 65,000, with both teams having to make changes up-front. Alec Bennett had been indisposed all week so his place in the Celtic line-up went to Jimmy Quinn.
Rangers had the wind in their favour in the first half and after 15 minutes of constant Celtic pressure, the Light Blues broke away twice and scored twice. By half-time, though, Quinn had also scored twice to level the score at 2-2.
The second half was equally fast and furious, play swinging from end-to-end. Celtic were the younger and fresher team, though, and their fine teamwork began to tell, Quinn scoring the winner near the finish and failing to get more mainly through bad luck. This was the first-ever hat-trick in a Scottish Cup Final.
Special Moment
I have deliberately used the term ‘Special Moments’ in this case because they happened on a very regular basis. It is difficult after all these years to fully recognize just what a big star Jimmy Quinn was. He banged the goals in regularly for Celtic between 1900 and 1915 ( 331 appearances ; 216 goals), won 11 caps for Scotland and was frequently feted in the press, some of the headlines never having been seen before when referring to a football player.
And yet – and this is where the ‘Special Moments’ category kicks in – every day when he came to training, he took the train from his home village of Croy to Queen Street in Glasgow, then walked down to Argyle Street before catching a tram out to Celtic Park.
Just think of the number of times he would have had to talk to Celtic fans or even suffered some ‘stick’ from fans of other teams. Such an occurrence seems almost unbelievable in this day and age; can you imagine Henrik Larsson having to do that?
Episode 1
8th September 1926 Celtic v Queens Park
On 8th September 1926, at Hampden Park, the players of Queen’s Park and Celtic ran out on to the pitch for a league match. It was Celtic’s third game of the season and they had started well, winning the first two, against Kilmarnock ( 3-2; A) and Cowdenbeath (2-0; H).
In those days, the Amateurs were a fine side and had finished mid-table the previous season. Celtic, though, had been Champions and the money was on them that afternoon.
They got off to a good start, too, when Willie McStay opened the scoring from the penalty spot in 12 minutes but from that point on, at least in the first half, the game was a real contest. Queen’s Park had their chances but did not take them and halfway through the second half, Celtic took control and opened up the play.
The Queen’s Park goalkeeper Jack Harkness ( who later moved to Hearts – picking up 12 Scottish caps when with both teams – before becoming a well-known sports journalist with the Sunday Post) did great work with little protection but Celtic towards the end were just too good for the Spiders and got further goals through Paddy Connolly and Jimmy McGrory (4). The side was Shevlin, W McStay, Hilley, Wilson, J McStay, Doyle, Connolly, Thomson, McGrory, McInally, McLean.
Special Moment
The name of Frank Doyle is perhaps not one that resonates in the minds of Celtic fans but this particular match was a very important occasion in his life.
Left-half Frank had gone from Vale of Clyde to Fulham in 1923 but after three years with the ‘Cottagers’ had been freed. Celtic had signed him in March 1926 and in this match against Queen’s Park on 8th September 1926, Frank made his first-team debut.
Frank Doyle went on to make another 20 appearances for Celtic over the following two seasons, scoring three goals. He then retired and went to work in his father’s outfitters’ business.