A Famous Face Was Missing: Celtic’s First Match After John Thomson’s Death, On This Day 1931

A lot of coverage was given to the 90th anniversary of John Thomson’s tragic passing last week (5 September) as the Celtic Graves Society did a tremendous job of keeping The Prince of Goalkeeper’s memory alive by embarking on a 55 mile pilgrimage to Cardenden; replicating the journey taken by thousands of mourners back in 1931.

The sad story forms part of every Celtic supporter’s upbringing and The John Thomson Song continues to be played by several bands to this day. A particularly haunting passage from that wonderful tone prompted me to conduct a little research into the first match that Celtic played after the incident:

I took a trip to Parkhead,
To the dear old Paradise,
And as the players came out,
Sure the tears fell from my eyes.

For a famous face was missing,
From the green and white brigade,
And they told me Johnny Thomson,
His last game he had played.

The game which followed Thomson’s untimely death was a Scottish League Division 1 clash at Celtic Park on 12 September 1931. Queen’s Park were the visitors and the players from each team emerged from the tunnel in an unbroken 22 man line. Once on the hallowed turf, a touching tribute was held, just as respects were paid across every football ground in Scotland that afternoon.

The players take to the field for the first time since John Thomson passed away

The Glasgow Herald described the scene at Celtic Park in the following manner:

“The flags were at half-mast, and all around the ground there was a subdued air. Celtic came out first filing slowly from the pavilion, followed by Queen’s Park, the 22 players forming an unbroken line as they walked to the field and took up their positions. All wore black armlets.

The crowd did not know how to welcome the players – there was a moments hesitation, and then a half-hearted cheer rippled round the field.

Players and spectators stood while a lament, the Last Post, and “Lead Kindly Light” were played. There was silence for a moment, then a cheer for the teams and another for Falconer as he ran towards the west goal. Then play began.”

According to The Scotsman, the pipe band also played the ‘Flowers o’ the Forest’, whilst the players stood to attention facing the pavilion and the crowd removed their hats as a mark of respect.

On the morning of the game, Wellesley (where John Thomson had played his football prior to signing for Celtic) was plunged into further grief as a local colliery experienced a fatal mining accident. Occurring at the Buckhaven Wellesley site, also known as Denbeath, a roof fell and killed two men instantly (aged 50 and 33). Three other workers were entombed for six hours before being rescued. Reports in the Dunfermline Journal suggest that the men were erecting a girder in a part of the circle dook (a wooden plug driven into a wall to hold a nail, screw etc.) known as the pan run. At about 5am, just before they finished their shift, the roof came away without warning.

Against that morbid backdrop, it’s no surprise that Celtic and Queen’s Park both struggled to get off to a good start. The crowd was eerily quiet, cheering only for debutant goalkeeper John Falconer, who had been brought in to replace the deceased Thomson. Falconer had signed for the Hoops as a free agent just two weeks earlier. A Cowdenbeath legend, who played for nine years at Central Park, he was seeking to resurrect his career after experiencing nine months on the sidelines with a broken kneecap injury.

The visitors pierced the silence around Paradise when they opened the scoring on 31 minutes through James Crawford. Celtic were feeble in their response, as was to be expected under the circumstances. It was not until the hour mark that Charlie Napier equalised from the penalty spot following a foul on Bertie Thomson (no relation to the late John) in the box.

Charles Napier of Celtic

10 minutes after Celtic restored parity, Queen’s put their noses in front again as Crawford beat Falconer for the second time. However, a hearty cheer was finally heard from the stands as new outside-left Jerome ‘Jerry’ Solis (pictured walking out before kick off behind James McGrory) equalised in the 85th minute to make the scoreline 2-2.

There was late drama as, in the final minute, the referee awarded a penalty to Queen’s Park after McLelland went down in a heap with two Celts flanking him. The referee, Mr. Hudson, was immediately surrounded by a host of protesting Celtic players. He decided to confer with his linesman and duly overturned his decision, ensuring that the game ended in a draw.

Liam Kelly

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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