Walfrid’s Confirmation

A charity exhibition match was organised at Glengarry Park on 26 May 1887. This time it was evident that Brother Walfrid and an embryonic committee of men, who would go on to found Celtic, were behind the match. The organisation was much better than previous charity games in Bridgeton. A trophy had been offered up to the winner, which enabled the clash to be labelled ‘The East End Catholic Charity Cup’.

A major coup was also secured, when the competing teams were announced as Edinburgh Hibernians and Renton. The magnitude of this contest should not be understated, for Hibernian were Scottish Cup holders, whilst Renton held the Glasgow Merchant’s Charity Cup (the cup committee invited some teams located on the periphery of Glasgow to compete) and Dunbartonshire Cup trophies.

The improved planning paid off when 12,000 fans paid entry to the fixture, a larger crowd than that which attended the Scottish Cup Final three months earlier! The score finished 1-1, meaning a replay and another pay day beckoned.

The replay was penciled in for the beginning of the new season, on 6 August 1887. A reduced, yet respectable crowd of 4,000 arrived excited at what lay in store. They weren’t disappointed as Neil McCallum, who would go on to score Celtic’s first ever goal, struck the net five times in a 6-0 win for Renton.

Following the match, the Renton and Hibernian parties were cordially invited to the Sacred Heart Boys Club for a post-match reception. There, it was revealed that the combined crowds of 16,000 over the course of the two games, had raised some £120 (equivalent of £15,000 in today’s money) which was primarily donated to The Poor Children’s Dinner and Breakfast Tables, but was also dispersed among charities in Edinburgh and West Dunbartonshire.

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The Sacred Heart parish had witnessed a revolution of football for good. The football became a leather tool introduced to local school playgrounds as a means of encouraging educational attendance, whilst the charitable fundraising power of the sport had confirmed the convictions of those behind the foundation of Celtic. From this point, nothing could stop the founding of Celtic Football Club.

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