Celtic and the game played under Christmas lights…

Between mouthfuls of today’s Christmas Dinner, your mind might drift to thoughts of watching Celtic later in the week. If it was 130 years ago today, then for the first time ever you could have actually gone to see the Celts’ first team in action.

The Celtic reserve team – known as either the Strollers or Crusaders – had played on Christmas Day in 1888, but 1893 saw the first XI taking their Yuletide bow. Playing on Christmas Day created one piece of Celtic history – and there was another memorable aspect to the day too.

Celtic’s opponents were close neighbours, Clyde. The match took place on Christmas night, with a 7pm kick off and 5000 fans were attracted to watch. The timing was the other notable part of the match. Night games did not happen in this era due to the darkness – however this was to be the first Celtic Park game played under electric lights.

This was not the floodlighting system which we are used to seeing. Instead, wires with lights were strung at height across the pitch, aiming to provide illumination below.

Clyde started playing into the wind and yet they had the best of the opening spell. Cullen in the Celtic’s goal was tested various times until the visitors succeeded in getting the first goal. However soon the Celts gained a foothold. They repeatedly pressed but were thwarted by Clyde’s defence. This was until Johnny Madden knocked the ball across and Sandy McMahon equalised for the Bhoys.

Just before half-time, Clyde again scored but it was disallowed, although newspapers seemed unsure as to why this was the case. In the second half, both teams “commenced a banging game”, according to one report. Clyde’s anger had come from having a second goal disallowed, despite fervent protests.

This seemed to make the Barrowfield men lose their discipline and stopped them properly attacking the Celts. Things got worse for them when they were reduced to ten men due to injury.

Although the Bhoys had a man advantage, they could not find an opening which would have given them the win. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

The reaction to the lighting system was mixed. Some fans complained that it did not properly light up all areas of the pitch. And the players grumbled that the ball often hit the wires. The Scottish Sport’s description of the scene was most dramatic (and referred also to steps taken to get the pitch in proper order):

“Celtic Park – with all its poles, its wires and its bundles of straw all round the pitch – suggested the idea of a dismembered cattle show.”

Another newspaper – the Scottish Leader – criticised the new electric system, saying:

“It can hardly be looked on as an unqualified success, for at times it was very irregular. Several times it looked like going out altogether, but fortunately that did not happen.”

The Bhoys played one more match with the lights. This was an 8-1 Scottish Cup win versus St Bernard’s, after which the Edinburgh team lodged a protest due to the ball knocking into the elevated wires.

The protest was rejected, but it did spell the end for this particular lighting system at Celtic Park. It would be 1959 before a proper floodlight system was installed at Parkhead.

Christmas Day games however would be become much more common. Including the first match, Celtic’s first XI have done this on 25 occasions (plus an abandoned match in 1901). The most recent came in 1971, an exciting 3-2 victory over Hearts.

Matthew Marr

To find out the full story of Celtic’s first League title, you can buy Matthew Marr’s debut book, ‘The Bould Bhoys! Glory to their name’. It’s available now in our sale over on Celtic Star Books and is the ideal late Christmas present for yourself. You can also pick up a copy at any Celtic FC store including the superstore.