Shevlin would play against his former club twelve months later, at Douglas Park on Saturday, 14 April 1934, outstanding as the hosts held Celtic to a 1-1 draw and beaten only by a Frank O’Donnell penalty, David Wilson levelling late on for Accies. On the same day, Peter McGonagle turned out for Scotland in their defeat at Wembley, whilst Rangers clinched the League title. The game in January 1935 would be Peter’s first appearance at Paradise since 1927, and, as often happens, the returning goalkeeper would have the proverbial ‘blinder’ in front of his old fans. Celtic would still prove too strong though, an early Jimmy McGrory header then a Jimmy Delaney double saw the Bhoys through 3-1, despite the prolific Wilson’s late consolation goal for the visitors.
As a footnote to Peter Shevlin, he would suffer more Scottish Cup heartache at the end of that season, playing all the way until the final where an injury sadly cost him his place against Rangers at Hampden. Peter would then, strangely perhaps, be released by the Accies, finishing his career at Albion Rovers. In 1941, whilst living in the English midlands, Shevlin was a civilian casualty of the second world war, seriously injured following a Luftwaffe bombing campaign and spending months in hospital thereafter. He would never fully recover, passing away seven years later, only 43 years old. Rest in peace, Peter.
Back in early 1935, Danny Dawson would enjoy just two more outings in the Celtic first team that season. There was a 2-0 defeat at Pittodrie the next weekend, Saturday, 19 January, following which Chic Geatons came back into the side at right-half. Dawson reclaimed his place for the Scottish Cup replay against Partick Thistle at Firhill on Wednesday, 13 February 1935, before an incredible 40,000 crowd. A Hugh O’Donnell double plus the obligatory McGrory goal proved enough to secure a 3-1 win.
That enabled the Hoops to progress to the last eight, however, another loss at Pittodrie in March, 3-1 this time, eliminated Celtic from that season’s competition. Sadly, Danny was not part of the squad which had travelled north, having severely wrenched his knee early on in the previous round of the cup at Firhill. That injury would keep him out of first-team football for the next eighteen months.
Having missed out on Celtic’s march to the 1935/36 League title, our first in a decade, Danny made his comeback in the Hoops in the home match with Queen of the South on Saturday, 22 August 1936, one of two changes from the midweek defeat by St Johnstone in Perth. Dawson replaced Chic Geatons, whilst there was a debut appearance for John Boyle at left-back, in place of Willie Hughes, who would never play again for Celtic. He moved to Clyde the next month after nine seasons of faithful service to the club deputising across a variety of positions, a thankless task for which he should perhaps be more widely appreciated. It would be an enjoyable afternoon for both Dawson and Boyle, as the Hoops hit five without reply.
Willie Buchan was the star of the show, scoring once, Celtic’s fifth, with a wonderful solo effort, having earlier set up the others for Willie Fagan (twice), Johnny Crum and Jimmy Delaney. Fagan himself was in the midst of a purple patch at Parkhead, with six goals in as many League games for the defending champions, a feat which was drawing admiring glances from south of the border. By October, he would be a Preston North End player, so joining the two O’Donnell brothers at Deepdale.
John Boyle would retain his place in the Celtic team as the autumn progressed, whilst Danny Dawson would drop out, Chic Geatons back in his right-half post for the next game, a 3-1 Glasgow Cup win over Third Lanark at Cathkin in midweek. Having missed out on eighteen months of first team action, Danny would have to wait a further six before making a second appearance that season, as the injured knee continued to bother him.
That return would come at Celtic Park on Saturday, 6 February 1937, Hearts the visitors to a ground where they had struggled for three decades. Today would be no different, although the Edinburgh side would come close to securing a point. Danny Dawson would again replace Chic Geatons, whilst young Alex Millar came in for skipper Willie Lyon, crocked in the midweek Scottish Cup replay win over Stenhousemuir, to make just his fourth appearance in the Hoops.
Bellshill-born Millar was Celtic-mad and came from proud Lithuanian stock. Twenty years later, another central defender matching that same description would begin to make his way in the game at Celtic Park, a journey which would take him to immortality, via Lisbon and countless major honours.
Doubles from Celtic’s McGrory and Willie Walsh of Hearts saw the teams tied at 2-2 as the final whistle approached, most of the 36,000 crowd settling for a point apiece. Then Willie Buchan again stole the show, his mazy dribble leaving several Gorgie defenders trailing in his wake before he slotted the ball past Waugh in the Hearts goal for 3-2.
Whilst both Dawson and Millar had performed well, neither would feature in the first team again for some time. Alex Millar moved back into his role as Willie Lyon’s deputy, and would not be involved until the Tynecastle men returned to Celtic Park seven months later. He would then play a further five games in the 1937/38 title-winning season and once in August 1938, before following the well-worn path to Preston in October of that year, in search of a regular game.
By that time, only Hugh O’Donnell would remain at Deepdale, brother Frank having already moved on to Burnley and Willie Fagan to Liverpool. Co-incidentally, Alex would make his Preston debut at Anfield on Hogmanay 1938, Liverpool skippered by Matt Busby and featuring Millar’s old teammate, Fagan, who netted from the spot in their 4-1 win. Poignantly, future Liverpool boss Bill Shankly was in the North End line-up on the ground where he would rewrite their history, as was Preston’s 1938 FA Cup Final hero, George Mutch, who scored for the visitors.
As far as I can tell Alex Millar played only one more game in the white and navy. He would remain involved in football north of the border, after the war, as secretary of the Scottish Player’s Union, a role he held until 1950. Alex was 66 years-old when he passed away in January 1978.
Danny Dawson would have one final fling in his Hoops career, following the February 1937 victory over Hearts, playing four times in the lead-up to the famous Scottish Cup Final win over Aberdeen. The first of those was a home game with Falkirk, on Monday, 29 March 1936, Chic Geatons, for once playing alongside Dawson in a much-changed Celtic side, scoring the only goal from the spot in the first half.
The visitors featured Bill Shankly’s brother, Bob, who would become a famous manager in his own right, most notably at Dundee, where he won their only Scottish League title in 1962, before leading them to the semi-final of the European Cup the following season, the Dark Blues losing to eventual champions AC Milan. He would later succeed Jock Stein as manager of Hibernian, when the Big Man left for Celtic in March 1965, and the two were firm friends, together and injured in the horrific car crash ten years later which was so nearly fatal.
Bob would pass away in 1982, suffering a heart attack at an SFA meeting no less, and the ‘away end’ stand at Dens Park has since been named in his honour. His great friend, Jock, would follow three years later, in the Scotland dugout at Cardiff’s Ninian Park.
On the left wing for Celtic against Falkirk was John Fitzsimons (often written as Fitzsimmons). He had made his debut at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock on Saturday, 5 October 1935, as did Alex Millar, the young centre-half bizarrely playing at outside-right for the Hoops in the absence of Jimmy Delaney, who was winning his first Scotland cap at that same Ninian Park, that very afternoon.
Another youngster, inside-forward John McInally, scored Celtic’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock. Fitzsimons would next appear on the right-wing, for the home game with Partick Thistle, on Saturday, 30 November 1935, replacing the injured Delaney for another 1-1 draw. Jimmy McGrory failed to score for the first time in the League campaign that season, as Frank Murphy’s header from John’s cross rescued a late point.
That would be it in terms of first-team starts for John Fitzsimons until the Falkirk game in March 1937. He would then miss the midweek Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Clyde at Ibrox, the match where a field-invading Celtic fan gave former Hoops player, Willie Hughes, a piece of his mind, for the job he was doing on his favourite, Jimmy Delaney, before being reinstated for the short trip to Cathkin Park on Tuesday, 6 April 1937. Willie must have indeed ‘done a job’ on Delaney, as he was one of four top stars missing for the visit to Third Lanark, Joe Kennaway, Chic Geatons and Frank Murphy, the others.
