Celtic in the 1930s – And they gave us James McGrory and Danny Dawson

And they gave us James McGrory…and Danny Dawson…

In the first part of this article, I mentioned how the publication of my Copenhagen Diary on the Celtic Star recently had prompted an old friend, Paddy, to get in touch. He wanted to show me a couple of photographs, containing Celtic autographs of the past, which had been in his possession for years. Paddy was looking for some information, background or context for these items.

Part one of this story covered the autographed sheet from 1937/38, compiled before the transfer of Willie Buchan and retiral of Jimmy McGrory pre-Christmas 1937, with the only question remaining as to how it had come about that the Celtic team, or representatives of the club, were in Kingussie in the Scottish Highlands, around that time. I’ll add my own thoughts on that particular query later.

The next three parts of the series looked at the second item presented by Paddy, an undated sheet containing the signatures of twenty men, some very famous and others unknown to me, however, all clearly associated with Celtic. This photograph had also been handed to the lady whose family owned the Star Hotel in Kingussie, albeit we then established that this very special piece of Celtic memorabilia related to a team several years before the Scottish, and, dare I say it, Empire champions of 1937/38. From 1933/34 actually. The mystery deepens.

Having reviewed the careers of seventeen of the twenty individuals on the second set of autographs, and with a few rambling diversions thrown in for good measure (Yes, I did pick up on your ‘you don’t say’ comment on Friday, Ed!), we will look at the last three names on the sheet in the final chapters.

Danny Dawson was born in that well-known Celtic hotbed of Larkhall in 1912 and signed for the Hoops from the local junior side on 4 June 1932, just before his 20th birthday. He would make his debut for the club in a 3-1 victory over Queen’s Park at Celtic Park on Saturday, 30 September 1933, ten years to the day when a certain James Johnstone would enter this world and thrill us for a generation.

Danny was a right-half and would take his bow in an unfamiliar line-up. Joe Kennaway was recovering from a broken finger, his place taken by John ‘Jock’ Wallace, the Falkirk-born keeper in the second of his only two seasons at Parkhead. At left-half was Willie Hughes, whose long and versatile Celtic career we covered extensively in the previous part of this story, whilst another Willie, Dunn in this case, was at centre-forward. Willie Dunn is the next player we will discuss so I’ll hang fire on him for the moment.

As well as Kennaway, Celtic were without the injured duo of Jimmy McGrory and Charlie Napier, whilst regular wing-half Peter Wilson was playing for the Scottish League against the Irish in Belfast, hence the opportunity for young Dawson. Future Hoops skipper William King Lyon was at centre-half for the Spiders. Danny was later praised in the media for ‘parting with the ball to advantage’, as goals from Hugh O’Donnell, Jimmy McStay and Alec Thomson saw Celts prevail at the expense of the amateurs.

Dawson would then step back into the reserve team, who played in the Scottish Alliance at that time, Peter Wilson back in his normal berth until a bad injury sustained after half-an hour in the 2-2 draw with Rangers at Celtic Park, on New Year’s Day 1934, opened up the door again for his young deputy. Danny would feature in four of the next five matches, starting with a 4-1 home win over Kilmarnock on Saturday, 6 January 1934, the youngster again impressing as a Jimmy McGrory double and further goals from Malcolm MacDonald and Charlie Napier secured the two points for Celtic.

The following Saturday, 13 January, would see a difficult trip to Tynecastle end in a 2-1 defeat, despite a Peter McGonagle penalty. McGrory was hurt again, a virtual passenger on the right-wing for an hour, having pulled a muscle, as were McGonagle, Napier and Celtic’s best player on the day, Joe Kennaway. The big Canadian included a penalty save within his goalkeeping masterclass, on a day when three spot kicks were awarded, Bobby Hogg also seeing his twelve-yards effort at the other end punched clear by Hearts stopper, Jack Harkness, the 1928 Wembley Wizard and future Sunday Post reporter.

Celtic would swap a packed Tynecastle for the 2,376 souls who turned out in the small Dumfriesshire town of Dalbeattie seven days later, as the local team took on the powerful Scottish Cup-holders in the first round. Dalbeattie Star were on their way to a fourth successive South of Scotland League title, however, they would be no match for Maley’s Bhoys, who romped to a 6-0 victory, Johnny Crum, in the side for the crocked McGrory, scoring four of those whilst Frank O’Donnell grabbed a double.

Peter Wilson would make a brief reappearance in the team the next week, for the goalless draw with St Johnstone at Parkhead, with Dawson dropping out. However, Wilson was not deemed fit enough for the visit to Ayrshire on the first Saturday in February, for the second round Scottish Cup-tie with Ayr United, Danny regaining his place at right-half. There was a record crowd of almost 24,000 packed inside Somerset Park for this one and they almost witnessed a shock, the Honest Men leading 2-1 with twenty minutes left. But this was the Scottish Cup and this was Celtic, the most renowned fighters of all. With defeat looming, the O’Donnell brothers took matters into their own hands, Frank equalising before young Hugh grabbed the winner, with just five minutes remaining. Earlier on, the reliable Peter McGonagle had scored with another penalty kick, to make it 1-1, following an early Robertson strike.

Frank O’Donnell would be on target again in the next round, a fortnight later, as Celtic eased by Falkirk 3-1 in front of 44,000 at Parkhead, his double supplemented by a goal from the returning McGrory, with Chic Geatons replacing Dawson at right wing-half. Danny would make one final appearance that season, the next Saturday, 24 February 1934, Geatons moving across to replace Willie Hughes at left-half as Celts surrendered an early two-goal lead to Aberdeen, goals from Johnny Crum and Willie Dunn, the game finishing 2-2. Wilson and Geatons would occupy the wing-back positions the following week as the holders crashed out of the Scottish Cup, more than 33,000 inside Love Street to watch St Mirren beat Celtic 2-0, just as they had in the 1926 final at Hampden, eight years earlier. The Paisley match in March 1934 was the infamous day travelling Celtic fans were ambushed at Bridgeton railway station.

Danny Dawson would make nine appearances for Celtic the next season, 1934/35, beginning with a second visit to Tynecastle, on Saturday, 18 August 1934, Jimmy Delaney making his debut in the Hoops for what would prove to be a truly wonderful career. The bad-tempered game, with trouble on and off the field amongst the 39,000 crowd, finished goalless, thanks mainly to Joe Kennaway, who once again defied the Gorgie strikeforce. Joe had suffered a bad eye injury in the first half, yet still refused to be beaten. Geatons deputised for the Canadian in goals, whilst he received stitches on the sidelines, just as he had done for John Thomson, three years earlier, following that dreadful incident at Ibrox.

Danny would reappear in the side at the end of September, a 2-1 defeat by Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill seeing the Celts drop to twelfth place in the League, Bobby Hogg again missing a penalty in that game. He would then be absent for the next three months until a Christmas Day outing against Queens’ Park at Celtic Park, the Hoops winning 4-1 to climb back up to a more respectable second in the table. Jimmy Delaney, with a brace, Johnny Crum and Jimmy McGrory the men on target in front of 20,000.

McGrory would better that four days later, with a hat-trick, as Celts won the return fixture with Hearts by 4-2, Crum having opened the scoring early on. Danny again retained his place for the next match, on New Year’s Day 1935, as Rangers won 2-1 in the top of the table clash at Ibrox before 83,000 fans. This was the day that Peter McGonagle administered his own brand of justice on Rangers centre-forward, Jimmy Smith, following a series of shall-we-say robust challenges on Joe Kennaway. Peter was sent off in the 75th minute, marking the beginning of the end of his long and distinguished Celtic career. Charlie Napier had retired injured before the interval, the nine-man Celts somehow clawing a late goal back through George Paterson but the home side’s earlier two-goal salvo enough for the win.

Dawson and Celtic enjoyed a 1-0 victory at Muirton Park, Perth the following Saturday, 5 January 1935. A Jimmy McGrory header on the hour was enough to hand St Johnstone their first home defeat of the season and keep the Hoops in contention for a first League title in nine years. Seven days later, the Celtic supporters would look forward to welcoming two of their own back to Parkhead, where Hamilton Academical were the visitors. As it transpired, former skipper, Jimmy McStay would not be fit enough to play, although he would recover to lead his men all the way to the Scottish Cup Final that season, ensuring that there would be Hoops at Hampden, albeit in the red-and-white colours of Accies.

In goal for the Douglas Park outfit on Saturday, 12 January 1935 was Peter Shevlin. Another former St Roch’s man, he had kept goal for Celtic as they won the Scottish Cup at Hampden in 1925, the Hoops beating Dundee 2-1 thanks to a last-minute Jimmy McGrory strike, in a game forever remembered for Patsy Gallacher’s ‘somersault’ equaliser, before winning a Championship medal the following season, the last time Celtic had won the title to this point. Peter would return to the national stadium with the Bhoys for the 1926 final, however, on this occasion, he would be widely blamed for the two goals which took the cup to Paisley.

When he followed that performance by shipping three at Glebe Park, Brechin, in another Scottish Cup tie the following February, the fat lady had begun to gargle in terms of his Celtic career, despite his forwards racking up six in response to progress. Willie Maley would turn to Shevlin’s deputy, teenage Fifer John Thomson, for the next match, and that would pretty much be that. It would be The Prince who would wear the Celtic goalkeeper’s jersey for their third successive Scottish Cup final in April 1927, John defying his local side as Celts beat Second Division East Fife 3-1. Peter would leave Parkhead for South Shields that summer, spending time in Dublin as Shelbourne’s player/manager, before returning to Scotland to sign for Hamilton Academical in April 1933.

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.

As well as recalls for Danny Dawson and John Fitzsimons, that would mean a debut for Uddingston-born keeper, Tom Doyle, in the Hoops goal. All three youngsters would acquit themselves well, The Scotsman reporting that Doyle ‘executed a masterly save from Yardley, turning a cartwheel in doing so’. Sadly, the experienced hosts would prove far too strong for the makeshift Hoops on the night. Thirds legend, Jimmy Carabine hit the crossbar from the penalty spot, when conversion would have established a 5-1 lead, Jimmy Yardley having previously scored twice, with Willie Buchan scoring a late consolation goal, his second of the match, to enable Celts to escape with a rather-flattering 4-2 defeat.

John Fitzsimons would play just one more game for Celtic after that night, almost exactly one year later, on Saturday, 26 March 1938, for the visit of Ayr United. He again replaced Frank Murphy, who had been injured in the 1-1 home draw with Third Lanark the previous week. At left-back that day, making his one and only first-team appearance in the Hoops, was a young man with a name associated with Celtic from the early years. Not to be confused with the Irish patriot who laid the first sod of turf on the present Celtic Park back in August 1892, full-back Michael Davitt was nearing three years at the club since his arrival from junior side, St Francis in June 1935.

He would emerge with credit, as would John Fitzsimons, as Celtic eased ever closer to a second title in three seasons with another point, following a second consecutive 1-1 draw, Malcolm MacDonald equalising just before half-time. In a curious twist, the Ayr United striker that day was Jimmy Yardley, who had scored twice for Third Lanark in John’s previous match in the Hoops twelve months earlier.

And as a ‘Celtic trivia’ footnote to Michael’s Parkhead career, his granddaughter would become Mrs Gerry Britton several decades later, after marrying the prolific reserve striker, currently chief executive across the city at Partick Thistle.

Whilst Michael Davitt would remain on the sidelines at the ground even beyond the outbreak of war, John Fitzsimons would be on his way within a month, freed by Celtic at the end of April before joining Second Division Alloa Athletic on 20 June 1938.

He would help his new club gain promotion in his first season at Recreation Park, albeit the war would end that campaign after just five games, in September 1939, with the new Regional Leagues introduced the following month. After leaving Alloa in 1940, Fitzsimons would spend two seasons at Clyde then enjoy a four-year spell at Falkirk from July 1942. John surely created an unique record, by appearing three times in twelve months against his old Celtic colleagues whilst with three different clubs, scoring twice.

He would play for Falkirk against Celtic at Brockville on Saturday, 2 November 1946, as the Scottish League resumed after a seven-year absence, scoring the Bairns’ goal in a 4-1 defeat, then, having moved to Hamilton Academical on 21 December, he appeared in their line-up at Celtic Park seven days later, as the green-and-white Hoops won 2-1.

John then signed up for a second stint with Clyde for the 1947/48 season, scoring the second goal for the Bully Wee in a 2-0 win over Celtic at Shawfield on Saturday, 18 October 1947. A Clyde teammate of John’s that day would be Billy McPhail, whilst Billy’s brother John, lined up for Celtic. John McPhail would score a hat-trick for Celtic against Rangers at Hampden in the Glasgow Charity Cup Final on Saturday, 6 May 1950, the ‘Danny Kaye’ Final, where the Tommy Gemmell-lookalike celebrity from Hollywood was introduced to the teams and the 81,000 crowd before McPhail’s treble secured a 3-2 victory and some much-needed silverware.

And ‘Hooky’ was on target at the national stadium again the following April, with the winning goal for Celtic in the Scottish Cup Final of 1951, Jimmy McGrory’s first major honour as the Celtic manager. It must have run in the family. Billy McPhail would score five goals in two successive League Cup finals from October 1956, as Celts won the trophy for the first time then repeated the feat the following season, against Partick Thistle then Rangers. Billy’s hat-trick against the Ibrox side in the 7-1 ‘Hampden in the Sun’ League Cup Final victory of Saturday, 19 October 1957 remains the stuff of Parkhead legend to this day. The McPhail brothers remained the only siblings to both score trebles in this fixture before the liquidation of Rangers in 2012. And they both did it in Hampden cup finals before crowds in excess of 80,000. Wonderful stuff. If Carlsberg did brothers…

John Fitzsimmons would feature for the last time against Celtic on Saturday, 31 January 1948 in a 0-0 draw with Clyde at Celtic Park, as the home side continued their one and only battle against relegation. He would retire from playing at the end of that season then re-join Celtic in 1953 as the club doctor, working alongside his old teammate, Jimmy McGrory, now the manager at Parkhead. He would remain in that role for more than three decades, part of Jock Stein’s management team which looked after the all-conquering sides of the sixties and beyond, with Lisbon the highlight. A highly-respected physician, Fitzsimons was appointed as Scotland’s team doctor in 1970, attending the World Cup Finals of West Germany, Argentina and Spain in that capacity, the latter again under Stein in 1982.

Off the field, he had worked tirelessly for over 40 years supporting the annual Lourdes pilgrimages, his efforts recognised and rewarded by being made a Papal Knight by Pope Paul VI in 1976. John retired in 1987 but suffered from Alzheimer’s in later years, passing away on 3 September 1995, aged 80.

Back in April 1937, Celtic travelled to East End Park four days after the 4-2 defeat at Third Lanark, to face a Dunfermline Athletic side facing a desperate struggle to avoid relegation. Tom Doyle retained the gloves, despite the loss of four goals on his debut, whilst Danny Dawson was pushed forward to outside-right as cover for the injured Jimmy Delaney. As the half-time whistle beckoned, things were looking good for the Pars, who led 3-1 at that stage, however Johnny Crum pulled one back before the break then Dawson headed the equaliser, his first goal for Celtic. Crum then added a second as the Celts won 4-3, condemning the Fifers to the drop. John Divers had scored Celtic’s first goal earlier on.

The weekend international between Scotland and England at Hampden meant that Celtic’s next fixture would be played on the Friday, 16 April 1937. The visitors to Parkhead were Arbroath, with Doyle and Dawson again retaining their places. The Red Lichties would lose their goalkeeper, Robertson, to a shoulder injury within twenty minutes, by which time they were already a goal down, courtesy of John Divers.

The keeper would later re-appear on the right wing! Joe Carruth and Danny Dawson had Celts 3-0 up and cruising before the break and despite a Brand strike early in the second-half, Carruth and Divers both completed their doubles late on as the Bhoys ran out comfortable 5-1 winners. As an aside, although some websites credit Danny with a brace that night, two separate newspaper reports go with the scorers as described above.

The following day, Delaney would be in the Scotland side which beat the Auld Enemy 3-1 before a world-record crowd of just under 150,000, former Celt Frank O’Donnell on the scoresheet. And the next weekend would see a world club record-breaking attendance set at 147,365, as Celtic won their fifteenth Scottish Cup by beating Aberdeen 2-1, thanks to goals from Johnny Crum and Willie Buchan.

Neither Doyle nor Dawson would feature at Hampden as a full-strength Celtic side took the field. Tom Doyle would feature three times in the first team the following season, all three games played within a week in October 1937. He was between the sticks in place of Joe Kennaway for the visit of Clyde on Saturday, 2 October 1937, the Bully Wee succumbing to a 3-1 defeat, despite the best efforts of former Celt, Willie Hughes. Four days later, Tom kept a clean sheet at Roker Park, as Celtic beat Sunderland 2-0 in the battle of the FA Cup-holders from north and south of the border. The Wearside club would face Celtic again at the end of that season, in the Empire Exhibition Cup quarter-final at Ibrox. Doyle’s final game for the club came on Saturday, 9 October 1938, at Gayfield Park, Arbroath. It would prove an unhappy farewell, as nine-man Celtic, both Willie Lyon and Jimmy Delaney crocked in the first-half, lost 2-0 to the hosts. He was freed by Celtic at the end of the season, subsequently joining Rochdale.

Despite his two goals in six days, Danny Dawson’s days at Celtic were also numbered. He would feature in the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup success the following month, victories over Clyde at Parkhead then Queen’s Park at Hampden, Celts behind three times to the Spiders in the Hampden final before a late double from Jimmy McGrory enabled the trophy to be retained, then disappear from the scene.

He joined Queen of the South in the summer of 1938, returning to Parkhead with the Doonhammers for the 5-1 defeat on Wednesday, 12 October that year, as the defending champions inflicted a second 4-goal hammering on their closest challengers, having beaten Rangers 6-2 at home in September. The Bhoys had also beaten Kilmarnock, now managed by Jimmy McGrory, 9-1 and Raith Rovers 6-1, both at Parkhead, Hearts 5-1 at Tynecastle and Albion Rovers 8-1 at Cliftonhill, in a blistering start to the season. Before the end of that month, Third Lanark would also be hit for six in the east end. Dawson would take a degree of satisfaction by scoring Queen’s goal in the 1-1 draw at Palmerston in January 1939 and again in his side’s 3-1 defeat by Celtic in April 1940 in the Regional League at the same venue.

The following season, Danny was on the books at Hamilton Academical, however, his movements beyond that in wartime football have proven more difficult to pin down. The Celtic Wiki states that he had a loan spell at Third Lanark, whilst there is evidence to suggest he signed with a Canadian Major League outfit called King Edward in June 1945, by which time he would have turned 33 years-old.

Thanks, as always, to the Celtic Wiki, a wonderful source of reference information.

Hail Hail!

Matt Corr