CELTIC IN THE 1930s, Part 7: And they gave us James McGrory…and Jack Connor…

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 the 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.

Parts 2-6 of the series (click on ‘Matt Corr’ to find all of these articles – Ed) have discussed the second item, 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.

We have now reviewed the careers of nineteen of the twenty names on the second set of autographs, and in the seventh and final part of the series we will look at a Celt who I have taken a special interest in over the past eighteen months or so, since discovering that he was the grandfather of a very good friend of mine, Joe, something he had played down over the many years we have known each other.

John Connor was born in ‘God’s Garden’, the Irish stronghold of Garngad in the north of Glasgow, on Thursday, 7 September 1911. The Celtic team of the day was in a transitional phase, Maley’s first great side having failed to extend their own world record to seven consecutive Scottish League titles the previous spring. That particular achievement would have to wait until Jock Stein’s Bhoys beat East Fife 3-0 at Bayview Park, more than sixty years later, your 11-year-old author perhaps not appreciating the football history he was watching unfold in Methil that sunny April afternoon in 1972.

Perhaps by way of consolation, the Class of 1911 had won the most prestigious national trophy of the era, the Scottish Cup, following a 2-0 replay victory over Hamilton Academical at Ibrox on Wednesday, 15 April 1911, thanks to goals in the last ten minutes from Jimmy Quinn and Tom McAteer. Both men had grown up in working-class communities, just a few miles apart, McAteer in Smithstone (adjacent to Clyde’s present-day Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld) and Quinn in the mining village of Croy, however, their Scottish Cup final pedigrees would somewhat differ.

McAteer’s senior career had started at Bolton Wanderers in 1898, spending four seasons at Burnden Park, three of them in the English First Division, before dropping into the Southern League with West Ham United then Brighton & Hove Albion, where he was appointed captain.

Tom returned to Scotland in May 1904 to join Dundee, where he played for one year before heading back across the border to sign for non-League outfit, Carlisle United. He would spend the 1906/07 campaign on loan at Clyde, the Dalmarnock club having moved across the river a few years earlier from their original home at Barrowfield Park, scene of Celtic’s first-ever trophy win, the Glasgow North-Eastern Cup of May 1889, to a new base at Shawfield Park in Rutherglen.

In February 1908 McAteer made that move permanent, his Clyde side beaten 2-0 by Celtic in a Scottish Cup semi-final replay on Saturday, 27 March 1909, after a goalless draw the previous weekend, both games played at Celtic Park for some reason.

Celts would face Rangers in the final at Hampden in April. Having become the first side to win the League and Cup Double in Scotland in 1907, Maley’s Bhoys followed that up by winning both trophies again the following year. With a fifth successive League title within their grasp, the Scottish Cup was all that stood between the Hoops and a ‘Treble Double’. The more things change… We’ll return to that particular Scottish Cup final of 1909 in due course.

Tom would get his own shot at glory the following season, leading Clyde all the way to the Scottish Cup Final in April 1910, knocking out both of the previous season’s finalists, Celtic and Rangers, en route. The Ibrox side were dismissed by 2-0 at Shawfield, in the second round, before Clyde and Celtic were paired in the last four of the competition for the second consecutive season, this time the ‘Bully Wee’ with home advantage. As if I need any encouragement, that fixture allows me to bring in one of the most colourful characters ever to play for Celtic, albeit if only for one game, Leigh Richmond Roose.

Welshman Leigh Roose was one of the most important goalkeepers in football history. At a time when keepers could handle the ball anywhere within their own half, he had perfected the art of bouncing the ball, whilst evading challenges, as far up the park as the halfway line, before setting up attacks by launching it forward from there. This eventually forced the authorities of the time to amend the rules, limiting such allowable handball to within the goalkeeper’s own penalty area, as it remains today.

Roose retained amateur status throughout his career, although some reports claim that he ‘charged handsomely’ on his expenses. Frequently linked with high-profile ladies of that era and drawing media coverage for his exploits off-the-field, he had enjoyed top-flight spells at Stoke City and Everton and was the Welsh international goalkeeper by the time he signed for Sunderland in 1907.

He was still the first-choice keeper on Wearside when he turned out for his country against Scotland at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, on Saturday, 5 March 1910, in the Home International Championship. The Scottish side that afternoon included five players from Celtic, the dominant force in domestic football of that era, Alec McNair, Willie Loney, captain Jimmy Hay, Jimmy McMenemy and Jimmy Quinn, whilst the great Billy Meredith featured for Wales.

A late goal from Falkirk’s Andy Devine won the match for Scotland, and they would clinch the championship by beating England 2-0 at Hampden the following month, thanks to goals from McMenemy and Quinn. Both Celtic forwards had endured a torrid time at the hands of the Welsh defenders at Kilmarnock, ‘Napoleon’ McMenemy suffering to the extent that he would be unfit for Celtic’s next fixture, the Scottish Cup semi-final against Clyde seven days later.

Whether that factor, or indeed Leigh’s performance that day, would have had some bearing on Celtic’s decision to request the loan of the goalkeeper for the game at Shawfield, will perhaps forever remain a mystery.

In any case, the famous Welshman would turn out for the club in place of regular Parkhead stopper, Davie Adams, who was suffering from pneumonia, Roose, no doubt, wearing his unwashed green-and-black Aberystwyth Town jersey, his lucky charm, under his Celtic kit. Jimmy McMenemy’s inside-forward position against Clyde would be filled by Willie Kivlichan, one of the few players to move directly between Celtic and Rangers, which he had done in 1907, Alec Bennett moving in the opposite direction the following season, despite some suggestions that this was a swap deal. Kivlichan would later pre-date John Fitzsimons, as Celtic’s club doctor, and poignantly would be on duty at Ibrox, his old stamping ground, on Saturday, 5 September 1931, when John Thomson suffered his fatal injury.

Presumably, Leigh would soon require a new prop to alleviate his superstitions, after the semi-final at Shawfield had ended in a 3-1 defeat for Celtic, in front of an incredible crowd of 38,000, Willie Kivlichan scoring for the Hoops. The goalkeeper’s eccentricity was demonstrated when he raced the length of the field to pursue Jackie Chalmers, the scorer of Clyde’s third goal, before offering his hand in congratulations.

One can only begin to imagine the reaction of the visiting support that day, or of the current crop, should Fraser Forster decide to do likewise. Perhaps unsurprisingly after that, this would prove to be his one and only game for Celtic. Roose would finish his English career with spells at Port Vale, Huddersfield Town, Aston Villa and the then Woolwich Arsenal. He joined the army when war broke out in 1914 and was killed in the Somme carnage two years later, in October 1916, aged just 38. Seven months later, on 16 May 1917, Leigh’s Celtic teammate that day in Rutherglen, Peter Johnstone, would also fall in service on the green fields of France, in the battle of Arras. Peter was only 29.

‘To man’s blind indifference to his fellow man.
To a whole generation that were butchered and damned.’

Two young men cut down in their prime, highlighting yet again the horrific and absolute futility of war.

With Hampden out of commission (more on why that was the case in a moment), the 1910 Scottish Cup final would be played at Ibrox, Clyde’s opponents being McAteer’s former club, Dundee. With just three minutes remaining, the red-and-white ribbons were laid out and the engraver was preparing the famous old trophy in readiness for it to be handed to the Shawfield skipper, Tom McAteer, the Bully Wee 2-0 up through Jackie Chalmers and Frank Booth and looking certain to win the cup for the first time.

Then there is a bizarre moment, an attempted clearance bounces off Dundee centre-forward, John ‘Sailor’ Hunter, before passing into the net. And in the dying seconds, Jimmy Langlands equalises, to force a replay. Neither side could produce a goal from 120 minutes of football at the same venue, seven days later, with a third game, therefore, required to decide the winner. On Wednesday, 20 April 1910, Clyde again took an early lead through Chalmers, with Jim Bellamy equalising for Dundee after fifteen minutes. The Scottish Cup would eventually be won in the 56th minute of the third game, ‘Sailor’ Hunter’s goal taking the trophy to Dens Park for what remains their only such success to this day.

John ‘Sailor’ Hunter would later become the manager of that fantastic Motherwell side of the 1930’s, which we have discussed at some length in this series, runners-up to Celtic in the Scottish Cup Finals of 1931 and 1933 and League champions in between, the only title ever won by the Fir Park club. Thus, ‘Sailor’ retains a unique place in the affections of two of Scottish football’s more historic institutions.

Now in his 35th year, Tom McAteer then left Clyde for the six-in-a-row champions, Celtic, signing three weeks later, on 10 May 1910, ostensibly as cover. He would make his Hoops debut in the opening League match of the new campaign, a home game with Airdrieonians, on Saturday, 17 August 1910, replacing ‘Sunny Jim’ Young in a defence which included most of the other legends of the day, Davie Adams, Alec McNair, Joe Dodds, Willie Loney and Jimmy Hay.

Goals from Loney and a Jimmy Quinn double would give McAteer a winning start as the quest for an unprecedented seven-in-a-row titles commenced with a comfortable 3-0 victory, however, that wonderful prospect would appear remote following three successive League defeats at the hands of Falkirk, Morton and Kilmarnock.

Tom would feature in eighteen matches in his first season at Parkhead, contributing four goals, including Celtic’s equaliser in the Ne-erday fixture at Ibrox, and the second and clinching goal in the dying seconds of the 2-0 Scottish Cup final replay win over Hamilton Academical at the same venue in April 1911 (his medal is shown below).

As mentioned earlier, Jimmy Quinn had opened the scoring in that 1911 final. By that time, he was already a Celtic legend, having signed a decade earlier from Smithstone Albion, the local rivals of Tom McAteer’s Smithstone Hibernian. Quinn would make his Celtic debut on the left-wing at Love Street, Paisley, in a League match on Saturday, 19 January 1901, scoring once in a bruising 4-3 win over St Mirren, a match where the crowd burst on to the field following an incident involving Sandy ‘The Duke’ McMahon, Parkhead president John Glass assaulted in the ensuing melee. Two goals from centre-forward Johnny Campbell and one from outside-right John Hodge had complemented Quinn’s debut goal to give the ‘Stripes’ a commanding 4-1 lead at the interval, before the Buddies fought back.

Jimmy Quinn would play just two more games that season, however they would both be significant. On Saturday, 23 March 1901, another goal from Campbell against that same St Mirren side would see Celts win a Scottish Cup semi-final at Parkhead, in the days when only the replays of last-four games were held at neutral venues. And two weeks later, he would line up for the Bhoys against Hearts in the Scottish Cup final at Ibrox.

Maley’s Celtic were chasing a third successive win in the competition, a feat achieved by both Queen’s Park – who did this twice – and Vale of Leven, in the first nine seasons of the national tournament, the Bhoys having followed up their initial success against the Hampden amateurs in 1892 by beating Rangers seven years later then the Spiders again in 1900.

Sadly, the 4-3 scoreline from the previous season would be reversed as the Edinburgh club won another seven-goal thriller, thus matching Celtic’s tally of three wins, despite second-half goals from Quinn and McMahon pulling it back to 3-3 with just ten minutes remaining. Mark Bell would win it for Hearts at the death. Strangely, despite Celtic’s fantastic record in the Scottish Cup, they would miss many opportunities to break that ‘three-in-a-row’ hoodoo over the next century and beyond. It was perhaps appropriate that when they did finally achieve this, on Lisbon Day 2019, thanks to a French Eddie double, the Gorgie club were once again providing the opposition.

Quinn and McMahon would line up again in the following season’s Scottish Cup Final, on Saturday, 26 April 1902. The visitors were Hearts’ great rivals, Hibernian, the final moved to Celtic Park due to the first Ibrox disaster earlier that month, where 25 spectators lost their lives and more than 500 were injured as the new west terracing collapsed during the Scotland v England home international. The perceived ‘home’ advantage would prove non-existent, Celts losing to a late Andrew McGeachan goal. It would be Hibernian’s last win in the competition for an incredible 114 years, until Alan Stubbs’ side beat Rangers at Hampden in May 2016, in the first-ever such cup final between two second-tier clubs.

The disaster of April 1902 would trigger the one and only playing of a British League Cup to this day. In an attempt to raise funds for the benefit of the families bereaved at Ibrox, a knock-out tournament involving the top two sides north and south of the border was organised for that close-season. Celtic, Everton, Rangers and Sunderland competed for a trophy won by the Govan club at the previous year’s Glasgow International Exhibition, where they had beaten the Bhoys 3-1 in the final at Kelvingrove.

Four days after their Scottish Cup defeat by Hibernian, Wednesday, 30 April 1902, Celtic beat the new English Champions, Sunderland, 5-1, Rangers then drawing 1-1 with Everton the following night, both games played at Ibrox, which I have to say somewhat surprised me, given the circumstances.

A replay on Saturday, 3 May 1902 at Celtic Park would see Rangers edge a five-goal thriller with the Merseyside outfit, setting up a Glasgow Derby for the British League Cup final. The match was scheduled for June, to tie in with the Coronation of the new British monarch, King Edward VII (Queen Victoria had died the previous year), however that ceremony was eventually deferred until August, due to his appendicitis.

(Editor’s Note – this Royal health issue and resulted in a famous legal case, involving a chap who had booked hotel room to watch the royal procession go past on the initial date, Alex Rae may do well to read up on this and the outcome when the hotel attempted to sue for the room cancellation. This provides case law that could be discussed much further should any football authority in the UK decide to accept Rae’s advice on the way forward for football with regard to this season).

The final between the Glasgow rivals went ahead as planned on Tuesday, 17 June 1902, at the original Cathkin Park, off Crosshill Road in Govanhill. This was the home of Third Lanark until they moved to the second Hampden the following year, which they later renamed as New Cathkin, and where they remained until their sad demise in 1967.

Jimmy Quinn scored twice to give Celtic a commanding lead, only for Robert ‘RC’ Hamilton and Finlay Speedie to equalise before the interval. With no further scoring in the second half, it was agreed to play two periods of ten minutes each as extra-time. Some journalists had already left Cathkin and would later record the match as a 2-2 draw, before Quinn added a third goal following a Celtic corner, with just thirty seconds remaining, to win the British League Cup. The beautiful trophy remains in the Parkhead boardroom to this day (see above) and is unique in the sense that it was never engraved to reflect Celtic’s success.

Jimmy Quinn, thus, became the first Celt to score a hat-trick against Rangers in a competitive game. Tom Maley had claimed three goals in Celtic’s first-ever game, fourteen years earlier, the 5-2 win on Monday, 28 May 1888, however, that match was deemed as a friendly, with the opposition listed as ‘the Rangers Swifts.’

History and Quinn would continue to walk hand in hand. Just over a year after that victory at Cathkin, Jimmy would again be on the left-wing as the first Celtic side ever to wear the now-iconic Hoops took the field, for a home League game with Third Lanark on Saturday, 29 August 1903. Prior to that, Celtic had worn a white jersey for their inaugural season, then the vertical green-and-white kit we would come to associate with Real Sociedad. That’s another story for another day. And two months later, on Saturday, 31 October 1903, he would feature in the Celtic team which opened ‘New Hampden Park’, Queens’ Park, having relocated from Second Hampden (better known nowadays as Cathkin Park, the final home of Third Lanark), celebrating the occasion by beating their neighbours 1-0 in a League game.

And although the Bhoys would finish that campaign in fourth spot, as Third Lanark secured their first and only League title, Quinn and his Parkhead teammates would end the 1903/04 season on a high. Having scored the goal which beat the champions-elect Thirds in the home Scottish Cup semi-final on Saturday, 19 March 1904, Jimmy Quinn lined up at centre-forward for the final against Rangers four weeks later.

Saturday, 16 April would be his date with destiny. The game is widely recognised as being the first where the description ‘old firm’ was used to reflect the financial benefits to be gained by both clubs from the developing rivalry, a term which would endure for over a century, before the Ibrox club entered liquidation in the summer of 2012. Missing from the Rangers ranks was the aforementioned RC Hamilton, who would score 35 goals against Celtic, more than any other player in their history.

A crowd in excess of 64,000 packed into Hampden, for the first Scottish Cup final to be held in the new Mount Florida arena, the Govan team seizing the early initiative with a Finlay Speedie double. By half-time, the Mighty Quinn had drawn Celtic level with his own brace, and he would have the final say, powering through the Ibrox defence to score the winner as the clock ticked down, his second hat-trick against Rangers. And seven days later, Jimmy would score five of Celtic’s six goals as they beat bottom-dogs Kilmarnock 6-1 at Parkhead in the final League game of the season. A new Celtic Star was born.

Quinn would then lead the line as Maley’s Bhoys dominated Scottish football over the next six seasons, completing six-in-a-row, whilst ‘making those doubles’ in 1907 and 1908, with Scottish Cup Final wins over Hearts, revenge for 1901, then St Mirren, with Jimmy on target in the 5-1 victory over the Paisley outfit in April 1908. Celtic would then face Rangers in the final twelve months later, chasing a third successive triumph. It is a contest which remains infamous to this day, known as the Riot Final.

On Saturday, 10 April 1909, a new record attendance of 70,000 turned up to see the Scottish Cup Final between the Glasgow rivals, Quinn heading the Bhoys in front, a lead they held until the 72nd minute. The game then turned on its head within three minutes. Firstly, Tom Gilchrist equalised then the knife was further and cruelly twisted, as Alec Bennett, having won four successive titles and two Doubles with Celtic and having scored the winning goal for the Bhoys at Ibrox in April 1908 before making the switch across Glasgow two weeks later, edged the Govan side ahead.

With time quickly running out, Quinn’s pressure on the Rangers keeper, Harry Rennie, forced him into the concession of an own goal. Rennie had been the hero of Hibernian’s win over Celtic at Parkhead in the 1902 final, however, it would be his error which would take this tie to a second game, and subsequently, into notoriety.

Seven days later, the teams met again. At stake for Celtic was a ‘Treble Double’, whilst the Ibrox club was desperate to break the trophy monopoly of their now fiercest rivals. This time it was Rangers who struck first, through Jimmy Gordon, with the prolific Jimmy Quinn again on the scoresheet for Celts, as the replay finished 1-1. What happened next will forever remain a mystery. Despite the competition rules allowing extra-time only if teams were level after a third match, players of both sides remained on the pitch at the end of the ninety minutes, in anticipation, presumably, of a further thirty.

The 60,000 crowd would appear to have been like-minded in their expectation. When it became clear that no such additional period would ensue, all hell broke loose from the terracing, the ‘old firm’ tag coming back to haunt the clubs, with suggestions of conspiracy and commercial collusion abounding. Police and fire service personnel were attacked at random and the stadium itself was quickly under siege, with turnstiles, goalposts and the playing surface set on fire.

The full-scale riot would endure for over two hours, neighbouring properties then finding themselves the target as the mob finally dispersed from the stadium. In the aftermath, both clubs were fined and the cup withheld. There would be no Treble Double and it would be more than a decade before the Scottish Cup Final returned to Hampden.

The following year would see a sixth successive title won by Celtic, prompting the presentation of that beautiful shield by the Scottish League, which remains on display in the Parkhead boardroom to this day, although their Scottish Cup hopes would be ended by Tom McAteer’s Clyde in the ‘Leigh Roose’ semi-final at Shawfield, mentioned previously. Quinn and McAteer would then score the goals against Hamilton Academical which took the trophy back to Celtic Park twelve months later, in April 1911.

Thus, when baby John Connor entered the world in September of that year, it’s probably fair to say that Jimmy Quinn would have been the darling of the Celtic support, and therefore, of the Garngad. If James Kelly had been Celtic’s first superstar, and Dan Doyle and Sandy ‘Duke’ McMahon the key Bhoys throughout the 1890’s, then the shy Croy powerhouse would pick up that baton and drive the club forward into the new millennium.

The first Celtic match of John Connor’s lifetime took place two days after his birth, on Saturday, 9 September 1911, a Glasgow Cup-tie against Partick Thistle at Parkhead, goals from Andy McAtee, Jimmy McMenemy and the lesser-known John Brown securing a 3-3 draw. By now, Quinn was 33 years-old and in his twelfth season at Parkhead, however, there was yet more history to be made. On Monday, 1 January 1912, he scored his third hat-trick against Rangers in a 3-0 victory at Celtic Park. Jimmy Quinn was the only player from either club to ever achieve that feat.

By the time young Connor was starting school at his local primary, St Roch’s on the Garngad Road, the country was at war and the Celtic fans had a new hero to worship. The great Quinn had played his last match for the club on Saturday, 30 January 1915, a 1-1 home draw with Hearts, having featured only sporadically in the previous two years, as Maley’s next great side began their own run of consecutive titles. His place in history was assured, with 239 goals from 369 games in all competitions, 6 successive League championships and 5 Scottish Cup-winners’ medals, Quinn having scored 8 goals in the various showpiece finals since 1901. But now there was a new Bhoy in town, and he was pretty special too.

On Saturday, 2 December 1911, the 12,000 supporters inside Parkhead caught their first glimpse of a diminutive inside-forward from Donegal by the name of Patsy Gallacher, in a 3-1 win over St Mirren. He would score his first goal for the club the following week at Hampden, with Jimmy Quinn grabbing a double in a 4-1 victory over Queen’s Park.

The little genius with the huge talent would go on to thrill a generation of Hoops fans over the next fifteen seasons, by which time he had amassed almost 500 games and scored an incredible 200 goals for Celtic. He would be the lynchpin in the Hoops side which would win five championships in six seasons, including four-in-a-row between 1914 and 1917, adding another medal to his collection in 1922. And although the Scottish Cup was suspended between 1914 and 1919 due to the war, he would manage four successes in that competition also, scoring in the final victories of 1912 and 1925, his goal in the latter being that iconic ‘somersault’ goal against Dundee.

Against that background, things were happening closer to home for John Connor in a football sense. In 1920, the local priest at St Roch’s had entered a side representing the parish in a local tournament, which they subsequently won. This led to the formation of St Roch’s as a junior club, the new team winning the Second Division championship at the first time of asking, with a side featuring a number of lads from the parish Boys Guild, including a lean 16-year-old forward called James Edward McGrory.

If that debut season was impressive then the following campaign, 1921/22, would be the stuff of dreams. The newly-promoted Garngad outfit would pip St Anthony’s to the First Division title, whilst reaching the final of junior football’s showpiece competition, the Scottish Junior Cup. Their opponents at Firhill in front of an amazing 28,000 crowd would be the experienced Kilwinning Rangers. Con Hilley gave the ‘Candy Roch’ the lead before the half-hour.

Con was Jimmy’s neighbour growing up, his mum and dad acting as godparents to the young McGrory. His older brother, Hugh, had signed for Celtic in May 1921 and would later play at Parkhead with Jimmy McGrory. Hugh is featured in a previous part of this series, his sad departure the trigger for the introduction of William Peter McGonagle as a Celt.

Back at Firhill, the Ayrshire side had equalised early in the second half before young McGrory headed the winner with ten minutes remaining, to secure an unbelievable double. There was a twist in the tale, however, as Kilwinning Rangers registered a protest at the eligibility of St Roch’s full back, Hugh Millar, who had recently been signed from Bellshill Athletic.

The appeal was upheld by the SJFA and a replayed final ordered at the same venue on Tuesday, 6 June 1922. In the interim, the street party celebrating the initial success had gone ahead. In his autobiography, ‘A Lifetime in Paradise’, Jimmy McGrory tells how the St Roch’s parish priest did not want to disappoint the locals who had thronged the streets of the Garngad. He handed the Inter-Parish trophy, recently won by the Boys Guild team, to the players to parade from the bus. No-one caught on.

The real celebration was merely delayed.

Over 32,000 crammed into Firhill for the rematch, with McGrory on the scoresheet again, netting the equaliser after Kilwinning had taken an early lead. Johnny Rollo would settle the destination of the trophy with a winner for St Roch’s, and this time there would be no dispute. With the Double secured, the Garngad side then met another Rangers, the Cambuslang version this time, in the final of the Glasgow Charity Cup, four days later at Cathkin Park, home of Third Lanark.

There would be no Treble as St Roch’s went down to a solitary goal, however, there would be a silver lining for the 17-year-old McGrory. Waiting in the dressing-room afterwards was the Celtic manager, Willie Maley, and Jimmy would be a signed Hoops player before he left the ground that evening. The rest is history, as they say. Curiously, for all his later success with Celtic, the League and Cup Double of 1922 with St Roch’s would be the only time Jimmy would achieve that feat in his entire career.

One can only imagine how much inspiration the early success of St Roch’s would provide to the young footballers of the Garngad, amongst them 10-year-old John Connor, seven years McGrory’s junior. By this time, John would be looking to follow in the great man’s footsteps by turning out for the Boys Guild team, and he would do.

There is a wonderful photo in the Celtic Wiki (see below), which features John in a side labelled ‘the best-ever St Roch’s Boys Guild team’. High praise indeed, considering some of the men who have worn that shirt. Jimmy McGrory had played wide throughout his early football career, due to the presence of Peter McGonagle’s cousin at centre-forward. There is another McGonagle in the photo with John, so perhaps he was also a relation. However, John is up front and centre with the ball between his feet, usually a sign that he was the regular centre-forward, team captain or both. At some point in time, John will become known as Jack, and most career profiles refer to him accordingly.

Jack Connor would indeed follow the same career path as Jimmy, from Boys Guild through the junior ranks with St Roch’s then eventually to Celtic. He would have a trial at Parkhead in August 1931, just before his 20th birthday, as the events which would lead to John Thomson’s tragic death at Ibrox were being organised by fate, before signing a permanent contract on 6 June 1932, ten years to the day his old club had lifted the Scottish Junior Cup for the one and only time in their now century of history.

He would witness a mixed start for Celtic to season 1932/33, the Hoops trying to wrestle the title back from Sailor Hunter’s Motherwell and claim the crown for the first time since 1926. Despite a damaging 2-1 defeat by Partick Thistle in August and dropped points against Hamilton Academical, Falkirk and Rangers, a 3-1 victory at Firs Park, Falkirk over East Stirlingshire on Wednesday, 14 September saw the Celts move to the top of the table, albeit having played a game more than their Ibrox rivals, thanks to a second-half hat-trick from Charlie Napier.

Three days later, Celtic made the short trip to Hampden for a League clash with Queen’s Park, with a side showing four changes from midweek. Willie Cook and Peter McGonagle made way for Bobby Hogg and Jock Morrison at full-back, whilst Frank O’Donnell and Jack Connor came in for Jimmy McGrory and Malcolm MacDonald up front. It would be a Celtic first-team debut at inside-left for Garngad-Bhoy Connor, with O’Donnell playing through the middle and Napier wide left, Alec and Bertie Thomson linking on the right flank. Behind that strike force were wing-halves Chic Geatons and the versatile Willie Hughes, either side of captain Jimmy McStay. Joe Kennaway, nearing the end of his first year as replacement for John Thomson, was between the sticks.

It would prove a difficult afternoon for the Celts amongst the 10,000 crowd, O’Donnell providing the only moment of hope with an equaliser just before the interval, as the amateurs ran out comfortable 4-1 winners. Jack would not play again in the first team that season as Celtic finished fourth in the table, ten League defeats leaving them a distant fourteen points off champions Rangers and behind both Motherwell and Hearts. They did regain the Scottish Cup with a second-half Jimmy McGrory goal against the Steelmen at Hampden, a second such triumph in three years against the same opposition.

By that time, Jack had enjoyed a very productive spell on loan with Airdrieonians, scoring 22 goals in just 21 League games for the Diamonds that season, despite the Lanarkshire side fighting relegation throughout, a battle they would win but only just. He would be in his preferred centre-forward role at Broomfield on Saturday, 3 December 1932, when he faced his parent club for the first time, a Bertie Thomson double either side of a Charlie Napier spot kick conversion giving Celts a commanding lead they would not relinquish, despite Connor securing a late penalty for the hosts which McQueen then contrived to miss, as Airdrieonians slumped to an eighth successive defeat.

Jack would also feature in the return League fixture, played at Celtic Park on Tuesday, 18 April 1933, just three days after the Bhoys had beat Motherwell 1-0 in the Scottish Cup Final mentioned above. Maley had made three changes to his cup-winning line-up for the last home match of the campaign, Joe Kennaway, Jimmy McGrory and Charlie Napier making way for Jock Wallace, Frank O’Donnell and debutant George Paterson, the latter appearing at centre-forward and opening the scoring with a header which went in off both post and keeper Morrison, ten minutes before the interval.

George would later be converted into one of Celtic’s best ever wing-halfbacks. Five minutes after the restart, it appeared to many onlookers that Jack Connor had scored an equaliser for Airdrieonians, goalkeeper Wallace scrambling frantically to clear his effort from the foot of the post. Controversially, referee Baillie chose to play on and the Lanarkshire side would then go on to concede the next goal, Alec Thomson netting with fifteen minutes remaining. Morrison did pull one back for the visitors in the dying minutes, however, the 2-1 defeat meant their battle to stay up would go to the wire. Despite losing both of their final games, away to Ayr United then home to St Mirren, the Diamonds would survive by two points, Morton and East Stirlingshire taking the dreaded drop. There is no doubt that Jack Connor’s 22 goals were crucial in prolonging their stay in the top-flight and he would have returned to Celtic Park that summer with high hopes for the season ahead.

Celts would make an indifferent start to the following season’s campaign, newly-promoted Queen of the South winning 3-2 at Palmerston on the opening day, their first-ever top-flight match and Willie Buchan’s Celtic debut, then the Hoops and Falkirk sharing four goals at Parkhead, with Bob Shankly scoring an equaliser for the Bairns, a game famous for the referee blowing prematurely for full-time as Celtic desperately chased a winner. He would then be forced to call the players back from the dressing-room to complete the match. Quite bizarre. Celts would finally register a victory at the third time of asking, at Firhill in midweek, goals from Jimmy McGrory, Johnny Crum and Frank O’Donnell failing to tease a response from a Partick Thistle side featuring the great Adam McLean at outside-left.

The game in Maryhill was just a third Celtic start for Johnny Crum. He had replaced Bertie Thomson on the right-flank, following the winger’s transfer to Blackpool a few days earlier. Bertie liked to ‘live life to the full’, as they say, which would bring him into regular conflict with manager Willie Maley. He had been the Scottish Cup final hero of 1931, setting up the last-gasp equaliser in the first match with Motherwell before matching McGrory’s double in the replay, a 4-2 victory for Celtic. He had also been providing the service from the right-wing in the Hampden rematch two years later, as the great man won the trophy for Celtic again.

However, in between times, he had fallen out with Maley, who was concerned over his ‘unsatisfactory play and physical condition.’ Such disputes at Celtic tended to end one way, with the player leaving, which is exactly what he did, on 21 August 1933. Thomson would spend just one season in Lancashire before heading north to join that same Motherwell side, returning to Celtic Park with the Steelmen on Saturday, 8 December 1934, beside another former Bhoy, John McMenemy, son of the legendary ‘Napoleon’.

Both men were received warmly by the home crowd, Bertie presented with a horseshoe adorned in both club colours by his previous fans. However, such kindness would not extend beyond the referee’s whistle, as Motherwell would then be beaten 3-2. Bertie would retire shortly after this, at 27, his lifestyle excesses prematurely ending his career then his life. He would die suddenly from heart failure in Glasgow three years later, on 17 September 1937, just two months into his third decade and on the third birthday of his daughter. Yet another tragedy in a period where grief had become a regular visitor to those with Celtic Football Club in their hearts.

Three days after the 3-0 defeat of Partick Thistle, Saturday, 26 August 1933, Celts were on the road again, this down heading for Ayrshire and a match with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. The only change in the Hoops side would see Jack Connor replace Hugh O’Donnell, in an attack comprising four players who would feature at centre-forward for the Bhoys at one time or another, Crum, McGrory, Frank O’Donnell and Connor himself. Alec Thomson was the exception in that sense.

On a scorching hot day, left-back Peter McGonagle put the visitors ahead from a trademark free-kick, after McGrory had been fouled at the edge of the box. Kilmarnock equalised within four minutes through Williamson before Connor’s moment of glory arrived, in the closing stages of the first half, McGrory failing to connect with Crum’s cross but his fellow Garngad man making no mistake to restore the lead, his first goal for Celtic. Incredibly, that lead would be gone before the interval, Killie hitting back with two goals in 60 seconds, Maxwell then Liddell beating Joe Kennaway to send the hosts into the break 3-2 ahead. They would again dominate the second period without adding to their lead before a mistake between the Celtic keeper and McGonagle with eight minutes to play allowed Liddell a tap-in for his second of the day. Crum reduced the deficit from close-range near the end, however, it would be too little, too late.

Jack Connor would retain his place in the team for the trip to face Third Lanark at Cathkin in midweek, a first round Glasgow Cup-tie. Maley did shuffle his pack with three changes, 18-year-old Willie Buchan getting his second start following the opening day defeat in Dumfries as Alec Thomson dropped out, Charlie Napier filling the other inside-forward slot at the expense of Frank O’Donnell and Peter Wilson coming in for Malcolm MacDonald at right-half.

The first half was goalless with Napier giving Celts the lead five minutes after the restart, with a fine solo effort, Johnny Crum adding a second on the hour mark before Peter McGonagle missed a penalty, his shot hitting the post after the referee had spotted a handball. Hasson then kept the hosts in the tie at 2-1 before a second goal from Crum with four minutes remaining and a last-minute counter from Jimmy McGrory set the Hoops up for a semi-final clash with Rangers. Jack Connor would thus get to enjoy his first taste of victory as a Celt that night.

Three days later, Saturday, 2 September 1933, Jack would make his home debut, Celtic Park the fourth different venue in his four appearances in the first team. Hearts were the visitors as Maley fielded an unchanged line-up, both Johnny Crum and Jack Connor struggling on the day in their unaccustomed wide roles, whilst Jimmy McGrory found the Edinburgh side’s keeper, Wembley Wizard, Jack Harkness, in sensational form. Despite incessant pressure from Celtic, the game would end a disappointing 0-0.

The following Saturday, 9 September 1933, would see the biggest game of Connor’s career, as Celtic headed across the city to face the defending champions, Rangers, at Ibrox, in front of 49,000 fans. For a third successive match, the Hoops team was unchanged, Maley’s men thus lining up as follows:

Kennaway: Hogg & McGonagle: Wilson, McStay & Hughes: Crum, Buchan, McGrory, Napier & Connor

The corresponding fixture two years earlier had seen Celtic keeper, John Thomson stretchered from the field, losing his fight for life later that evening in Glasgow’s Victoria Infirmary. His replacement, Joe Kennaway, was already on his way to becoming a legend in his own right at Parkhead, however, this would be an afternoon he would want to forget.

Things had looked promising when Jimmy McGrory opened the scoring within fifteen minutes, following great work from Johnny Crum, before the game’s most contentious period, just before the break. First, Rangers defender Dougie Gray, eight seasons into a 22-year career which would make him the longest-serving player in the Govan club’s history, punched the ball off the line to prevent a certain goal, conceding a stone-wall penalty.

Despite the blatancy of his act, the Rangers players decided to indulge in a spot of pure gamesmanship, or perhaps a lack of sportsmanship may be a more accurate description. They immediately surrounded referee Watson to protest at his decision, before, eventually, withdrawing to the edge of the penalty, as Peter McGonagle placed the ball on the spot. Ibrox skipper, Davie Meiklejohn then walked past the Celt to consult at length with his keeper, Jerry Dawson, in a clear attempt to delay the kick still further and ‘get into McGonagle’s head’, an action at odds with the integrity he had displayed in that game two years earlier, where he gestured to the hoards who were cheering the injury to the stricken Thomson to show some respect. Sadly, the despicable behaviour on this occasion by the home side paid off, as the normally reliable Peter McGonagle stepped up to slam his shot wide of Dawson’s post.

Within a few minutes, his error would be compounded. Ibrox forward Bob McPhail was chasing a long ball at the edge of the Celtic penalty area with no obvious danger, due to the presence of covering defenders, when Kennaway had a rush of blood to the head, the big Canadian dashing from his line to collide with McPhail. Penalty to Rangers. This time there is no mistake, as Jimmy Smith’s effort crosses the line, despite Kennaway getting a hand to it. Seconds later, Watson blew the half-time whistle, the teams going in level rather than the Celts enjoying a two-goal lead. Football can be cruel sometimes.

Things would get worse for Kennaway and Celtic just five minutes into the second half, when the keeper misjudged a Meiklejohn free-kick dropping into his box, McPhail winning the race to force the ball home off a post. With twenty minutes remaining and the Bhoys toiling, Jack Connor and Willie Buchan struggling through injury and fatigue respectively, Jimmy McGrory stepped up to the plate yet again. There seemed no danger when he chased a hopeful pass from Charlie Napier, with Ibrox central defenders McDonald and Russell both better-placed to clear. Crucially, they would hesitate for a split-second, long enough for McGrory to reach the ball first. He twisted the Govan duo one way then the other, strolled passed the exposed Gray then hammered the ball into the Rangers net.

Within minutes, McGonagle almost atoned for his earlier penalty miss, his driving run upfield ending in a powerful shot which beat Dawson all-ends-up before crashing back off the upright. Celtic continued to push for a win right up until the end, the referee’s whistle blowing for full-time as the limping Connor shaped to take a corner-kick. The game ended level at 2-2 and that would prove to be Jack’s last action as a Celt.

Hugh O’Donnell started on the left-wing for Celtic in the next match, a 7-0 defeat of Cowdenbeath at Parkhead, whilst Willie Dunn made his debut at centre-forward in the Glasgow Cup semi-final, when Celtic met Rangers again on Monday, 25 September 1933, sixteen days after Ibrox.

With a wealth of attacking options at Maley’s disposal, a combination of injuries and competition for places would signal the end of Jack’s spell at the club. He was freed at the end of that season, joining Airdrieonians on a permanent deal on 6 June 1934, two years to the day he had signed for his boyhood idols, Celtic.

We pick up his trail the following season back at Broomfield, where the Diamonds had just survived a second successive relegation dogfight, this time finishing just a solitary point ahead of Third Lanark. The signature of Jack Connor would see a much-improved performance in 1934/35, the Airdrie club climbing up the table to finish in a more respectable 14th place in the 20-club division. They would host Celtic on Saturday, 17 November 1934, goals from Jack’s old colleagues Frank O’Donnell and George Paterson, the latter from the spot, securing a 2-0 victory which moved Celtic up to fifth place. Connor had been denied by another old teammate, Joe Kennaway, as Airdrieonians battled to salvage a point. However, that elusive goal against his former club would have to wait a bit longer.

Jack would continue to score against pretty much everyone else, with Hearts regular victims. He had previously netted a double whilst on loan as the Gorgie club won 7-2 at Broomfield on Hogmanay 1932 and he would be on target on Saturday, 12 January 1935, as the Tynecastle men again hit Airdrie for seven, in an incredible 11-goal affair at the same venue. He would then grab another brace against Hearts as the Diamonds lost by the odd goal in five in the home Scottish Cup quarter-final on Saturday, 9 March 1935. Around 150 miles to the north, his beloved Celts were also exiting the cup, a late goal from Jimmy McGrory insufficient to prevent a 3-1 defeat at Pittodrie in front of over 40,000.

The following month, on Saturday, 13 April 1935, Jack Connor would be missing from the line-up as his Airdrieonians colleagues went down to a 2-0 defeat at Celtic Park, the hitman presumably injured as goals from Willie Buchan and Hugh O’Donnell saw the Bhoys continue their push for second place in the League. Rangers would that day clinch their eighth title in nine years by beating Aberdeen, only Motherwell in 1932 having halted that procession since Celtic’s last success in 1926.

Connor would face his old pal Jimmy McGrory again on Saturday 19 October 1935 at Celtic Park, Jack leading the line for Airdrieonians on the day young Irish keeper Jim Foley made his Celtic debut. McGrory’s double in the Hoops’ 4-0 win would see him beat Steve Bloomer’s British goalscoring record of 352 that afternoon.

It would later transpire that the record actually belonged to a Scotsman, Hugh Ferguson. We discussed Hugh in an earlier part of this series. He had become Motherwell’s all-time leading goalscorer before joining Cardiff City, where he scored the winner in the 1927 FA Cup Final victory over Arsenal which saw the trophy leave England for the first and only time. He then returned to Scotland with Dundee, where he scored his final goals to declare at 364. Tragically, Hugh Ferguson committed suicide after a training session at Dens Park on 8 January 1930. He was only 34.

So Jimmy McGrory would have to find another dozen goals to ‘reclaim’ the record. As he was notching his brace against Jack Connor’s Airdrie, there was another 4-0 victory taking place around 180 miles south of Glasgow, where the O’Donnell brothers, Frank and Hugh, the former teammates of the Garngad Bhoys, having both swapped Glasgow for Lancashire five months earlier, were also grabbing doubles as their Preston North End side hammered Manchester City at Deepdale. McGrory would not have too long to wait as the goals continued to flow.

On Saturday, 21 December, Celts played host to League leaders Aberdeen, with the great man just one behind Ferguson’s record. He had equalled that within seven minutes before the magic moment which will forever be associated with Jimmy McGrory, horizontal in the air as he heads his way into history from a Frank Murphy cross. And just for good measure, Jimmy completed his hat-trick, his fourth of the season, early in the second half, as Celtic took a massive stride towards their first title in a decade, by beating the Dons 5-3 in front of 40,000.

In Jimmy’s own words, ‘Christmas came early that year.’ Boxing Day 1935 wasn’t too bad either. Five days after Jimmy’s history-making exploits, baby Thomas Stephen was born to the Chalmers family residing in James Nisbet St, on Garngadhill. Stevie would enjoy a wonderful career with Celtic from 1959, outscoring Parkhead legends such as Patsy Gallacher and Sandy McMahon to notch 236 in the Hoops including the most famous goal of all, the winner in Lisbon in May 1967. When he left to join Morton in the autumn of 1971, only Jimmy Quinn with 239 and Jimmy McGrory with 522 had bettered his tally. Chalmers’ total would eventually be passed by his fellow Lion, Bobby Lennox and the world-class Swede, Henrik Larsson, however, it is a source of some pride that two of Celtic’s five all-time leading goalscorers were brought up in that little piece of north Glasgow now known as Roystonhill.

Meanwhile, McGrory just kept scoring. He grabbed two in the 4-3 New Year’s Day defeat by Rangers which marked the end of Peter McGonagle’s Parkhead career (strangely, Jimmy, like Henrik Larsson, never managed a hat-trick against the Ibrox side, whilst the other members of that ‘Famous Five’ club above all did) then another three in a 5-0 win over Queen of the South at Celtic Park on Saturday, 11 January 1936. Hat-tricks number six and seven which would soon follow would be very special indeed.

Before that, friends Jimmy McGrory and Jack Connor would come face-to-face again at Broomfield, on Saturday, 7 March 1936. Connor would finally score that elusive goal against Celtic, as early as the fourth minute, putting the home side in front, a lead doubled before the half-hour by Law. The Bhoys would then produce a stunning fightback in the closing thirty minutes, Crum then yet another McGrory double securing a 3-2 win for Celtic against the odds.

Seven days later, Motherwell were the visitors to Celtic Park, as yet more history was created. Goals from Jimmy Delaney and Willie Buchan had Celts comfortably ahead at the interval, before the great man took centre stage. Between the 65th and 67th minute, McGrory had completed a hat-trick, a shot followed by two trademark headers from Frank Murphy crosses finishing the scoring at 5-0.

And on Saturday, 18 April 1936, the Garngad legend notched his seventh and final hat-trick of the season, as Celtic beat Ayr United 6-0 to clinch their first League title in a decade. That took Jimmy’s tally for the campaign to 50, a Celtic club record to this day and a total only ever beaten by Motherwell’s Willie McFadyen, with 52 in their championship-winning season four years earlier. Jimmy actually missed a penalty to make that 51, one of two he missed from only three attempts in his Celtic career. Injury would prevent him making a further attempt to equal or beat the record at Firhill on the final weekend.

The Celtic Wiki suggests that Jack Connor was the second-highest goalscorer in the Scottish top-flight that season, and whilst I am struggling to get definitive numbers to confirm this, his tally of 47 League goals in 70 games across two seasons at Broomfield would make that prospect a distinct possibility. Jack’s goalscoring achievements become even more impressive when you consider that Airdrieonians were actually relegated at the end of that 1935/36 campaign. That two-year period would include a short spell on loan at neighbouring Albion Rovers in 1934, where he scored eight goals in six games.

Such prolific form would not go unnoticed. On Saturday, 26 September 1936, having just turned 25, Jack made his debut for English Second Division side, Plymouth Argyle in a home League fixture with Nottingham Forest, scoring twice in a 4-1 win. He would enjoy a successful introduction at Home Park, scoring again a fortnight later as the Pilgrims drew 2-2 with Aston Villa in front of over 43,000 fans in south Devon. Further goals would follow against Norwich City, the now-defunct Bradford Park Avenue, and Sheffield United, before he notched Argyle’s third in a 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane on Saturday, 28 November 1936. Jack continued to find the net with goals against Bury at Home Park then away to Doncaster Rovers, either side of Christmas, as two familiar faces joined him in Plymouth, former Celtic colleagues Tom Ryan and Jim Foley.

Irish keeper Foley was the victim of a horrible miscarriage of Scottish justice, following an incident at Tynecastle during a Scottish Alliance match the previous November, which prompted his exit from Parkhead, an episode covered in an earlier part of this series. In summary, despite being headbutted by a pitch-invading spectator, Jim was subsequently charged with assault, tried and convicted in an Edinburgh court, then forced to pay a fine or serve a custodial sentence. Foley would make his Argyle debut alongside Jack Connor in the 1-0 victory over Coventry City on Saturday, 9 January 1937.

Jack grabbed both Plymouth goals in the 3-2 defeat at Filbert St, Leicester, two weeks later but failed to find the net as Spurs took revenge for that earlier clash by knocking the Pilgrims out of the FA Cup in north London the following weekend. After missing the next two games, Jack was back with a bang, scoring a double at Villa Park as his side lost by the odd goal in nine, on Saturday, 13 February 1937 then the second as Argyle beat West Ham United 2-0 seven days later. The month ended with another win on the road, Jack hitting the opener as the Devon club beat Norwich City 2-1 at Carrow Road.

The game in East Anglia on Saturday, 27 February 1937 would mark the Plymouth debut of wing-half Tommy Ryan. He had joined Celtic from junior outfit St Anthony’s in 1933 and would feature with Jim Foley and a number of the other ‘periphery’ Celts on the autograph sheet which is the original source of this article, such as John Boyle, Danny Dawson and Willie Hughes.

Tommy would struggle to displace regular wing-halves Chic Geatons or George Paterson, with Hughes and Dawson ahead of him in the queue should either be missing. He would not feature in the first team at Parkhead and moved to Plymouth at Christmas 1936, just a few days before Foley followed. Sadly, Ryan would find the same situation at Argyle, where the long-serving duo Archie Gorman and Tommy Black were automatic picks. He would make just seven starts at Plymouth, before joining Swindon Town in the summer of 1939.

March 1937 opened with a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle United, Connor once again on target, albeit it would be his only goal that month, as the Pilgrims suffered a blip in what had been an impressive season to date, with three draws and two defeats from their six matches. They would get back on track in mid-April, after another couple of draws, Jack hitting the second in a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at Home Park. The campaign would end on a bit of a low, with defeats by the Lancashire duo of Bury and Burnley, and Connor missing the final game at home to the Clarets. Nevertheless, it had been a fine start to his career down south, with 17 goals from just 34 starts, a goal every two games, enough for him to top the goalscoring charts at the club in his first season there.

Plymouth Argyle finished in fifth place in the second tier of English football in 1936/37, their highest-ever placing until that point. Indeed, only once since then have they improved on that, reaching fourth in 1952/53. They would finish level on points with both Newcastle United and West Ham United, splitting the pair on goal average, and behind Bury, promoted Blackpool and champions Leicester City, whilst Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers would drop into the Third Division (North), as it was back then. Argyle would be joined in the Second Division the following season by relegated Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday, whilst the Old Trafford faithful’s misery would be complete by the sight of fierce rivals City claiming their first English title on the other side of Manchester.

The FA Cup was won by a Sunderland side featuring most of the players who would become English champions the following season before being beaten by Celtic in the first tie of the Empire Exhibition Cup at Ibrox. They defeated a Preston North End side at Wembley which included Bill Shankly and three former Celtic teammates of Jack Connor, Willie Fagan and the O’Donnell brothers. Frank O’Donnell had opened the scoring just before the break before three second-half goals took the trophy to Wearside.

Jack’s second season on England’s south-west coast would not go quite so well. He would miss the opening three games of the campaign before appearing against Blackburn Rovers at Home Park on Wednesday, 8 September, true to form Connor scoring Argyle’s first goal in a 2-2 draw. And he would grab the second for Plymouth as four goals were shared with Swansea Town at the same venue ten days later. This would prove to be his final goal for the club, Jack losing his place up front after successive defeats by Norwich City, Aston Villa and Bradford Park Avenue saw the Pilgrims still seeking a first League win since the opening day of the campaign. They would finally get that elusive second victory at the thirteenth time of asking, beating Sheffield United on Saturday, 30 October 1937.

Jack would still be missing as Argyle visited Old Trafford in early November, the match ending goalless, and competition would soon arrive in the shape of Everton centre-forward, Bill Hullett. The youngster would grab his chance with 20 goals in 29 games before signing for Manchester United one year later. Connor would not feature again until the return fixture with Norwich City, on Saturday, 5 February 1938, which ended 1-1. This would be the final appearance for Plymouth for Jim Foley. He had been convicted in Edinburgh four days previously, and decided to return to his native Cork, where he would later enjoy league and cup success in the FAI Cup with Cork United. Jim died in October 1952, just 38.

Argyle’s Scottish manager Bob Jack would retire from the club in April 1938, after 28 years and more than 1,000 games in charge at Home Park. His son, David, had also played briefly under him at Argyle, but is better known as the man involved in the first £10,000 transfer, when he moved from Bolton Wanderers to Arsenal in 1928. Five years earlier, David had become the first player to score at Wembley, netting Bolton’s opener in their 2-0 victory over West Ham United in the famous ‘white horse’ FA Cup final. Bob would carry out some scouting work post-retirement for his famous son, now the manager at his father’s local club, Southend United. He would pass away five years later, aged 67.

Jack Connor would soon follow Jim Foley and his manager Bob Jack out of Home Park. He had retained his place after the draw with Norwich for the 1-0 victory over Bradford Park Avenue then the midweek visit to Villa Park, where Plymouth lost 3-0, however, that night in Birmingham would turn out to be Connor’s last game for the club. After 44 games and 19 goals, he would leave Devon for Wales, joining Swansea Town, against whom he had scored his last goal, after a rather disappointing second season.

Jack would spend just one season at the Vetch Field, scoring one League goal in twelve appearances, before heading back north at the outbreak of war to join Queen of the South. With the Scottish League abandoned in early September after just five matches, the new Western Regional League would see Connor make a return trip to his first love on Saturday, 4 November 1939, scoring twice as his Dumfries side beat Celtic 3-0, consigning the Hoops to the bottom of the table, pointless after three games. He would enjoy a tremendous first season there, as the Doonhammers chased Rangers all the way before, ironically, a 3-1 home defeat by Celtic in April swung the Regional title towards Govan. Celtic’s stance against fielding guest players would be a factor in their final position of thirteenth from sixteen teams.

Having done so well in 1939/40, strangely Queen of the South did not feature again for six seasons in the Regional League, thus it is unclear if or where Jack played competitive football during this period. He would finish his career after the war with short spells at second-tier Alloa Athletic and St Johnstone, before return to his junior side, St Roch’s, as manager, in 1948. Thus Jack’s career circle was complete.

Jack remained friendly with Jimmy McGrory until the great man died in October 1982, his grandson Joe advising me that he was one of the last visitors to Jimmy’s bedside. Connor himself passed away some twelve years later, in June 1994, aged 82. He is back in God’s garden again.

Whilst I have known his grandson Joe, a wonderful Celtic man, for thirty years or so, Jack’s legacy now lives on in the next generation, through his great-grandson Ciaran. He is one of those dedicated fans who travel all over the world to support the team. I have had the pleasure of meeting him on one or two of those trips recently, and he was also present in the Brazen Head at the last @Italian Celts function I attended, belting out ‘Bella Ciao’ with the best of them. In the photos of Jack in his Plymouth days in particular, the resemblance between him and young Ciaran is uncanny.

The story of Jack Connor before, during and after his Celtic career brings to an end our review of the twenty names on the autograph list. Just one question remains. Why did it end up in Kingussie, and the Star Hotel in the village, specifically?

There have been various options suggested, perhaps the most obvious one being that the Celtic team had stayed there at one point, en route or returning from an away game, although in the early parts of the story I had struggled to find such a match where the names had aligned with those involved.

Perhaps the answer lies in a name which was not on the list, and for good reason, that of Peter Scarff. Much-loved inside forward Peter had taken ill in the aftermath of the death of John Thomson, struggling on for a few weeks before playing what would turn out to be his final match for the club in the 6-0 victory over Leith Athletic at Celtic Park on Saturday, 19 December 1931. There are reports of him coughing up blood afterwards, following which he was diagnosed as suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. He would be hospitalised and would never recover from the illness, passing away almost exactly two years later at his home in Linwood, on Saturday, 9 December 1933. He was only 25.

This would not be a new experience for Celtic manager, Willie Maley, who had placed a Hoops top on Peter’s coffin. The best part of forty years earlier, he had watched as another Peter, left-half Dowds, had died from the same illness in nearby Johnstone, on 2 September 1895. He had been a teammate of Maley’s as the Scottish League commenced in August 1890 and had appeared in Celtic’s first Scottish Cup win in April 1892. Dowds then moved to England and enjoyed spells at Aston Villa and Stoke City before returning to Parkhead two years later. He would play only three more times for the club before contracting tuberculosis, passing away twelve months later, the first Celt to do so whilst still a player. He was one year younger than Peter Scarff, aged just 24 at the time of his death.

In the intervening years, Maley would see a number of his colleagues or players cut down before their prime, some of whom we have already covered in this article, Sunny Jim Young at 40 in a motor-cycle accident, Peter Johnstone in war-torn France and John Thomson in the act of protecting his goal. Each one would have hit the man who gave his own life to Celtic in a different way, just that little bit harder.

Treatment of chronic illnesses such as tuberculosis back then would normally have involved a stay in the horribly-named medical facilities of the time, known as sanitoriums. Both Peters were certainly treated in such establishments. Fast-forwarding two decades from Peter Scarff’s death, to the evening of Monday, 10 August 1953, we find Willie Maley returning to Celtic Park after an absence of over thirteen years, a legacy of the acrimonious manner of his departure from Parkhead in February 1940.

The now 85-year-old Maley was there to attend a testimonial match arranged in his honour between the recently-crowned Coronation Cup-winners and a Bohemians select. The historic event produced a memorable photograph where the past, present and future Celtic managers are captured together, as Maley is flanked by McGrory and captain Jock Stein as the sides pose in front of the main stand. The beneficiary of Willie Maley’s 1953 testimonial fund was a cause close to his heart and of which he had been a patron for many years…the Grampian Sanatorium in Kingussie.

So does the solution to the mystery of the Celtic autographs perhaps lie not on the pitch but in the legendary Celtic manager’s visits to the small Highland village to patronise or support a local hospital?

I guess we’ll never know for sure.

Willie Maley passed away five years later, on 2 April 1958, just a few weeks short of his 90th birthday, the last link to the origins of Celtic, having played with or managed all of the greats over half-a-century.

Dedicated to all of our Italian friends. Very much in our hearts and thoughts at this difficult time.

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

Hail Hail!

Matt Corr

Follow Matt on Twitter @Boola_vogue

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