Celtic in the Thirties: Unpublished works of David Potter

Celtic in the Thirties: Unpublished works of David Potter today features Willie Lyon, the Celtic captain who lifted the Empire Exhibition Cup…

Name: WILLIE LYON
Born: March 7 1912
Died: December 5 1962
Appearances: 187
Goals: 17
Scottish League medals: 1935/36, 1937/38
Scottish Cup medals: 1936/37
Glasgow Cup medals: 1938/39
Glasgow Charity Cup medals: 1935/36, 1936/37, 1937/38
Scotland Caps: 0

Celtic in the Thirties. Celtic’s Bayard Willie Lyon, 1935-40. Image by Celtic Curio for Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr, available at celticstarbooks.com

“There is surely no’ denyin’
Wi oor captain Willie Lyon,
We will win the Scottish Cup once again!”

Celtic captain Willie Lyon with the Empire Exhibition Cup, photo The Celtic Wiki

Willie Lyon was not born a Celt

Willie Lyon was not born a Celt. He was an Englishman from Birkenhead, although he spent his early life in Scotland. He played for Kirkintilloch Rob Roy and was playing for Queen’s Park when Celtic noticed him, and offered him professional terms in 1935.

One suspects that McMenemy was the driving force here, for Napoleon had worked with men like Willie Loney and Alec McNair, and so knew what a good defender looked like. But there was more than that to Lyon. He was recommended for his leadership ability. Celtic needed a good captain on the field, and they found one in Willie Lyon, a man who could keep calm under pressure, could get on with everyone, could calm down the hot heads and, in short, could bring order in 1936 out of the chaos that undeniably obtained in 1935.

From Alan Brecks Scottish Football Book 1937.

If Lyon had ever had any qualms about whether the Celtic fans would accept him, they were immediately dispelled within a few weeks of his arrival, for the fans, now desperate for success following some dreadful years of under-achievement, immediately recognised one of their own in talent and commitment, if not in origin and ethnicity.

“Mobile as a cowboy”

He certainly came well referenced, including one quote that described him oddly as being as “mobile as a cowboy” – but of course, this is the 1930s when everyone went to the cinema! Jimmy McGrory said that Lyon “wasn’t so good in the air” when he came to Celtic Park, but he practised every day at this skill, possibly even at training against McGrory himself who was the best aerial presence around!

The first game that season was a disappointing defeat at Pittodrie – a place where Celtic could more or less be relied upon to do badly in those days – but after that the team rallied and took off, losing only another twice between then and the New Year. The difference was leadership. Maley was generally ignored with all his unhelpful, idiosyncratic comments about how good he and Sandy McMahon used to be, and attention was paid to McMenemy, Lyon and indeed goalkeeper Joe Kennaway. It was a fine troika of a Scotsman, an Englishman and a Canadian and you couldn’t hope for a better example of the mantra “It’s not his creed or his nationality that counts, it’s the man himself”.

Celtic in the Thirties - Willie Lyon — Celtic in the Thirties – Willie Lyon. Photo The Celtic Wiki.

Meanwhile the man who coined that phrase (it may have been Brother Walfrid, but Maley claimed it) sat upstairs and secretly purred with silent delight. He could never have openly admitted his happiness – that would have destroyed his persona – but he enjoyed watching the development of this great side.

1935/36 was, of course, McGrory’s year – claiming the new record on midwinter’s day, scoring 50 League goals and scoring a hat-trick in three minutes against Motherwell in March.

But the modest Jimmy could never have managed all that without a framework of support that he found in the club at that time. Similarly, Jimmy Delaney who emerged that season, had loads of talent but needed to know that he was always appreciated, and more diffident fellows like Jock Morrison and Frank Murphy needed to be nurtured along as well.

Lyon’s leadership

But Lyon’s leadership meant that Mr Maley was able to celebrate his 68th birthday on 25 April 1936 with his team as League champions. A few weeks later, the team won the Glasgow Charity Cup as well. All this was a tremendous triumph for the leadership skills of Willie Lyon. He was possibly lucky in not having anyone like Tommy McInally who might have given him grief in the dressing room, but it was nevertheless a great achievement to bring back the League Championship in his first year.

His own play was superb. While McGrory was banging them in at one end, Lyon had the defence so well organised that clean sheets were normally the order of the day. But there was another side to Lyon as well. He was also an attacking centre half like Willie Loney had been, and often appeared as an extra attacker, having the fitness and speed to do just that. And he was always prepared to lead by example and take the penalty kicks.

Surprisingly, Lyon also worked with the General Accident Insurance. He did not do it during the football season, of course, but he was allowed to work for them during the summer, as long as he kept in training. Keeping fit was never any kind of an issue with Willie Lyon, for he loved training, he loved being a professional football player and he loved Celtic.

A remarkable season

The next season 1936/37 was another remarkable one. Rangers had a better season and duly won the League back, but Celtic had more than ample recompense when they won the Scottish Cup in front of a record crowd at Hampden. But getting to the final had not been without its problems either.

They were very lucky to get past Stenhousemuir in late January, (when Stenny should have had a penalty kick) and then there was a remarkable encounter with Motherwell in March. The game was snowed off on 13 March and went ahead at Celtic Park on Wednesday 17 March. Shortly after half-time Celtic were 4-2 down to a very good Motherwell side and looked doomed. But with Delaney and McGrory on board, no cause is ever lost, and Lyon rallied his troops, clapping his hands, calling on team for a major effort.

A penalty was given. Lyon himself – noblesse oblige- stepped up to take it, not without a few qualms, one imagines, for he had missed a few earlier in the season, scored and turned to his men calling for a further effort to save the day. Less than 10 minutes were left when Willie Buchan equalised with a tremendous run and dribble.

Astonishing scenes at Fir Park

The following Wednesday saw astonishing scenes at Fir Park where 36,000 were reported to have turned up, many of them having walked all the way from Glasgow. The crowds were allowed on to the running track, and mercifully all was well, with Lyon seen playing his part in encouraging the crowd to behave and stay off the field itself. In the same way in later years that the presence of Stein could calm even the roughest diamond of the support, so too did Lyon assuage them all. The game was every bit as exciting as the first one and Celtic with goals from McGrory and Buchan edged home 2-1.

76,000 then turned up to see Celtic beat Clyde in the semi-final at Ibrox, and then at least 147,465 at Hampden to see Aberdeen. One says “at least”, for there were certainly more than that including those who climbed walls! How does one captain a team when you cannot hear what anyone is saying to you? But Lyon managed it, and when the Cup had been presented to the Celtic Directors in the Hampden Board Room, Lyon was then invited to come (with a raincoat over his strip) to carry it to the dressing room!

The Empire Exhibition Trophy

He sustained a rare injury in a game which they lost at Arbroath early the next season and was out for a couple of games, and when he came back, the team still struggled, but eventually the corner was turned, the League was won, the Glasgow Charity Cup likewise and then Willie Lyon was presented (on the field at Ibrox) with the Empire Exhibition Trophy after the epic 1-0 win over Everton. The man who was born in Birkenhead might well have enjoyed that!

The Gathering Storm

It might have been as well if his Celtic career had finished there and then. The next two years were not quite so good. 1938/39 started well enough but lost its way round about the New Year and never really recovered its direction. The reasons were hard to discover, but possibly just lay in the fact that too many players lost form. And then of course, the war came in September 1939 with massive changes including a brief appearance of his brother Tom playing alongside him. By the end of the season, Willie had joined the Scots Grays, and his Celtic career of five brief but momentous years was over.

He was not, of course, able to be chosen for Scotland because he was an Englishman but he twice played for the Scottish League, and in 1939 he was given the singular honour of being asked to captain A Scotland XI who were touring Canada and who did not play full International matches. He seems to be one of the very few non-Scotsmen on whom this honour was bestowed.

The Military Cross

His military career was no less impressive than his football one, although a leg wound picked up in Normandy ruined whatever chance there was of a resumption of his football career. He became a Major, which was a rapid promotion from Private and which showed that his leadership potential was recognised by the military as well as the Celtic directors.

He served in North Africa and as part of an anti-tank unit with the 51st Highland Division won the Military Cross. He also took part in the landings in Sicily and Normandy, and generally deserves his place as a Celtic war hero. Maley called him “Celtic’s Bayard” – “le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche”. Bayard was also a mythological horse which could adjust to cope with all its knights! That was some comparison, and the only other Celt who had been compared to Bayard was Sandy McMahon of long ago.

After the War

He was a Major at the time of his award but by the time of his demob he was a Captain. Not much is known of his subsequent life other than that he was appointed Assistant Manager at Dundee in November 1947 but had to give it up six months later because he couldn’t get a house in Dundee. (This was not necessarily a totally weak excuse because housing was a major problem in Dundee and elsewhere). Ironically he resigned just a few days before Celtic were due to arrive in town for their infamous relegation encounter in April 1948. He does not seem after that to have had any other connection with football and he retired to Lancashire to live.

He died in Salford Royal Hospital on December 5 1962 at the age of only 50. Celtic played Hearts a few days later and drew 2-2, and his death was rightly commemorated. It was sad however that so many of the crowd did not really know who he was, for he was with us for so short a time. But he was a great Celt, was Willie Lyon.

David Potter