The Artful Dodger, Napoleon, The Croy Express, The Powder Monkey and The Dancer…
Another look back into The Celtic Star archives to continue to share the incredible work of the late, great Celtic Historian David Potter…
Need I tell you who they were? All right, younger readers may not have heard of Bennett, McMenemy, Quinn, Somers and Hamilton – but they have now, and it was of course the forward line of Maley’s great side in the Edwardian era!
Peter Somers, the inside left, is often grossly undervalued. Of the inside trio, he is probably less well known than McMenemy and Quinn, but he was never considered one iota inferior to these two – and that is saying something!
Born in Strathavon in 1878, he was one of the earliest of the great team to arrive in 1897, but he went out on loan to Clyde and Blackburn Rovers before returning in 1902. He played all over the forward line until he settled in the inside left position alongside Davie Hamilton, (another grossly under-rated player) in the 1903/04 season.
He was called “The Powder Monkey” by Willie Maley. It was a brilliant metaphor. A “powder monkey” was usually a small boy who was able to climb inside a cannon and load the ammunition. This was a great way to describe the way that Somers supplied the ammunition for Quinn, but Somers was also able to score goals himself – often the tap in because he was around to take advantage of the fact that the opposition defence had two men on Quinn!
He won the Scottish League in 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1909 and the Scottish Cup in 1904, 1907 and 1908. He played 4 times for Scotland and 3 times for the Scottish League – and never let anyone down.
But there was more to him than that. He also played a great part on the social scene at Celtic, and particularly on away trips – something that was so important in the building up of the Celtic spirit which Maley did everything to encourage.
He was a great comedian – apparently he did brilliant impersonations of King Edward VII, Lloyd George and even Willie Maley – and also a great pianist, notably at the concerts to raise money for the unjustly suspended Jimmy Quinn, but also to accompany the many Celtic players who fancied themselves as singers entertaining the other guests at Rothesay and Seamill.
After 1908, the great forward began to break up. Alec Bennett went to Rangers for reasons that no-one could figure, and Peter Somers now over 30 began to lose his place to the talented Fifer called Peter Johnstone.
Somers moved on to Hamilton in early 1910 for whom he played for about a season before giving up the game through injuries some time before he could play in the Scottish Cup final against Celtic in 1911. He became a Director of Hamilton Academical in 1912, but continued to suffer with his left leg. Amputation was necessary, and he never really got over the physical trauma of the operation, and died on Friday 27 November 1914 in the St Andrews Nursing Home in Glasgow.
He was only 36, leaving a wife and young family. He was buried in the Wellhall Cemetery, Hamilton, and his funeral was well attended by most people in Scottish football – even in war time – for he was well loved for his “sunny disposition” and his “pawky humour”.
David Potter
