Celtic On This Day – 15th November – David Potter’s Celtic Diary

Celtic Historian David Potter each morning on The Celtic Star looks back at key Celtic events and matches on this day starting on 15th November 1902. David’s latest book The Celtic Rising ~ 1965 The Year Jock Stein Changed Everything is out now, is selling extremely fast and is available at Celtic stores and via Celtic Star Books.

Paddy Somers scored

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 1902 It is not really a great season for Celtic, but there are nevertheless some good players at Celtic Park. Today for example in a 4-2 win over Partick Thistle, young Jimmy Quinn scores twice, Peter Somers once and Paddy (who has the unlikely nickname of “Larky”) Murray once.

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER 1947 – “Firhill for thrills” is a phrase much used in Glasgow, and today it lived up to this tag with a fine eight goal thriller in which Celtic come off best with a 5-3 victory in spite of being 0-2 down and later 1-3 down.

It is the sort of performance that has Celtic fans asking why they can’t see more of this every week. Two goals are scored by Tommy McDonald (who had one of his rare good days) and one each from Tommy Bogan, Willie Corbett and Jimmy Walsh. Such is the enthusiasm for football in those immediate post-war days that the gates have to be closed with 32,000 inside the ground.

Tommy McDonald scored twice on this day in 1947
Pat Crerand on his wedding day

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 1961 – Playing the football of which they are capable, the young Celtic side beat St.Mirren 7-1 before an appreciative audience of 22,000 at Celtic Park. John Hughes scores one goal, and the other six goals are scored by three players who all bad two each – Stevie Chalmers, Bobby Carroll and Mike Jackson, but the man who is making at all happen is brilliant right-half Pat Crerand whose ball distribution and passing ability are first rate.

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 1967 – Celtic continue their recuperation (although the repercussions continue) from their South American misadventure by beating Kilmarnock 3-0 tonight at Celtic Park. Bertie Auld, John Hughes and Stevie Chalmers score the goal in a game in which they had to fight very hard and to show some patience especially after Chalmers scores another goal after referee Mr Kelly declines to play the advantage rule after a defender has handled.

 

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 1997 – It is often said that Celtic cannot handle a defeat by Rangers and that another defeat comes along soon after. Today is a classic example of this with Regi Blinker pressing his own “self destruction” button and getting sent off while Celtic go down 0-2 to Motherwell at Celtic Park.

David Potter

About Author

I am Celtic author and historian and write for The Celtic Star. I live in Kirkcaldy and have followed Celtic all my life, having seen them first at Dundee in March 1958. I am a retired teacher and my other interests are cricket, drama and the poetry of Robert Burns.

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