Celtic Historian David Potter each morning on The Celtic Star looks back at key Celtic events and matches on this day starting on 4th January 1919. David’s latest bestseller The Celtic Rising ~ 1965: The Year Jock Stein Changed Everything SOLD OUT on Celtic Star Books but the good news is that it is now back in stock! You can place an order here and we’ll post your order immediately. The Celtic Rising is also now available on Amazon Kindle, link below.
SATURDAY 4 JANUARY 1919 – 25,000 cram into Cathkin Park to see a great Glasgow derby in which Celtic maintain their fine form with a 3-2 win, the goals coming from the three Macs of Adam McLean, Jimmy McColl and Jimmy McMenemy. Patsy Gallacher was out injured today, but the team have clearly been geed up by the return of Jimmy McMenemy. Many of the crowd are soldiers, not yet demobbed but given “extended leave”, and some of them arrive wearing captured German helmets!
MONDAY 4 JANUARY 1926 – Celtic have played three Glasgow teams in 1926 – drawing with Rangers, beating Queen’s Park and now beating Partick Thistle this Holiday Monday, the unpleasant weather limiting the crowd at Celtic Park to 17,000. Today is a 3-0 victory with all the goals coming from Jimmy McGrory. Paddy Connolly is out today, but the other members of that forward line are on song with Tommy McInally in particular dazzling the crowd with his trickery. McGrory scores twice in the opening six minutes, his second one being a beautifully judged header.
SATURDAY 4 JANUARY 1936 – After an unfortunate 3-4 defeat to Rangers on New Year’s Day, Celtic get back on track with a 2-0 win over St Johnstone at Parkhead. For a change this year, McGrory does not score, the goals coming from Frank Murphy and Willie Lyon with a penalty kick.
SATURDAY 4 JANUARY 1947 – Two days after a dreadful 1-5 defeat by Aberdeen, Celtic return to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Queen of the South. The crowd was given as 10,000 which was poor by the standards of 1947, and it reflects the way that Celtic had been playing, and The Sunday Post describes them as “heroes” for attending on such an awful day. Gerry McAloon and Joe Rae (with a debatable penalty) scored for Celtic.
SATURDAY 4 JANUARY 1964 – Celtic, frustrated by their narrow defeat to Rangers on New Year’s Day and their feckless “hangover” draw with Third Lanark at Cathkin the day after, take it all out on Falkirk whom they hammer 7-0 with a hat-trick from Steve Chalmers, two from John Divers and one each from Jimmy Johnstone and John Hughes. Unfortunately, only 16,000 are at Parkhead to see this fine display of attacking football.
David Potter
4th January 1969, Willie Wallace scores this screamer as Celtic beat Dunfermline 3:1. pic.twitter.com/et2RX0N56c
— Li'l Ze (@LilZe_7) January 4, 2023
4th January 1997, Celtic 5:0 Motherwell.
Di Canio, Pierre, Cadete(2) and Weighorst. @pierrevh17 @JorgeCadete11 pic.twitter.com/APw27zfPFL
— Li'l Ze (@LilZe_7) January 4, 2023
4th January 1995, Rangers 1:1 Celtic.
Paul Byrne scores a beauty. pic.twitter.com/gPzSGrk7Ww
— Li'l Ze (@LilZe_7) January 4, 2023
