Everyone knows that there was only one Patsy Gallacher. The Mighty Atom, the hero of the 1914 Double Winning side, the man who shone for Celtic during the awful First World War years, “the most talked about man in the trenches”, the scorer of the great goal in the 1925 Scottish Cup final, and the man who when playing for Falkirk against Celtic in the 1927 Scottish Cup semi-final was the object of unprecedented affection for an opponent when the Celtic fans all sang the Jacobite anthem “Will Ye No Come Back Again?”
Yes, there was only one Patsy Gallacher!
Well, no, actually. There was another one, not so well known but still worthy of attention. He was born in Bridge of Weir in 1909, was Celtic daft all his days, but never donned the immortal green and white jersey as a player. He was not as good as the peerless Patsy (how could he be? Was anyone as good as that?) but he was still not a bad player at all.
As far as can be ascertained, the two Patsy Gallachers are not related.
He played in the great Sunderland team of the last 1930s alongside Raich Carter, Bobby Gurney, Alec Hastings and a few more. Like many Sunderland sides, it was packed full of Scotsmen and managed by a man called Johnny Cochrane who managed the 1926 St Mirren Scottish Cup winning side which beat Celtic in the final.
But now Cochrane was the manager of Sunderland and he led them to the English League in 1936 and the English Cup in 1937. By an odd coincidence Celtic won the Scottish League in 1936 and the Scottish Cup in 1937 – so both these years were good ones for both Patsy Gallachers, one playing for the Wearsiders and both supporting the green and whites.
The Sunderland Patsy Gallacher – perhaps we should call him Pat or Paddy to prevent confusion? – played at inside left with fine “ball control, dribbling skills and a fine body swerve” and could take a goal as well. He was an integral part of the great Sunderland side of the late 1930s, and can perhaps count himself as unlucky not to win more than the one Scotland cap that he earned in 1935 against Ireland.
In the otherwise excellent book called “All The Lads”, a Who’s Who of Sunderland players, the writers make a couple of mistakes when they say that Sunderland’s Patsy Gallacher won a Scottish Cup medal at the age of 17 and that he was the hero of Alec James of Arsenal. Fraid not, boys! You are thinking of THE Patsy Gallacher of Celtic, not the man who played for Sunderland.
This Patsy Gallacher served in the RAF in World War II and died in Greenock in 1992. He was a good player, possibly a great player for Sunderland, but he was NOT our Patsy Gallacher, and I can almost hear the strident chorus of the dead Celtic supporters reminding us that “You never saw Patsy Gallacher!”
David Potter
David Potter’s new book, Willie Fernie – Putting on the Style is out now, and you can order from Celtic Star Books – link below – or pick up a copy from the official Celtic Stores…
