Sandy McMahon was Celtic’s first truly great player. A man of culture and wisdom with a wide knowledge of Burns and Shakespeare, Sandy joined the club in 1891 when Hibs imploded.

He was tall, slightly gangly and normally seen with a moustache. He did not really look like a football player, but it was soon discovered that he was a skilful ball player and in particular a great goalscorer, often with his head. He very soon became a hero of the infant club.

He scored at least twice (newspapers disagree) in the first Scottish Cup win in 1892 and he also won Cup medals in 1899 and 1900, as well as Scottish League medals in 1893, 1894, 1896 and 1898. Noticeably when the team did not do so well as in 1895 and 1897, Sandy was missing, suffering in 1897 from a serious career-threatening injury. But he came back and very soon re-established himself in the minds of the fans, being a loyal player for his old friend and colleague Willie Maley when Willie became Manager in 1897.

Nicknamed “The Duke”, Sandy played 6 times for Scotland and never let them down. His later years after he left Celtic were not happy ones, especially after his wife died. He himself died in his mid-forties in January 1916.

David Potter

HUGE SAVINGS IN THE CELTIC STAR’S SUMMER SALE!

The Celtic Star’s Father’s Day Promotion has been so successful, with hundreds of books at great prices being posted to Celtic fans all over the world, that we’ve decided to continue with the sale until the end of July. We’ve reduced all six books currently available from their usual retail price of £20 and prices are as low as £6 (see below).

All books are high quality hardback, with some signed by the author. And it’s also worth noting that you only pay postage on one book, so it’s free for the second, third and so on. ORDER HERE or click on The Celtic Star image above…this is how it feels to be Celtic!