When Celtic met Hearts at Tynecastle on this day in 1934 in a league match, it turned out to be a rather disappointing affair with a 0-0 scoreline, the only redeeming feature the promising play of Celtic’s outside-right, one Jimmy Delaney, making his first-team debut.
Almost from that point on, Jimmy was a regular in the side, not only providing goal-scoring opportunities for Jimmy McGrory at centre-forward but scoring frequently himself, notching a hat-trick as Celtic won the Charity Cup by beating Rangers 4-2 in the final in 1936.
On successive Saturdays in 1937, Delaney played before nearly 300,000 spectators at Hampden, firstly in the Scotland/England encounter, when the crowd was over 149,000 and then a week later, when a reputed 147,365 was there to see Celtic beat Aberdeen 2-1 in the Scottish Cup Final.
One year on, Jimmy again starred as Celtic picked up the Empire Exhibition Trophy at Ibrox by beating Everton 1-0.
A dreadful injury to his shoulder kept Jimmy out of the game for nearly two years and he returned in the midst of World War 2, when football was of secondary importance. He kept playing, however, for both Celtic and Scotland and was the one shining light for the fans in those tough years.
So, you could imagine their astonishment, horror and disgust when it was announced on 8 February 1946 that Jimmy Delaney was being transferred to Manchester United.
Jim Craig
