The story of Jimmy Cahill – A Celt of the Thirties who lived the dream…

Jimmy Cahill was a First World War Baby, born James Joseph Cahill at 8 Balvaird Crescent, Rutherglen at 11.30pm on Sunday, 18 March 1917, a son to Spirit Salesman Patrick Cahill and his wife Rose.

The previous afternoon, Willie Maley’s Celtic had celebrated St Patrick’s Day with a 2-1 win over Airdrieonians at Broomfield to continue their record-breaking unbeaten run of League matches and stay on track for a fourth successive Scottish title.

: Andy McAtee scored

: Patsy Gallacher scored

The goals were scored by Andy McAtee and Patsy Gallacher, whilst at inside-left was a local Rutherglen man who had long since achieved legendary status at Celtic Park, Jimmy ‘Napoleon’ McMenemy.

James’ early career path would mirror very closely that of Napoleon, firstly by playing as an inside-forward at Junior level with Rutherglen Glencairn, where he came to the attention of Celtic scouts and manager Willie Maley.

Celtic manager Willie Maley, Photo The Celtic Wiki

This from the Daily Record on Friday, 23 May 1936…

CELTIC AFTER A SCHOOLBOY

“The average age of Celtic’s team is, as you know, a low one, but Manager Willie Maley would like to make it even lower. The reason is a lad Cahill who plays inside-right for Rutherglen Glencairn.

This boy, who is seventeen years of age and is still at school, I am told has been putting up the stuff that stamps him as one with a future, and I believe the Celtic people have just made an effort to fix him. Third Lanark, also, have been on the job.

But young Cahill is to remain in junior football meantime, As I say he is still at school, and his father is of the opinion that the boy has plenty of time to take the senior ticket. Celtic, I understand, are good favourites to secure him when he does change his status.”

And in the same newspaper on the following day…

CAHILL WILL BE A CELT

“Here is the latest about young Cahill, the Rutherglen Glencairn inside-right. Celtic is his future club, but, as I stated yesterday, he is to stay with the Juniors meantime.

Celtic and Glencairn have made arrangements whereby the lad – his age, by the way, is nineteen, not seventeen – will be left to develop at Southcroft Park. At the right time, he will turn senior as a member of the Green and White Brigade.”

The Dundee Courier had picked up on interest from Arbroath earlier that month, claiming that the Gayfield club…

“are now admirers of Cahill, the present inside-right of the “Glens.”

But by Monday, 25 May 1936, they followed that up with another story.

CELTS FORESTALL ARBROATH

“I chanced on Manager Bob McGlashan, of Arbroath, in Glasgow on Saturday. Bob told me of a disappointment he had the previous day. He left Arbroath in the hope of signing Jim Cahill, the schoolboy inside-right of Rutherglen Glencairn. He had a talk with Cahill and his club and believed he had quite a decent chance of fixing him for Gayfield.

Manager McGlashan knew Third Lanark were hovering around, but not for a moment did he think Celtic were interested. Judge, therefore, of his surprise when he called on Friday at Cahill’s home to learn from the lad’s father that his son was definitely promised to Celtic. But I saw Bob on Saturday congratulating Willie Maley on his capture.

Mr Maley has not registered Cahill even as a provisional player. All he has is the player’s pledge that when Celtic require him, he will answer the call.”

Five days later, on Saturday, 30 May 1936, the Irish Weekly & Ulster Examiner carried a report confirming that a dream had indeed come true for the Rutherglen teenager.

CELTIC WIN

“Quite a number of clubs were anxious to fix up with Cahill, the Rutherglen Glencairn inside-forward. Celtic won. Cahill has been an outstanding figure in Scottish Junior football, and the Parkhead club have done well to get his signature.

He is an elder brother of the young St Aloysius’ boy who was in the Glasgow Schoolboy side against London, whom I commented upon last week.”

The same newspaper followed that up on Saturday, 6 June 1936, their correspondent “Hibernian” issuing the following article.

“The Celtic list of signings for next season is an imposing one. Here are the names of the men fixed up:-

Buchan, Cahill, Crum, Dawson, Delaney, Divers, Duffy, Fagan, Fitzsimons, Foley, Geatons, Hogg, Hughes, Kennaway, Lyon, Millar, Morrison, Murphy, MacDonald, McGrory, McInally, Paterson, Ryan and Reid.

In addition, there are six other “provisionals,” all young lads who are hitting the high spots in the junior ranks:-

Doyle (goal), McColgan (back), Hogg (half-back), Davitt (half-back), Watters (forward) and Lynch (forward).

No wonder I see one Scottish sportswriter saying: “The truth is that Celtic are the team of the moment, and their staff and players the envy of the football land.”

: Celtic in the Thirties – Volume One

: Celtic in the Thirties – Volume Two

Jimmy Cahill signed for newly crowned Scottish champions Celtic on 18 June 1936, once again following in the footsteps of Jimmy McMenemy – now the club’s assistant manager – by joining his boyhood club from Glencairn. He featured in the annual Public Trial match at Celtic Park which kicked off the new season, as captured in Volume Two of Celtic in the Thirties, earning some media plaudits for his display alongside some of the greatest players in our club’s history. Here is that extract from the new book, which is on sale now at the Celtic Star Books website and also at all Celtic FC stores.

“It was against that backdrop that 12,000 supporters made their way to Celtic Park for the annual pre-season public trial on the evening of Saturday, 1 August 1936. The Glasgow Herald reported that 23 of Celtic’s 26 signed players took part in the match, Joe Kennaway “being the most notable absentee” as the big keeper had not yet returned from holiday.

Another goalkeeper – Tom Doyle, signed from Blantyre Celtic in November 1935 – was one of the new faces on show. He took Kennaway’s place in the first team ‘Stripes’ whilst three others – James Hogg (Royal Albert), Matt Lynch (St Anthony’s) and James Cahill (Rutherglen Glencairn) – all started on the bench as the sides lined up as follows.

Stripes
Tom Doyle; Bobby Hogg & Jock Morrison; Chic Geatons, Willie Lyon & George Paterson;
Jimmy Delaney, Willie Buchan, Jimmy McGrory, John Crum & Frank Murphy.

Greens
Jim Foley; John Boyle & Willie Hughes; Bertie Duffy, Alex Millar & Malcolm MacDonald;
John McInally, George Reid, Willie Fagan, John Divers & John Fitzsimons.

James Hogg joined Celtic from Larkhall junior side Royal Albert, as had elder brother Bobby back in May 1931. Together with Lynch and Cahill, he was introduced in the second half, Jock Morrison, Malcolm MacDonald and Willie Buchan the players making way. That saw the Hogg brothers play together at full-back as the Stripes won 4-1 with goals from Buchan, Frank Murphy and a Jimmy Delaney double.

Willie Fagan kicked off what would be a huge season for him by scoring for the Greens, The Glasgow Herald reporting that “of the regular eleven, Hogg, Lyon, Delaney, Buchan and McGrory were in particularly active mood, and Cahill and Millar impressed in the reserves.”

Jimmy would be an established member of Celtic’s Alliance team, who had another wonderful old Celt as Trainer in the shape of Joe Dodds. Cahill featured against Dundee at Celtic Park on Saturday, 17 October 1936 whilst the senior squads fought out a goalless draw on Tayside. With regular second-string goalkeeper Jim ‘Fox’ Foley on duty for the Irish Free State in their 5-2 win over Germany in Dublin, there was a ‘Newman’ between the sticks. The full Alliance side fielded that day for Celtic was as follows:

Newman; John Boyle & James Hogg;
Bertie Duffy, Alex Millar & Danny Dawson;
John McInally, Jimmy Cahill, Joe Carruth, John Divers & Frank Murphy.

Jimmy played and scored in a 7-1 win for a Celtic-Rangers select over Glasgow University on Wednesday, 21 October 1936 which formally opened the University’s new sports facility at Garscadden. John Divers also netted in that match.

And he was in Alliance action as the year drew to a close amidst rumours of the impending abdication of the British King Edward due to his relationship with Wallis Simpson, the young Hoops beating Falkirk’s reserves 5-1 at Celtic Park on Saturday, 5 December 1936. Future club doctor John Fitzsimons was the star of that show, with two goals and an assist for Celtic.

Celtic’s Alliance team would go on to lift the title at the end of that 1936/37 campaign, following a thrilling finale to the season. On Friday, 30 April 1937, they faced closest challengers Aberdeen at Celtic Park in the final Alliance fixture knowing that defeat would see the Dons crowned as champions. The young Celts won 2-0 to secure the honour on a date made infamous for the biggest-ever defeat for the first team, a woeful 8-0 loss to Motherwell at Fir Park for a side which had won the Scottish Cup by beating Aberdeen just six days earlier.

Jimmy was retained by Celtic that spring and included in the list of 30 players provided to the Irish Weekly & Ulster Examiner by manager Willie Maley for the clubs Golden Jubilee season of 1937/38.

That treasured first-team spot would continue to prove elusive in a Celtic squad considered to be amongst the best in the club’s history. He was still involved with the Alliance team in December 1937, included in the team which was scheduled to play Dundee at Dens Park on the 11th of that month before the weather conditions forced the cancellation of the match.

As the Ne’erday Bells welcomed in 1938, Celtic and Hearts were going neck-and-neck for the Scottish title. A pivotal afternoon in that race saw the Hoops visit Tynecastle on Saturday, 8 January before a crowd of more than 44,000. The Alliance sides also met at Celtic Park, the hosts lining up as follows.

John Doherty; John Boyle & John Doyle;
Michael Davitt, Alex Millar & Bertie Duffy;
Jimmy Cahill, Oliver Anderson, Smith, Jackie Watters & John Fitzsimons.

Jimmy scored Celtic’s late second goal that day in a 2-0 victory, and he did likewise in a win by the same margin over Morton at Cappielow in the Second XI Cup on Saturday, 12 February.

As an aside, the Celtic first team would pip Hearts to the title and then defeat the Gorgie men in the semi-final of the Empire Exhibition Trophy at Ibrox in May 1938. Jimmy had been freed by the new League Champions the previous month and was soon a target for the equally new Scottish Cup-holders Kilmarnock – now managed by his old Hoops teammate Jimmy McGrory – as suggested by the Dundee Evening Telegraph on Wednesday, 3 August 1938.

“James McGrory is rather keen to take a former colleague at Parkhead to Kilmarnock. James Cahill by name, who has a free transfer from Celtic.

Cahill learned his football at St Aloysius College, Glasgow, and joined Celtic two years ago from Rutherglen Glencairn, but his studies rather prevented him from developing as was anticipated, and he was permitted to go free last April.”

He would have some familiar company at Rugby Park, as the same source reported the next day.

“My forecast regarding Kilmarnock signing James Cahill, a freed Celtic player, has proved correct. Manager McGrory has fixed the inside-right. He has also signed Cahill’s younger brother, John, who played for Rutherglen Glencairn. Both are students.”

The Daily Record also ran with this exclusive!

KILLIE TO SIGN TWO BROTHERS – ONE AN EX-CELT

“Here is exclusive news. Kilmarnock are to sign two brothers, James and John Cahill. The former, an inside-forward, was last season with Celtic, who secured him from Glencairn and released him on a free transfer last April.

John is a sort of handy lad, being able to play at wing-half and inside-forward and is at present on the books of Rutherglen Glencairn.

Both played a trial at Kilmarnock and last night everything was fixed between them and Manager James McGrory will, I expect, be able to register them shortly.

James is nineteen years of age, stands 5 ft. 10 ins. in height, and weighs 11 st.7 lbs.; while brother John is two years younger, weighs a stone heavier, and reaches the full six feet.
[Note: I believe that Jimmy was actually 21 years old and John almost 19 at that time.}

I believe that Manager McGrory has other signings in view, and that news out of Rugby Park before the kick-ff will be interesting.”

Jimmy McGrory did indeed have other plans, turning the loan signing of another Celtic Alliance inside-forward – George Reid – into a permanent transfer. Reid made an immediate return to Parkhead but whilst ‘spidery-legged’ John impressed in the Public Trial on Monday, 8 August, neither Cahill sibling featured as Kilmarnock faced Celtic in the opening League fixture just five days later, the Champions taking revenge for their Scottish Cup defeat by Killie in March by winning 9-1.

As far as I can tell, John Cahill did not make a senior competitive appearance for Kilmarnock. The brothers did line up together several times in Killie’s Second XI. In a Reserve League fixture against Motherwell at Rugby Park on Saturday, 27 August 1938, young John played at right-half whilst inside-right Jimmy scored Killie’s first equaliser in a 3-2 defeat, both retaining their places for the 3-1 loss to St Johnstone at Muirton Park seven days later.

Jimmy did make three League appearances as Kilmarnock finished 10th in the Scottish First Division of 1938/39, but the onset of a second world war the following autumn would impact the Ayrshire club more than most, with Rugby Park requisitioned by the War Office as a fuel depot for the army. That decision forced Kilmarnock out of football until the spring of 1945.

It is unclear where Jimmy’s football career and indeed his life took him beyond that first season at Rugby Park, but I believe he passed away in Edinburgh in 1989, aged 72.

I often get asked why we do this work.

Well, a lovely response from Jimmy’s son Sean on social media reached me this morning, and probably helps to explain that.

If you have any additional information and/or a photo of your dad in football colours then by all means pass that on to us, Sean.

The Celtic Story contains a cast list of thousands who have worn our colours with pride over the past 137 years and counting.

We try to ensure that as many of their stories as possible are discovered and shared.

James Joseph Cahill lived his dream and ours by being one of those individuals.

His story is our story.

Jimmy Cahill is one of over 300 Celtic players or officials featured and/or name-checked in the latest offering from Celtic Star Books, my twin-volume set covering Celtic in the Thirties.

Perhaps your family member or friend is another.

If so, please let us know.

Hail, Hail!

Matt Corr

Follow Matt on X/Twitter @Boola_vogue