Away from the Quadruple Treble celebrations, we received this short note this morning concerning some very interstate’s footage that appeared on social media over the weekend featuring Celtic playing Brora Rangers in the 1930s.
“I’m not sure if David Potter or Matt Corr have seen this historical footage of Celtic visiting Brora to open their new ground. I thought they’d find it interesting,” Bridie Bhoy, a well-known poster on Celtic Noise stated, including the link for the footage which we can show you now.
CELTIC 7 Rangers 1 1936 footage of @CelticFC V @brorarangers opening of Brora Rangers new ground.🍀 pic.twitter.com/BXBRRaRPIM
— Michael McCahill 🍀 (@MickMcCahill) December 20, 2020
Both club historians and authors, who of course worked together alongside Liam Kelly on Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys which was published by The Celtic Star back in August this year, were sent the footage and asked on behalf of Bridie Bhoy if they could shed some light onto the story surrounding this fascinating footage of Celtic from pre-second world war. Let’s start with Matt Corr’s insight…
MATT CORR…
Willie Maley’s Celtic open Brora Rangers new ground…or do they?
Once every so often, some historical football photos or articles are published which really catch your eye.
Fabulous footage emerged on Twitter yesterday morning, courtesy of @MickMcCahill, of Celtic players from the 1930’s boarding the team bus then heading to play Brora Rangers to formally open their new Dudgeon Park ground.
There is no sign of Willie Maley or Jimmy McGrory as they clamber aboard, although the latter is referred to in the clip, however, one of the players looks like Jimmy Delaney. Of course, it is entirely possible that fringe or perhaps lesser-known players would have been involved. The eagle-eyed amongst you will no doubt have fun trying to add some of the names shown on film. The caption states that the game took place in 1936 and that Celts won by that later-to-be-historic scoreline of 7-1.
Dudgeon Park was opened, as I understand it, back in October 1932, so one obvious question is why the game would have taken place more than three years later. That may be no more than a scheduling issue. The breadth of the Hoops and the lack of players we can identify also gave us a few headaches but still no evidence to suggest that 1936 is incorrect, in fact that is the date on the flag, which is being unfurled, although it refers to Brora Football Club rather than Brora Rangers. The club had gained membership of the SFA in 1933, having been founded before Celtic, back in 1879.
As we struggled to get more definitive detail on the match, we thought we would throw this one out there to the football historians to help us fill in the gaps. It would be great to build up a full picture.
First up was legendary Celtic historian, David Potter, and he was in Quadruple Treble-winning form as always, with his research and analysis.
Over to you, David…
Matt Corr
DAVID POTTER
Have a closer look at that footage. Do you think it might be two separate games? The stripes when the team come out are very broad, then suddenly get thinner when the game starts! Am I imagining this?
A year later in 1936. when Brora Rangers played Dundee United (who wore broad black and white stripes) they unfurled a flag which had been sent to them by Celtic in honour of their visit a year previously! So could the two games have been combined? I certainly cannot identify with any certainty any of the players getting on the bus. One of them may be JImmy Delaney, and the only one with any possibility of being James Edward McGrory would be the man under the soft hat.
So it may be Dundee United, and then some of the actual game looks like Celtic with thinner stripes of the previous year of 14 May 1935. Certainly the team coming out to see the flag unfurled do not look like Celtic.
However I am prepared to be corrected on this one. One thing that I will not budge on however is that Celtic have now won the Scottish Cup 40 times. I am sure I am right on that!
David Potter
DAVID POTTER: I’ve now got May 14 1935 – Sutherland Select 1 Celtic 7 – Foley, Boyle and Morrison; Paterson, McDonald and Geatons; Delaney, Buchan, McGrory, Crum and H O’Donnell. Goals scored by McGrory 3, O’Donnell 2, Buchan, Crum. According to the Aberdeen Press and Journal, it was Colonel MacAuley, Convenor of Sutherland who kicked off, so who is that woman running off the pitch? I’ll have another look to see if I can identify any players getting on the bus.
DAVID POTTER: I’m not sure about this one. Can’t say I recognise many of the Celtic players, although one of them may be Jimmy (not John as the commentator says) Delaney. I don’t think I recognise McGrory. Research will continue!
MATT CORR: I agree, David. Definitely Jimmy D but no sign of James Edward.
MATT CORR: You’re on Quadruple Treble-winning form this morning, David. I’m going skelly-eyed watching this footage over and over again. Only thing I am not sure of is whether the latter footage of the action relates to another match, involving Celtic. I’m not sure why they would do that and on balance I think it’s unlikely, however, the Hoops do appear thinner towards the end. May be a trick of the eye.
If anyone has any further information on the footage in this video please contact editor@thecelticstar.co.uk
Put a Celtic strip oan them going on the bus and i would probably recognize a few but struggling.
I have a newspaper snippet from 15th May 1935. pic.twitter.com/yrpGmLxY5R
— jamief (@jamiebhoy2009) December 21, 2020
Here are some screenshots of the players getting on the team bus.
