In Scottish history, 25 January is famous as being the birthday of Robert Burns. But for Celtic, there is a much more significant figure who was born on this day.
161 years ago today, Bhoys’ icon James Kelly entered the world. He was at the heart of Celtic’s rise to the top of Scottish football. In fact, it has even been said that “No Kelly, No Keltic.”
This is the story of James Kelly, Celtic’s legendary first captain…
Kelly was born on 25 January 1865, although some accounts mistakenly claim that he was born on 15 October. He was part of a large family of Irish descent and lived in Renton in Dunbartonshire. In future years, his town’s local team became one of the major clubs in Scotland, and arguably the world too.
As he grew up, Kelly was a renowned sportsman. He won sprinting competitions but it was football where he gained most recognition. In 1883, he began playing for Renton, and enjoyed major success when at the club.
In 1885, Renton beat fellow Dunbartonshire team Vale of Leven to claim the Scottish Cup. Although they then lost the 1886 final, by 1888 Renton were once again Scottish Cup holders. This led to a playoff match versus FA Cup holders West Bromwich Albion, and the Scots won this game to be crowned ‘Champions of the World’.
Kelly was part of all these moments, although he played in different positions. In his early career – including in the 1885 and 1886 Scottish Cup Finals – he was used as a forward. However, by 1888, he began to play as a centre half, which in those days meant central midfielder. This was in the 2-3-5 formation which was most common at the time.
As well as playing for Renton, Kelly had also appeared for Hibernian. Having such a talented player from an Irish background naturally brought him to the attention of Scotland’s large Irish diaspora.
In late-1887 – inspired by the success of Hibernian – many people from within the Glasgow Irish community moved to establish their own football team. On 6 November 1887, Celtic were formed. The next step was to secure the infrastructure needed to run a club.
Within a week of agreeing to set up Celtic, land had been rented that would become the original Celtic Park. Now action was taken to secure the players that would first represent the Celts. James Kelly was an essential part of these plans.
