The Celtic Rising – Humble Beginnings to Champions of Europe

International football is all about the glitz and glamour of world-famous stars and the prestige of leagues like the English Premier League and Italy’s Serie A…

Among all the flashy contracts and social media posts, we sometimes lose sight of what makes football football—the community, the hard work, the humble roots, and the sheer passion for the game.

And let’s face it, Scottish football doesn’t get the love that English football or football in other European countries get. The national team has never advanced past the first group stage, Scottish football tends to get left behind in the shadows, other than in 1967 when a Scottish team became the first one in Britain to win the European Cup and become Champions of Europe.

Scotland has made countless contributions to the history of football, as well as other sports, like rugby union and golf. The country is home to several amateur clubs and seven professional football leagues, including the Scottish Premiership where you will more often than not find one tam top of the table and that is Celtic FC. This club has become such a powerhouse that legions of fans are now placing bets on matches on the latest PayPal casino platforms.

Celtic FC: Formed with a Purpose

From the beginning, Celtic was more than just a football club to give talented players a platform to play. Formed in 1887, it was founded at a time when Glasgow was one of the most important industrial centres in the world—but one where the working class struggled immensely. Many Irish immigrants flocked to the city in search of a better life, looking to escape poverty, famine, and civil unrest back home. Unfortunately, they were met with the exact same hardships they had left behind. Add in the prejudice and social alienation that came with the tensions between the Scottish and Irish, and the Irish community was not only struggling but found itself excluded from the rest of society.

There was a profound need for support and assistance within the Irish community, and Celtic Football Club became that essential lifeline. The club was formed with the goal of raising money for the Poor Children’s Dinner Table, a charity formed by Brother Walfrid, an Irish Marist Brother.

With such obvious Irish ties, it’s clear why the football club was named Celtic FC. Moreover, the team’s original uniform featured green socks and a white shirt, and their crest displayed the traditional clover, an Irish symbol for faith and luck. Celtic’s first match was against none other than Rangers FC —starting these two teams’ infamous rivalry, which continued to play out until Rangers FC went bust in 2012.

The Bould Bhoys Enter Professional Football

As their time in professional football kicked off, the Celtics performed well, making it to the final of the Scottish Cup in their first season in 1889 and again in 1892. Between 1905 and 1910, the team dominated the Scottish League Championship six consecutive times. These accomplishments continued, and the club flourished.

The Celtic team saw win after win, strings of matches going unbeaten, and the emergence of one of the best goal scorers in football history, Jimmy McGrory. McGrory set a British football record of 410 goals in 408 appearances that remains unbeaten even today. Seeing as his full professional contract was priced at just £5 a week, we’d call that a steal (certainly by today’s prices).

The Celts continued to defeat important teams in the mid-1940s to mid-1950s, including Manchester United and Arsenal, in a one-off tournament to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The Celts also beat the Rangers 7-1 in the Scottish League Cup final in 1957. With McGrory at the helm as manager, the team seemed unstoppable that day.

However, in the years after the Celtic’s won the Scottish League Cup final, the club saw a drought, and McGrory could no longer replicate their previous success. That is, until his successor took over in 1965, the year Jock Stein changed everything. This was the beginning of THE CELTIC RISING and within two years Celtic had their annus mirabilis—their “miraculous year.”

Maybe supporters thought the Celts couldn’t get any better after the events of 1965 and 1966, but Stein’s Celtic team went on to rack up wins for every competition that year. This included the Glasgow Cup, the Scottish League, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, and mostly importantly the European Cup.

From there on, it was natural that the club would undergo many ups and downs, as all football teams do. Yet this club’s deep and eventful history has solidified it as an undeniable part of Scottish football.

Celtic Today

Celtic FC is a prime example of why Scottish football should not be so underrated. In 2003 alone, the club’s fan base comprised nine million, with one million fans in Canada and the US. And it gets more international than that, with over 160 Celtic Supporters Clubs in more than 20 countries worldwide. The Celts also boast the highest average home attendance (60,000 per match) compared to any other Scottish club. Whether this is because of the well-developed fan culture, their performance on the pitch, or their rich history, it’s striking how much love the team has garnered over the past century.

Sticking proudly to their charitable roots, Celtic owns the registered charity, the Celtic FC Foundation. The club is also affiliated with Yorkhill Hospital and has raised £300,000 for Oxfam, $355,000 at the most recent New York Gala Dinner, and over £5 million between 1995 and 2013 for the Celtic Charity Fund.

Celtic in the Thirties

Celtic in the Thirties (Volumes One and Two) are both published next Tuesday 5th November. Order your signed copies now and treasure these landmark Celtic titles brilliantly researched and written by Matt Corr. Order at Celticstarbooks.com…