Heroes are Forever: The Life and Times of Celtic Legend Jimmy McGrory

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To the best of my knowledge – and based on all competitive games, not just league matches – the full top ten of Celtic players who’ve scored in successive seasons looks like this (including two at joint tenth): Sporting Notes". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Thursday 1 February 1945, p.5. Via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 1 October 2021. (Subscription required.)

The Rally concluded with some music and the sincerest thanks was directed towards Jimmy McGrory for the joy he brought to many Celtic fans, his incredible loyalty to the club and his remarkable character as a man. Finally, he had been given a fitting show of appreciation. Although, there is no doubting that he understood how loved he was by the supporters as opposed to the old boardrooms of Celtic Park and Hampden. Maley, who had left the room to allow the player and Chapman to negotiate a deal, returned to find a forlorn Arsenal manager. Yet again surprised that McGrory had not succumbed to Arsenal’s seduction Maley shook hands with Chapman and said: “I’m very sorry Mr Chapman”. The Highbury chief replied: “Not as sorry as me Mr Maley.” The problem was a man called Hughie Gallagher, a superb centre-forward for Airdrie and Newcastle United. It was difficult to unseat him, as he was such a prolific scorer, but McGrory’s chance came on 25 February 1928 when he was chosen to play for Scotland against Northern Ireland at Firhill. It was felt that he could hardly be ignored, as six weeks previously he had set up a record by scoring eight goals in a single game against Dunfermline Athletic. This reconstructed grandstand was opened by Jimmy McGrory on 1 st September 1971 and on this date Celtic played Nacional of Uruguay, the Champions of South America. Some – including famous captains – have scored in many seasons, just not all in a row. Billy McNeill scored in 13 different seasons for Celtic, but (perhaps aptly) 9-in-a-row was his scoring limit. Scott Brown also scored in 13 seasons, but 10-in-a-row was his record.There have been no such warning signs to be ignored from Ange Postecoglou. Whilst Rodgers would struggle to lie straight in bed, with Postecoglou what you see -and hear – is what you get. Willie Lyon was described as “impassable” in the centre of the defence and in Rangers’ only real attempt at goal, Joe Kennaway “brought the house down” with a great save from a McPhail drive. Now alone with his prey Chapman set about his task of convincing McGrory to swap his native Glasgow for life in London. But his promises of riches and a life of luxury failed to seduce the humble man from the Garngad. Like all those brought up in the dark streets of this Irish enclave of Victorian Glasgow McGrory was no stranger to poverty. Football had made him comfortable that is for sure. But it was not a love of money that fuelled the fire within this goal-scoring machine. It was something much more than that. Something that Chapman and London could never offer him – the pure pleasure of wearing the famous Hoops of his beloved Celtic. Born in the Glasgow Irish enclave of the Garngad in 1904, Jimmy McGrory was to go on and rewrite the football record books with his unbelievable scoring feats for the club which he loved with all his heart.

Players - Bobby Collins - Part 2 - Home grown hero" (PDF). The Mighty Mighty Whites. p.5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016 . Retrieved 14 February 2014. Even as early as 9 October, things did not look any too bright for Celtic, now in sixth place in the League and heading nowhere. He continued, although plagued with ill health, to work until 1979 when he retired officially. He died in October 1982, an event which provoked an orgy of mourning among football fans everywhere, even among those far too young to have seen him play. Such was the cult status that he achieved – and it is no accident that in the Willie Maley song, much loved by the Celtic fans, that it is the name of Jimmy McGrory which comes first:

One group of people connected with the club saw to it that McGrory would receive the appropriate appreciation for a service to Celtic Football Club, which few could argue ranked him as the greatest Celt of all time. The Celtic Supporter’s Association dedicated their 34 th annual Rally to his honour, inviting him to be special guest for the evening on Sunday 4 March 1979 at Kelvin Hall. Why can’t Celtic play away from home in Europe? This question is frequently asked but never more so than tonight when they cannot even get a draw against Rosenborg, a team who are in no way Celtic’s superiors? It is a truly awful performance and things are not helped by the realisation that both Rosenborg goals were scored by Harald Brattbakk, a man who had his moments when he was with Celtic, but was scarcely in the category of Jimmy McGrory! Postecoglou and Rodgers are excellent football managers, but that’s pretty much where the comparison ends. Lawton Needs 150 To Beat McGrory". Dundee Courier, 1 February 1945, p.4. Via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 1 October 2021. (Subscription required.)