Celtic Legends

His pure bitterness as a pundit stops him even being a Celtic great for me.

He's probably the greatest Scottish player ever but there are two things that kind of go against him for me. 1) nobody ever tells me about specific things he did 2) this term as director of football where he put his mate as Head Coach, just gave me the impression he couldn't give a * about us.

 

His 28 goals was in a half season due to the injury which kept him out of the 67 final

 

Aye ma da talks about him. Stein signed Willie Wallace after McBride got injured. According to ma da McBride was never the same player ever again, its a shame he didnt play the rest of that season cause * knows how many he would have scored.

These things happen in fitbaw and theres a lot of players like that. George Connolly aswell apparantly would have went on to captain Scotland and have a long and brilliant career cause he was that good. He just lost interest and retired at 26.

Davie Hay had his career cut short cause he would have played into the 80s. Probably went to Spain with Scotland in 82'.

In more recent times Paul Elliott went to Chelsea from Celtic and if he hadnt sustained a career ending injury when he was around 28...he would have went on to much greater things

 

Davie Hay ...... " The Quiet Assassin "

 

just to make you aware that there are more appearances to be added for players who played before 1966 due to playing in Glasgow Charity Cup which Celtic won 28 times.
Not got around to adding them yet.

 

I actually totally agree with you on Dalglish. Incredible player and one of our absolute best, but I just don’t see him as a Celtic legend.

When I think Dalglish, I associate him with Liverpool first and foremost and I think that damages his claim as a Celtic legend. There’s just not another person in that bracket that you’d associate with another club before Celtic.

 

John Thomson should be there

 

No worries mate. Still as reliable a list as you’ll find anywhere, cheers

 

Patsy Gallagher. Alec McNair. Easily up there with the ones you listed

 

He's a Liverpool man that likes the huns..

Never a Celtic man in a million year's..

 

My favourite Celt just ahead of Jimmy McGory and John Thomson.
Of those 3 he is only one I’ve actually seen play.

 

Stunned a couple of dead set omissions.

Making no apologies... I'm in off the long run here...

Jimmy McMenemy​

It's a shock that Jimmy McMenemy has barely raised a mention here. 'Napoleon' was an apt nicknale for a real general on the park. His leadership, tactical awareness, vision and intelligence were all groundbreaking, quick witted and as skilled on the ball, strong in the air and had a great eye for a pass, all of which proved pivotal to be key in so many ways and much success that was to follow - and still does to this day.

He was the catalyst for Willie Maley's conquering side from the early 20th Century, that featured the likes of Loney, Orr, McNair, Quinn and Hamilton, and when that team was phased out, McMenemy was still a big part of the team that dominated the next decade also, with the famed trio of Shaw, McNair and Dodds, Young and Craigen, Sniper McColl and of cournse Patsy Gallagher.

McMenemy's influence has shaped so much about Celtic, even to this day. It's no small thing to say, that the 'Celtic way' of playing attacking football is McMenemy's legacy. It all started with McMenemy, for the better part of 18 years it became the ethos of a dominant era in the game (he played 17 seasons, retiring in 1917/18, but returned after a year out, seemingly his knees just needed a break, as he came back as good as ever after the year out), winning 11 League titles and 6 Scottish Cups in total.

McMenemy would continue on as a coach and trainer, assisting Willie Maley, which only helped to further bed in his influence on the generations that followed. And much like Sean Fallon with Jock Stein, his cannot be underestimated. While the seasons following which may not have matched the silverware haul of his playing days, McMenemy's advice and influence surely helped to weave the attacking brand of football into what we know as the 'Celtic way' by the likes of McGrory, McLean and McInally... but we will get there.

That is a legend.

Charlie Shaw​

Charlie Shaw is by far the best 'keeper Celtic has ever had - and it's not even close. He won silverware galore, set all manner of records - some of which that still stand a 100 years later - and yet not even a single mention in this thread. Packy Bonner holds the clean sheet record (254 in 632 games) to beat Shaw's record (240 in 436 games) - but Bonner needed 194 more games for those 14 extra clean sheets! That gives just a glimpse.

In 1913/14, Shaw did not have to pick the ball from the net for 1287 minutes, which set a world record that stood for nearly a century, until Manchester United's Edwin Van Der Saar's 1311 minutes bettered it in 2008/09. For Celtic, exactly 100 years after Shaw set his mark, in 2013/14 Fraser Forster's 1259 minutes set a new mark of consecutive league match clean sheets in all of Scotland Football, but still fell 28 minutes short of Celtic's all time consecutive record across all comps, it is still Shaw's 1287!

In Celtic's entire history only 1 'keeper who played more than 10 games and has a better clean sheet percentage than Shaw, and that is Magnus Hedman, who played just 37 games over 4 years. FTR, it must be noted that Hedman was largely #2 to Rab Douglas, and credit must be given to the guys in front of them respectively (Shaw had the likes of McNair, Dodds & Young, while Douglas & Hedman had the likes of Mjallby, Balde, McNamara & Valgaeran etc), but that is still a crazy statistic.

Considering Shaw played in an era when 'keepers were not afforded anything like the sort of protection that their modern counterparts are afforded, and to still put up those sorts of numbers, that is a legend any way you slice it!

John Thomson​

Speaking of goalkeepers, sadly we need to mention and remember John Thomson's bravery and sacrifice. 5 September 1931 is a day that will be forever remembered as one of (if not the) saddest day in Celtic's history. The man literally gave his life protecting the Celtic goal. Considering he was just 22 at the time, but had already been the first choice 'keeper since age 18, and had also earned International recognition in that time. He undoubtedky would've gone on and done so much more. Just heartbreaking to think about. Unlike literally every other person that is discussed in this thread, Thomson is unique; his status as Celtic's tragic legend enshrined for all time.

Adam McLean​

Taking a step back, but on a more upbeat note, the fact that Adam McLean has barely been mentioned either is a travesty. Like seriously, we all know McGrory scored a mountain of goals, but it's not like he did it all by himself and a big reason was was McLean that provided the ammunition on top of scoring a bucketload of goals himself. For a winger to score 138 goals in 408 games, on top of the insane goalscoring record of Jimmy McGrory tells it's own story, and stacks up against the records of any winger the club has ever had - and that includes Jinky & Lennox.

Despite the fact that records were not kept back them about assists, a case could be made that McLean would have to be right up there at the top of the pile with the very best of the best.

Consider that McGrory was exceptionally well renowned for his ability in the air - he was literally nicknamed 'the Human Torpedo' and 'Mermaid' for his leaping and heading ability and willingness to throw himself at the ball in the air in front of goal. McGrory scored something like 472 goals, and considering the nicknames, then it's natural to assume that a LOT of them with his head, which had to come from somewhere... out wide... like from crosses from the wing.

So there is that for starters, on top of any other clever interplay on the deck or any other opportunities he undoubtedly created for other teammates also, it starts to get scary to think about.

Tommy McInally​

“Best player? Why that was Tom McInally!” - Willie Maley

When you think over the course of 50+ years associated with Celtic, how many players would Willie Maley have watched? For 50 years, first as a player and then manager, says something about how frustrating it must've been, knowing McInally had all the natural ability in the world. Getting the best out of him would prove more elusive. But For that one comment from such a figure as Maley, it is worth taking notice. But my point in raising McInally here is not just to highlight him as a player, but to help illustrate and contrast with McLean.

McInally on the right wing was much more of a rogue, both on and off the park - he was known more however, for his entertaining exploits - there are numerous anecdotes of him beating a defender, then turning back around and doing it again, just because... but where McInally and McLean differed most though, was in the end product.

By nearly all contempary accounts, McInally was the more naturally gifted, but this also meant there were times when he had more of a tendancy to try to do everything himself (127 goals in 213 games suggests he had the game to back it up), but would run into dead-ends and lose possession or far too often forsake passing to a teammate in a better position, in the belief he could do it all himself.

While McInally, one of Celtic's earliest 'bad bhoys' - Dan Doyle in the 1890's probably owns the distinction of beign the original though - loved the adulation and to show off to fans, and entertain them he undoubtedly did, Adam McLean was all about the end product, and was universally considered by contemporaries, fans, players and press alike, as being far more effective and constructive than McInally was on the right hand side, contributed far more all round and it's natural to conclude that McGrory would've been the beneficiary of a lot of that, and just imagine of what McLean's assists stats would've been had they been tracked back in the day.

Either way, both McLean & McInally must've given opposition defenders absolute nightmares.

Charlie Tully
(and low key Bertie Peacock)​

Charlie Tully is an absolute lock and arguably Bertie Peacock should also be, yet not a single mention of either.

Yes, I get that they played in an era that is not as celebrated because of the paucity of silverware but that was not their failings, it was the failings of the management of the club, most notably the constant undermining and costly interference by the then Chairman, Robert Kelly, which was significantly damaging to the team.

The Northern Irish duo arrived at the club in the late 1940's, just after Celtic had officially had their worst ever season and narrowly avoided relegation in the 88th minute of the last game of 1947/48. Tully arrived from Belfast Celtic and it didn't take long for Glasgow fans to delight in what he brought to the club. There are reasons why we still sing his name today. Tully-mania was a thing for a reason - he was very, very good and one of the most colourful characters, both on and off the pitch. For over a decade he really was the poster boy of Celtic, and when Tully-mania was at it's peak there was no end to the merchandise available - Tully Ice Lollies, Tully cocktails, Tully neckties etc, meant he was argueably the world's first celebrity footballer.

But Tully couldn't do it all alone. He had the Little Ant, Bertie Peacock, doing all the fetch and carrying in the midfield. While Tully was lightening up Paradise with trickery, Peacock's hard work was being increasingly appreciated. A tireless worker and one of the best midfielders that the club ever had.

The two formed a highly productive partnership, and Tully was never shy about casting the spotlight on all the things that Peacock was doing that rarely got the praise for at times. It really is a shame they played in an era where the team were not as successful as other periods of our history have been, and it is Celtic had Chairman Robert Kelly constantly undermining and interfering in team affairs, including and not limited to team selection, but there were those bright moments also; the Coronation Cup, the 1953/4 League, and 'Hampden in the Sun', the 1957 7-1 League Cup Final.

Yet through it all, while Tully was soaking up the limelight, both on and off the pitch, Peacock had grown into becoming a real leader, likewise both on and off. All of the hardwork that Peacock put into everything pretty much set the template for impressionable young teammates by the names of Auld and McNeill among others, that would carry that ethos forward in the years that would follow, into another golden - and undoubtedly the most celebrated - era.

Tully was such an iconic figure even away from the world of football and for a decade was virtually the centre of attention of any room he walked into anywhere. And all the while Peacock was going more quietly about his business; the worker ant that just never stopped and allowed others to benefit from all that he did in that midfield engine room. While Tully's star shone brightest and got the headlines, the songs, and deservedly a Legend, I would contend that Peacock is every bit as deserving. That said, given the paucity of silverware and his more low-key personality and his work in a more unglamourous part of the pitch it is understandable why some may not view the two in quite the same way.

NB - To give Robert Kelly his due, he did do right by the club over matters like the Irish Flag Controversy in the early 50's (the SFA demanded that the Tricolour - which had been presented to the club in the early 1920's by the newly formed Irish Republic - be removed, to which Kelly steadfastly refused). So there is that. But his interference in other matters really did set Celtic back through that era when he was in virtual autocratic control, from the 1940s to the Stein era, in the mid-60's.

However, this is not about Kelly... it's about legends.

Fergus McCann​

But speaking of which, perhaps the biggest omission of all is that of Fergus McCann - if there is a single individual away from the pitch that deserves that distinction, it's him. Not only did he SAVE THE * CLUB!!! when it was on the brink, ushered out the old Board, the Whytes and Kellys, so that we actually, you know, have a club to, you know, support at all. The Bunnet dragged the club kicking and screaming through growing pains and laid the groundwork for the 21st Century, modernized how everything was done, oversaw the building of the stadium, laid the infrastructure that has been the foundation for the successes of the past 20-odd years and took on the SFA shitebags, such as Jim Farry. And yet not a mention.

Seriously. Immortal!

Immortals

Brother Walfrid, Willie Maley, Jimmy McGrory, Jock Stein, The Lions, Fergus McCann.

Legends

Sandy McMahon, Jimmy Quinn, Jimmy McMenemy, Alec McNair, Charlie Shaw, Patsy Gallagher, Adam McLean,
John Thomson, Charlie Tully, Bertie Peacock, Billy McNeill, Bertie Auld, Bobby Murdoch, Jimmy Johnstone,
Bobby Lennox, Danny McGrain, Paul McStay, Henrik Larsson, Scott Brown.

Greats

James Kelly, Dan Doyle, Johnny Campbell, Willie Loney, Willie Orr, Davie 'The Dancer' Hamilton, Joe Dodds, Peter Somers, 'Sonny' Jim Young, Willie Cringan, Jimmy 'Sniper' McColl, Tommy McInally, Willie McStay, Jimmy McStay, Bobby Hogg, Willie Lyon, Willie Fernie, Bobby Evans, Sean Fallon, John 'Yogi' Hughes, John Clarke, Jim Craig, Tommy Gemmell, Stevie Chalmers, Willie Wallace, Davie Hay, Kenny Dalglish, Harry Hood, George Connelly, Tommy Burns,
Roy Aitken, Murdo MacLeod, Packy Bonner, Brian McClair, Jackie McNamara, Paul Lambert, Tommy Boyd, Lubo Moravcik, Martin O'Neill, Alan Thompson, Neil Lennon, John Hartson, Chris Sutton, Shunsuke Nakamura, James Forrest,
Tom Rogic, Callum McGregor.

Cult Heroes

Tom Maley, Peter Dowds, Jimmy Hay, Andy McAtee, Joe Cassidy, Peter Wilson, Alec Thomson, John Divers, Willie Buchan, Jimmy Delaney, Frank Murphy, Malcolm MacDonald, Charlie Napier, Johnny Crum, Peter McGonagle,Patrick McAuley, Willie Miller, John Gallacher, Duncan MacKay, Joe McBride, Ronny Simpson, John Fallon, The Quality Street Gang, Lou Macari, Jim Brogan, Davie Provan, Shuggy Edvaldsson, Charlie Nicholas, Peter Grant, Frank McAvennie, Joe Miller, Paul Elliott, Tony Mowbray, John Collins, The Three Amigos, Wim Jansen, Stiliyan Petrov, Bobo Balde, Johan Mjallby, Sean Maloney, Aiden McGeady, Artur Boruc, Giorgos Samaras, Fraser Forster, Kris Commons, Victor Wanyama, Mikael Lustig, Emilio Izaguirre, Virgil Van Dijk, Kieran Tierney.​

 

I'd probably have Tommy Burns in Legends and Billy McNeil in Immortals to be honest but that's a cracking list

 

The way I defined the 'Immortals' is, it is impossible to tell the story of Celtic without those 6 touchstones:

• The founding and origins with Brother Walfrid etc.
• Maley's 50 years as player and then manager, the golden age, and the more moderate successes
• McGrory with all the player records etc, but also what happened to Celtic between Maley & Stein
  
• The Stein era and it's golden age
• With the Lions as the pinnicle of onfield achievement
• McCann, the Rebels, saving the club, the growing pains that followed and the father of modern Celtic.

Can then add in the Legends etc to add the colour and flesh out the narrative, but if you were to tell the bare bones story of Celtic to someone in like 3-4 min those 6 points are the essentials that need to be included.

 

Great post @Taz

Tonnes of details as per & cannot disagree with much, if any of it.