A Trip To Bonhill Cemetery: Grave of the first man to score for Celtic

Neil McCallum caught Brother Walfrid’s eye by scoring five goals in Renton’s 6-0 win over Edinburgh Hibernians in August 1887. That match was organised by Marist Brothers Walfrid and Dorotheus, along with an embryonic committee of men who would go on to establish Celtic Football Club.

Having beaten Hibs to McCallum’s signature, Neil entered the history books as the first player ever to score for Celtic, setting the Bhoys on their way to a 5-2 victory over Rangers on 28 May 1888.

He was a good player to bring to the club and helped Celtic to ensure early success, including the 1892 Scottish Cup trophy.

An interesting piece of trivia is that, in February 1888, McCallum played for Rangers as a guest player in a friendly against Aston Villa at Parry Barr, Birmingham. He was the first Roman Catholic to play for Rangers, 16 years after the club’s inception, and also the first individual to play for both sides of the Glasgow divide. Sadly, few Catholics would have that same opportunity at Ibrox until the very late stages of the 20th century.

Neil McCallum died in November 1920 at the age of 52 and is buried in his hometown of Bonhill (Bonhill Churchyard, Main Street, Bonhill, Alexandria, G83 9HR). His grave, positioned next to two other McCallum’s, did not originally have a headstone. However, the burial plot was eventually found by the Celtic daft Minister of the church, Ian Miller, and the Celtic Graves Society then gave McCallum a fitting memorial headstone and commemoration in 2012.