Celtic On This Day – 1st May – David Potter’s Celtic Diary

SATURDAY 1st MAY 1915 – It is little wonder that Patsy Gallacher is “the most talked about man in the trenches”. Today in the Glasgow Charity Cup game against Queen’s Park, he is absolutely superb and scored both goals in the 2-1 victory. Willie Maley, as usual, dashes off to send a telegram to the War Office with the score so that it can be distributed to the soldiers in the trenches. Most hear the news within an hour of the final whistle.

SATURDAY 1st MAY 1926 – With a General Strike now imminent and due to start on Monday, Celtic beat Partick Thistle 2-1 in the first round of the Glasgow Charity Cup at Firhill. Adam McLean and Jimmy McGrory score the goals. It is generally agreed that Partick Thistle were worthy of a goal.

MONDAY 1st MAY 1961 –  John Hughes scores a hat-trick in the 3-3 draw with Queen’s Park at Parkhead, but that is the only good point about this game in the now dated Glasgow Charity Cup. Only 4,700 are there, and no-one wants a replay, so they toss a coin. Celtic win and are now in the final. This will be the last time that this trophy is played for in its present form.

SATURDAY 1st MAY 1982 – In a game played in intermittent hail and sleet, Celtic take a huge step towards the Scottish League championship with a 6-0 defeat of Hibs before a disappointing crowd of only 16,064 at Celtic Park. Murdo MacLeod scores two and the other goals are scored by Danny Crainie, George McCluskey, Roy Aitken and Tommy Burns. World events divert attention from this fine victory, for the Falklands War is beginning to build to a climax. The BBC’s football programme that night, for example, interrupted by a report of an air raid on a ship.

FRIDAY 1st MAY 2015 – Celtic more or less clinched their fourth successive League Championship with a 5-0 win over Dundee at Celtic Park. Leigh Griffiths, Kris Commons (with a penalty), Scott Brown, and James Forrest all score but the best goal is from a very unusual source – Nir Bitton. The League is confirmed the following day when Aberdeen fail to beat Dundee United, and it is a great triumph for Ronny Deila in his first season as manager.

David Potter

David’s bestseller The Celtic Rising ~ 1965: The Year Jock Stein Changed Everything is completely sold out in print on but is available on Amazon kindle, with all the photographs of the hardback edition, for HALF PRICE at just £3.49…