The incredible story of Alec McNair, Celtic’s Icicle

For one thing, it wasn’t his first benefit match. Secondly, it was played against Rangers. Furthermore, the man being honoured had so far spent a remarkable 17 years at the club. In fact, by the time he retired, he had been wearing Hoops for 21 years and is Celtic’s longest continuous serving player.

This is the story of Alec McNair, Celtic’s Icicle…

The record-breaking defender was born in Stenhousemuir on Christmas Eve in 1882. After leaving school, McNair worked in Larbert Foundry – but he had big footballing dreams. In his early years he was known to be a big supporter of Rangers. As well as admiring the Ibrox side, he soon built for himself a reputation as a hardy and capable player. This brought him to the attention of his local team, Stenhousemuir.

In 1900, McNair followed in the footsteps of his older brother James by signing for the Warriors. In this era, Stenhousemuir had some notable successes, including twice winning the Scottish Qualifying Cup and reaching the semi-final of the senior Scottish Cup, where they lost to Rangers.

Although Alec McNair did not play in this semi-final, the club’s growing profile ensured that prominent young players such as him came to attention of bigger clubs, including Celtic. In May 1903, he was given a Celtic trial but did not yet end up at Parkhead. It would not take long for this to change.

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