Jimmy McGrory

Jimmy McGrory was born to be a Celt, and as Willie Maley once wrote of him, ‘his heart was ours long before he was offered a peg in our dressing-room’. This realisation by the club may, in part, explain why they appeared to take the player for granted, paying him £1 less than most of his team-mates, or trying to sell him to Arsenal in 1928.

McGrory’s heart, however, was always at Paradise, and so he remained at the club, forever a faithful servant. More than that, he was a phenomenal footballer, and it’s extremely unlikely that Celtic will ever see his like again.

He played 445 times for his beloved Celtic, and scored an incredible 468 goals. He is, and will most probably always will be, Celtic’s top goalscorer of all-time. The fact that the great Bobby Lennox is second-top with 277 goals, and in an era of the League Cup and European football, only increases the awe and admiration with which James Edward McGrory is held by supporters.

'His heart was ours long before he was offered a peg in our dressing-room'

He was a Garngad Bhoy, born in the North of the city in a heartland of Celtic support, and he grew up playing football and dreaming of wearing the famous green and white hooped jersey. He would do so with distinction, honour, pride and with an ability that was the envy of most other players.

He actually scored his first goal at Celtic Park against the Hoops, for Clydebank while on loan at the club, while he would score five goals in a single game on no fewer than four occasions. In 11 different matches, he netted four goals, and he scored an incredible 39 hat-tricks during his 15 years as a Celt. He also scored EIGHT goals in a single match against Dunfermline Athletic.

The statistics do not tell the full story of Jimmy McGrory, but they do stand as testament to his prowess in front of goal, which brought delight to every supporter lucky enough to have seen him playing in the flesh.

In 11 different matches, he netted four goals, and he scored an incredible 39 hat-tricks during his 15 years as a Celt. He also scored EIGHT goals in a single match against Dunfermline Athletic.

PRELUDE TO PARADISE
Jimmy McGrory polished his goalscoring skills playing for St Roch’s School and also transferred that to the local St Roch’s Boys’ Guild. If Celtic weren’t in action, though, most fans in the area would walk along to Provanmill Park to watch the recently-formed St Roch’s Juniors where he played as a 16-year-old. However, it wasn’t long before the seniors had their eye on the striker but, despite a trial for Bury, it was no surprise when the teenager signed on the dotted line for his beloved Celtic.

DEBUT BHOY
It was in June 1922 when the 18-year-old Jimmy McGrory joined the Hoops and he would make his debut midway through the following season but failed to set the heather on fire in a 1-0 defeat to Third Lanark at Cathkin in front of a 25,000 crowd on January 20, 1923. A week later he was off target again in a 4-0 Scottish Cup win over Hurlford and he was equally ineffective in midweek as a 4,000 crowd watched a 0-0 draw with Hibernian at Celtic Park. He finally got off the mark by netting against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on February 3, but the Hoops lost that game 4-3 and that was the end of the youngster’s first-team action as a certain Patsy Gallacher returned to the fray.

He scored 395 goals in 378 league games and 73 goals in 67 Scottish Cup ties for a total of 468 goals in 445 Celtic games.

HIGHLIGHTS
From 1924/25 until 1937/38, there was only one season in which Jimmy McGrory wasn’t the top scorer with the club with Frank O’Donnell claiming top spot in season 1933/34 when McGrory missed a number of games through injury. There was just no stopping McGrory once he got his eyes set on the goal. Records tumbled like stacks of dominoes as keepers up and down the country had nightmares every time they faced McGrory in the Hoops and hat-tricks were a common commodity when the striker was on song. In fact, there were so many doubles, hat-tricks and other multiple scores, including the eight goals against Dunfermline in January 1928, that he averaged more than a goal a game.

He scored 395 goals in 378 league games and 73 goals in 67 Scottish Cup ties for a total of 468 goals in 445 Celtic games. In all games with Celtic and Clydebank, including Glasgow Cup and Charity Cup ties, he scored 538 goals in 534 games. He also scored six times in seven Scotland games and six times in six league games.

BOWING OUT
It was on October 16, 1937 that Jimmy McGrory played his last game for Celtic when Queen’s Park visited on league duty and it was appropriate that he should finish his playing career with a goal, scoring his 468th goal for Celtic in a 4-3 win. During his time in the Hoops, Jimmy McGrory lifted championships in 1925/26 and 1935/36 as well as Scottish Cups in 1925, 1931, 1933 and 1937 but the silverware didn’t stop when he hung up his shooting boots, since he would return to Celtic Park as manager in 1945, remaining in charge at the club for 20 years.

RESISTING THE GUNNERS
In 1928, with Jimmy McGrory well-established as one of Europe’s greatest goalscorers, manager Willie Maley took him south on what was, on the face of it, a pilgrimage to Lourdes, which included two stops in London, once on the way and again on the road home.

‘I felt McGrory of Arsenal did not sound right. It wasn't like McGrory of Celtic.’

Both times, the two men met representatives of Arsenal, who attempted to persuade McGrory to join the English club. McGrory refused all overtures, despite the lucrative offer Arsenal made to him, later saying ‘Jimmy McGrory of Arsenal would never have sounded as good as Jimmy McGrory of Celtic.’

THE BEST STRIKER I EVER SAW
Jimmy McGrory is Celtic’s greatest ever goalscorer, and his statistics almost deny belief. He must have been a phenomenal player to watch in his prime, but when asked to choose his best striker, McGrory said: "I have been asked to name the best Celtic centre-forward I’ve seen play and the man I choose may surprise a few of you. He’s Joe McBride. It was due to unfortunate injuries that Joe only had a few seasons at Celtic Park."

"If he had been allowed a full career with Celtic", McGrory continued, "I am sure he would have become one of the all-time great goalscorers. He only played for half a season we won the European Cup, playing his last game before Christmas, yet he ended up joint top scorer in Scotland. What a year that could have been for him. He was a tremendous header of the ball and could take a half-chance on the ground. And his heart was in the right place."

445 CELTIC CAREER APPEARANCES
League: 378, Scottish Cup: 67

468 CELTIC CAREER GOALS
League: 395, Scottish Cup: 73

6 CELTIC CAREER MAJOR HONOURS
League Titles: 2, Scottish Cup: 4