Celtic Players of the Day – Davie McLean and Peter Somers

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·4 de julio de 2025

Celtic Players of the Day – Davie McLean and Peter Somers

That Davie McLean became a soldier of fortune may have a lot to do with Willie Maley. In truth as a centre forward he was not as good as his good friend Jimmy Quinn, but he might still have been kept as cover or for other positions.

Davie McLean

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He was only 16 when he scored his first goal for Celtic. He was with Celtic for two years between 1907 to 1909 during which time he won a Glasgow Cup medal and played a glorious part in the winning of the 1909 Scottish League, but he had no good relationship with Maley and then went on to play for Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday, Third Lanark, Rangers, Bradford, Dundee and Forfar Athletic.

Incredibly he scored for Dundee in the Patsy Gallacher Cup final of 1925, almost 16 years after he left Celtic!

He was well known for his powerful shot – he once badly injured the back of Joe Dodds when Dodds got in the way of a free kick – but he also had the grit and determination to do well and he did not fully retire from the game until 1932 when he was 42.

In later years, he made his peace with Maley, and retained his love for Celtic, going frequently to see them in big games along with his brother George and his great friend Jimmy McMenemy. He died in December 1967, having watched TV on the night of 25th May of that year!

Peter Somers

Peter Somers was as good as anyone else in the great Celtic teams of 1907 and 1908, and that is saying something!

Peter Somers

He had joined the club as early as 1897, had a sojourn at Blackburn and then returned to Celtic in 1902. When the great Celtic team emerged in 1904, Somers was there as a hard working, foraging inside left with the ability to beat more burly opponents with ease, and to score goals himself, often through his ability to read a game and know that as Jimmy Quinn often needed two defenders to keep him quiet, there was space for him.

But it was his ability as the “powder monkey” for Quinn that was his greatest contribution to Celtic. He played four times for Scotland.

He was also off the field, like so many of that great side, an entertainer. In Peter’s case he was a piano player, something that was needed in the many away days and nights that Celtic spent in hydropathic hotels. He was also a comedian, and well known for his quick one-liners on the park as well.

He lost his place after 1909 and moved to Hamilton Academical, where he eventually became a Director. He died very young in the early days of the Great War at the age of 36 after an operation following the amputation of one of his legs. He was a true, and frequently under-estimated Celtic great.

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