Celtic in the Thirties: Unpublished works of David Potter – Jimmy McStay | OneFootball

Celtic in the Thirties: Unpublished works of David Potter today features Jimmy McStay…

The late David Potter

Jimmy McStay from Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Image by Celtic Curio.

It is no disparagement to Jimmy McStay to say that he was not as good a player as his brother Willie. Willie was an excellent full back, earning caps for Scotland while Jimmy who was versatile enough to play all over the defence before eventually settling down as centre half was not as good a player, although it could well be argued that he was possibly the better captain. He also showed enough leadership qualities to be able to become Manager of the club, albeit not in the best of circumstances and without any great success.

He joined his brother Willie at the club in November 1920, having played for Larkhall Thistle and the Royal Scots Fusileers for whom he had served in the Great War, and it was a couple of years later before he made his debut. He was 27 when that happened, something that perhaps explained why he always looked so old on the field. But he was always very fit.

Jimmy McStay lead Celtic out in the first match after the tragic death of John Thomson – incidentally the man in the suit looks like Brendan Rodgers! Photo The Celtic Wiki

He started off by playing at left half to allow Jean McFarlane to move into the forward line, but Jock Gilchrist’s somewhat spectacular falling out with Maley allowed Jimmy to move to the right half position, and that was where he was when Celtic won their first post-War Scottish Cup final in March 1923 in a serviceable half back line alongside Willie Cringan and Jean McFarlane.

By 1925 however, he had found his place at centre half. He was there for the 1925 Scottish Cup final, and then in the following season 1925/26 he never missed a game as Celtic had one of their best ever seasons. He was now established as centre half, a position that was going through a certain amount of change. The offside rule had been changed to allow more goals to be scored, something that encouraged more centre halves like McStay to remain in defence, whereas in the past, the Celtic tradition had been one of an attacking centre half, as Willie Loney had certainly been.

imago/Colorsport Football (The Celtic Star) – 1928 / 1929 season – English Football League XI 2 Scottish Football League XI 1 The SFL team group before the game at Villa Park 07/11/1928. Back (left to right): McNabb (Dundee), B. Battles (Hearts), Gray (Rangers), John Thomson (Celtic), Blair (Clyde), trainer, Bennie (Hearts). Front: Jimmy Archibald (Rangers), A. Thomson (Celtic), Jimmy McGrory (Celtic), McStay (Celtic), J. R. McAlpine (Queens Park), Alan Morton (Rangers).

McStay was not really an attacking centre half in any sense of the word. The words one finds often used about him were “determined” and “unflinching”. He would have been disappointed to lose the Scottish Cup final to St Mirren in 1926 after such a great League season but he did win a Glasgow Charity Cup medal that season and his third Scottish Cup medal the following season, having done well to recover from an injury which caused him to miss a few games that season.

1928 was difficult, and 1929 was not much better but that was the year in which brother Willie left for Hearts and the captaincy passed to Jimmy. It was a task that was far from easy with the team in the doldrums, a worldwide economic depression enveloping everyone and a support that was far from happy with what was happening, while at the same time, some of the players were not coping with the increasingly difficult task of living with Willie Maley.

In these circumstances, McStay deserves a great deal of credit for his leadership in the triumphant year of 1931. The players were more settled, McStay proved an excellent conduit between the players and the Manager and results on the park were much improved, including of course that wonderful Scottish Cup final triumph of 1931 and the tour of America which followed. “I captained a team of triers” he said in a delightful understatement.

Jimmy McStay, Photo The Celtic Wiki

The players had a far more settled look about them on the field. McGrory’s goals which had looked as if they were to dry up began to flow again, and the good solid players like Peter Wilson and Alec Thomson now began to show their full potential while brilliant but difficult characters like Bertie Thomson and Charlie Napier were moulded to optimum advantage. Legend has it that in the 1931 Scottish Cup final first game with the team 1-2 down and seconds left, Bertie Thomson was holding on to the ball to keep it as a souvenir until McStay shouted to him to “Get the ba’ ower, min”. Bertie did so and Celtic equalised.

McStay was a good captain and was always prepared to do his fair share of listening to ensure that no-one at Celtic Park ever felt entirely alone. There were severe demands, however, imposed on his leadership capabilities in the awful circumstances of the John Thomson tragedy. McStay was at the Hospital, would have had to talk to John’s parents, break the news to other people and then talk to the Press. None of this would have been easy, but he certainly managed to deliver a certain amount of dignity to the tragedy.

But far more difficult would have been the enormous task of picking the team up again after that devastating blow, a task that became a lot more difficult when Peter Scarff went down with the almost always fatal disease of tuberculosis. He was not a total success in this respect, it would have to be admitted, for Rangers were still a good side as indeed were Motherwell, but he did bring them back to capture another Scottish Cup in 1933, by which time he was 38.

07.11.1928.imago/Colorsport.  1928 / 1929 season – English Football League XI 2 Scottish Football League XI 1 Jimmy McStay pictured for the SFL team before the game at Villa Park 07/11/1928. Photo The Celtic Star

He had done remarkably well to keep himself so fit, but 1933/34, not a great season with the team tactfully described to be “in transition” proved to be his last season, and at the end of this season he was given a free transfer.

He was the perhaps unwanted distinction of having played the most games for the club without having won a full cap for Scotland. He had to be content with 3 games for the Scottish League, his best being the game on November 7 1931 at Celtic Park when he captained the Scottish League to a 4-3 win over the English League.

It might have been expected that this was the end of his playing career which was late in getting started because of the Great War and had now lasted some 14 years, but football was in his blood and when Hamilton Academical approached him, he was more than delighted to oblige.

Jimmy McStay holding the Scottish Cup, won in 1931. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Hamilton had a fine young side and clearly the experience of McStay was necessary to develop the youngsters. This he did with a certain amount of relish and clear enjoyment while clearly enjoying his Indian summer with the Douglas Park side.

He was back at his old stamping ground of Celtic Park on March 30 1935 for the semi-final of the Scottish Cup against Aberdeen (who had removed Celtic at an earlier stage) and played a heroic part in the 2-1 victory which saw Hamilton through to only their second Scottish Cup final against Rangers at Hampden on April 20. The final itself (McStay’s eighth) was an unlucky experience for Hamilton who went down 1-2 and were generally regarded as unlucky not to get a replay while Rex Kingsley in The Sunday Post says that Rangers had to “fight like the dickens” (sic) to win.

McStay was clearly now however just getting a little too old for professional football, and his appearances became fewer and fewer until in season 1937/38 he moved to Ireland to become player-manager with a club called Bridewell before returning to Scotland to manager Alloa Athletic.

Peter Wilson, John Thomson, Jimmy McStay, Jimmy McMenemy, Willie McStay, A Thomson, Jimmy McGrory. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Maley eventually left Celtic in 1940 in less than happy circumstances and it was to Jimmy McStay that the Directors turned for the awesome task of succeeding the giant. Possibly Jimmy might have done well to turn this job down, particularly as football was difficult, to put it mildly, in war time circumstances

He also suffered from a Board of Directors who had no clear idea of what they wanted, and sometimes gave the impression that they looked upon war-time football as trivial and unimportant with McStay a light weight and part-time Manager. In addition, the slide had clearly started in 1938/39 with the great Empire Exhibition side having all aged simultaneously, and of course there was no real opportunity for McStay to build a new side. In addition, Delaney was out for a long spell with a broken arm, and men like Crum and Divers were transferred, Lyon and Paterson were called up and Joe Kennaway had gone back home to Canada.

Jimmy McStay appointed manager, Daily Record (February 1940)

It was a very sad an unproductive time in Celtic’s history with the Board reluctant to allow McStay the opportunity to bring, for example, the Celtic daft Matt Busby to Parkhead and causing him to go to Hibs instead. Glasgow and the Clyde area hotched with talented Englishmen, either in the services or on war-related activity who would have loved to play for Celtic, even if only for a short spell, but the opportunities were not seized.

Celtic’s wartime manager Jimmy McStay. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Two trophies were won – the Glasgow Cup of 1940/41 and the Glasgow Charity Cup of 1943 – and they were much celebrated by the still huge and frustrated Celtic support, but it was a poor yield. McStay might have expected at least one year of peace time football for an opportunity to prove himself, but he was suddenly dismissed in summer 1945 and replaced by his old friend and colleague Jimmy McGrory.

He then managed Hamilton Academical for a few years before sinking his differences with Celtic to become Chief Scout for them until 1961, during which time he deserves more than a little praise for the amount of youngsters whom he brought to Celtic Park. There was little wrong with that side of things, namely the identification and recruitment of good players at that time. It was what the club did with them subsequently that was another matter altogether.

Jimmy died on Hogmanay 1973. He was a great Celt who made a huge contribution to the club.

David Potter

The Celtic Graves Society commemorate the life of Celtic great Jimmy McStay on Saturday 16 November at 2pm at Larkhall Cemetery, 36 Station Road, Larkhall ML9 2DB. All Celtic fans welcome. Photo used above from The Celtic Star’s collection.

The Celtic Graves Society this Saturday honour Celtic legend Jimmy McStay in his hometown of Larkhall. The event goes ahead this Saturday, November 16 at 2pm in Larkhall Cemetery, 36 Station Road, Larkhall, ML9 2DB.

Among the speakers will be Jimmy McStay (Jimmy’s grandson), former player and relative Willie McStay, Tony Hamilton Celtic FC Foundation CEO and Brendan Sweeney of the Celtic Graves Society. This is exactly an event that the late David Potter would have enjoyed and would have spoken at.

Members of local Celtic Supporters’ Clubs will also be in attendance and the grave will also be blessed at the commemoration. A new headstone has been erected at the grave in full collaboration with the McStay family.

In line with all of their other marvellous work in restoring the graves of other club legends, this is the start of a long held aim by The Celtic Graves Society, to ensure that all Celtic captains’ graves are commemorated in an appropriate way, in full collaboration with the families and in recognition of their status as captains of the club.

Not only is Jimmy a member of the McStay family legacy that has graced the club’s history, he is only one of four Celts to have played, captained and managed Celtic along with Jock Stein, Billy McNeill and Neil Lennon.

Sean Fallon and Kenny Dalglish have honourable mentions too for the periods when they were interim managers.

Matt Corr’s wonderful new books, Celtic in the Thirties, Volumes One & Two are both out now on Celtic Star Books and you can order a signed copies by clicking on the links below…

CELTIC IN THE THIRTIES, VOLUMES ONE & TWO BY MATT CORR – OUT NOW! Order your signed copies below…

Celtic in the Thirties by Celtic Historian Matt Corr is published in two volumes by Celtic Star Books. OUT NOW!

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