Jimmy Kelly To Scott Brown – 13 Degrees Of Separation

The Celtic lifeline began in 1888 and the connection between the players threads right through the club’s tapestry

- Joe Sullivan

SCOTT Brown joined the exclusive Celtic 500 Club when he played in the 3-0 in over Motherwell just before Christmas.

Currently the club’s longest serving player, the captain embodies Celtic’s fight for success that has epitomised the club ever since the first game in 1888.

When Celtic took to the field on May 28, 1888 for that first ever game, they set in motion a link and a bond between players that carries on right through until the present day Scott Brown among the latest in the current batch of Celtic heroes.

Those first Celtic heroes, the team which beat Rangers 5-2 that day, was Dolan: Pearson, McLaughlin, W Maley, Kelly, Murray, McCallum, T Maley, Madden, Dunbar, Gorevin, and that side contained the first of the nearly 900 players who have represented the club up until this season.

Among their number was...

Jimmy Kelly

He also played in the club’s first competitive game when the Celts beat Shettleston 5-1 in the Scottish Cup – that was his first of 178 games in all competitions, and among them were 40 with...

Dan McArthur