A Feast Of Football

Celtic in action on Saint Valentine’s Day THIS Friday is Saint Valentine’s Day, a day commemorating a third century Roman saint, who is also the patron saint of romantic love. The Celtic View, in celebrating our love of the Hoops, takes a look back at some of the times when the team has played on February 14, thus creating a dilemma for supporters having to break the news to their partner that an anticipated romantic evening will be spent at Paradise…

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One hundred years ago, on February 14, 1920, Jimmy McMenemy played one of his last games for the club in a 3-0 home win over Albion Rovers. In an 18-year career, ‘Napoleon’ McMenemy made a total of 515 appearances, scoring 168 goals, playing in the legendary six-in-a-row side (1906-10) and also the four-in-a-row side (1914-17). His Celtic debut, in the green and white stripes, came on November 22, 1902, when he scored in a 3-0 home league win over Port Glasgow, while his final appearances came on April 22, 1920 in a 2-2 draw at home to St Mirren, this time wearing the green and white Hoops. He was a pivotal figure in Willie Maley’s great Celtic sides of the early 20th century, and helped Celtic win their first ever trophy wearing the Hoops – the 3-2 Scottish Cup victory over Rangers in 1904, when Jimmy Quinn scored a hat-trick. Jimmy McMenemy is a true Celtic legend.

CELTIC’S first ever competitive match on St Valentine’s Day came back in 1903 when Celtic faced St Mirren in the second round of the Scottish Cup. It was the second replay of the tie, after the two previous matches had been drawn – the first was 0-0 at Celtic Park, while the other, in Paisley, finished 1-1. The third game, also played at Celtic Park, resulted in an emphatic 4-0 victory for the Celts in front of an impressive 35,000 crowd. The goals came from Johnny Campbell, Sandy McMahon, Paddy Murray and Hugh Watson (pictured) with what proved to be his only goal of his Celtic career. The Hoops then saw off Port Glasgow Athletic before being knocked out at the quarter-final stage.