TRIUMPHANT Celtic – with a little assistance from peerless Patsy Gallacher – lifted their fifteenth title on May 10 1919 when they overcame Ayr United 2-0 at Somerset Park.
Club stalwarts Andy McAtee and Adam McLean were the marksmen as the Parkhead side edged the 1918/19 championship by a point from Rangers.
The Hoops, in fact, were unlikely champions. They were a team ravaged by the requirements of the war effort with key players such as Willie McStay, Andy McAtee and Joe Dodds called up at various stages as the conflict, mercifully, edged towards conclusion.
READ ALL ABOUT IT…how the leagues were won.
The influence of Jimmy McMenemy was also absent for a lengthy interlude as he shifted to Belfast for essential work.
In October, Celtic lost to Rangers and looked well short of a team that could aspire to the crown. They were thrashed 3-0 at Parkhead and it didn’t look as though they had the playing resources to recover.
However, someone must have forgotten to tell the inimitable Patsy Gallacher. The gutsy, temperamental, but ultimately, talent-bestowed Irishman wasn’t the type to roll over and accept second best.
With Patsy in the line-up, you had a chance. Willie Maley knew it, too.
In the next Old Firm meeting at Ibrox, the Hoops fought out a crucial 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of around 65,000 with the returning McMenemy scoring the visitors’ goal.
PEERLESS PATSY… the inspirational Patsy Gallacher in action against Airdrie.
How crucial was that point from the Govan encounter? Some insisted it was the draw that saw Celtic lift the title at the end of the season with the Parkhead side completing the 34-game league programme with 58 points, one more than the Ibrox club.
When it got down to the wire, the Parkhead men men had Ayr United to face at Somerset Park on May 10 and they went into the arena knowing a win would complete an engrossing season.
Andy McAtee fired Celtic into a half-time lead during a tense meeting with a 10,000 crowd squeezed into the cramped ground.
Adam McLean doubled the visitors’ advantage and the flag was heading back to Celtic Park.
* READ the full inside story of Celtic’s extraordinary 1918/19 championship triumph – and FIFTY other title successes – in ‘CELTIC: 50 Flags Plus One’ on sale now in CQN’s special Christmas sale. Just click below.
