JIMMY MCGRORY
Celtic, 1922-1937
Celtic 9 Dunfermline 0 (Mcgrory 1,5, 9, 21, 60, 62, 63, 85; Thomson 42) Sometimes the scoresheet can tell a story a lot more eloquently than purple prose. Yet what this scoresheet does not tell you is that, on January 14, 1928, Jimmy Mcgrory actually scored 10 goals. One was ruled out for offside, and another was disallowed because the referee forgot to play advantage.
This record-breaking feat earned Mcgrory one of his many nicknames: ‘The Eighth Wonder’. The Celtic hero was also referred to as ‘The Prince of Garngad’ (due to the district of Glasgow where he grew up), ‘The Human Torpedo’ and the ‘Mermaid’ (because of the consistent brilliance of his diving headers). Many centre-forwards have been feted as deadly in the air, but Mcgrory may well have been the best ever. Arsenal goalkeeper Bill Paterson clamed that he had “shoulders like a young Clydesdale, a neck like a prime Aberdeen Angus and a head the nightmare of every goalkeeper. He had the knack of connecting with his napper and directing the leather netwards with greater velocity and judgement than many could accomplish with their feet.” This was not hyperbole: while once trying to keep out a bullet Mcgrory header, the unfortunate Queen’s Park stopper Jack Harkness broke three fingers.
He wasn’t too bad on the deck, either. Starting out as an outside-left at Celtic in 1922, Mcgrory made his name as an aggressive forward who shot powerfully with either foot. Barrel-chested and only 5ft 6in tall, he was gentlemanly and fearless.
With 49 and 50 strikes respectively, he was the top league scorer in Europe in the 1926-27 and 1935-36 campaigns, while in 1927-28 he smashed 63 goals in all competitions. Jimmy would go on to post a British record of 55 hat-tricks, one of them taking only three minutes against Motherwell. The one thing he couldn’t do was take penalties: Mcgrory failed with two of three attempts. Maybe he should have just headed them in.
Despite Mcgrory’s feats, Celtic did not hoover up all of the silverware in Scotland, and this – as well as the quality of his contemporary rival, Hughie Gallacher – may explain why he made just seven outings for his country. Yet even here the talisman made his mark: Mcgrory’s winning goal against England in 1933 was cheered so vociferously by 134,170 fans, it gave birth to the legendary ‘Hampden Roar’.
Such was Mcgrory’s dedication to the Bhoys’ cause, he was not even frustrated by the revelation that, as punishment for turning down a move to Arsenal that would have been lucrative for Celtic, he was secretly paid less than many of his colleagues. Once the story had broken, his only comment was: “It was worth it to play in the green and white hoops.”
Returning to Parkhead as manager in July 1945, he brought in a centre-half from Welsh non-league outfit Llanelli. The player was Jock Stein, and it was probably the most influential transfer in Celtic history. Mcgrory died in 1982, at the age of 78, but his fame endures. He is the ultimate Bhoy’s own hero.