Celtic Fixtures & Results 1951-1952

Scottish League: Ninth
Scottish FA Cup: Winners
League Cup: Quarter-Final
St Mungo Cup: Winners

 

Manager: Jimmy McGrory (1945 - 1965)

Hibernian won the league with 45 points from Rangers in second place with 41. Celtic finished in 9th place with only 28 points but had been as low as 13th place as late as the month of March. After the 6-0 drubbing of Queen of the South on March 1st Celtic lost only one more game (St Mirren 1-3) and 'improved' their league placing by four places. Bobby Collins was top goal scorer with 13 goals with John McPhail close behind on 11. Only Sean Fallon and Alex Boden played in all matches (41) although Bobby collins missed only one league cup tie. Jock Stein, Gil Heron, Andrew Bell and Jim Lafferty made their debuts. Stein played another 18 times after his debut in December against St Mirren, including two matches in the Scottish Cup.

The pool of players for season 1951/52 was - Baillie, Bell (g/k), Boden, Bonnar (g/k), Collins, Devanney (g/k), Evans, Fallon, Fernie, Haughney, Heron, Jack, Lafferty, Mallan, McAlindon, McPhail, Morrison, Peacock, Rollo, Stein, Tully, Walsh, Weir.

Celtic Park fixtures in capitals. Celtic score always first.

Opponents Comments

Match programme
HEARTS

14/07/51
St Mungo Cup First Round
Celtic Park, Glasgow
2-1 - John McPhail, Jimmy Walsh

Attendance - 51,000

In the summer of 1951 the UK Government organized football tournaments as part the Festival of Britain exhibition. A cup competition in Scotland was run by the Glasgow Corporation and Glasgow FA with the cup being named the St Mungo Cup after the patron saint of the city. The cup was competed for by all the 14 first division clubs plus Queen's Park and Clyde. Later, it turned out that the trophy was third hand, having been competed for in a yachting competition in the 1890's and then later used as a football trophy between Glasgow Works teams. Celtic complained to no avail but the trophy is displayed proudly at CP to this day.
Clyde

St Mungo Cup Second Round
4-4

No known programme
CLYDE

St Mungo Cup Second Round Replay
Celtic Park, Glasgow
4-1

No known programme
Raith Rovers

St Mungo Cup Semi-Final
Hampden Park, Glasgow
3-1

No known programme
Aberdeen

01/08/51
St Mungo Cup Final
Hampden Park, Glasgow
3-2 - Walsh, Fallon, Tully

Att- 81,000

No known programme

Match programme
THIRD LANARK

 11/08/51
League Cup
1-1

Match programme
Airdrie

 15/08/51
League Cup
1-1

Match programme
MORTON

 18/08/51
League Cup
2-0

Gil Heron debut before a crowd of 40,000. Scored Celtic's second goal in 35 minutes with a shot from outside the penalty box.
Jamacian-born Gil Heron was 29 when he was spotted and signed for Celtic during the 1951 tour of the USA while playing for his home team of Detroit Corinthians.

Match programme
Third Lanark

 25/08/51
League Cup
1-0

Gil Heron played in this match.

Sold for £71, 22 bids, June 2022 - v/f, a bit crumpled, good cond.

Sold on ebay for £31, Aug 2022, 9 bids, small piece of cover missing.

No programme
AIRDRIE

 29/08/51
League Cup
2-0

Gil Heron played in this match and scored from 25 yards.

No programme

Match programme
Morton

 01/09/51
League Cup
0-2

Gil Heron played in this match. Demoted to the reserves and played only one other match for Celtic before signing for Third Lanark in May 1952.

Match programme
Motherwell

 08/09/51
League
2-2

Match programme
FORFAR ATHLETIC

15/09/51
League Cup
4-2

No programme
Forfar Athletic

19/09/51
League Cup

1-1

No programme

Match programme
Rangers

22/09/51
League
1-1

Sold on ebay for £80 on 11/04/21 - 5 bids

Match programme
HEARTS

 29/09/51
League
1-3

No programme
Morton

 10/10/51
League

0-1

No programme

Match programme
Rangers

13/10/51
League Cup Semi-Final
0-3

Sold on ebay May 2023 for £76, 2 bids, okay condition, a bit crumpled

Sold on ebay July 2023 for £87, 13 bids, okay cond, a bit tatty, rusty staple

 

Match programme
Dundee

 20/10/51
League

1-2

Andrew Bell debut. Bell signed from Arthurlie Juniors on 27th August and played another 12 times this season.

Match programme
HIBERNIAN

27/10/51
League
1-1

Sold on ebay for £207, Oct 2023, 13 bids, good clean condition with a vertical fold

Match programme
THIRD LANARK

03/11/51
League
2-2

Match programme
Stirling Albion

10/11/51
League
1-2

Match programme
AIRDRIE

 17/11/51
League
3-1

Match programme
Queen of the South

 24/11/51
League
0-4

Match programme
PARTICK THISTLE

01/12/51
League

2-1

Jim Lafferty debut (signed from Arthurlie Nov 1951, made 7 appearances scored 4 goals. Left Celtic for Lincoln City in July 1953. Died July 2008 in Calafornia).

Gil Heron's last match for Celtic.

Match programme
ST MIRREN

08/12/51
League

2-1

Jock Stein debut.

Match programme
East Fife

15/12/51
League
1-3

Match programme
MOTHERWELL

 22/12/51
League
2-1

Match programme
Aberdeen

 29/12/51
League
4-3

Match programme
RANGERS

 01/01/52
League
1-4

Match programme
Hearts

 02/01/52
League
1-2

No programme
MORTON

 05/01/52
League

Postponed.

No programme

Match programme
Raith Rovers

12/01/52
League
0-1

Match programme
DUNDEE

 19/01/52
League
1-1

No programme
THIRD LANARK

26/01/52
Scottish Cup
Postponed

No programme

Match programme
THIRD LANARK

30/01/52
Scottish Cup

0-0

Rearranged match.

Postponed programme issued with a red ink stamp on the front cover "Postponed Match".

Match programme
Hibernian

 02/02/52
League
1-3

No programme
Third Lanark

04/02/52
Scottish Cup Replay

1-2, Rollo

No programme

Match programme
STIRLING ALBION

 16/02/52
League
3-1

Match programme
RAITH ROVERS

23/02/52
League
0-1

Sold for £88 on 31 May, 2020 9 bids " in good condition with writing inside - the score, half-time score and 1 team change and 1 half-time score and on the front cover the score has been written and the following has been written CELTS 0 = SCORERS RAITH 1 =SCORERS= KELLY 1  and there is a horizontal fold.

No programme
Airdrie

 27/02/52
League

1-2

No programme

Match programme
QUEEN OF
THE SOUTH

 01/03/52
League

6-1

After this match Celtic were 13th in the league table.

No programme
MORTON

 05/03/52
League

2-2

No programme

Match programme
Partick Thistle

 08/03/52
League
4-2

Match programme
St Mirren

15/03/52
League
1-3

Match programme
EAST FIFE

 22/03/52
League
2-1

Match programme
ABERDEEN

 29/03/52
League
2-0

Match programme
Third Lanark

12/04/52
League
3-3

Celtic Friendly Fixtures and Results

Opponents Comments

Match programme
NEWCASTLE

12/09/51
3-3
Celtic Park, Glasgow

Copy sold on ebay 25/04/21 for £170 with 13 bids .

No programme
Kilmarnock

27/09/51
2-1
Bob Thyne Testimonial.

No programme

Match programme
Bohemians

16/04/52
3-4

Bobby Collins broken arm in this match and spent a few days in the Mater Hospital.


Match programme
Sligo Rovers

21/04/52
3-1

No programme
Derry City

22/04/52
3-1

No programme

No programme
Central League Select

23/04/52
5-4 - Duncan (2), Heron (2), Lafferty

No programme

No programme
Coleraine

24/04/52
2-0

No programme

No programme
Central League
Select

28/04/52
5-4

No programme

Match programme
Cumberland Select

30/04/52
0-3



Match programme
Newry Town

17/05/52
3-2
Newry Town/Ex Belfast Celtic XI

Sold on ebay for £51 Aug 2023, 6 bids, okay condition, folded, a bit tatty