Celtic’s record scorelines – Our biggest win, 130 years ago today

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The Celtic Star

·26 de octubre de 2025

Celtic’s record scorelines – Our biggest win, 130 years ago today

On this day 130 years ago, Dundee players left the field at Celtic Park. They were utterly dejected after enduring a truly enormous defeat. But the Celtic players were jubilant, having just set a club scoring record that still stands to this day.

This is the story of that match, and other high-scoring moments in the Celts’ history.

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It was the 26 October 1895. Dundee travelled to Glasgow’s east end for a League fixture. The east coast side were younger than Celtic, having only been formed in 1893. The Dens men were also about to start their third season as members of the Scottish League.

What happened next was little short of a footballing massacre. Around 10,000 fans were in Celtic Park for the match, and they watched as the Celts took the lead after 15 minutes. By half-time, the scoreline read 6-0 and there was clearly only going to be one winner.

Before the second half began, things got worse for the Dark Blues. Many of their players were carrying injuries, and two of them were unable to play in the second 45 minutes. In the days before substitutes were allowed, this put them down to only nine men.

Unsurprisingly, the remaining Dundee players could not contain the Celts. Five more times in the game the Dundee goal was breached so that when the referee signaled for full-time, it was 11-0 to Celts. More than a century on from this day, this remains Celtic’s record victory, as well as record League victory too.

On various other occasions in the League, the Bhoys have racked up a high scoring record, put eight or nine goals past other teams. One of these nine goals matches is relatively recent and the Hoops’ record away rate.

In August 2022, the Celts showed an early desire to win the title when they went to Tannadice. United were trounced in a 9-0 hammering, which included hat-tricks from Kyogo Furahashi and Liel Abada, as well as goals from Jota, Juranovic and Starfelt.

In fact, winning by nine clear goals is Celtic’s joint record 21st century score. As well as the Dundee United game, Aberdeen have also endured this same 9-0 outcome. In 2010, they came to Celtic Park and suffered humiliation, in another match which featured two hat-tricks, this time from Anthony Stokes and Gary Hooper.

9-0 was also the Celts’ record League scoreline in the 20th century, one of which happened under unusual circumstances. Celtic beat Airdrie 9-0 in 1963, and once again two hat-tricks made up the goals, this time from two Johns: Hughes and Divers.

However, the same result in 1928 included one of the most significant personal performances in Celtic’s history. Dunfermline travelled to Glasgow in January 1928, but left with a nine-goal deficit. One of the Bhoys’ goals came from Alec Thomson – but the other eight were all scored by Jimmy McGrory, who is unsurprisingly the club’s all-time record scorer.

Interestingly, although the 11-0 victory against Dundee is Celtic’s record scoreline, it is not the only time – or even the first time – that Celtic scored 11 goals in a single game.

In 1888, the year that the Bhoys first played a game, Celtic started their Glasgow Cup campaign by hosting Shettleston at Celtic Park. This ended in a huge 11-2 win for the Bhoys. In fact, a combined 13 goals in one game is a record for any Celtic match.

Also, the Glasgow Cup played a role in another 11-goal Celtic fixture. In 1891, the Celts were due to host Kelvinside Athletic. However the West End team – likely fearing a massive defeat – ‘scratched’ meaning that they handed the tie to Celtic just before the match began. A friendly was instead played and the Bhoys claimed an 11-1 victory.

In terms of competitive games, the 11-0 victory over Dundee and 11-2 trouncing of Shettleston are the only time that the Bhoys have scored 11. There has also been one other occasion that Celtic have scored double-figures in a game.

In 1968, Hamilton came to Celtic Park for a League Cup match in September. By the time they left, they had conceded ten times without themselves scoring. And even more remarkably, there was only two scorers in green-and-white.

Given that the game ended 10-0 to Celtic, it seems surprising that there were no goals with 25 minutes played. However, on 26 minutes, Stevie Chalmers made it 1-0, and within a minute, Bobby Lennox had doubled this advantage.

When half-time arrived, both men had not only doubled their goals tally but also Celtic’s winning margin and it was 4-0. The second half proved to be an even more emphatic performance.

Despite both men already having two goals each, they were far from finished. In fact, both Lennox and Chalmers added second half hat-tricks meaning they had each scored five goals in the match. Not only were the both through to the next round, they stormed their way to the League Cup Final, which they won with a huge 6-2 win over Hibs.

Of course, this was certainly not Celtic’s record score in a cup final, particularly not the League Cup. For that, you would have to travel back more than a decade. And on that day, the single most famous scoreline in Celtic’s history would be witnessed.

On 19 October 1957, a beautifully sunny day attracted a huge crowd to Hampden Park. They watched as the Celts – who often struggled in the 1950s – took on Rangers. It was a game many expected to result in an Ibrox victory. But that was certainly not to be the outcome.

Hampden in the Sun. Celtic 7 Rangers 1. 19 October 1957.

In the 23rd minute, Sammy Wilson put the Celtic one-up, and by half-time, Neilly Mochan made two. Billy McPhail added his name to the scoresheet, before Rangers pulled one back. That just seemed to anger the Celts and they added four more goals, including McPhail completing his hat-trick.

By the end, the legend of Celtic 7 Rangers 1 was etched into footballing history. As well as being Celtic’s record cup final scoreline – in terms of national competitions – this is also a British record cup final score as well.

Interestingly though, this was not Celtic’s first ‘Hampden in the sun’ experience when hammering Rangers. In 1902, the first Ibrox Disaster took place. 55 people were killed when there was a stand collapse at Ibrox during a Scotland and England match.

To raise funds following this, Rangers held what became known as the British League Cup, which eventually saw the Bhoys beat the Ibrox men to claim the trophy. However, later that year, another Rangers Benefit Tournament was held.

Celtic would eventually win this by beating Morton 4-2 in the final. However, before this, the Bhoys had faced Rangers at Hampden Park. On a bright and pleasant day in August, it ended 7-2 to the Celts.

It’s also worth noting that 7-1 is only Celtic’s record cup final scoreline for national competitions. The Glasgow Cup was a high-scoring tournament for the Bhoys and in 1968, they beat Clyde 8-0 to claim the trophy.

When it comes to the Scottish Cup, Celtic have enjoyed some huge victories over the years. In addition, there are different games that could be counted as the club’s record score in this competition.

The most goals that the Bhoys have scored in the Scottish Cup is nine. For this, you have to go back to Celtic’s first ever season, a time that would also see Glasgow’s green-and-white men reach their first final, albeit they would lose this to Third Lanark.

The events which led to Celtic scoring nine were very controversial. In November 1888, Clyde were welcomed to Celtic Park for a cup tie, but they arrived very late. As a result, the final 15 minutes were played in near darkness, making it almost impossible to see. Although Clyde won 1-0, Celtic protested and the result was overturned.

This led to a replay taking place the following month, at the same venue. On this occasion, it was a very different affair. Clyde were furious at the events and so refused to change at Celtic Park. By the time the game finished, they were even angrier, having conceded heavily in a 9-2 loss.

However, earlier that year in the Scottish Cup, Celtic had enjoyed an even bigger margin of victory. In September 1888, Cowlairs came to Parkhead for a second round tie. Earlier that month, they had beaten Celtic in the Bhoys’ first cup final – the Glasgow Exhibition Cup.

This game was a very different affair. Celtic scored eight goals without reply, claiming an 8-0 victory. Winning by eight clear goals is the Bhoys’ biggest winning margin in the Scottish Cup, and on three other occasions they have scored eight times, albeit not keeping clean sheets in those games.

Outside of domestic Scottish football, the Hoops have also had some big wins. The club’s all-time top European score was a simple 9-0 victory in 1970.

Celtic had lost the 1970 European Cup Final and hoped to go one better the following season. They drew Finnish team Kokkola who came to Celtic Park in September, suffering a humiliating 9-0 defeat. As well as a hat-trick for Harry Hood, this game saw a memorable debut for Paul Wilson who came off the bench to get two goals.

Sadly, the Bhoys’ European adventure ended at the quarter-final stage. Like in the 1970 final, it was again a Dutch team that proved to be a step too far, with Ajax beating Celtic on aggregate.

In the 21st century, Celtic’s biggest European win came en route to the UEFA Cup Final in 2003. After being knocked out of the Champions League in season 2002-03, the Bhoys faced Suduva of Lithuania in the UEFA Cup. In September 2002, an 8-1 home win for the Hoops ensured easy passage to the next stage. This included a Henrik Larsson hat-trick that took only 13 minutes to score.

Of course, the flipside of record scorelines is that teams can also fall to big defeats. Celtic’s heaviest ever defeat came in 1937. In an end-of-season league game, the Bhoys were hammered 8-0 at Fir Park against Motherwell.

There’s been other occasions that the Celts have lost eight, although these are not recognised as official competitions. Dumbarton won 8-0 at Celtic Park in a friendly on New Year’s Day 1892. It was said that the Celtic team – especially the goalkeeper – were still feeling the effects of Hogmanay celebrations! Rangers also once beat the Bhoys 8-1. This came in a Southern League match during the Second World War.

In more recent times, European football has been where the Celts have faced their biggest defeats. Playing in the Champions League, Barcelona, Paris Saint Germain and Borussia Dortmund have all scored seven against Celtic in away games.

When it comes to losing at home, the Bhoys’ record defeats have involved five goals. Celtic’s all-time home record defeat is 5-0; to Hearts in 1895 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. Since World War Two, the biggest home domestic loss that Celts have suffered was a 5-1 win for Aberdeen in 1947. It’s perhaps no surprise that it was in this same era that the Celts once came close to relegation!

In football, when it comes to results, winning is what matters the most. But of course, claiming victory with a big scoreline is always exciting, especially if it comes in an important game or against a team that is considered to be a major rival.

Bertie Peacock and Charlie Tully with the League Cup at Hampden in the Sun. 19 October 1957.

And in the case of the 7-1 win in 1957, it can even lead to songs being written that decades later can still be heard echoing around the slopes of Celtic Park. Here’s hoping that Celtic will have many more big victories that inspire their own musical memories.

If you want to learn more about Celtic history, follow Hail Hail History on Twitter/X. You can also take part in a FREE Celtic history walking tour. Visit celticwalkingtours.wordpress.com for more information.

Click on cover to order a hardback copy

Matthew’s debut Celtic book titled ‘The Bould Bhoys – Glory to their name’ was published by Celtic Star Books last year and is available to order HERE. This brilliant book is also available on Amazon Kindle for just £3.49 and includes all photo sections that appear in the hardback edition.

Matthew Marr with his debut Celtic book, Glory to their name, which tells the story of Celtic’s first ever title win. Photo The Celtic Star

Celtic in the Thirties by Celtic Historian Matt Corr is published in two volumes by Celtic Star Books.