The Jimmy Delaney story – One of Celtic’s most notable legends

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The Celtic Star

·10 febbraio 2026

The Jimmy Delaney story – One of Celtic’s most notable legends

80 years ago this week (8 February 1946), the Celtic career of one club legend came to an end…

Celtic Star Jimmy Delaney. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Jimmy Delaney was one of the most notable Celts of the 1930s and 1940s, with a reputation that persists even into the modern day. This is his story…

In September 1914 – just weeks after the beginning of World War One – Delaney was born into a family of Irish extraction, living in the Lanarkshire village of Cleland.

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Like so many people in this area, he started work as a miner, but his footballing skills would change the direction of his life. He initially played for local side Cleland St Mary’s but in 1933 had trials with Wishaw Juniors and Stoneyburn Juniors, before signing for the latter.

Whilst playing in the Midlothian Junior League, Delaney developed an impressive reputation, which led to a signing race between Celtic and Hibs. In September 1933, the Celts emerged victorious from this, persuading the 19-year-old that his future lay in Glasgow’s east end. It was claimed he was given a £20 signing-on fee, a considerable sum at the time.

Delaney trained with the Celts and played with the reserves in the Alliance League. Then, almost a year after signing, he was ready to make his first team debut. In August 1934, as the Bhoys hosted Hearts in a league game, the new Celt made a positive start as the two teams played out a 0-0 draw.

In fact, Jimmy’s opening experiences in a Celtic shirt were generally goalless. Including the Hearts game, the Celts went four matches without scoring, either drawing 0-0 or losing 1-0 in each match. A 1-1 draw with Rangers ended the scoring drought, but Jimmy was still to personally celebrate when wearing green-and-white.

This changed on 11 September 1934. Celtic had vied with Hibernian for Delaney’s signature and now the Easter Road men came west to Glasgow. They left after a chastening 4-0 defeat, and had particular reason to regret their failure to attract Jimmy to Edinburgh. He got his first goal for the Celts and was off and running.

If Jimmy was seeking inspiration for his time at Celtic Park, he got this the following month. Jimmy McMenemy returned to the club as a coach, and would later become assistant manager. McMenemy was a Celtic legend and scored in 18 consecutive seasons for the Celts, which remains a club record. This was the level to which Delaney aspired.

In his first footballing season at Celtic Park, Delaney proved to be a useful member of the team, including getting his first hat-trick (against Albion Rovers in a league match). However, it was not a successful one for the club and they failed to secure any silverware. This would not be the case the next year.

Unlike in the modern era where the Celts have dominated the Scottish League, this was not the case in the 1920s or 1930s. Celtic won the 1926 title then had a barren decade. But with Jimmy as part of the team, this all changed in the 1935-36 season.

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The Bhoys faced early frustration as they lost the Glasgow Cup Final to Rangers. This disappointment would be easily forgotten thanks to a much-improved run of form in the league.

By April 1936, the Celts sat atop the table and needed just one more win to become Champions. Ayr United came to Celtic Park and suffered a massive 6-0 loss, although Jimmy was not on this list. That mattered not as the Celts celebrated winning the league for the first time in ten years.

The season ended on a brilliant personal note for Delaney. His forward partner Jimmy McGrory had been in outstanding form, scoring seven hat-tricks over the year. Jimmy had not yet managed to get his second treble. But in Celtic’s last game, they met Rangers in the Charity Cup Final. A 4-2 win gave them the trophy, including three from Delaney.

One ditty from the time acknowledged Delaney’s important role in the Celtic team, as well as his productive partnership with McGrory, when stating:

And on the wing Delaney’s speed, Created goals from Jimmy’s heid; The Cleland boy, so fast and true, A loyal Celt, straight through and through.

This successful Celtic spell continued next season, and again Delaney was at the heart of it. The Bhoys failed to retain their league title, but did bring back two trophies to Celtic Park. One of these was the Charity Cup, although this time there were no goals for Jimmy who had managed a hat-trick in the previous year’s final.

The other match was an even more notable event. In April 1937, Celtic met Aberdeen at Hampden Park to decide the destination of that season’s Scottish Cup. Delaney and teammates would enjoy a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Johnny Crum and Willie Buchan.

Jimmy Delaney, Celtic Fc. Celtic in the Thirties. Photo The Celtic Wiki

The most notable aspect of the day was the crowd: 147,365 were present, which is a Scottish record for a domestic game. In this same year, a Scotland versus England match at the same venue set what remains a European attendance record of 149,415.

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Season 1937-38 was a significant one because the Celts were celebrating their 50th anniversary. It was not simply this milestone that gave fans of the green-and-white men reason to cheer. In April 1938, a 3-1 win for Celtic in Paisley – including one goal from Jimmy – meant the Bhoys were champions for the 19th time. When in May 1938 the Celts also beat Rangers to win the Charity Cup – again with a goal from Delaney – there were further Celtic cheers. But the season’s story and success was far from concluded.

Starting later that month, Celtic took part in the Empire Exhibition Cup, a tournament involving the top teams from England and Scotland. In the Celts’ opening game, they drew 0-0 with Sunderland, forcing a replay. However, Jimmy would not play in this second game after he was injured in the drawn match. It would keep him out for a spell.

George Paterson hurdles Jimmy Delaney in training, with support given by Chic Geatons and Jimmy McGrory Photo The Celtic Wiki

Celtic eventually won the replay 3-1, before meeting Hearts in the semi-final. Delaney was still unavailable, but the green team celebrated a fortunate 1-0 win over Hearts. By the time of the final – played on 10 June 1938 – Jimmy was again fit and ready to face English side Everton.

Playing at Ibrox, 82,000 crammed into the southside ground. Although there were chances at both ends, neither side could find the net, which forced extra-time. Early in this period, Johnny Crum got the match’s only goal and the Celts had a third success to mark the golden anniversary of the club.

At other times, Jimmy changed his look by pulling on the dark blue shirt of Scotland. He got 13 caps for his country and scored six times. The most famous of these was surely the winning goal against England in the 1946 Victory international at Hampden Park.

Celtic Star Jimmy Delaney. Photo The Celtic Wiki

In April 1939, Jimmy married an Irish woman called Annie McCormick. Whilst his family and footballing life seemed to augur a bright future, in fact the opposite proved to be the case.

1939 brought major problems for Delaney and tragedy for the whole world. In April, Jimmy was badly injured when playing Arbroath, suffering a broken arm. So serious were the effects of this that the possibility of amputation was considered.

As awful as this was for Delaney, the rest of the world had their own problems. European arguments had boiled over into what became a seismic World War that would last until 1945. During this time – unlike the First World War – there was no national football competitions in Scotland. Instead, various regional tournaments were held.

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Although football was of limited importance during the conflict, it provided some distraction from those suffering the effects of war. Although perhaps this is not so much the case for those that followed Celtic, given the team’s poor showing in this era.

Following numerous operations and other treatment, Delaney eventually recovered from his broken arm. In fact, the injury had a wartime impact on him. With conscription existing in Britain, he could have been called up to fight, but his ailment stopped this happening.

Jimmy would not play football again until the latter half of 1941. By the time he did this, there had been a major change at Celtic. The club’s first manager Willie Maley – in post since 1897 – finally left the club, to be replaced by former Celtic player, Jimmy McStay. Leaving aside the problems of war, McStay had an unsuccessful spell in his five years in charge.

During Delaney’s remaining time as a Celt, there would only be two more pieces of silverware won and displayed at Celtic Park. In May 1943, Celtic and Jimmy beat Third Lanark 3-0. Delaney got goals in the quarter-finals and semi-final but not the final itself.

Jimmy Delaney in action. Photo The Celtic Wiki

In May 1945, the war in Europe finally came to an end following the surrender of Germany. To celebrate, a special Victory in Europe Cup Final was held at Hampden, and the Celts lined up against Queen’s Park for the trophy. The match ended 1-1 but Celtic claimed victory having had more corner kicks.

However, Jimmy was not part of this. He was in the midst of arguments with Celtic. He had been rejected in his request for a benefit game, and then asked for a transfer. To punish him, it is believed that the club’s directors instructed Celtic manager McStay to drop Delaney. It was the beginning of the end of his relationship with the club.

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As much as Jimmy was a hero to those that followed Celtic, 8 February 1946 saw the conclusion of this relationship. Delaney made the move south to Lancashire to play for Manchester United. He proved to be just as popular in red as in green-and-white.

Delaney was recruited by Matt Busby and eventually spent four years at Old Trafford. The high point of his time undoubtedly came in the 1948 FA Cup Final, although on that day his team wore their blue change shirts.

Almost 100,000 fans crammed into Wembley to watch as United claimed a 4-2 victory over Blackpool. 11 years to the day after he won the 1937 Scottish Cup win, Jimmy now had his second national cup medal. Although he was a popular figure in Manchester, by late-1950, Delaney was again on the move, returning north to Scotland where he would play for two teams. Firstly, he went to Aberdeen and helped the Dons with an early season title challenge that eventually fell away.

By the end of season 1950-51 – when Celtic won the Scottish Cup – Delaney was unhappy in the north of Scotland. There are accounts of him not returning to Aberdeen after games, often staying with his family in Cleland. It was even said that he was training with Celtic.

Jimmy Delaney, Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr, out now on Celtic Star Books. Image Celtic Curio

Although he started season 1951-52 in Aberdeen’s red by December he had made the switch to the dark blue of Falkirk. The transfer fee was reported as being £4000 – the same figure as Manchester United had paid to Celtic in 1946.

The Brockville men played in Scotland’s second tier, and the presence of Jimmy helped inspire them to gain promotion to the top division. They did this as runners-up in their league although did blow the chance to finish as title winners.

The next season, a last day victory – including two Delaney goals – helped Falkirk retain their place in the top flight. This season also witnessed a famous Celtic moment, involving Delaney, who was now captain of the Bairns.

In March 1953, Celtic were drawn to play at Brockville in the Scottish Cup. By half-time, Delaney’s men were leading two-nil, and the Celts looked to be exiting the tournament. Charlie Tully then scored direct from a corner – but was ordered to retake it. Then he scored again! This inspired a Celtic comeback which gave them a 3-2 victory.

Jimmy Delaney . Image The Celtic Wiki

By 1954, age was beginning to catch up with Jimmy. He played less often and received critical comments in the newspapers following some of his performances. As such, he sought a new opportunity which took him across the Irish Sea. It was an interesting time that saw him accomplish a unique success story.

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His first destination was Derry City, although he actually lived in Waterfoot in County Antrim. The signing of a ‘big name’ such as Delaney caused significant excitement in Derry but came at a significant financial cost for the Irish side.

It was clear that Delaney’s experience would make this a worthwhile investment. In his debut game, Derry City won 6-1 with the Scotsman scoring a hat-trick. His team then reached the Irish Cup Final and claimed a 1-0 victory over Belfast Glentoran.

When the full-time whistle sounded, Delaney and his team celebrated. This makes him the only man to win the Scottish Cup, FA Cup and also Irish Cup, an achievement unlikely to be matched any time soon. This season also marked another personal success for Delaney as he was crowned Ulster Footballer of the Year for the 1953-54 season.

By 1955, Delaney was 41 and struggling to continue to play football at an appropriate level. However, he had time for another Irish experience, travelling south to the ‘rebel county’ of Cork. He signed for Cork Athletic, acting as player and manager.

Jimmy Delaney, Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr, out now on Celtic Star Books. Image The Celtic Wiki

Whilst at Brandywell, Delaney came close to another piece of footballing history. So far, he had won national cup medals in three countries: Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. Now he had the chance of a fourth.

In April 1956, he took his Cork team to Dalymount Park in Dublin to play in the final of the Football Association of Ireland Cup. Their opponents were the green-and-white hooped Shamrock Rovers. Sadly, there was to be no happy ending for Delaney whose team lost.

The next year, Delaney agreed to stay in Cork, but was soon on the move back to Scotland for the final leg of his footballing journey. This time, he again headed north where he was to play for Elgin City.

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His experience helped the club to third place in the Highland League. But the ravages of age and travel caused Jimmy problems. Despite playing for Elgin, he continued to live in Cleland in Lanarkshire. He made the long journey as needed for games but could not sustain this.

Adam McLean with Jimmy McGrory, Jimmy Delaney and Bobby Murdoch. Photo The Celtic Wiki

After his 1957 retirement, Delaney ceased to have any formal role in football, although he remained an avid fan, including watching Celtic games or cheering on his son Pat, who played for Motherwell and Dunfermline. Delaney senior worked for some of his life as a labourer.

Jimmy lived out his remaining years in private, spending time with family before dying from cancer in September 1989, aged 75. His funeral was very much a Celtic affair with numerous important Celts, past or present, attending, including manager Billy McNeill.

Jimmy Delaney with his medals. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Long after he stopped playing for Celtic, Delaney retained numerous Celtic links. As well as watching the club, he was an honorary member of a supporters’ club. But he did not live to see the link that would perhaps have most pleased him. His grandson – John Kennedy – later played for the Celts and became assistant manager.

That the name ‘Jimmy Delaney’ remains a recognised and important part of the Celtic story even decades after he left Parkhead shows the impact he had. The Celtic author David Potter wrote a biography of Delaney titled simply ‘The stuff of legend’. There is nothing more to add to this fitting description of a great Celt.

Jimmy Delaney with his medals. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Matthew Marr

To find out the full story of Celtic’s first League title, you can buy Matthew Marr’s debut book, ‘The Bould Bhoys! Glory to their name’. It’s available now over on Celtic Star Books.

Click on image to order

Follow Matthew on Twitter @hailhailhistory