Madden, Johnny

M | Player Pics | A-Z of Players

Personal

Fullname: John William Madden
aka: Jake Madden, Johnny Madden, The Rooter, John Madden
Born: 11 June 1865
Died: 17 April 1948, Prague
Born: Dumbarton, Scotland
Signed: May 1888 (from Grimsby Town); & Aug 1889 (from Dumbarton)
Left: 1888 (to Dumbarton); 1897 (retired, then returned to play for Dundee)
Position: Centre-forward
Debut: Celtic 5-2 Rangers, Inauguration match, 28 May 1888
Internationals: Scotland / Scottish League
International Caps: 2 caps / 4
International Goals: 5 goals, all v Wales / 2

Biog

Madden, Johnny - Pic

The great John Madden was the first man to ever lead a Celtic forward line. Prior to Celtic, he used to be a riveter in the Glasgow shipyards, and despite leaving the heavy work there he still brought over the hard work ethic instilled in him from his former employment.

An accomplished player, the Dumbarton centre-forward was keenly pursued by Celtic officials who were eager to have this fine attacker in their line up. Madden was convinced to turn out for the Bhoys in their inaugural match – a 5-2 home defeat of Rangers – but then returned to Dumbarton.

The pull of the ambitious new club proved too much though and Madden re-joined the Celts again in August 1889. An entertaining player to watch Madden was skilful and strong and possessed a powerful shot. He was one of the bright elusive entertainers of his day (like say Jinky was in the 1960s). He loved to trick opponents with dummies and clever flicks.

As for the nickname? According to Jerry Reynolds, Madden had such a ferocious shot that whenever he hit the post it threatened to uproot it, hence the nickname of “The Rooter“.

He was also a hard worker and this priceless combination of attributes made him a sought after player among the professional clubs in England. So much so that to ensure he remained north of the border he was among the highest earning players at the supposedly amateur Celtic (which was actually the case for practically all the clubs back then too).

A notable anecdote is that after one league game against Hearts, he went on trial to Sheffield but then bumped into John Glass & Willie Maley by chance who persuaded him to go on tour with Celtic in England and he came back ten bob a week better than before. The amateur status was bogus and hypocritical (a way for establishment figures to keep their power), and Celtic merely dismissed it as it was immoral to stop people earning a good day’s pay from their efforts whilst others were gaining from them. It was well known that he’d taken the shilling, and cynics used to holler “that’s a £2 shot” or the like at him on the pitch.

Madden won championship medals in 1892 and 1893 with Celtic and he scored a total of 49 goals in 118 Scottish league and Scottish Cup appearances. He was a grafter and a hard worker despite his tag as an entertainer on the pitch, usually the two don’t come together.

A fine servant to the Bhoys he eventually joined Dundee for a short stint in 1897 after a brief retirement. Madden later went on to play for Tottenham Hotspur in Dec 1897 until he retired from the game in 1898.

He was awarded a benefit match in 1897, in which Celtic lost 5-1 to Rangers, Link: Johnny Madden Benefit Match: Celtic 1-5 Rangers, Friendly, 7 Sep 1897.

He later took up as coach at Slavia Prague (in what is now the Czech Republic) which revolutionised the game there, and is seen as the father of Czech football.

Played for Scotland twice and scored five goals, four of them in one game v Wales.His other cap was also v Wales and he scored in that as well. He must have one of the best goal scoring records of any player ever in the international field. He also scored two goals for Scottish League select sides v English and Irish League select sides.

For anyone querying why he went to Slavia Prague, well he replied on his time there:

“I learned to swear – anyway it beats boiler making in the ship yard.” (Johnny Madden was a boiler maker by trade)

Playing Career

APPEARANCES
 LEAGUE SCOTTISH CUP LEAGUE CUP EUROPE TOTAL
1888-1897 92 26 n/a n/a 118
Goals 38 11 – – 49

Honours with Celtic

Scottish League

Scottish Cup

  • 1892 (but he missed the final)

The Father of Czech Football[Untitled]

One of the most interesting, yet hardly known stories from Celtic’s history, is that Johnny Madden is a legend in what is now the Czech Republic. He is regarded by some as “the Father of Czech football“.

He went on Celtic’s tour of Austria & Hungary which likely gave him his first taste of life in Eastern Europe, with Celtic playing and defeating Sparta Prague 4-1.

After spells in England, he ended up in Czechoslovakia taking up the Slavia Prague manager’s post on 15th February 1905. His reign is seen as the great era for Slavia Prague having begun when he took over.

He brought over new tactics and views on football from Scotland which helped to cement their progress. He was one of the first Scottish players to work as a coach on the European continent, and was said to be a disciplinarian who stopped players smoking and drinking before and after matches, while pushing them to train with gymnastic and athletic exercises. Some things that obviously would not have gone down well with many Celtic or Scottish players from over the years.

He managed to set up an early golden age for the club for a long 25 years.

Johnny Madden was the first real Slavia Prague manager, as before him there was only team captains who had something like manager’s rights. It was a major development for the game there.

He won a local cup four times between 1908 and 1912, and more importantly he won the Czechoslovakian league title in 1925, 1929 and 1930. ‘Jake’ in his 25 years with Slavia is estimated to have managed his side to win 134 out of 169 domestic matches, but also in international club matches (e.g. Mitropa Cup, friendlies etc) they won an estimated 304 out 429 matches.

Celtic hadn’t forgotten him and a Celtic team which toured the newly formed Czechoslovakia in 1922 played Johnny Madden’s Slavia Prague side and lost 3-2 (May 25th 1922). The match is said to have been quite brutal (a kicking match) which Slavia Prague won out 3-2. See Match Page Link.

In 1930 he coached the Slavia Prague team in the Coupe Des Nations which was a counterweight tournament held in Switzerland to the World Cup in Uruguay, and got them to the final where alas they lost. The tournament in retrospect can be seen as a early predecessor of the European Cup as it only involved club sides (no UK sides were involved).

In June 1930, Johnny Madden retired from Slavia Prague and professional football at the age of 66, though he remained in Prague for the rest of his life. Amazingly, he was still coaching teams from his wheelchair at 73.

Possibly the greatest legacy of all his work came four years after he retired. The Czechoslovakian national football team were to be runners up in the World Cup in Italy in 1934, the final game against Italy was played with eight players from or connected to Slavia Prague.

It was said that he feared to return to Scotland as he may then lose his pension, so he had to spend the years in the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia (i.e. under German occupation) until its “liberation” by the Red Army in 1945.

Spending so long in the country with little outside sources, his English is said to have declined with age & time away from Scotland & England.

He remains a hero in Prague, where he stayed till his final days having married a local lady, Francesca Chekhov.

He passed away in Apr 1948 in Prague.

On the anniversary of his death the ‘Friends of Slavia‘ put flowers on his grave on behalf of Slavia Football Club as a mark of respect and remembrance.

Slavia’s subsequent history was blighted by the tendency of the Communist state to use clubs as political pawns, by name changes and stadium switches. Often the priority has been to preserve their identity, but Johnny Madden’s name and legacy lives on.

Slavia Prague: Johnny Madden is the gentlemen standing on the far left in this picture.
Johnny Madden, Legend/Coach of Slavia Prague

Slavia 1906, Madden coach with mad hat.
Madden, Johnny - Pic

Madden on left
Madden, Johnny - Pic

Pictures

Links

External Links