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Note: There has been more than one player with the same name to have played for Celtic. Please check other namesake(s) to ensure you have the correct player if need be.
Personal
Fullname: Joseph Cassidy
aka: Joe Cassidy
Born: 17 July 1872
Birthplace: Dalziel, Motherwell
Died: 7 August 1941
Place of Death: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Signed: 27 May 1893 (loan); 3 June 1893 (permanent)
Left: Mar 1895 (to Newton Heath [forerunner of Manchester Utd])
Debut: Celtic 5-0 Rangers, Charity Cup, 27 May 1893
Position: Centre, Inside-left, Foward
Internationals: n/a
Biog
Joe Cassidy was a strong and burly forward who played for Celtic for two seasons.
His debut came in the Charity Cup final of 1893 taking the place of James Davidson, and Celtic won 5-0. Boded well for the future.
He was a mainstay in season 1893-94 and 1894-95, and part of the team that won the Club’s second Championship flag in 1894 as well as a Glasgow Cup winners medal.
He scored a hat-trick v Leith Athletic in a league match (September 1893), and a double v Dumbarton in another league match around a year later (October 1894). He also scored one of the goals in the Glasgow Charity Cup final in May 1894 (2-1 win v Queen’s Park) which are great highlights in his time.
He was to lose his place to players like Divers and Sandy McMahon, but he could look back on his Celtic record with pride. 17 goals in 36 league & Scottish Cup games is an excellent record, and he helped Celtic to the club’s second league title.
He left Celtic in May 1895, moving onto Newton Heath, and then went on to play for Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Workington Town as a player-coach and retired in November 1906.
Post-Celtic
Joe Cassidy joined Newton Heath (the forerunner to Manchester Utd) in time for them to win their 1893 test match – or relegation play-off – against Small Heath. His emergency work done, he returned to Celtic until Newton Heath came calling again, two years after his initial two-month spell.
He stayed in Manchester for much longer this second time around, establishing himself as a powerful and prolific goalscorer in five years with Newton Heath from 1895. It seems that he is regarded by some a bit of a legend in Manchester. He is in the top ten of Manchester United’s top scorers just making it past the 100 mark in his last game for Newton Heath in 1900. He is a place even above the legendary Bobby Charlton.
In April 1900, Cassidy was sold to Manchester City for £250. The club directors admitted that he was the best forward they had ever had but because of Newton Heath’s serious financial problems he had to be sold. During his time at the club he scored 100 goals in 174 appearances.
Joe Cassidy also did well in his first season at his new club ending up as top scorer with 14 goals in 30 games. However, he was sold to Middlesbrough at the end of the season for £75 on the grounds he was not worth his £4 a week wages. The manager of Manchester City, Sam Ormerod, complained about this decision but it was now clear that the directors of the club had lost confidence in him and he was no longer making the key decisions.
Joe Cassidy became a strong favourite with the Middlesbrough fans and over the next five years scored 34 goals in 135 appearances. Joe Cassidy became player-coach at Workington in 1906.
In April 1916, the Manchester Football News reported that “Joe Cassidy, whose connections with Manchester football extended over such a long period, has had a mental breakdown”. It is not known whether this was connected to the First World War.
Willie Maley says he prospered in Motherwell after retirement, so thankfully it appears that he recovered.
Appears to have later moved to Illinois in the USA with his family.
He passed away in 1941.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1893-95 | 28 | 8 | n/a | n/a | 36 |
| Goals: | 13 | 4 | – | – | 17 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Pictures
Links
Notes
- Birth date in above – SF: Confirmed with Birth Cert (by @fitzpas)
