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Personal
Fullname: Francis J Collins
aka: Frank Collins
Born: 10 May 1893
Died: […]
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Signed: 2 May 1921
Left: 1922 (to St Jacob’s FC)
Position: Goalkeeper
Debut: Celtic 4-0 Dumbarton, League, 6 Sep 1921
International: Ireland (IFA) / Free State of Ireland (FAI)
International Caps: 1 (IFA Cap v Scotland, March 1922) / 2 (v USA & Italy B)
Biog
Goalkeeper Frank Collins was signed from Dublin side St Jacob’s as cover for the great Charlie Shaw in May 1921. He was labelled as “clean, sturdy, clever“.
He was spotted a couple of months earlier while playing for Ireland against Scotland in a Junior international at Celtic Park. Frank Collins played well and the Irish won 1-0.
He made his debut in a home league encounter against Dumbarton and kept a clean sheet as the Celts won 4-0 on 6th September 1921.
He made just one more first team appearance, two months after his debut in a 3-1 win over Queen’s Park in the league. Queen’s Park were reported by The Scotsman newspaper to have been unlucky not to have taken something from the game, but Frank Collins cleared some great shots from their players.
He returned to St Jacob’s in 1922. In truth, he was up against tough opposition. Charlie Shaw was a Celtic great and so displacing him was no easy task for anyone.
Frank Collins was capped for Ireland whilst a Celtic reserve, and played for Ireland v Scotland at Parkhead (4th March 1922), but this time Scotland won 2-1.
Notably when Collins began his international career, Ireland was still represented by a single team, selected by the Belfast-based Irish Football Association. However, during the 1920s, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State. Amid these political upheavals, a rival association, the Football Association of Ireland, emerged in Dublin and from 1924 organised their own national team. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Collins played for both teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI.
He was capped twice for the Ireland FAI side, and then the latter caps for the FAI being in April 1927 when he was capped by the Irish Free State v Italy in a 2-1 defeat.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (shut-outs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1921-22 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 2 |
| Shut-outs: | 1 | – | – | – | 1 (50%) |