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Fullname: John Gallacher
aka: Jackie Gallacher
Born: 17 May 1924 [TBC, see notes below]
Died: 26 August 1995
Birthplace: Bellshill
Signed: 10 July 1943 (from Armadale Thistle)
Left: 31 Jan 1946 (to RAF); 27 Apr 1951 (free); Aug 1951 (Kettering Town)
Position: Centre Forward
Debut: Celtic 1-4 Dumbarton, Regional League 4 Sep 1943
Internationals: N/A
Biog
| “[Jackie Gallacher] played his heavy-footed, gangling centre-forward style in a team that promised much but rarely delivered.” Glaswegian author, actor & Celtic fan John Cairney on Jackie Gallacher |
Centre forward John ‘Jackie’ Gallacher was a major goalscorer for Celtic at a time which many see as a low ebb for the club (if not the lowest).
He was the son of Scotland great Hugh Gallacher, a goal scoring sensation who was even able to keep the legendary Jimmy McGrory often out of the Scotland first team.
Jackie Gallacher signed for Celtic in July 1943 from Armadale Thistle aged just 19, and made a scoring debut in a 4-1 home defeat to Dumbarton in the Regional League on September 9th. On his debut, the fans actually were demonstrating demanding Celtic sign a new centre. Despite the less than encouraging debut scoreline and fan action, Jackie Gallacher went on to form an effective frontline partnership with loanee Gerry McAloon and he hit a rich vein of goalscoring form.
A hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Albion Rovers in his next match which included a certain Jock Stein in the opposition side, soon put Jackie Gallacher in the black with the support.
By the time of the Regional League Cup in 1944 “all balls led to Gallacher“, and the hope of some renewed success led to 100,000 paying fans for six games (a huge figure during the war). He scored an incredible five goals in a trouncing of Partick Thistle in April 1944 in the Scottish Cup.
His best goal-scoring years were when he was a prodigious talent, from 1943-46, when he scored the bulk of his goals, aged just 19-23. It can be argued that Celtic’s recovery to second in the league after a collapse during the war years was in part due to the goal-scoring by Jackie Gallacher.
However, when Gerry McAloon was not there, then Jackie Gallacher was not the same player and was dropped which led him to ask for a transfer: “I am too unsettled at Parkhead“. In a career which saw him in and out of the first team he would be rejuvenated after developing a decent partnership with Tommy Kiernan.
He was at Celtic for a long period so inevitably he would decline in his productivity, and during season 1948/49 the signings of Leslie Johnstone and Jock Weir showed the writing on the wall for Jackie Gallagher, but neither came close to matching Jackie Gallacher’s goal conversion rate. He also had an operation to have cartilage in his knee taken out in the summer of 1949 which also will have contributed in part to his decline.
Must add that this was a difficult time for Celtic, and was probably Celtic’s worst period for results and performances. The fact that he played and stuck by the club for so long is worthy of respect. As it was wartime he was also enlisted with a wartime unit, so this lost him time with the club too. He was young too when he came to Celtic.
Some claimed that he was a Rangers supporter when younger but that is a moot point as he wouldn’t likely have been the only one even in that team or even in many Celtic teams since the club’s inception. However, it may actually just be a bit overdone, having been used as an excuse by some trying to find a reason for the First Team’s lack of success (not that he was solely at fault).
As noted in the Scottish periodical ‘Nutmeg’ issue 19, Jackie Gallacher’s family on his father’s side was Protestant, but his father Hugh Gallacher angered his Orange Order family by supporting Celtic. His father then further angered them by marrying a Catholic, Anne McIlvanney, but then left the young family when (we believe) Anne McIlvanney was still pregnant with Jackie Gallacher (as he was born in 1924 and they separated in 1923). So Jackie Gallacher was raised by his Catholic mother but reports are that he was also raised in his grandparents home too. Sadly, his father Hugh Gallacher was to die tragically in 1957, taking his own life on a railway line, RIP (further discussion on this is not for this site, and is left for other more appropriate forums than this one).
After the matches v Rangers in the ‘Victory Cup‘ any supposed allegiances he supposedly harboured would have likely have been washed away, as the Celts were subject to tackles ranging from robust in nature to borderline assault that evening. As a result of that treatment, it led to Jackie Gallacher being injured and then crocked once more before finally being removed from the field by stretcher. It was a year before he returned to first team action. He was only 22 but a heavy toll to take at such a young age.
If Jackie Gallacher was supposedly an issue for Celtic’s poor state during the war as some argue he was inconsistent then the statistics clearly argue differently. Didn’t help Jackie Gallacher’s case that Celtic had the legendary Jimmy McGrory throughout the 1930s, and so there were probably older Celts too spoilt by that quality, and comparisons weren’t entirely fair. Being the son of the great Hugh Gallacher, who was himself an exceptional player, meant that maybe expectations and benchmarks were a little unforgiving for Jackie Gallacher.
Possibly, Jimmy McGrory should have played a greater part to help develop the young Jackie Gallacher. Curiously, you could argue that Jackie Gallacher’s best years were actually under Jimmy McStay as manager and not Jimmy McGrory.
Due to the war, tensions were high and even slight points could be targeted but Jackie Gallacher didn’t really have any reason for anyone to complain about him compared to anyone else.
Maybe he wasn’t as naturally gifted a player as Jimmy McGrory or even his father but he still wonderfully achieved a great record and kept the Celtic team side afloat in a torrid time. He was undeniably a very good goalscorer at the least, and actually he was a great player despite any comments to the contrary. He shouldn’t be marked down just because of the state of the Celtic team at that time.
Glaswegian author, actor & Celtic fan John Cairney wrote on Jackie Gallacher that he:
“played his heavy-footed, gangling centre-forward style in a team that promised much but rarely delivered“.
Other forwards over the period tried and failed but Jackie Gallacher at least converted chances into goals as his record shows. For anyone who questions the quality of the opposition, then admittedly it was weakened due to the national geographical split of the domestic league and the impact of the war effort (during and post-war), but there were likely few if any others with a record to match that of Jackie Gallacher. So he can hold his head up high.
In later years, once other players arrived he was pushed back in the line for places but probably time and age had taken its toll too, and the loss of key colleagues too didn’t help either.
On his departure from Celtic, Jackie Gallacher handed trainer Alex Dowell a gold watch, so reflects his respect for the people at the club and it is clear that he gave his all (his record indicates so). With his scoring rate he likely could have gone to any club he wanted to but stayed with what was a club in rapid decline. He helped to keep Celtic going and that is important.
Apparently he was also a bit of a racing tipster, and it is said that he used to tell Charlie Tully: “This one can’t lose with me up on it“. If only that was the case with the Celtic team of the era too.
By the time Jackie Gallacher was released by Celtic in April 1951 he had scored a very noteworthy 94 competitive goals in 116 league, Scottish Cup & League Cup appearances, although he had not been played as often in his last few years at the club, as he was often away on loan. Goal scoring was in the blood and even in his final game for Celtic, he scored a goal but as with his debut it was the consolation goal in a defeat, a humiliating 5-1 loss to East Fife in the league this time.
It was a sad and unfortunate farewell to Celtic First Team action for Jackie Gallacher, additionally as he was at an age that should have seen him around the peak of his career at the top level and not ending it.
He left Celtic without any major silverware to show for all his efforts, which is a slight on the Celtic sides over that era. Jackie Gallacher deserved something in terms of major honours to show for his long time with the club, but he was leaving with the respect of the general supporters. The cruel irony for Jackie Gallacher is that Celtic finally managed to win a major honour at the end of the 1951 season, the Scottish Cup, but he had only played a single game that season at the start, and none for Celtic in the Scottish Cup.
It’s incredible that with such a scoring record that he is not referenced more often, but then again part of that is due to his achievements having occurred during one of the most fallow periods in Celtic’s history which many tend to skip over.
On the statistics alone, Jackie Gallacher has the right to be named as the greatest goalscorer for Celtic that most of the support has little heard of. Not all reports refer to him as having necessarily been a great player and that can be reflected in that he never managed to be a mainstay in the side. However, this was a time of austerity due to the war and there were a number of players who were inconsistent players in the First Team for various reasons, for example they did not play every match for work and other reasons related to national service call-ups.
In his last seasons, being away on loan to Dunfermline & Falkirk meant he played little part towards the end of his time at Celtic, but this may also be attributed to wear and tear over time from injuries. Some reports seem to indicate he was also having weight control problems. After a trial at Carlisle, he signed for Kettering Town in August 1951 and is believed to have then hung up his boots in 1953.
Regardless, Jackie Gallacher was a great converter of chances as the statistics show, possibly too undervalued at the time and maybe in retrospectives as well. His true value was probably understated due to the poor quality of the side throughout his time at Celtic. Eight years and no major silverware is a poor return for someone with his scoring record, and reflects badly on the first team and management from that time.
However, it is likely that his injuries and the operations are the key reasons alone for his decline as much as all else.
Celtic did win their first piece of post-war silverware (and Jackie Gallacher’s only honour in his time at Parkhead) in the form of the Glasgow Cup in 1948, but this is scant reward for his time at the club.
In any case, team management and selection was mishandled by the chairman meddling in team affairs and going above the manager’s head at every opportunity, so we’ll never truly know the true worth of Jackie Gallacher’s talent if he had the good fortune to have played in a more settled and better managed team. His value though in goals for Celtic’s then ailing side is indisputable.
He passed away in 1995.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | REGIONAL LEAGUE |
REGIONAL LEAGUE CUP |
TOTAL |
| 1943-51 | 22 | 1 | 10 | N/A | 68 | 15 | 116 |
| Goals: | 14 | 2 | 9 | – | 54 | 15 | 94 |
Anecdotes
1) When he picked up his gear from Celtic Park on 13 July 1951, he gave Celtic trainer Alex Dowell a gold watch inscribed with thanks. A wonderful gift but it was lost in crazy circumstances. In 1953, Celtic scored the second goal in the Coronation Cup final v Hibs (20 May 1953) with 2 mins to go, at which point Alex leapt up in the air, threw his arms up and the watch came flying off and into the crowd! It was never seen again.
(from A-Z of the Celts by McBride et al)
2) “It can be a rough old game, the fitba’. A typical supporters’ reaction may be that of an exasperated Celtic adherent at one match at Celtic Park when Jackie Gallacher played his heavy-footed, gangling style in a team that promised much but rarely delivered. Gallacher was capable of going through a whole defence on his own in scoring, as I saw him do one Saturday against Queens Park at Parkhead. He kicked off, took the return and dribbled his way through the whole QP team before scoring an amazing goal. However, on this particular day, he was not at his best. ‘Come oan, Gallacher, for God’s sake, ye’re playin’ for Celtic,’ yelled the disgruntled supporter.
‘Play for us? He disnae even support us!’ replied another voice wearily. Actually, the second man was quite right. Jackie supported Rangers – and still does.”
(from The Sevenpenny Gate: A Lifelong Love Affair with Celtic FC By John Cairney (2011))
Notes
- Family confirmed his date of passing 26 Aug 1985, see: https://twitter.com/KhalSir/status/1420046644565925892?s=20
- There is what seems to be a little bit of uncertainty as to his DOB, 1) 17 May, 1924. or 2) 24 June, 1924. Listers list states 7 March 1924. Ansestry.com states 24 June 1924. All TBC
- Note to check: Check in 1924 when after 100 years records should be released
- Here’s another twist. No mention of John “Jackie”. Catherine born 1922, died 1976. “Decree was granted on June 9 1922” suggests that they were already living apart at this time. Can’t wait to see Jackie Gallachers birth details! https://twitter.com/andyboyd1967/status/1421565458466082818?s=20
Articles
1) PROMINENT in the parade I saw Hughie Gallacher, and, following up, Mrs Gallacher. Hughie, believe, has just been initiated into the ranks of the Orangemen, and walked beside his father. Bellshill Speaker, 17 July 1936
Dundee Courier 24th April 1948.
Sunday Post reporting this in 29th October 1950.
Northampton Mercury 12th October 1951 reporting.
Kirkintilloch Herald 27th October 1948 reporting.
Dundee Courier 14th January 1950.
Sunday Post 14th August 1949.
Aberdeen Press and Journal 24th November 1950 reporting he was transferred to Falkirk. Now have him playing for Celtic, Falkirk, Dunfermline and Kettering.
This is the last report can find on Jackie re his fitba career. Northampton Mercury 16th November 1951.
The only match report which is against Motherwell. Sunday Post 3rd April 1949.
Out of all the reports, could find nothing about Jackie’s famous dad Hughie, although i seen this from the Bellshill Speaker 22nd June 1945.
Bellshill Speaker, 1/12/1950. Giving some support to the theory Jackie supported Rangers.
