Hay, James – The Celtic Wiki

The General

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Fullname: James Hay
aka: Jimmy Hay, The General, Jimmy ‘Dun’ Hay, Dun Hay
Born: 9 February 1881
Died: 4 April 1940
Birthplace: Woodside, Coylton, Ayrshire, Scotland
Signed: 3 May 1900 (trial); 19 Mar 1903 (full)
Left:27 July 1911 (to Newcastle Utd)
Position: Defender, Half-back, left-half
Debut: Celtic 2-1 Partick Thistle, League, 15 Aug 1903
Internationals: Scotland / Scottish League XI
International Caps: 11 (3 as captain) / 6
International Goals: 0 / 0

Biog

The magnificent James ‘Jimmy’ Hay is among the finest players to ever pull on the Hoops, and a key player in the club’s history.

Jimmy Hay signed for the Bhoys for a fee of £50 from English side Glossop in March 1903 and made his senior competitive debut for Celtic in a 2-1 home league victory over Partick Thistle on 15th August 1903 that year. It was the first game of the season, and it was to be the start of a golden era for Celtic with the first team heading all the way to wining the Scottish Cup that season defeating Rangers 3-2 in the final. That final is best remembered for the hat-trick by Quinn, but Jimmy Hay was also key in providing the assists that pushed Celtic to the title.

In his time, the Ayrshire born left half was to combine immense strength with subtle skill as a stalwart of Willie Maley’s legendary side. His play was characterised by a vigorous energy and his driving runs and rapid passes would quickly convert defence into attack. Strong in the tackle and comfortable on the ball, Hay was among the most accomplished and respected players of his generation.

“Touch combined with strength… neat stride, ground passes, lion-hearted defence… vigorous tackler… shoulder-work full of punch”
Third Lanark & Scotland playing great and future Dundee Utd player & manager Jimmy Brownlie on Jimmy Hay

He was also said to be of “tireless trot… gluttonous in his anxiety to get the ball… subtle skill in every move“.

Within the first team, he was part of a formidable unit of Jimmy Young, Jimmy Hay & Willie Loney which underpinned the spine of the first team at Celtic. That defensive unit of Hay, Loney and Young was so lauded that they were nicknamed “Burglar proof, rain proof and wind proof“. A solid division that supported the side which dominated the league and Scottish Cup throughout his time at Celtic.

With the quality of players in the first team such as Hay, the first team went on to win an incredible six consecutive league championships in a row between 1905 and 1910, a then record tally and he was a near ever present in the side throughout the time. This included a back-to-back double of league & Scottish Cup in 1906-07 & 1907-08.

Celtic were to be seen by many as possibly the best side in the world in this era, the club’s dominance was so great.

As a measure of Hay’s importance in the side, his playing abilities were combined with obvious leadership qualities which saw him skipper Celtic between 1906 and 1911, making him a lynchpin in the side.

Jimmy Hay didn’t score many goals, but did chip in with a few each season. For some reason, he seemed to enjoy scoring v Port Glasgow Athletic. His first was against them in the league in Dec 1903, and he once scored a rare double (for him) against Port Glasgow Athletic in the Scottish Cup in Feb 1909. He also scored once v Rangers to help Celtic in the Scottish Cup 3rd round in a 3-0 victory in Mar 1907.

In 1910 he was also made captain of Scotland and led the team out at Goodison in 1911 for the clash with England. He was capped 11 times for his countries, 3 times as captain. Incredibly, Scotland lost only one of those matches with 7 victories including two victories over England. He was also capped six times for the Scottish League XI.

His final game was a 0-0 draw with Aberdeen in the league in Apr 1911, in what was a disappointing season with Celtic finishing fifth way behind by 11pts to Rangers who won the league with Aberdeen 4pts behind them. The golden era was now over, and changes were to come.

Sadly, Jimmy Hay would leave Celtic Park in July 1911 under a cloud. After a benefit game when the Celtic board refused to meet his demands for an improved contract. It was a sad note to end such a great career with Celtic, and in retrospect it should have been better handled.

He would leave to move to Newcastle United, having made 255 league & Scottish Cup appearances for Celtic with 17 goals.

It was believed that later on he would have possibly have liked a welcome back to Parkhead in 1915 but he lent his services to Ayr Utd, and then did his bit down the mines before conscription with the Royal Field Artillery as a gunner. After the war he had a brief spell playing for Clydebank.

He later had a spell in management at Clydebank (1921) and then returned home to manage Ayr United (June 1924-January 1926). It wasn’t easy, as Ayr were relegated from the First Division in his first season as manager.

He was to leave Ayr United in January 1926 after accusing Ayr United director Tom Steen of trying to bribe a referee. Hay was to be banned indefinitely by the Scottish Football Association after he refused to apologise. SFA President Tom White (& of Celtic) and vice-chair President Campbell then refused to work with Steen after re-election (2 Jun 1926) but relented (to applause) three weeks later, but Tom Steen was to be voted off the treasurership on 4 May 1927. Jimmy Hay was reinstated 6 months later but dropped out of the game.

He was to later have a career as an insurance agent, retiring fully from football after the whole debacle with the SFA.

He passed away in April 1940, and is buried in Ayr churchyard.

In his 8 years in Paradise, Jimmy Hay showed time and time again that he was a great player, a great leader and a great Celt. He is one of those Celts who helped to build the great reputation of the club on the field of play.

Quotes

“Touch combined with strength… neat stride, ground passes, lion-hearted defence… vigorous tackler… shoulder-work full of punch.”
Jimmy Brownlie (Third Lanark & Scotland playing great and future Dundee Utd player & manager) on Jimmy Hay