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Personal
Fullname: William King Lyon
aka: Willie Lyon, ‘Celtic’s Bayard’, William Lyon
Born: 7 March 1912
Died: 5 December 1962
Birthplace: Birkenhead
Signed: 20 April 1935
Left: 25 May 1940 (Scots Grays (army)); 1944 (retired)
Position: Defence, Centre-half
Debut: Aberdeen 1-3 Celtic, League, 10 Aug 1935
Internationals: Scotland / Scottish League
International Caps: 0 / 2
International Goals: 0 / 0
Biog
| ‘Celtic’s Bayard – Le chevlier sans peur et sans reproche’ (“The knight without fear and beyond reproach”) Willie Maley (Celtic Manager) on Willie Lyon |
The great Willie Lyon is widely regarded as one of the finest captains in the rich history of Celtic.
Celtic Career
Born in Birkenhead but raised in Scotland, Willie Lyon signed for Celtic in April 1935 from Queen’s Park after also enjoying a spell at Kirkintilloch Rob Roy.
He made his debut on 10th August 1935 that year as the Celts went down 3-1 at Aberdeen in a league tie. Tough start but he was to more than make up for it.
A strong and tough tackling centre-half Willie Lyon was an uncompromising defender who was commanding in the air and more than comfortable with the ball at his feet.
His tall, strong frame gave him a presence which reassured team-mates and intimidated opponents but he also had the brains to match the brawn and this intelligent player possessed a rare coolness under pressure.
He was a hard worker and it paid off as Jimmy McGrory reflected:
“He wasn’t so good in the air when he came to Parkhead but he practised every day and became one of the great centre-halves in the game.”
Willie Lyon was a natural for the role of captain and it was a duty in which he excelled, leading by example with whole-hearted performances which exposed a total unwillingness to accept defeat.
As a centre-half, he wasn’t a common goal scorer, but made a great name for himself in September 1938 as he scored twice in a 6-2 victory over Rangers at home in the league described in one match report as “an inspiration“.
The introduction of Jimmy McMenemy as the assistant manager at Celtic (and in practise the full team manager in place of the mostly absent Willie Maley), had been a major boost to Celtic. It helped to change the team management at Celtic for the better, assisting players like Willie Lyon.
Under Jimmy McMenemy as acting manager, Willie Lyon as team skipper took the club to league championship successes in 1936 and 1938 as well as a Scottish Cup triumph in 1937. It was the club’s first league titles for a decade, and was a brief golden period for the club.
He was also captain of the famous 1938 team which lifted the Empire Exhibition Trophy (receiving the trophy on the pitch at Ibrox). Things at this point looked on the up for Celtic.
Wartime era
However, what promised now to be a possible trophy-laden Hoops career was to come to an abrupt end due to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, but also due the ineptitude of the management at Celtic (both at team & board level). Willie Maley was moved out of his role as manager, but Jimmy McStay was brought in as manager and things fell apart at Celtic.
Although Willie Lyon was to play a number of games for the Bhoys in the regional wartime league and cup competitions, his football career was all but over and – like many of his contemporaries – at a time when he should have been at the peak of his career Willie Lyon had to swap the football field for the battlefield.
Still, his brother (Tom Lyon) came on loan for a brief time to Celtic as a wart-time guest signing, and the pair played together for the first team.
As a soldier in the Scots Guards Willie served with distinction in North Africa and Sicily but then suffered a serious leg wound during fighting in Normandy in 1944. It was a wound which was to prematurely end his football career at the age of 32.
He was awarded the Military Cross for his time in North Africa working with an anti-tank unit of the 51HD in Tunisia. It says everything about the qualities of Willie Lyon that he joined the army as a Private and left as a Major.
Post-Celtic
An inspirational and much loved figure Willie Lyon died in Manchester on 5th December 1962 at the age of just 50. His death was greeted with great sadness on the terraces of Celtic Park where flags flew at half-mast and the players wore black armbands for their game against Hearts a few days later.
Willie Maley called Willie Lyon “Celtic’s Bayard” (Le chevlier sans peur et sans reproche – “The knight without fear and beyond reproach”). Probably the grandest title ever bestowed on a footballer by his manager.
His life and Celtic career – 187 league & cup games with 17 goals – were all too short lived but Willie Lyon will long be remembered as a true Celtic hero.
Playing Career
| LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL | |
| APPEARANCES | 146 | 17 | – | – | 163 |
| GOALS | 16 | 1 | – | – | 17 |
| REGIONAL LEAGUE |
SCOTTISH WAR CUP |
REGIONAL LEAGUE CUP | |||
| APPEARANCES | 22 | 2 | – | – | 24 |
| GOALS | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Empire Exhibition Cup
Articles
