Mallan, Jimmy

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Personal

Fullname: John Mallan
aka: James Mallan, Jimmy Mallan
Born: 25 January 1927
Died: 27 May 1969
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 1 September 1942
Left: 28 April 1953 (free), 9 Oct 1953 (St Mirren)
Position: Defence/Centre-half
Debut: Celtic 3-0 Hearts, Regional League, 7 Nov 1942
Internationals: Scottish League XI

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Biog

“Nobody at Celtic Park deserved a medal more.”
Tom Campbell (1970 in his book “Glasgow Celtic 1945-70”)

Signed from junior outfit Pollok Jimmy Mallan was a true “jersey player” who loved nothing more than pulling on the Hoops of his beloved Celts. It was said that Celtic had unearthed a rate centre-half but it was a rare time that he had joined in and not good for any aspiring footballer. He was an amateur boxer so maybe those fighting skills could help the first team, and it was reflected in his fiery character, a likely asset during the war years.

The robust defender made his debut for the Bhoys just a few months after signing when he played in a 3-0 Regional League victory over Hearts at Parkhead on 7th November 1942. A whole hearted and energetic performer Jimmy Mallan was most often used as a full-back but was also called upon to stand in at centre-half on numerous occasions.

The war years and for a number of years thereafter were probably Celtic’s darkest time for performances and results, and the club were uncomfortably close to relegation at one point. Jimmy Mallan played in that important match in 1948, when Celtic triumphed 3-2 over Dundee to remove the possibility of demotion, but relief more than anything else.

The first team was poorly managed and coached throughout much of his time at the club. He was a regular starter up until season 1949-50, and for a spell in season 1950-51, and played his part to keep the first team going. The board meddled and stymied the coaching of the first team.

One of his most notable games was in the Victory Cup semi-final of 1946. This game sadly saw some major injustice and bias against Celtic and captain George Paterson. At one point, whilst Paterson was protesting with the referee, Jimmy Mallan – an infinitely more fiery figure than his skipper – furiously scrubbed out the penalty spot with his boots. When the referee eventually went to place the ball for the kick, Jimmy Mallan innocently declared: “There’s no penalty spot ref!” and then booted the ball down the pitch. So he was ordered off. Rangers would finally net the penalty and play out the next 15 minutes against the depleted Celtic side.

At the next meeting of the SFA’s referee committee George Paterson and Jimmy Mallan would each receive a 3 month ban. Jimmy Mallan had some history as a hot-head but the punishment was excessive and didn’t get to the root of the problem, but Rangers had their hands on the levers of power.

For the remainder of his career he was playing under the shadow of the threat of a long suspension, and was then seldom in trouble with the referees, possibly never again received a caution.

It was never easy for Celtic in what was a barren spell for the club, but Jimmy Mallan’s spirit and no little ability helped Celtic lift the St Mungo Cup in 1951. His only notable silverware at Celtic, as he didn’t play in the matches to the run to the Scottish Cup final victory in 1951. His run as a first team pick ended only a few games before the cup run began, so he only just missed out on being part of a Celtic side to win major silverware.

An ankle injury soon after the Mungo Cup victory (an ankle break v Morton in September 1951) meant the beginning of the end for Jimmy Mallan at Parkhead, playing only in brief spells thereafter. However, this injury may have been unfortunate for Jimmy Mallan but ironically fortuitous for Celtic, as along with an injury to Alec Boden, it allowed Jock Stein a chance in the first team and the rest as we say is history.

He was eventually released by the club in April 1953 having only played twice for the first team that season. Sad for him as Celtic went on to win the league & cup double the season following, and after all the time in the doldrums with Celtic he could have been part of something special which he deserved. He also just missed out on the Coronation Cup which was lifted by Celtic only a month after his departure. It would have been good if he had been there too as part of the squad, however he had long been out of the first team picture as a regular.

Jimmy Mallan stuck by the club through the most barren time in the club’s history. We need to respect that and understand the circumstances. As a measure of the difficulty of the environment, he likely has the longest spell anyone has spent as a first team player at Celtic without winning one of the major senior trophies. So the successes earned over the year after his departure are a cruel bit of irony in reflections on his time at Celtic.

He was rewarded with a cap for the Scottish League XI v the English League XI at Ibrox on 23 Mar 1949 in front of 90,000 supporters (a 3-0 defeat), but disappointingly wasn’t selected for the Scotland team who beat England 3-1 at Wembley only a month later.

At Celtic his proud medal haul for the first team included: a Scottish League XI badge v England, a St Mungo Cup medal, a Glasgow Cup medal, and a Victory in Europe Cup medal, all under-representative of his true value to Celtic over all those years of service at the club.

However, one note of major criticism must be added. The board do deserve flak for their poor management during the post-war years, but one major forward thinking move they made was bringing in the legendary Jimmy Hogan as a coach. He was a legendary & seminal coach but there was resistance from senior players at Celtic who were not impressed with his coaching credentials or the sight of a white-haired old man showing them where they had (clearly) been going wrong – these after all were the players who almost relegated Celtic. In that respect, players like Jimmy Mallan wasted a golden opportunity to help turn things around, and unintentionally didn’t help to rectify the problems.

Centre-forward Frank Walsh later confirmed this in the excellent Eugene McBride book Talking With Celtic:

“You know, John McPhail, Pat McAuley, Jimmy Mallan, they wouldn’t listen to him.”

He went on to spend three seasons at St Mirren, where he helped the side to a league cup final – only to then score an unavoidable own goal. It was as if he was just destined to never win a major trophy medal.

After football he ran a pub in Paisley. His son went on to be a well respected right back in junior football and then with Morton.

Sadly, Jimmy Mallan passed away prematurely at just 42 in 1969. He was a fine faithful Celt who had remained at Celtic through a tumultous era and beyond.

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Quotes

“Nobody at Celtic Park deserved a medal more.”
Tom Campbell (1970 in his book “Glasgow Celtic 1945-70”)

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Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

St Mungo Cup

• Winners 1951

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Quotes

Jimmy Mallan misses a penalty (saved by future Celtic player Ronnie Simpson) in match v Queen’s Park:
Pat McAuley: “That’s the last **** penalty you take for Celtic!”
48mins, Celtic awarded another penalty, and captain Pat McAuley sends it wide!
Jimmy Mallan: “That’s the last **** penalty you take for Celtic!”

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Pictures

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Obituary

above says died at 44, but we believe he was actually only 42.

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