Martin, Allan

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Fullname: Allan Martin
Born: 2 February 1872
Died: 12 May 1906 (Springburn)
Birthplace: Eastwood, Renfrewshire
Signed: 4 June 1895 (from Hibernian)
Left: 11 May 1896 (to Hibernian)
Position: Forward
Debut: Dundee 1-2 Celtic, League, 10 Aug 1895
Internationals: Scotland / Scottish League
International Caps: 0 / 1
International Goals: 0 / 3

Biog

Prolific forward Allan Martin boasts a goal a game scoring record in his solitary season with Celtic.

By trade he was a furnace-man in an iron works who refused to go full-time, and instead put in some horrendous double shifts in order to be free for football. Previously he’d briefly been on Rangers books, but it is with Hibernian & Celtic for which he is best remembered.

When a Rangers player, he only played 2 matches in 1892/93 at centre forward (no goals), and so made little mark with them. Rangers drew one game and won one game with Allan Martin in the side, but Celtic still went on to win the league that season pipping Rangers by just one point to take the title.

Just prior to his signing for Celtic, he had helped Hibernian to take the second tier title and so gain promotion, incredibly taking the place in the top tier by displacing neighbours Leith Athletic. He’d actually spent a brief spell at Leith Athletic there on loan prior to his time at Hibernian.

He was said to be much in demand such that Celtic’s capture of him was quite a coup. He’d scored around 27 goals in 32 league games for Hibs demonstrating his goal scoring prowess.

Signed from Hibernian in June 1895, Allan Martin made his competitive first team Celtic debut in a 2-1 league win at Dundee on 10th August 1895 and he set the tone for the season ahead by grabbing a goal.

With Celtic he grabbed his glory, and Allan Martin was in the Celtic team that clinched the league in 1895/96 with a 6-2 home triumph over the Ibrox side. To the chagrin of the Rangers side it was Allan Martin who scored the second goal that gave Celtic a lead at half-time of 2-1 reported as:

“Martin headed through a beauty for them” (Dundee Courier).

He was to score an incredible 18 goals in 18 league & Scottish Cup games as Celtic claimed the League title and the Glasgow Charity Cup. In the league, Celtic scored an incredible 64 goals in those 18 games, and Martin was clearly a key part of this. This was in the days when formations were attack minded, 1-1-8 or 2-2-6 were the general ideal.

He was the top scorer in the top tier Scottish League Division One in 1895/96, which included once scoring five goals in a 7-0 victory over Third Lanark. This was just after he had scored a hat-trick in the semi-final of the Glasgow Cup a week before. Incredibly he didn’t score in the 11-0 victory over Dundee, still to time of writing the highest scoring win for Celtic.

The only real blip that season was a poor 4-2 defeat in the first round of the Scottish Cup to Queen’s Park, ironically having hammered the same side 6-3 only two months earlier.

However, despite all the success and acclaim that went with it, he decided to return to Hibernian in the summer of 1896. This proves that the traffic of players lost between the two clubs was never all one way, and the loss of Allan Martin was likely a very sore one, as proven by that Celtic scored 20 less goals in the league the next season as they lost the title.

A major issue was that he kept his job as a furnace man in an iron works & had to work double shifts before getting the rest of the day off to play for Celtic! He fainted due to exhaustion after a game & that was when he was sold back to Hibs.

On his return to Hibs, his new club were to come second in the chase for the league title in 1896/97 (even coming ahead of Celtic but behind title winners Hearts), and then Hibs finished third during the 1897/98 season (behind eventual title winners Celtic).

Gradually, however, he lost his bite, and during the 1898/99 season he was only a reserve with Easter Road, whom he then left (although still had a very good scoring rate). If he’d stuck with Celtic then maybe he’d have been holding two league winners’ medals, but we can only theorise now.

As a mark of recognition of his ability, Allan Martin won a place in the Scottish League team of 1896 v the Irish League, scoring all 3 goals in a 3-2 win. A remarkable performance, yet he was incredibly still never nominated for the Scottish national team despite his achievements, but then again maybe it further proves to the cynics when it comes to the national side on Celtic & Hibs.

Sadly, he died prematurely at just 34 years of age in 1906, after a long illness suffering from “acute tuberculosis, meningitis tuberculosis, pleurisy“.

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Scottish League

• 1895-96

Pictures

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