McArthur, Dan – The Celtic Wiki

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Fullname: Daniel McArthur
aka: Dan McArthur
Born: 9 August 1867
Died: 11 November 1943
Birthplace: Old Monkland
Signed: April 1892, 20 Aug 1902
Left: 1902 (free); 29 July 1903 (Clyde)
Position: Goalkeeper
Debut: Celtic 3-2 Abercorn, League, 10 Sep 1892
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 3
International Shut-outs: 1

Biog

“Hero of many a game for Celtic in the long-ago days.” (Glasgow) Evening Telegraph 1943

“Hero of many a game for Celtic in the long-ago days.”
(Glasgow) Evening Telegraph 1943

If you read through any list of Celtic historians’ thoughts on the club, one name that rates highly for goalkeeping is the name Dan McArthur. Despite that none of those behind the polls will have been alive to have seen him play, and with practically no real footage out there to judge him, it is quite a feat.

However, we have to bear in mind the brutality of the game in those early days, and just what goalkeepers had to endure. ‘Bundling‘ was a common tactic which really was just an excuse to assault keepers. Also, keepers weren’t just the last line of defence, they were the entire defence most often. Formations were along the lines of 1-1-8 before moving slowly over to 2-2-6 and 2-3-5 formations. Bearing all this in mind, it’s quite a feat for any keeper to have lasted so long, yet Dan McArthur gave Celtic loyal service for almost ten years. All that is worthy of our attention and respect, and that is why he is rated so highly.

Fearless and athletic, Dan McArthur was Celtic’s first great goalkeeping hero, and Willie Maley in a retrospective described him as:

“The first of our real star goalkeepers”.

Born in Old Monkland, Dan McArthur signed for the Bhoys in April 1892. The former Parkhead Juniors keeper made his debut in a home league clash with Abercorn on September 10th that same year in a game in which Celtic triumphed 3-2, although it wasn’t until season 1894/95 that he became a regular taking over from Cullen. He had played in only a handful of matches in the two league title winning seasons of 1892/3 & 1893/4.

Dan McArthur’s bravery as the custodian of the Celtic goal was the stuff of legend, and in an era when keepers were subject to near assault during every attack where he was regularly knocked unconscious. McArthur wore his many battle scars with pride but apart from his incredible courage he was also a skilled keeper with excellent reflexes and great judgement.

As one man put it: “If they’re going to kill McArthur they’ll have to shoot him” – Tom Hynds. Another once described him as “the unbeatable little demon“.

When Rab MacFarlane was brought in as cover for Dan McArthur, he had none of wee Dan McArthur’s suicidal tendencies, stating: “It’s better to lose a goal than a goalie”! Clearly depicts the “bravery” that Dan McArthur had in going for the ball.

By late 1902 his body had however taken enough punishment, and he retired from the game after 120 Celtic appearances and 3 Scotland caps. He had played a pivotal role on the field to build the foundations of the first side, and helped win Celtic a proud four league titles in the club’s first decade along with two Scottish Cups in the seasons following.

The briefest of comebacks with Queens Park followed – one game – but Dan McArthur’s career was all but over the day he left Celtic Park. He unsurprisingly retired with broken ribs.

At a club that wasn’t to be blessed with many great keepers for a long stretch beginning from the retiral of Ronnie Simpson up until the arrival of Artur Boruc, then great keepers from an extended lookback at Celtic’s history can therefore often be more fondly remembered than at many other clubs. This in part explains the fondness for Dan McArthur by the club’s historians.

Curiously described by a reporter in the Nottingham Evening News that he and fellow Celt Willie Donnelly were “goalkeepers of the ‘midget’ order“. Apparently only around 5ft 5in.

Dan McArthur is rated as amongst the very best, and there are few with a stronger and harder-hitting challenge than his.

He passed away after a long life in 1943.