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Personal
Fullname: Andrew Bell
aka: Andy Bell
Born: 14 July 1932
Died: […]
Birthplace: […]
Signed: 27 August 1951
Left: Dec 1953 (Army); Apr 1955 (free); 8 Aug 1955 (Airdrie)
Position: Goalkeeper
Debut: Dundee 2-1 Celtic, League, 20 Oct 1951
Internationals: N/A
International Caps: N/A
Biog
Goalkeeper Andrew Bell signed for Celtic in 1951 from Arthurlie Juniors.
He made his debut in a 2-1 defeat to Dundee at Dens Park on October 20 1951 (in “An uninspired Celtic team“) and stayed at Parkhead for four seasons during which time he was mostly deputising for John Bonnar. He was at this point a 20 year old apprentice engineering draughtsman and opening bat for Bar & Stroud. On boarding the bus, taken by John McPhail he was presented to the team with “Boys, meet your new goalie!“.
He was to be in & out due to indifferent results, and dropped back the pecking order. His record showed a generally poor shut-out rate but the club wasn’t very well managed or coached during much of his tenure.
He as the main keeper for most of the first half of the 1951/52 season even though he failed to keep a clean sheet, and only lost his spot after a 4-1 defeat to Rangers in the New Years Day match in 1952. Reports state he was badly shown up for the first goal lost in that last match. The poor performance (by both himself and the team) was overshadowed by trouble on the terraces.
He had to wait until his 14th league match with Celtic till he had finally managed a clean-sheet in goals (1-0 win v Clyde 1953).
Andy Bell damaged his shoulder in a match v Drumcondra on 5th October 1953, and despite later regaining the no.1 jersey he found the demands of Celtic, competition from other players and military service too much, so remained the goalkeeping deputy.
His last game was the Glasgow Charity Cup match of 1955 when Celtic lost 1-0 to Rangers.
He had made 9 appearances in the Jock Stein captained domestic double league & cup winning side of season 1953-54, so he helped to play a part in the brief golden period for the club in what was otherwise a long poor era for the club that stretched from the late 1930s up until 1965. However, he had conceded ten goals in those matches he had played in which was a poor record, so it didn’t help his case for a first team shirt.
He only had three shut-outs in his entire time with Celtic, and possibly is another example of goalkeepers who have led to the theory of future Celtic manager Jock Stein’s perceived disdain for goalkeepers in general.
He was released in 1955 having made a total of 28 appearances. He carried on with spells with Airdrie, St Johnstone and Albion Rovers.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1951-55 | 25 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 28 |
| Shut-outs: | 3 | 0 | – | – | 3 (11%) |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League