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The Obliterator
Personal
Fullname: William Loney
aka: Willie Loney, The Obliterator, The Destroyer, No Road This Way, The Gobbler,
Born: 31 May 1879
Died: 6 March 1956
Birthplace: Denny, Falkirk
Signed: 5 June 1900 (from Denny Athletic)
Left: 24 Oct 1913 (to Motherwell) (plus loan to Belfast Celtic 2 May 1908)
Position: Defence/Centre-half
Debut: Hearts 0-2 Celtic, League, 17 Sep 1900 (scored on his debut)
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 2
International Goals: 0
Biog
Willie Loney enjoyed a magnificent 13 year Parkhead career during which time the Denny-born centre-half firmly established himself as a Celtic great.
Willie Loney signed for the Bhoys from Denny Athletic in June 1900 and he made his debut in a 2-0 league win at Hearts on September 17th that year, and scored on his debut also.
Robust and athletic Willie Loney was primarily a tough tackling but skilful defender, you just need to see the range of spectacular nicknames that were bestowed on him such as “The Obliterator“, which is quite self-explanatory.
Surprisingly for such a tough image, the truth is that he was actually quite a quiet man in many ways, leading by example rather than shouting at anyone. Such was his ability on the ball he also made numerous effective appearances as an outside right.
In time, the captaincy fell into his lap rather than being sought by him, and he could lead by example as he did with the upmost authority.
He was to be a stalwart of the Celtic side that won six league championships in succession, as well as four Scottish Cups.
Willie Loney was an outstanding performer whose toughness and abundance of skill enabled him to swiftly turn defence into attack (a precursor to the later wing-backs you could say). Willie Loney himself enjoyed the opportunity to attack and he possessed a lethal shot which regularly tested the opposition keeper.
Celtic’s defence of Jimmy Young, Jimmy Hay & Willie Loney was so lauded that they were nicknamed “Burglar proof, rain proof and wind proof“. One of the greatest Celtic defensive units that the club has ever fielded.
As a measure of the quality of the defence he played in, note that in season 1905/06, Celtic conceded in total just 20 goals. For any era, that is a phenomenal achievement.
It wasn’t all so easy for him. In September 1911, he contracted ‘British Cholera‘ but thankfully recovered and played his part in the Scottish Cup won on 6th April 1912.
Although his career at Parkhead was at times hit by injuries and illness he remained a key component to Celtic’s success right up to his eventual departure to Motherwell in October 1913. By then, Willie Loney had made a total of 305 League & Cup appearances for Celtic and scored 29 goals. He was also only capped twice for Scotland (generally the committee favoured the more extrovert Charlie Thomson of Hearts).
After leaving Celtic, he was still very much part of the club and was still seen at games being on good terms with manager Willie Maley, and did some informal scouting for Celtic as well. As a mark of his importance, he acted as an escort with Jimmy McMenemy to Willie Maley as they took the field in the GOM’s benefit match on 19th August 1953.
He was also a shareholder of the club and thus very much steeped in all aspects of the club.
Willie Loney’s contribution to Celtic was a significant one and he is rightly regarded by club historians as an all-time Celtic great.
He passed away in 1956, a great & much respected old Celtic player.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1900-13 | 254 | 51 | N/A | N/A | 305 |
| Goals | 27 | 2 | – | – | 29 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Pictures
Links
- Grave & Memorial
- The KDS Greatest All Time Celt
- Belfast Celtic
- 1907-08-19: Celtic 3-2 Rangers, Friendly – Willie Loney Benefit Match
Articles
THE CELTIC LEGEND OF WILLIE LONEY – ONE OF CELTIC’S GREATEST EVER DEFENDERS
By David Potter (From KeepTheFaith website)
Every team needs a sound centre half. Those of us who have followed Celtic in recent years have become very aware of that fact. Indeed it was a shame that a centre half was lacking in the shocker at Clyde at the beginning of 2006.
The town of Denny is not all that far away from Broadwood. From Denny, there came one of Celtic’s greatest ever centre halves. It was a pity that he was a century too early to rescue us that dire Sunday against Clyde.
Willie Loney was born in 1879 and joined Celtic in summer 1900. He came from Denny Athletic, and he was one of Maley’s first and cleverest signings. Around Willie would grow the greatest Celtic defence up to that point, and arguably of all time.
Willie Loney was a large youth, of silent temperament and, unlike other centre halves like McStay, Lyon and McNeill in later years, Loney never aspired to be a captain. His leadership of his defence on the field however was what mattered, and it was done by silent example rather than by shouting and blaming anyone else for his own (rare) blunders.
In these days, centre half could also be an attacking position. Loney was capable of attacking and indeed he scored 29 goals in his career but most of them were when he paid a surprise visit to the opposition’s penalty box. By inclination, Willie was a genuine defender, and when he did go up to try to score, it was only, as he said, “tae gie Quinn a hand”.
Loney must however be seen in the context of his two wing halves, Jimmy Young and Jimmy Hay. The half back line of Young, Loney and Hay still reverberates round Scottish football. The three of them were indeed half backs, taking a stranglehold of the centre of the field, stopping opposition attacks before they started, and starting Celtic ones.
“Burglar proof, rain proof and wind proof”, they were called.
Willie was of course able to play it tough, as a centre half needed to do in Edwardian football. Injuries came frequently and Willie could count a broken arm and a broken wrist among his battle scars. It was all however part of the game, reckoned Willie, for professional football for a Club he loved and a Manager he revered was a far better life than anything that the pits of Denny could offer.
He had a plethora of nicknames, all complimentary. “The Obliterator”, “The Destroyer”, “No Road This Way”, “The Gobbler” were at times bestowed on him, as Celtic won the Scottish Cup in 1904 and simply went from strength to strength after that, winning six League titles in a row.
Any great opposition centre forward would be treated with respect, but usually his influence was nullified by the mighty Loney. “We scarcely see the lad at all – if Willie Loney’s playing!” was a line from a poem written about great centre forwards who fell on the “Gibraltar rock” of Willie Loney.
It was 1905 and 1906 that Celtic saw Loney at his best. Only 20 goals were scored against Celtic in the League campaign of 1905-06, and for eight games in midwinter, Celtic kept a clean sheet. These were the only seasons of the six great years that Loney was free from injury.
Celtic were fortunate in that they could juggle their defence around if Loney was injured and bring in men like Alec McNair and Joe Dodds, but there was no real substitute for the mighty Willie Loney.
Loney was only twice capped for Scotland. He was unfortunate in that he came at the same time as Charlie Thomson of Hearts who was also good, and being more extroverted and more of a talker, tended to win the nod rather than the ultra efficient but occasionally unflamboyant Willie Loney.
Loney would of course have loved to play oftener for Scotland, but it was not his way to complain. A stoic “let’s make the best of it” was his trademark.
Around 1910, when Maley’s great side began to break up, Loney suffered a little, especially when Jimmy Hay went to Newcastle, but he won a Scottish Cup medal in 1912 to add to the ones that he had won in 1904 and 1908.
He left Celtic to join Motherwell in 1913 and subsequently played for Partick Thistle and Clydebank before retiring in 1917.
He remained on friendly terms with ex-Manager Maley, doing a little informal scouting for Celtic as well as a more official talent spotting job for Aston Villa.
As late as 1953 he appeared at Celtic Park along with Maley.
His granddaughter recalls him going to church every Sunday, tipping his hat to all the ladies and smiling to all and sundry. He was a proper gentleman, kind, courteous and much loved.
Willie Loney died in 1956 at the age of 77, having outlived almost all of his contemporaries from the great days of 50 years previously.
