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Note: some places spell his surname wrongly as “McDonald”, but he himself spells it as “MacDonald” and that’s how we’ll stick to it on here.
Personal
Fullname: Roderick MacDonald
aka: Roddy MacDonald, Roddie MacDonald, Roddy McDonald, Roddie McDonald, Roddie the Proddie (affectionate nickname in humour by the support)
Born: 30 August 1954
Birthplace : Dingwall or Alness Ross-shire
Signed: 5 Aug 1972 (from Brora Rangers)
Left: 7 July 1981 (to Hearts)
Position : Centre half, Defender
First game : Arbroath 3-1 away 29 August 1973 league cup
Last game : Saint Mirren 1-3 away 2 May 1981 league
First goal : Clydebank 4-1 home 15 February 1975 Scottish cup
Last goal : Hearts 3-2 home 13 December 1980 league
Internationals : Scotland U/23
Biog
Highlander Roddy MacDonald signed for the Bhoys from Brora Rangers in August 1972 as an 18 year-old on the recommendation of ex-Celt Sammy Wilson. Wilson had taken over as trainer and manager at the Highland League sign and had converted Roddy MacDonald from a high scoring striker into a centre half.
As a strong youth Roddy MacDonald came as a trialist at Parkhead and Roddy MacDonald’s potential as a centre-half was recognised by Jock Stein. he was signed and almost immediately started to play as centre half for the Reserves. It was in that position MacDonald made his Hoops debut in a 3-1 League Cup victory at Arbroath on August 29th 1973 and within a couple of seasons of that match MacDonald had established himself as a defensive stalwart for the Bhoys.
Roddy MacDonald’s big break came when Billy McNeill retired in May 1975 and he became first choice centre half. The 1975/76 was not an easy baptism and the boy looked raw, never more so when Motherwell came from 0-2 behind to win 3-2 in the Scottish cup at Fir Park in January of 1976, Roddy MacDonald struggling that day to cope with the excellent Motherwell forward duo of Pettigrew and Graham.
In March Roddy was pushed up front as emergency striker in a ECWC quarter Final tie against Sachsenring Zwickau in East Germany, due to flu epidemic at Parkhead. With Celtic 0-1 down, Roddy MacDonald actually scored an equaliser with three minutes left which was controversially disallowed and that would have taken the tie to extra time. By this time however, Roy Aitken had taken over at centre half and Roddy MacDonald’s future looked unsure.
The turning point in his career came in 1976 when the experienced Pat Stanton arrived and the improvement in Roddy’s game was immediately noticeable with the powerful Aitken being pushed into a central midfield role to allow Roddy MacDonald to flourish at centre-half. The partnership between Stanton and MacDonald was the rock on which the double success of 1977 was built on. Roddy MacDonald gave a tremendous performance in the 1977 Cup Final when he blunted the threatening Rangers aerial attack of Parlane and Johnstone.
Roddy MacDonald was one of Celtic’s few successes in the abysmal 1977/78 season and was an ever present. He made Ally McLeod’s 40 man Scotland squad for the World Cup in Argentina although he didn’t have a real chance of making the final cut of 22 players. At this point Roddy was a great asset at set pieces and could be relied upon to score several goals a season and he was particularly dangerous after the arrival of Davie Provan in 1978 with Provan being a superb deliverer of a cross ball.
Roddy MacDonald was a regular in the title winning season in 1979 but missed the run in through injury and also the legendary league clinching 4-2 victory over Rangers with Tom McAdam taking his place for the last few games after converting from centre forward. The following season Roddy MacDonald was again a consistent starter in the side although injury again cost him his place in the 1980 Scottish Cup winning side, midfield player Mike Conroy this time stepping into the breach.
In 1980/81, after the first half of the season Roddy MacDonald lost his place to the centre back partnership of Aitken and McAdam after a 4-1 defeat to Aberdeen, although he had returned towards the tail-end of the season and had an excellent game in April in Celtic’s 1-0 win against Rangers at Ibrox which all but clinched the title. His final game was a 3-1 defeat to St Mirren at the end of the league season, he deserved a better ending.
In July 1981 it was a major surprise when Billy McNeill allowed him to move to Hearts for £50,000 especially when the inferior Willie Garner arrived from Aberdeen as his replacement for a similar fee. Garner was not to last long and Roddy’s experience was greatly missed.
Roddy MacDonald was excellent in the air and scored more than a few goals in a Celtic jersey. He had a happy knack of scoring against Rangers and is possibly best remembered for his winning goal in the game v Rangers at Celtic Park in October 1979, powerfully heading home a Davie Provan corner kick.
A fine servant to Celtic Roddy MacDonald made a total of 252 first team appearances and scored 34 goals.
He went on to have a long career with Hearts before winding down his career with some lower ranked clubs.
On retiring from football Roddy MacDonald became a serving officer with the Strathclyde Police Force.
Roddy MacDonald was a fair player and one that all Celtic fans fondly recall.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1972-81 | 166 | 21 | 48 | 17 | 252 |
| Goals | 22 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 34 |
Honours with Celtic
Pictures
Articles
The Bhoy in the Picture – Roddy MacDonald
(from Celtic Underground
http://celticunderground.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=959:the-bhoy-in-the-picture-roddy-macdonald&catid=36:images&Itemid=60 )
Written by St Anthony
Wednesday, 12 September 2012 20:11
Sammy Wilson’s name has been forever cemented into Celtic’s history books. He was part of the legendary Celtic side who beat Rangers 7-1 in the never to be forgotten 1957 League Cup final and he had the privilege of opening the scoring. Sammy’s striking partnership with Billy McPhail was renowned and they tore Rangers apart on that glorious day in the Hampden sunshine.
In 1972 Sammy was up in Brora and recommended the teenage centre half Roddy MacDonald to his old team mate Jock Stein. Roddy was taken on and in August 1973 Roddy made his debut at Arbroath in a League Cup game on the night that the great Bobby Murdoch played his last game for Celtic.
Stein knew that Billy McNeill couldn’t go on forever and was keen to plan ahead with having Roddy as understudy to big Billy until he retired. Periodically the young Roddy played in the first team and had an outstanding game alongside George Connelly in defence when Celtic won 3-1 at Tynecastle in late 1973 in front of a packed crowd of 33,000 the likes of which Tynecastle will never see again.
In the summer of 1975 McNeill retired and Roddy had fought off Frank Welsh for the right to make the centre half position his own. It was an intimidating prospect taking over from McNeill and he was still raw and it showed in certain games. In early 1976 Celtic crashed out off the cup at Fir Park after blowing a two goal lead and the focus of blame was put firmly on the defence.
Roddy was replaced by an even younger Roy Aitken and although he played a spate of games at centre forward in late 1975/76 season he was never cut out to be a striker. With Aitken impressing at centre half Roddy’s Celtic career was at the crossroads in the summer of 1976.
Stein knew he needed an old head in defence and Pat Stanton’s inspired signing gave him just that. With Aitken pushed up into midfield the learned Stanton took Roddy under his wing and turned him into the best centre half in the country.
The partnership between Stanton and MacDonald was the rock on which the double success of 1977 was built on. Roddy gave a tremendous performance in the 1977 Cup Final when he blunted the threatening Rangers aerial attack of Parlane and Johnstone.
Roddy was one of Celtic’s few successes in the abysmal 1977/78 season and was an ever present. He made Ally McLeod’s 40 man Scotland squad for the World Cup in Argentina although he didn’t have a real chance of making the final cut of 22 players and he was a regular in Scotland’s under 23 squads in the mid 70’s.
At this point Roddy was a great asset at set pieces and could be relied upon to score several goals a season and he was particularly dangerous after the arrival of Davie Provan in 1978 with Provan being such a superb deliverer of a cross ball.
When McNeill returned as manager in 1978 Roddy was one of the experienced players he looked to for his new look Celtic. Roddy was a regular in the title winning season in 1979 but missed the run in through injury and also the legendary league clinching 4-2 victory over Rangers with Tom McAdam taking his place for the last few games after converting from centre forward. The following season he was again a consistent starter in the side although injury again cost him his place in the 1980 Scottish Cup winning side, midfield player Mike Conroy this time stepping into the breach.
In 1980/81 Roddy lost his place to the centre back partnership of Aitken and McAdam although he had returned and had an excellent game in April in Celtic’s 1-0 win against Rangers at Ibrox which all but clinched the title.
In July 1981 it was a major surprise when Billy McNeill allowed him to move to Hearts for £50,000 especially when the inferior Willie Garner arrived from Aberdeen as his replacement for a similar fee. Garner was not to last long and Roddy’s experience was to be greatly missed.
Roddy MacDonald was excellent in the air and scored a good number of goals in a Celtic jersey. He had a happy knack of scoring against Rangers and is possibly best remembered for his winning goal in the Old Firm game at Celtic Park in October 1979, powerfully heading home a Davie Provan corner kick as a faltering Sandy Jardine tried in vain to clear it off the line.
‘Roddy the Proddy’ as he was affectionately known in the vicinity of the Jungle was a fine servant to Celtic and made a splendid total of 252 first team appearances and scored 34 goals. He won three league winners medals, two Scottish cups and one league cup. On retiring from football he became a serving officer with the Strathclyde Police Force.
The big defender was a great servant to Celtic and is fondly remembered by those Celtic fans who watched him play.
Memories of…Roddy McDonald
Saint Anthony with a review of the Celtic centre half from the late 70s
THE CELTIC UNDERGROUND
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Roddy MacDonald was a mere lad of 19 when he made his Celtic league debut against Hearts in Edinburgh, in October 1973. With Billy McNeill out of the team, Roddy made a fine first appearance for Celtic in a 3-1 win, playing alongside the magnificent George Connelly in central defence. Connelly scored a cracking goal with Kenny Dalglish scoring the two others in a 3-1 Celtic win in front of a crowd of 33,000 the likes of which Tynecastle will never see again.
When McNeill retired in May 1975, Roddy was seen as the ready-made replacement for Celtic’s legendary captain. This was a period of great transition for Celtic. Lou Macari and Davie Hay were sold for large fees. McNeill moved on, with Jimmy Johnstone and Jim Brogan surprisingly being given free transfers. Illness and injury had also robbed the Celts of the wonderful talents of Steve Murray, Brian McLaughlin, and George Connelly. If that wasn’t bad enough, Jock Stein missed the full 1975-76 through from the effects of a severe car crash which almost cost him his life.
The 1975-76 was a difficult one and none more so for young Roddy. The pressure of being McNeill’s replacement weighed heavily on his shoulders and there were times when he looked very raw and struggled against the pace and movement of the likes of Willie Pettigrew and Joe Harper. When Stein returned to the helm in the summer of 1976 he made it his mission to repair a leaky Celtic defence. Celtic scored plenty of goals but were still known to have a soft underbelly in defence.
Stein’s masterstroke was to persuade Eddie Turnbull to allow Pat Stanton to leave Hibs in a swap deal, with Celtic’s Jackie McNamara moving to Easter Road in exchange. Roddy’s strength was in the air, where he was well nigh unbeatable with his 6’ 2’’ frame, but Stanton, with his reading of a game and mobility as a sweeper, was to bring the absolute best out in the young Celtic centre half.
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With Stanton pulling the strings from the back and organising the defence, Celtic enjoyed a wonderful season. They won a league and Scottish Cup double, and were only denied the treble due to Stanton and Joe Craig being cup tied and missing the League Cup final defeat to Aberdeen in 1976. Roddy enjoyed a wonderful season and was hugely impressive. He was able to deal with high balls in the Celtic defence and was also a terrific threat in attack. In January 1977, Celtic took a huge step towards the title by winning the belated new year derby against Rangers. It was Roddy’s powerful header which was diverted into his own net by Colin Jackson which gave Celtic the winner on the night. In the Scottish Cup final against Rangers in May, it was Roddy’s header which Derek Johnstone was adjudged to have handled on the line to give Celtic the penalty from which Andy Lynch scored the winning goal.
Much was expected of Celtic for the 1977-78 season but the campaign was cursed from day one when Kenny Dalglish left for Liverpool and severe injuries struck such vital players as Pat Stanton, Danny McGrain and Alfie Conn. Roddy and Peter Latchford were Celtic’s only ever presents and were probably the best performers throughout a season was described as an endurance test. Stein had blundered by letting Pat McCluskey leave just weeks before Stanton’s injury, and the experienced Pat would have been in ideal replacement for the injured Stanton. Many players were tried in defence alongside Roddy to find the ideal combination – Jim Casey, Shuggie Edvaldsson, Roy Aitken, Ian McWilliams, and Frank Munro was bought from Wolves to fill the void, but he too was to fail. Despite Celtic’s failings, Roddy had performed well enough to merit inclusion in Ally MacLeod’s original 40 man Scotland squad for the 1978 World Cup finals in Argentina, before it was whittled down to 22.
Billy McNeill returned as manager in the summer of 1978 and was able to win the league at his first attempt. It was a tragedy for Roddy that he played in the first 33 league games but missed the run in and the unforgettable 4-2 win against Rangers which clinched the title for the Celts. Roddy suffered more bad luck when he missed the 1980 Scottish Cup final, again through injury.
In the summer of 1980, freedom of contract was introduced to Scottish football for the first time. The first two Celtic players to be out of contact under the new system were Roddy and Tommy Burns. Billy McNeill took a hard line against both players and refused to play them until new terms were agreed. By this time Roddy had lost his place as centre half to Tom McAdam as Celtic pushed towards another league success. Roddy eventually agreed terms and was in the side which all but clinched the title at Ibrox in April 1981. McNeill pulled a tactical master stroke by playing Roddy and McAdam as twin centre halves to combat the aerial threat of Rangers’ Derek Johnstone and Colin McAdam, with Roy Aitken employed as a sweeper behind them. It worked a treat with Celtic, memorably, winning 1-0 on a cracking sunny Spring afternoon.
At the end of the season, Roddy had won a third league medal. However, in a surprise move, he was sold that summer to Hearts for £50,000 with Celtic using the money to buy Willie Garner from Aberdeen for a similar fee. Garner never recovered from a disastrous Celtic debut yet Roddy was to give great service to Hearts for a number of seasons, and was in the Hearts side which lost at Dens Park on the fateful last day of the season in May 1986 on the day when Hearts blew the chance to win their first league title since 1960. The irony being that Hearts’ loss was Celtic’s gain that day at Love Street. With hindsight, allowing Roddy to leave was bad business. Central defence was an area Celtic were to struggle in for many seasons afterwards and his ability and experience would have been of great benefit.
Perhaps the best memory Celtic fans have of big Roddy was the Old Firm fixture at Parkhead on 27 October 1979. With the game even at 0-0 late on, Celtic brought on Shuggie Edvaldsson as a substitute, who immediately caused consternation in the Rangers defence to gain a corner kick. With Rangers defenders all fussing around Edvaldsson, Davie Provan’s brilliant hanging corner found Roddy left unmarked and his powerful header flew into the top corner of the net, to give Celtic a 1-0 win for which he is well remembered.
Roddy MacDonald was a fine player for Celtic. It’s a great regret he didn’t say for longer.