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Personal
Fullname: Ralph McElhaney
aka: –
Born: 17 March 1874 [*see notes]
Died: 5 Dec 1930
Birthplace: Govan, Scotland
Signed: 27 Apr 1895 (from Third Lanark)
Left: 2 Aug 1895 (to Clyde)
Position: Inside-right
Debut: Celtic 2-0 Third Lanark, League, 27 Apr 1895
Internationals: none
Biog
Ralph McElhaney made his Celtic debut on 27th April 1895 – the day he officially signed for the club from Third Lanark – when he played in the 2-0 home league win over Clyde.
The inside-right only went on to make one further league appearance for the Bhoys, playing in the following match a 2-1 win over Dundee, the final league games of the 1894-95 season.
He didn’t get to play in the Glasgow Charity Cup matches v Rangers which Celtic won with a 4-0 win in the final after defeating 1-0 over Queen’s Park in the semi-final. The legendary Sandy McMahon was brought in his place it seems for those games.
Blessington returned to the first team at the start of the following season, and Ralph McElhaney joined Clyde in August the same year.
Sadly his two league games with Celtic were in season 1894-95 when Celtic didn’t win the league title. Celtic had won the title in the previous season and then again in the following season, so Ralph was unfortunate to have just missed out on an opportunity to play with a league title winning side.
He later moved down south and played for various clubs including Tottenham, Swindon and Brentford. He seems to have most success with Brentford, spending three seasons there, helping them to league promotion to the Southern League First Division after winning the Southern League First Division, scoring 11 times in 17 leagues games in that 1901/02 title winning season.
He passed away in 1930 in Romford, England.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1895 | 2 | – | – | – | 2 |
| Goals | 0 | – | – | – | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
none
Pictures
Links
Notes
- Date of birth: there was confusion over his date of birth [i.e. […26 Dec 1870 or 1871 or c1877 …TBC…]*. However, “Scotland’s People” has it as 17 March 1874.
- Place of Birth: “Scotland’s People” has it as Govan, and NOT Anderston as is stated elsewhere in other sources.