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Fullname: Charles McGillivray
aka: Charlie McGillivray
Born: 5 July 1912
Died: 7 Nov 1986
Birthplace: East Whitburn
Signed: 11 May 1932
Left: 1933 (free); May 1933 (to Man Utd)
Position: Outside-right
Debut: Celtic 4-1 Ayr, League, 30th August 1932
Internationals: none
Biog
Outside-right Charlie McGillivray signed for the Hoops in May 1932 after being released at his own request from Ayr United. He had been a schoolboy international, thus showing some promise.
Hard-working with a real eye for goal, Charlie McGillivary was a real team player, but despite being a prolific scorer at reserve team level his first team opportunities at Celtic were limited.
Charlie McGillivary made a scoring debut “with a great shot” in the Hoops, and then he won a penalty for Charlie Napier to score the second goal as the Bhoys won 4-1 at Celtic Park on 30 August 1932 against his old club Ayr.
He then scored again in his following match a few days later as Celtic drew 1-1 with Falkirk in the league:
“McGillivray giving Richardson the slip and scoring with a fast shot at close range”.
Yet despite this fruitful start, he never scored again for the first team.
He was involved in a strange decision in a match v Rangers. Jimmy Smith of Rangers collapsed exhausted in the penalty box only for Charlie McGillivary who was pursuing him to fall on top of the man. What happened next? The referee gave a penalty to Rangers! It allowed them to equalize.
By the end of the September 1932 he had made just four first team league appearances having scored two goals in those games. He had also played in two Glasgow Cup games but no goals, and unfortunately for himself he never managed to win a place in the run to the successful Scottish Cup title run in his season at Celtic. He wasn’t given any further games after this brief run.
In the reserves though he was an incredible scorer, notching up 38 goals. So did Celtic miss a trick with this man? Celtic did have Jimmy McGrory on the books, impossible competition for any man to overcome, and in any case, his career post-Celtic arguably shows that Celtic did not necessarily lose out, albeit he did have a decent scoring record with his future clubs.
He had a great start at Celtic but then the goals dried up. Maybe he needed more time and chances? Celtic were flagging in the league that season (1932/33) and finished fourth, 14 pts behind winners Rangers and were far behind on goals scored compared to the three teams ahead in the league. Celtic won the Scottish Cup in his one season at the club but he did not play in any matches on that run.
Celtic never actually lost a single game he had played in, so on paper at least sympathisers had an argument that he deserved further opportunities, especially as he was still very young, only 20 years of age during his first run of games at Celtic. His time also coincided with Celtic entering a decline, with manager Willie Maley in particular not paying the due attention required to reverse this situation.
Charlie McGillivary was freed at the end of the season but was quickly snapped up by Manchester United (May 1933). Ex-Celt Scott Duncan who was now the manager at Man Utd said that everyone knew that Celtic had made a mistake in letting him go. Scott Duncan actually signed Charlie McGillivary up in an ice cream parlour near Glasgow Central station. However, his stint at Man Utd was to be brief with just 9 appearances, so maybe there was no mistake by Celtic.
He later went on to play for Motherwell for a few seasons where he showed fine form. He then he became a common loan signing across many clubs in Scotland during the chaotic war years. At the end of his playing days, he became the manager for Dundee Utd in 1944-45 at the young age of 32, but the stint was short, and he later moved to Stirling Albion as a player coach.
He later moved to California (USA) working in the aircraft industry. He kept on in football and became a coach & player/manager in the US, for amongst others, the LA Scots.
He & his wife later returned to Scotland in later life to live in Livingston. He passed away a few years later in November 1986.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1932-33 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 4 |
| Goals | 2 | 0 | – | – | 2 |
Honours with Celtic
none
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