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Personal
Fullname: David Prophet McLean
aka: David McLean, Davie McLean, Dyke McLean
Born: 13 Dec 1890
Died: 21 Dec 1967
Birthplace: Forfar, Scotland
Signed: 11 Mar & 8 May 1905 (trials); 16 Apr 1907 (from Forfar Athletic)
Left: 5 Nov 1909 (to Preston NE)
Position: Striker
Debut: Celtic 5-0 Port Glasgow, League, 2 Nov 1907
Internationals: Scotland
International Caps: 1
International Goals: 0
Biog
| “His greatest assets… were his fast reactions, his ability to get into top speed almost immediately and his willingness to shoot at any time, from almost any angle and almost any distance.” (Quote from Alphabet of the Celts book) |
Forfar-born David McLean was a predatory forward and top class goalscorer who signed for the Bhoys from Forfar Athletic in April 1907. He can possibly be ranked amongst the greatest ever strikers from these isles in goal returns at least.
He had played trials at Parkhead in 1905 [*TBC] but did not join the Hoops until some two years later when it was hoped he would develop to become the natural successor to the legendary Jimmy Quinn.
“I must say Celtic was the team who gave me the chance to come into football and I was lucky. I came to a good club. They treated me very well.”
Davie McLean certainly had no difficulty in finding his scoring boots. He scored in his debut in the Glasgow Cup final, a winner v Rangers. On his competitive debut in the league – a clash at home to Port Glasgow Athletic on 2nd November 1907 – he hammered in a hat-trick as Celtic triumphed 5-0. Incredibly, at this point he was only 16 years of age!
As a player, Davie McLean boasted lightening quick reactions and a powerful shot. Often he would latch on to a loose ball and drive it into the net before the opposition had even sensed the danger. He was able to score from any angle and his pace was a constant thorn in the side of defenders. Celtic had an incredible precocious talent on their hands.
He was however as quick with his tongue as he was his feet. He was not one to accept criticism willingly and as a result he would soon find conflict with Willie Maley. On 12th September 1908, Celtic drew 4-4 with Queen’s Park in the Glasgow Cup, there were issues following the final whistle:
“Willie Maley came in and pitched into us us in a black rage. There were seven internationalists and they sat there dumb, and took it. I decided there and then no one was going to talk to me like that and get away with it”.
As manager Willie Maley was not one to tolerate players who challenged his authority, although he did make some exceptions, but Davie McLean was not to be one of those exceptions. So, his personality clash with Willie Maley meant that in November 1909 he was sold to Preston North End for £400.
When Celtic years later hunted for a successor to Jimmy Quinn, Willie Maley on being questioned for letting Davie McLean go, he replied that the boy had not possessed the Celtic spirit. Davie McLean was young when at Celtic, leaving aged at only around 19, so Willie Maley’s comment appears a bit churlish.
Another reason for his departure could be possibly in part religious (but not in a divisive sectarian way). As a Protestant at the club he was obviously well aware (and likely respectful) of the cultural history embedded in the club. He openly complained though of the constant harassment by priests & nuns for charitable contributions. It didn’t bother some other Protestants at the club, but it’s an interesting complaint by the man. He can count himself lucky he didn’t go to a Catholic school then, where charity collections were a regular norm.
He had scored 19 goals for Celtic in 28 league appearances, which for any young aspiring player is quite an achievement. He was clearly a precocious talent.
Ridiculously, due to the then prevailing rules Davie McLean didn’t receive a medal for his part in the league championships that Celtic won. He hadn’t played in the Scottish Cup with Celtic and therefore also missed out on any deserved medals in this competition.
His departure disappointed the Celtic support and that disappointment grew as David McLean continued his scoring feats in England. With his career record Celtic fans were left to wonder what might have been, but then again Celtic had the mighty Jimmy Quinn, and there was nobody who could displace him in the side. This as he was to say himself:
“I was understudy to one of the best centre-forwards who ever played, Jimmy Quinn.”
After his departure in the following few seasons, Celtic didn’t win the league, so there is an argument that his loss impacted Celtic. However, Celtic did in time turn things round to dominate the league in the following decade, aided by the great goalscoring form of players like Jimmy McColl who ended up playing & then succeeding Jimmy Quinn in a way that David McLean likely could have if he had remained at Celtic.
Post-Celtic
After Celtic, Davie McLean continued to make a name for himself including spells at Sheffield Wednesday, Forfar, Third Lanark and Dundee. By the time he moved to Sheffield Wednesday in February 1911 he was rated amongst the best forwards in the game.
His records across his clubs were exceptional, including 25 goals in 49 league games for Preston North End, 88 goals in 132 league games for Sheffield Wednesday and 49 goals in 85 games for Bradford Park Avenue. He is possibly one of the most consistent goalscorers ever across a number of clubs ever in the UK.
In England, he top scored twice in successive seasons in England’s top flight when playing for the Wednesday as the Sheffield club were then named. The first two of those occasions he shared the distinction before he was outright winner in 1913/14.
His most noted spell (excluding Celtic) was a one season tenure at Rangers (1918/19) where he scored an incredible 29 goals in just 24 matches as Rangers finished second in the League, just one point behind Celtic. Davie McLean was the top scorer in the Scottish League that season, and the Celtic support should count their blessings that he didn’t carry on there.
Thankfully he didn’t score for Rangers in either of his two games v Celtic: a 2-0 Glasgow Cup final defeat and a 1-1 New Years Day Derby draw in the league. Celtic won the league by just the 1pt above Rangers, and his contribution could have swayed the title either way. He’d scored 8 goals in three league matches just prior to the pivotal New Years derby game, so likely a surprise that he didn’t perform v Celtic. He didn’t score in any of five league games in January 1919 for Rangers, and you could argue his underperformance in that month likely cost Rangers the title. Celtic fans will have been thankful to him for that at least.
As a measure of recognition of his quality, he won a cap for Scotland, playing against the Auld Enemy England in a 1-1 draw at Hampden in March 1912 in front of over 127,000 spectators, which was the least he ever deserved. Sadly, it was a solitary cap.
Davie McLean had joined Dundee in 1922 where he helped in Dundee’s run to the 1924-25 Scottish Cup final. In the final Davie McLean’s goal had Dundee leading at half time. Celtic’s Patsy Gallacher equalised before Jimmy McGrory headed a last minute Celtic winner. He just kept missing out on winning major silverware away from Celtic, with the painful note that it was again Celtic who stopped him in this case.
In an interesting career, it is estimated that he scored around 500 goals in total, which is a phenomenal total for any striker in any era. He played to an old age, having moved to Forfar to play for five seasons. His last match for Forfar was on 5th September 1931, just three months away from his 41st birthday, in a Division Two match away to Arbroath which Forfar lost 2-0. The ‘Alphabet of the Celts’ book claims he signed up with Dykehead in 1932, where he appears to have hung up his boots. Later became a scout for Huddersfield Town.
Davie McLean also played cricket for Strathmore C.C. and famously played in a match in June 1930 at The Hill in Kirriemuir when J.M. Barrie (author of ‘Peter Pan‘) opened the pavilion, and two members of the touring Australian side, one of them the great Charlie Macartney, played before a packed crowd.
Apart from when his footballing career took him elsewhere, he lived in Forfar all his life. He never lost a love for the game, and was frequently attending football matches and often invited to be a guest of Celtic at games in which Celtic were involved. A wonderful touch so despite the premature departure from Celtic, there was still a good relationship with the club.
Davie McLean passed away in Forfar on 23rd December 1967.
An interesting player to read up on in Scottish footballing history. Possibly the greatest Scottish goalscorer that is least known by the general Scottish football support. Deserves some greater recognition.
Quotes
“For kicking a dead ball with power, I never saw the equal of Davie McLean. He had as strong a shot for goal as any man I knew.”
Alan Morton
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1907-09 | 28 | 0 | n/a | n/a | 28 |
| Goals: | 19 | 0 | – | – | 19 |
Honours with Celtic
(Honours below are attributed for those campaigns in which the player has played in at least one match in the campaign)
Scottish League
Pictures
Links
Notes
- There was another Davie McLean at Celtic in the early years but this other David McLean did NOT play for the first team.
see: https://twitter.com/Jimmy_McColl/status/1408784137809444865?s=20
– “D McLean” played for Celtic in Benefit games on 11/03/1905 & 08/05/1905 & Glasgow League match on 10/05/1905. The proof now on the CGS forum confirms it was not Davie McLean as he would have been only 14 yrs old. So who was it? Share as necessary for help
– D. McLean games. Kilmarnock 1 Celtic 1, Battles benefit. Partick Thistle 3 Celtic 0, Wilson benefit. 3rd Lanark 2 Celtic 0, GL. Daily Record, 19/5/05, has D McLean, Galston to Celtic & back transfers.
– Same night as 3rds game – Celtic 2 Linlithgowshire 0, benefit @ Broxburn, McLean both goals. McLean from Hamilton Accies played at King’s Park 4 Celtic reserves 2, on 4/3/05. - This other “David McLean” was later to become manager of East Fire & Hearts, and reported to have played for Cowdenbeath *and Celtic* when he was younger.
Have been doing a bit more digging. It now looks like he moved from Celtic to Galston on a temp transfer in May 1905 to play in an Ayrshire Cup tie (as did another Celtic player, Edward Garry). He then moved to Kirkcaldy United in August 1905.
Next possible mention in Sept 1906, when the Evening Telegraph says ‘Willie McLean, a Buckhaven lad who received a season’s polish at Parkhead’ has signed for East Fife. Typo? Willie should perhaps read David.
Then in August 1909, Cowdenbeath signed McLean (East Fife). Given that David McLean’s biog stated he played for Celtic and Cowdenbeath, this does seem to be the same man as the famous manager.
Davie McLean looks back in the Celtic View 1965.
Birth, Marriage certs for David Prophet McLean that confirms the date of birth as 13/12/1890 (death cert can be found at this link, not added to this site: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/celtic_graves/mclean-david-1907-09-t610.html#p39803)
From scottishleague.net
[Note: Year of birth is 1890 going by our research and not 1887 as in this article. Wikpedia & Alphabet of the Celts also put it as 1890. ]
David Prophet McLean was one of the stars of the first quarter of the 20th century. He was born in Forfar on December 13th 1887 and started his career with local clubs Forfar West End, Forfar Celtic and Forfar Athletic before signing for Celtic in May 1907.
Davie – a centre-forward – wasn’t an automatic choice in the all-conquering Celtic side of the day but he turned out 28 times in the League, scoring 19 goals before leaving for Preston North End in the English First Division in November 1909. Under the prevailing rules he didn’t receive a medal for his part in the two championships Celtic won while he was at Parkhead.
He was a regular at Preston, having played 49 League games and scored 25 goals by the time of his transfer to Sheffield Wednesday (known then as The Wednesday) in February 1911 for the substantial fee of £1,000.
During his spell with Wednesday he also won a cap for Scotland, playing against England in a 1-1 draw at Hampden in March 1912 in front of over 127,000 spectators. Davie also spent a few months back with Forfar Athletic before returning to Wednesday. By the outbreak of the First World War he had played 132 times in the League and had scored 88 goals. This, remember, at a time when there had to be THREE opponents between an attacker and the goal in order to be onside!
During the conflict he turned out as a guest player with Shotts-based Dykehead then Third Lanark before becoming one of the few to have played for both halves of the Old Firm when he joined Rangers in 1918-19.
He was a sensation in his solitary season at Ibrox, scoring 29 goals in just 24 matches as Rangers finished second in the League, just one point behind Celtic. Davie was the top scorer in the Scottish League that season.
He made a brief return to Sheffield in 1919 but after three matches moved on to Bradford Park Avenue, then a First Division side and he was their top league scorer with 18 goals in 1919-20. They were a team in decline though and suffered successive relegations in 1921 and 1922. Despite this Davie notched up a total of 49 goals in 85 league matches.
By now nearly 35 and playing at inside-forward many players would have thought their career was over but Davie McLean still had a good few seasons left in him and – after another brief return to Forfar – he signed for Dundee at the start of 1922-23 and ended the season as their top scorer with 22 league goals.
As Davie hadn’t played in the Scottish Cup while with Celtic and the competition was suspended during WW1, his appearance in the Final for Dundee at the age of 37 in 1925 was an unexpected bonus so late in his career.
Davie put the Dens side ahead against Celtic after half an hour and they looked to be holding their lead comfortably until Patsy Gallacher sensationally equalised by somersaulting into the net with the ball between his feet.
Jimmy McGrory scored the winner for Celtic with just three minutes left and Davie was left with a runners-up medal to go with his Scotland cap. Scant reward for a remarkable player and a distinguished career.
By the time he left Dundee in 1926 he had amassed a further 114 appearances in the League and added 43 goals to his record. He also played 18 Scottish Cup ties for the Dark Blues and scored six times.
Davie returned home once more to Forfar Athletic who were now a Scottish Second Division side and made yet another ‘debut’ for the Loons, scoring in a 2-0 home win over Arbroath in August 1926. Incredibly, he played for more than five seasons for the Station Park side. His last match was on September 5th 1931, just three months away from his 44th birthday, in a Division Two match away to Arbroath which Forfar lost 2-0.
By then he’d added another 153 games and 76 goals (72 league, four Scottish Cup) to his tally.
It’s impossible to give a precise figure as Scottish records weren’t kept as diligently as English ones but it has been estimated that Davie McLean must have scored around 500 goals in total during his career.
He scored 162 goals in English league football, almost all in the top flight and well over 100 in the Scottish First Division. Records for his time at Third Lanark, Dykehead and the various Forfar clubs are incomplete but he is one of a select few to have scored over 100 goals in the top division in both Scotland and England.
His brother George, some ten years younger was also a notable player. An inside-forward, George too started out with Forfar before joining Davie at Bradford in 1921. He played 250 times in the Third North and Second Divisions, scoring 135 goals before finally getting the chance to play in the First Division with Huddersfield Town in 1930.
Huddersfield were always near the top in those days and George, now well into his thirties, played 120 league games and scored 44 goals, including being their leading scorer when they finished runners-up to Arsenal in 1934.
After that, George followed his elder brother’s path back to Forfar to end his career at Station Park.
Davie died, aged 80, in Forfar on December 23rd 1967. George passed away in 1970.