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Fullname: John Young
Born: 11 October 1886 [*see notes]
Died: 25 September 1915
Birthplace: Glasgow
Signed: 27 October 1908
Left: 17 November 1911 (to Dundee Hibs)
Position: Inside-right
Debut: Aberdeen 0-0 Celtic, League, 27 Nov 1909
Internationals: none
Biog
Signed from Strathclyde Juniors in October 1908, inside-right John Young spent his early Parkhead days on loan at Morton for experience.
He eventually made his competitive Celtic debut on November 27th 1909 in a 0-0 league draw at Aberdeen, but his appearances were to be limited.
He would continue to be farmed out and only made a total of three appearances for the Celts before joining Dundee Hibs in 1911 (the precursor to Dundee Utd). Celtic had been out of sorts in season 1910/11, so changes were likely to be needed to be made. Things don’t seem to have worked out at Dundee Hibs either, as he appears to have only played four matches for their side, and they were in the second tier at that time.
Back at Celtic, apart from his debut, his other two matches, Celtic drew 0-0 with Dundee (Apr 2010) and St Mirren 1-1 (Mar 1911), so he got a small part in the league winning campaign of 1909-10, which was the last of the then record six league titles in a row. Celtic won the league by just 2pts over Falkirk, so John Young’s contribution will have been more valuable in retrospect than could have been known on the day of the matches.
He signed up for the war effort for the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders in the Fifth Service Battalion in World War One. Sadly he died in battle in in Flanders, the first Celtic man to die in battle in this war, RIP. His name is on the Loos Memorial.
Post-Note:
The family connection to Celtic didn’t end with John Young. Celtic were set to play a friendly on 28 Apr 1952 to help raise funds for James (Finnie) Young to fly to Germany for essential medical treatment. Finnie was the “son of the old Celtic John Young (1908)“.
It was very much in the spirit of the club to help others out in time of need. Unfortunately, the match had to be postponed due to bad weather, and Finnie sadly died in the interim period.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1908-11 | 3 | – | – | – | 3 |
| Goals: | 0 | – | – | – | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
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Notes
John Young, S/11527 – Celtic, killed at Loos, 25 September 1915.
John Young, born 12 Princes Street, Glasgow, 11 October 1886, 6:40 am.
Father – James Young, Hotel Porter.
Mother – Mary Young, ms Cavanagh
Parents details match his wedding to Margaret Ferguson, 31 December 1908.
(all above found, thanks to Andy Boyd @andyboyd1967)
