On this day in 1950: It’s Charles Patrick Tully…putting on the style…
As it happened, Rangers and Partick Thistle would be Celtic’s next two opponents, the Ibrox side heading to Glasgow’s east end on Saturday, 23 September 1950.
With Alec Boden injured at Motherwell, Jimmy McGrory brought Bobby Evans back into his normal wing-half role, the inside-right spot opening up for Donald Weir, a 21-year-old who joined Celtic from Kilwinning Rangers in November 1948. His solitary first-team appearance to date had been a 2-1 home League defeat to Third Lanark the following April. Thankfully, this would be a much happier occasion for him.
The crowd of 54,000 included Major Vivion de Valera, eldest son of the former (and future) Irish Taoiseach, Eamon, and they welcomed the following Celtic team.
John Bonnar; Sean Fallon & Roy Milne;
Bobby Evans, Jimmy Mallan & Joe Baillie;
Bobby Collins, Donald Weir, John McPhail, Bertie Peacock & Charlie Tully.
The match programme had referred to “glaring weaknesses in the defence which conceded goals with startling abandon” but this was the strangest of games, goalless for an hour before five arrived in two scoring bursts in the final 30 minutes.
Charlie Tully was once again the main man for Celtic
Charlie Tully was once again the main man for Celtic, creating all three of their goals in a 3-2 victory, his perfect cross setting up Weir to head his first for the club on 62 minutes. Within seconds, though, Willie Rae’s shot had taken a wicked deflection off Sean Fallon to leave John Bonnar helpless.
With 15 minutes remaining, Willie Thornton’s header looked set to inflict a third successive Saturday home defeat on Celtic, but once again Tully worked his magic.
Another delivery from the Irish wizard forced Willie Woodburn to concede a controversial penalty, which John McPhail duly converted for 2-2 in the 80th minute. And the victory was sealed five minutes later, when Rangers goalkeeper Bobby Brown could only push out another superb Tully cross, Bobby Collins heading against the bar before Bertie Peacock crashed the rebound into the net to the joy and relief of the vast Celtic support, as they celebrated a first post-war League win over their old rivals.
Hearts won the Edinburgh derby by 1-0 at Easter Road but the surprise team at the top of the table after three matches was promoted Morton with a perfect six points, following their 3-1 win at St Mirren.
Their star centre-forward had helped himself to a hat-trick against his boyhood club at Celtic Park on the opening day of the season but would one day be scoring vital goals in the green and white hoops of Celtic, rather than the blue version of Morton.
His name was Neil Mochan…
An extract from Celtic in the Fifties; Volume One by Matt Corr. out now on Celtic Star Books.
Signed copies of Celtic In The Fifties, Volumes One and Two are available from celticstarbooks.com/shop
Follow Matt on X/Twitter @Boola_vogue
— frankie (@belfastbhoy1961) September 23, 2026
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