Match Pictures | Empire Exhibition | Matches: 1937 - 1938 | 1938 Pictures

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Trivia

• The 50th anniversary of Celtic's history (formed 1888).
• Celtic crowned British (and even British Empire) champions at Ibrox!!! What an irony, and a real GIRUY!
• Background of the tournament and Matches: Empire Exhibition Cup
• The Earl of Elgin presented the Empire Exhibition Cup, to Celtic captain Willie Lyon, while both sets of players received miniature replicas of the trophy.
• The trophy was a silver replica of the Exhibition Tower, which is still in show at Celtic Park (possibly the best designed trophy we've ever won).
• The jersey worn by Johnny Crum (who scored the goal) is still on display at Celtic Park.
• Celtic received a total of £2591 for the four matches they played.
• Legendary Jimmy McGrory had retired recently, so this victory showed there was life in the club even after his departure (all were to miss him dearly).

Background

Celtic were celebrating our 50th anniversary of the Club's existence, and with that in mind the management wanted to mark the occasion with something to celebrate. What better way was there than to make our mark than in the upcoming Empire Exhibition tournament.
The Empire Exhibition Tournament was played in the pre-war summer of 1938 to mark the Empire Exhibition, being held in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. Eight teams took part in the tournament held at Ibrox - Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Rangers represented Scotland and Brentford, Chelsea, Everton and Sunderland (Champions of England) for England. Celtic had already won the Scottish League Championship (for the second time in three years) and winning this cup would be a fine bonus to celebrate a 50 years milestone in the club's proud history.

Celtic legend Jimmy McGrory, finally giving in to years of abuse, retired at the age of 33 and the Park's record attendance of 92,000 was set versus Rangers in a 3-0 victory on New Year's day 1938. Celtic played Sunderland in the first round and won a replay 3-1 after a 0-0 draw in the first match. Hearts were disposed of in the semi-final 1-0 through a Johnny Crum goal. Everton, destined to win the English championship in the following season, were Celtic's opponents in the final. They had beaten Rangers 2-0 and Aberdeen 3-2 to advance to the final and were the favourites to triumph.

The final

Celtic and its support represented everything the people behind the exhibition despised. How it must have then riled them to see the Bhoys reach the final of a competition celebrating the British Empire.

The game itself saw a crowd of 82,000 packed into Ibrox who were to witness an enthralling and tense 90 minutes. The football on display was excellent and the game swung from end to end providing much more entertainment than the 0-0 scoreline suggests.

Everton were a side packed with internationals and would go on to win England’s championship. But they had met their match in a wonderful Celtic side inspired ably by James Delaney.

Extra-time would decide the victor and with Celtic taking a firm control of the game Johnny Crum hit home the only goal of the game to claim the prize for the Bhoys.

The cry at the end was: "Fetch a polis man! Everton's gettin murdered!"

Crum danced a jig of joy behind the net and at full-time the Celtic support celebrated a wonderful triumph with rousing choruses of patriotic Irish ballads such as Dear Little Shamrock.

The vital goal by Crum 5 minutes into extra time won Celtic the match and the tournament.

The trophy, to be kept permanently by the winning club, was a silver replica of the Exhibition Tower.

Celtic received a total of £2591 for the four matches they played.

The victory was wonderful for Celtic in many ways. To be the victors in the backyard of their rivals, to have won a tournament celebrating the British Empire and to have beaten the best in Britain will have not gone unnoticed by the establishment members. In its own way, it was a poke in the eye to the old guard in Britain, and in its own way was a means of pride to the Irish communities throughout the UK and Ireland as well. It was a measure of just how far the both the club and the relevant communities (both Scottish and Irish) had come over the past fifty years.

Sadly World War Two was to break out the next year, and things were never to be the same again for all those who had both played in and watched the tournament.

Teams

Celtic FC:
Kennaway, Hogg, Morrison, Geatons, Lyon, Paterson, Delaney, MacDonald, Crum, Divers, Murphy.
Goal Scorer: Crum (95min)

Everton FC:
Sagar, Cook, Greenhalgh, Mercer, Jones, Thomson, Geldard, Cunliffe, Lawton, Stevenson, Boyes.

Att: 82,000

Pictures

• Match Pictures

Links

• Tournament Background and Matches: Empire Exhibition Cup

Celtic and Rangers players get a tour of building work at the Empire Exhibition in Bellahouston Park