Signed from junior side Duntocher St Mary in 1943 full-back Alec Boden was a Parkhead stalwart during the trophy-free post-war years.

The Hardgate-born defender made his Celtic debut on August 27 1947 in a 4-0 demolition of Queens Park at Parkhead.but there was little to celebrate for Celtic at that time as the team struggled to lift themselves from a slump which began during the unofficial wartime competitions.

Success finally came in the Scottish Cup final of 1951 when the Bhoys defeated Motherwell 1-0 in the Hampden final. Boden, a solid rather than great player, enjoyed a fine run of form in the cup that year and he again put in a fine show in the final. A foot injury and tough competition from the likes of Mike Haughney meant that for the latter half of his career at Celtic Park Boden was often not a first team regular.

Boden eventually left Celtic in 1956 for Ayr United after making 158 appearances and scoring 2 goals for the Hoops.





Quotes
'Even if something had gone wrong on a Saturday and a player had made an obvious mistake, McGrory would never come across and speak to the guy during the week. We never got an ounce of coaching from either McStay or McGrory.'
Alec Boden, ex-Celt, in 2002, on Jimmy McStay, Celtic manager 1940-45 and Jimmy McGrory, manager 1945-65 (explains simply why things were so bad before Jock Stein came back to Celtic as Manager)


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