John Paton was born and raised into a staunch Celtic family and began his football apprenticeship just a kick away from Celtic Park with St Mary's Calton.

The outside-left's grandfather Billy McVey held Celtic Season Ticket No2 while his father Johnny had played for the Celts, although not in a competitive match. John signed for his beloved Hoops from Dennistoun Waverly in May 1942 and he made his debut for the Bhoys in a 2-0 Regional League victory at St Mirren on January 16th 1943.

A schoolboy and junior international John Paton - a press photographer by trade - was a clever forward whose years at Parkhead were interrupted by World War Two. John would serve in the RAF and he represented the service in a team which featured the talents of Stanley Matthews. During the war years he also guested for a host of English clubs.

He returned to duties at parkhead in May 1947 and by the time he joined Brentford in September 1949 John had made a total of 108 Celtic appearances and scored 29 goals. He would later enjoy a succesful coaching career with Watford and Arsenal.