Celtic Football Club was established in the late nineteenth century by a Marist Brother known as Brother Walfrid Kerins principally as
a means of using the game of football to raise money to provide food for the Irish Immigrant poor in the
East End of Glasgow. Celtic's first game was played on 28th May 1888 against Rangers, with Celtic winning 5-2. In their first season, Celtic won it's first trophy - the North Eastern Football Association Cup. In 1892 Celtic Football Club moved to it's current ground, Celtic Park, situated in Parkhead, Glasgow, which became known as "Paradise" to it's supporters due to it's proximity to the local cemetery.
Over the next 50 years, Celtic won numerous cup victories and league titles in Scotland. In 1937 they were victorious in the Scottish Cup in front of 147,000 spectators and, in the following year, marked their Golden Jubilee by winning the League Championship as well as the Empire Exhibition Trophy.
Celtic had some success in the 1950s including victory in the Coronation Cup in 1953 beating Hibs 2-0 in the final.
It was in the period 1965 to 1974, however, under the management of a former player, Jock Stein, that Celtic achieved the reputation of being one of the premier European clubs. In that period, fielding some of the UK's best known players of their time including McNeill, Dalglish, Johnstone and McGrain, Celtic won the League Championship for nine successive seasons and more notably, the European Cup in 1967. Celtic were finalists in the European Cup again in 1970 losing to Feyenoord, having beaten Leeds Utd in the semi-finals at Hampden Park in front of 133,000 spectators, a European Cup attendance record.
Success continued in the 1980s with four League Championship wins, four Scottish Cup wins and a League Cup victory. Celtic won the League and Scottish Cup double in its centenary year of 1988 and the Scottish Cup again in 1989. In the early 1990s there was, however, a marked change in Celtic's fortunes. By 1993, it was clear that Celtic was losing support as a result of a board of Directors that seemed not to care about the club. After internal disputes, shareholder and supporter unrest and with Celtic facing financial ruin, the Directors agreed on March 4th 1994 to Fergus McCann joining the Board and providing an immediate cash guarantee to stabilize the Company. On 11th March, Chris White, Michael Kelly and David Smith, members of Celtic's existing board, resigned. By June, Fergus McCann and a group of investors took control of Celtic. By mid-September the remainder of Celtic's old board had also departed.
Tommy Burns was appointed Manager in July 1994. He immediately strengthened his management team with the appointment of Billy Stark as Assistant Manager. Burns capped his first season in charge with a win in the Tennants Scottish Cup Final against Airdrie. Celtic ran out 1-0 winners to bring them their first trophy for six seasons.
The Celtic Park stadium was demolished on three sides to facilitate the building of a new all seated stadium to conform with new legislation. The new North Stand, which stands on the site of the old enclosure known as "The Jungle", holds seating for 26,740 spectators whilst the redevelopment of the East Stand and the smaller South East Stand brought the capacity up to 47,602. The redevelopment continued and Celtic Park re-opened in August 1998 with a capacity of 60,000 all seated, making the new Celtic Park the biggest club stadium in Britain.
The first phase, which encompassed the rebuilding of the North Stand was completed on August 5th 1995 when Celtic hosted Newcastle United to open the new £17m Stand in front of a crowd of 31,000. The final score was 1-1 with John Collins scoring from the penalty spot the first of many goals at the new ground. The Stand was officially opened by singer Rod Stewart - himself a lifelong Celtic fan.
The second phase of the Stadium redevelopment was undertaken during season 1995/96 and saw the new East Stand rise up from the ashes of the old "Rangers End". The project was completed in June 1996.The South-East Stand was next to be completed in time for a preseason friendly against Arsenal on 31st July 1996. The match was played in front of a crowd of 47,302 as Celtic came from behind to beat the English club, 2-1. The new East Stand was opened by comedian Billy Connolly, a lifelong Celtic fan, who gave the immortal quote "I can die now" in front of a crowd of 42,400 as Celtic took on Sporting Lisbon in a 2-2 draw on the 3rd August 1996.
The recent building work has raised the overall capacity of the Stadium to 60000 with the West Stand having been opened by the late Jock Stein's wife Jean along with the legendary Lisbon Lions. The stand has been officially named "The Jock Stein Stand" a permanent symbol of the great work that the "Big man" done for Celtic F.C. How ironic it was to see St.Patricks Athletic of Ireland as the first opposition to play Celtic in the new Celtic Park. Founded to help the poor Irish immigrants of Glasgow's east end all those years ago and the Irish have returned.
