The Life and Times of Willie Maley – ‘The Man Who Made Celtic’

In September of that year, Celtic’s goalkeeper John Thomson was injured in a match versus Rangers at Ibrox. Willie Maley had to help the club cope with the awful aftermath of Thomson succumbing to his injuries, dying at the age of only 22.

This was not the only time that Maley experienced the sad loss of people before their time. World War One saw death and destruction around the world, and some Celts – players, as well as fans – died in the conflict. On a personal level for Willie, the most obvious of these was the death of his nephew, Josie Maley, son of Tom.

Inevitably, a 43-year career in charge of Celtic could not always be one of success, and there were lean periods too. By the end, it can be argued that Willie overstayed his welcome and would have been advised to leave sooner.

1938 would have been a wonderful opportunity to do this. The Celts were again Champions, and also won the Empire Exhibition Cup, beating teams from across Britain. This year marked Celtic’s 50th anniversary. At a dinner to celebrate this, Willie was given an award, and some at Celtic expected him to leave.

However, this was not something he wanted. His entire life was based around the Hoops, and he could not bear the idea of moving on. He once commented that “My love for Celtic has been a craze. The club has been my life and I feel that without it, my existence would be very empty indeed.”

And so he stayed as the club declined in the late-1930s, into the World War Two era. By early-1940, Celtic’s Board wanted him out and he announced his departure, to be replaced by former player Jimmy McStay.

Continued on the next page…