Top 10 Celtic FC Goalscorers Of All Time
6. Patsy Gallacher [195 Goals in 464 Matches]
Patsy Gallacher was an Irish footballer, who spent of his career with Celtic. The Glasgow raised forward is commonly regarded as one of the most gifted footballers to ever wear the famous green and white Hoops and some would argue that he was the most talented Bhoy of them all.
After a number of trial games he was eventually signed by Willie Maley on October 25 1911 and made his full competitive debut at Parkhead in a 3-1 league win over St Mirren. One of his most famous moments came in the ‘Patsy Gallacher’ Scottish Cup Final of 1925 against Dundee, when he barged from behind in a packed penalty area and somersaulted over the goal line with the ball between his feet into the net for a goal.
He had a good sense of humour as well. Once, Patsy Gallacher played in the blue of Rangers in a benefit match for his Rangers’ pal Andy Cunningham. Not an easy thing to stomach for any proud Celt, but at the end of the game he took off his jersey to reveal that he was actually wearing a Celtic jersey underneath. Even the Rangers fans are said to have laughed. With Gallacher in the team, Celtic won six Scottish First Division Championships, four Scottish Cups, four Glasgow Cups and eleven Glasgow Charity Cups.
In 1926, Celtic ‘retired’ Patsy without warning. Speculation among his fans was that they wanted to save on his wages, which were considerably higher than those of any other Celtic player of the time. Gallacher went on to play for six more years with Falkirk, fuelling speculation among Celtic supporters as to how many more goals he would have scored and trophies lifted had he stayed at Celtic Park.
5. Jimmy Quinn [217 Goals in 332 Apps]
Quinn was spotted by Willie Maley in 1900 playing junior football for local side Smithston Albion. Having already turned down the chance to sign for English side Sunderland as Wearside was too far from his family home the gifted Quinn also initially refused the offer to sign for the Bhoys. Quinn eventually signed provisional forms with Celtic on New Year’s Eve 1900 and became a full-time player 13 days later.
He took several seasons to make his mark, playing at outside- then inside-left before being moved to centre. As a centre-forward Quinn was a peerless power with no apparent weakness to his game. Brave, quick, great aerial prowess, excellent awareness, nimble feet and with a power-packed precision shot.
The foundations of Quinn’s enduring fame were laid in the 1904 Scottish Cup Final, when Celtic faced their Old Firm rivals Rangers. At half-time Rangers led by two goals to nil. In the second half, however, Celtic came back to win 3-2, Quinn scoring all the goals.
He was the first player from either side to have twice scored a hat-trick in an Old Firm. He was also the first Celtic player to score 200 goals for the club. 90 years after his retirement, he remains the club’s fifth highest goalscorer.
4. Stevie Chalmers [231 Goals in 405 Apps]
Steve Chalmers will always be remembered as the man who scored the most important goal in the history of Celtic, the winning goal in the 1967 European Cup Final against Inter Milan.
After signing for Celtic in 1959, Chalmers would go on to spend 12 full seasons with the Hoops, helping the club to six league titles, three Scottish Cups and four League Cups, as well as being part of the ‘Lisbon Lions’ side. He had great pace, was a tireless runner and a clinical finisher.His involvement became limited after he broke a leg in the 1969 Scottish League Cup Final , missing the rest of that season including another European final.
Steve Chalmers was a courageous, unselfish and immensely talented footballer and remains a humble and courteous gentleman. Inducted into Celtic’s Hall of Fame in 2001 he was the complete centre forward and one of the top 10 Celtic FC Goalscorers of all time.