1888–89 Celtic F.C. season

Celtic
1888–89 season
Chairman	Dr John Conway
Stadium	Celtic Park
1888 Glasgow Exhibition Cup	Runners-up
Scottish Cup	Runners-up
Glasgow Cup	Semi-finals
Glasgow North Eastern Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: N/A; All: ; Willie Groves (11)
	Home colours
	Home colours
	1889–90 →

The 1888–89 season was the first season of football by Celtic. They competed in the Scottish Cup, Glasgow Exhibition Cup, Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup, Glasgow Cup and Glasgow North Eastern Cup.

Results and fixtures

Win Draw Loss Postponed

Pre-season and friendlies

28 May 1888 Friendly	Celtic	5–2	Rangers	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT	Maley Kelly Maley Maley McCallum	Celtic Report	Soutar Soutar	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 2000 Referee: Mr McFadden (Edinburgh Hibs)

9 June 1888 Friendly	Celtic	1–0	Dundee Harp	Glasgow, Scotland
16:30 GMT	Coleman	Celtic Report	Renwick Boyd Unknown	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 6000 Referee: Unknown

16 June 1888 Friendly	Celtic	3–3	Mossend Swifts	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT	McLaren 25' Gorevin 40' McCallum 85'	Celtic Report	Renwick Boyd Unknown	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 4000 Referee: Unknown

23 June 1888 Friendly	Celtic	3–4	Clyde	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT	Unknown	Celtic Report	Britton Unknown	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: Unknown Referee: Unknown

4 August 1888 Friendly	Celtic	3–2	Hibernian	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

11 August 1888 Friendly	Airdrie	0–6	Celtic
15:00 GMT

18 August 1888 Friendly	Clyde	1–5	Celtic
15:00 GMT

22 August 1888 Friendly	Third Lanark	4–3	Celtic
15:00 GMT

23 August 1888 Friendly	Abercorn	2–4	Celtic
15:00 GMT

27 August 1888 Friendly	Northern	0–3	Celtic
15:00 GMT

3 September 1888 Friendly	Whitefield	1–5	Celtic
15:00 GMT

8 September 1888 Friendly	Celtic	3–0	Dumbarton	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

15 September 1888 Friendly	Dumbarton	1–2	Celtic
15:00 GMT

29 September 1888 Friendly	Celtic	4–1	Airdrie	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

8 October 1888 Friendly	Dundee Harp	1–7	Celtic
15:00 GMT

8 October 1888 Friendly	Hibernian	0–3	Celtic
15:00 GMT

29 September 1888 Friendly	Celtic	1–0	Renton	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

1 December 1888 Friendly	Port Glasgow Athletic	2–5	Celtic
15:00 GMT

22 December 1888 Friendly	Vale of Level	1–2	Celtic
15:00 GMT

31 December 1888 Friendly	Celtic	7–1	Mitchell St Georges	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

3 January 1889 Friendly	Celtic	6–2	Corinthians	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

5 January 1889 Friendly	Thistle	3–2	Celtic
15:00 GMT

19 January 1889 Friendly	Morton	4–5	Celtic
15:00 GMT

26 January 1889 Friendly	Celtic	1–1	Airdrie	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

2 February 1889 Friendly	Celtic	0–3	Third Lanark
15:00 GMT

16 February 1888 Friendly	Corinthians	1–3	Celtic
15:00 GMT

23 February 1889 Friendly	Celtic	0–3	Clydesdale Harriers	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

2 March 1889 Friendly	Celtic	4–4	Abercorn	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

9 March 1889 Friendly	Celtic	5–4	Hibernian	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

23 January 1889 Friendly	Newcastle West End	3–4	Celtic
15:00 GMT

9 March 1889 Friendly	Celtic	4–1	Third Lanark	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Celtic Park

6 April 1889 Friendly	Motherwell	3–8	Celtic
15:00 GMT

13 April 1889 Friendly	Cowlairs	0–1	Celtic
15:00 GMT

19 April 1889 Friendly	Bolton Wanderers	2–0	Celtic
15:00 GMT

20 April 1889 Friendly	Burnley	1–3	Celtic
15:00 GMT

22 April 1889 Friendly	Distillery	0–1	Celtic
15:00 GMT

23 April 1889 Friendly	United Belfast	2–5	Celtic
15:00 GMT

18 April 1889 Friendly	Thistle	0–2	Celtic
15:00 GMT

23 May 1889 Friendly	Celtic	5–1	Celtic
15:00 GMT

25 May 1889 Friendly	Celtic	2–1	Preston North End
15:00 GMT

Glasgow Cup

6 October 1888 Second round	Celtic	11–2	Shettelston	Glasgow
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 7,000

27 October 1888 Third Round	Rangers	1–6	Celtic	Glasgow
15:00 GMT	Wilson 20'	Celtic Report	Groves 21' Dunbar 41', 75' Coleman 70' Maley 72' Kelly 85'	Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 4,000

17 November 1888 Semi-final	Celtic	0–2	Queens Park	Glasgow
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report	Berry 1' Robertson 51'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 7,000

Glasgow Exhibition Cup

1 August 1888 First-round	Abercorn	1–1 ^	Celtic	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Exhibition Grounds, Kelvinside Attendance: 4000

21 August 1888 Second-round	Celtic	3–1	Dumbarton Athletic	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Exhibition Grounds, Kelvinside

29 August 1888 Semi-final	Celtic	1–0	Partick Thistle	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Exhibition Grounds, Kelvinside

6 September 1888 Final	Celtic	0–2	Cowlairs	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Exhibition Grounds, Kelvinside Attendance: 6,000

Scottish Cup

1 September 1888 First round	Celtic	5–1	Shettleston	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park

22 September 1888 Second round	Celtic	8–0	Cowlairs	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park

13 October 1888 Third Round	Celtic	4–1	Albion Rovers	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park

3 November 1888 Fourth Round	St Bernard's	1–4	Celtic	Edinburgh, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Old Logie Green

24 Nov 1888 Fifth Round	Clyde	0–1 Replay Ordered^[1]	Celtic	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report	34' Britton	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 9000

8 December 1888 Fifth Round	Celtic	9–2	Clydesdale	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT	6' 27' Maley 10' McLaren 47' McCallum 70' Groves	Celtic Report	20' 21' Cherrie	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 9000 Referee: Mr Robertson

15 December 1888 Sixth Round	Celtic	1–4	East Stirlingshire	Falkirk, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Merchiston Park Attendance: 3,000

12 January 1889 Semi-final	Dumbarton	1–4	Celtic	Dumbarton, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Boghead Park Attendance: 6,000

2 February 1889 Final	Celtic	0–3 Replay Ordered^[2]	Third Lanark	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 13,000

9 February 1889 Final	Celtic	1–2	Third Lanark	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT		Celtic Report		Stadium: Hampden Park

Glasgow North Eastern Cup

29 Dec 1888 First round	Clydesdale	1–5	Celtic	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT	Rowan	Celtic Report	Dunbar Maley McCallum Groves	Stadium: Southcroft Park Referee: Mr T Quairus

16 March 1889 Semi-final	Celtic	4–1	Northern	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT	McLeod 10'	Celtic Report	13' Dunbar 55' McCallum Coleman	Stadium: Celtic Park

11 May 1889 Final	Celtic	6–1	Cowlairs	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT	Coleman 19' Groves Gallagher 15' Dowds 79' Maley 21'	Celtic Report	McPherson	Stadium: Barrowfield Park Attendance: 8000 Referee: McPherson

Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup

4 May 1889 Semi-final	Celtic	2–5	Renton	Glasgow, Scotland
15:00 GMT	Unknown Groves	Celtic Report	Harvie Campbell McCall	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Unknown

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	SCO	Willie Dunning
—	DF	SCO	Mick McKeown
—	DF	SCO	Willie Maley
—	DF	SCO	Jas Kelly
—	DF	SCO	Jas McLaren
—	DF	EIR	Alexander Collins
—	MF	SCO	Johnny Coleman
—	MF	SCO	Mick Dunbar
—	MF	SCO	Tom Maley
—	MF	SCO	Paddy Gallagher


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	SCO	Neil McCallum
—	FW	SCO	Willie Groves

Team statistics

Overall

Competition	Started round	Current position / round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
Scottish Cup	1st round	—	Runners-up	1 September 1888	9 February 1889

Updated to match played 21 May 2017 (2017-05-21).
Source: Competitions

References

^ Replay Ordered http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/1888-12-05%3A+SFA+meeting+orders+Clyde+Cup+tie+replay
^ Replay Ordered http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/1889-02-05%3A+Scottish+Cup+Final%2C+Protest+Meeting

[1] Replay Ordered http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/1888-12-05%3A+SFA+meeting+orders+Clyde+Cup+tie+replay

[2] Replay Ordered http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/1889-02-05%3A+Scottish+Cup+Final%2C+Protest+Meeting

[1]

[2]

v t e Celtic F.C. seasons
1888–89 1889–90
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
List of unbeaten football club seasons

v t e 1888–89 in Scottish football
« 1887–88 1889–90 »
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup Final Junior Cup 1888 Glasgow Exhibition Cup
Related to national team	Results British Home Championship
Other	Canadian tour
Club seasons
3rd Lanark RV Abercorn Cambuslang Celtic Cowlairs Dumbarton Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Kilmarnock Queen's Park Rangers St Mirren Vale of Leven