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Fullname: Alexander Boden
aka: Alec Boden
Born: August 13th 1925
Birthplace: Hardgate, Dumbartonshire
Signed: August 12th 1943
Position: Centre-Half
Internationals: N/A
International Caps:N/A

Biog

Signed from boys' guild team Duntocher St Mary in 1943 full-back Alec Boden was a Parkhead stalwart during the trophy-free post-war years.

With war raging, Alec would have to wait several years before making his debut for the Hoops in an official competitive competition. Not long after signing for the Bhoys he was called up for military service and as a Physical Training instructor in the army he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

After a loan spell with Cowdenbeath the Hardgate-born defender made his Celtic debut at right-back on August 27 1947 in a 4-0 demolition of Queens Park at Parkhead. But despite that particular result there was little to celebrate for Celtic during this time as the team struggled to lift themselves from a slump which began during the unofficial wartime competitions.

Success finally came in the Scottish Cup final of 1951 when the Bhoys defeated Motherwell 1-0 in the Hampden final. Boden, a solid rather than great player, enjoyed a fine run of form in the cup that year and he again put in a fine show in the final. A foot injury and tough competition from the likes of Mike Haughney meant that for the latter half of his career at Celtic Park Boden was often not a first team regular.

Boden eventually left Celtic in 1956 for Ayr United after making 158 appearances and scoring 2 goals for the Hoops. He took his coaching badges with the English FA at Lilleshall in Shropshire and would return to Celtic Park in the 1960s as a coach with the reserves.

Celtic Career Stats

Quotes

'Even if something had gone wrong on a Saturday and a player had made an obvious mistake, McGrory would never come across and speak to the guy during the week. We never got an ounce of coaching from either McStay or McGrory.'
Alec Boden, ex-Celt, in 2002, on Jimmy McStay, Celtic manager 1940-45 and Jimmy McGrory, manager 1945-65 (explains simply why things were so bad before Jock Stein came back to Celtic as Manager)

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