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Fullname: James Frederick McStay
aka: Jimmy McStay
Born: 12 Sep 1893
Birthplace: Ardrossan, Scotland
Died: 25 June 1952

Player
Signed (player): November 1920
Position: Left-back
Departed: 1934
Games (goals): 472 (8)

Manager
From: 19 February 1940
To: 23 July 1945

Biography

Quiet man Jimmy McStay signed for the Bhoys in November 1920 from the Royal Scots Fusiliers.

The former Larkhall Thistle man made his debut in a 1-0 league victory at Clyde in November 1922. But it took McStay a little while to settle in at Celtic Park and his early performances as a left-half did not endear himself to the support or the directors.

Jimmy’s distribution to his forwards was initially poor and he displayed a tendency to give the ball away far too cheaply. The younger brother of Hoops hero Willie, McStay’s future at the club was seriously in doubt when in February 1924 Willie Maley decided to give the player a run out as centre-half.

Maley’s instinct that Jimmy would make a more than useful defender was proved right. McStay took to his new position like a natural and before long he had gone from being on the verge of a free transfer to becoming a vital member of the team.

McStay quickly established himself as the very heart of the Celtic defence. His no nonsense approach to his job made Jimmy one of the most effective defenders in the game. He was not flashy but he did the simple things very well and he became a model of consistency with a string of excellent performances.

Although not overtly physical, no forward relished coming up against McStay because they knew the Celtic man would give them little opportunity to flourish. He read the game well and time after time he would simply win the ball before clearing his lines.

A generally reserved character Jimmy liked to lead by example and his regular thwarting of some of the finest attacking talents in the game often inspired both team-mates and the support. There were few as dependable as McStay and he seldom, if ever, let his beloved club down.

He succeeded his brother as Bhoys skipper in 1929.and his assured ways helped guide the Celts to Scottish Cup glory in April 1931.

In November of that year, as captain of the Scottish League, McStay led his side to a famous 4-3 victory over their English counterparts at Celtic Park in a match where Everton’s legendary forward Dixie Deans was marked out of the contest by a brilliant performance from the Celtic man.

He may not have been the most flamboyant of characters but Jimmy McStay’s devotion and contribution to the Celtic cause was immense. He was eventually freed by the club in 1934 and went on to join Hamilton Academicals. By then Jimmy - the great uncle of Paul, Willie and Raymond McStay - had made 472 appearance for the Hoops and scored 8 goals. A great member of a fine Celtic dynasty.

Manager : 1940 - 1945

McStay took up his appointment as manager on 19 February 1940, and was dismissed on 23 July 1945.

Willie Maley at the grand age of 72(!) was relieved of his post as manager after 51 years, and in his place ex-player Jimmy McStay was brought in as manager in 1940, and remained as manager throughout the war period. On leaving Alloa to take up the post, the vice-president of Alloa said:

“He is a man in a thousand. At Alloa he has had our complete confidence right from the beginning. He picked the team himself, and was never subjected to any interference in his work from the Board”.

Sadly for Jimmy McStay that was not to happen for him at Celtic. Willie Maley was a much more cantankerous figure so the board was less able to push their weight around with him. However, Jimmy McStay was a more gentlemanly character, possibly too decent for the role, and this allowed the Board unlimited levels of interference. Maybe that's a main reason why they hired him.

Bob Kelly, Celtic director and later chairman, later disparagingly commented on Jimmy McStay that he was in effect a “part-time manager” and that Jimmy McGrory was really ear-marked for the role. A very disparaging remark from a man who should have known better.

The situation meant that the war years were amongst the most barren in our history. Celtic had held out well during the First World War, but during these years we were seriously abject. Celtic’s record saw us finish 13th and 9th in the league in two of the seasons. It must be noted that this was in a truncated league set-up, with the league split into a separate Southern league (with Celtic, Rangers etc) and a Northern league (Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, etc). We won only two trophies, the Glasgow Cup and the Charity Cup, hardly difficult competitions and with only limited opposition.

However, if he wasn’t in full control then what could he possibly have done? It was not an easy time. The war effort meant that Celtic had lost many good men (staff and players) to the war effort by choice or the call-up. Some good players even left to move to other clubs, exasperated by our own club's management.

Rangers were at their most dominant in this period (aided by various authorities), and McStay wasn’t a man able to tackle that.

Not all was bad, and one thing that Jimmy McStay can be proud of is the finding of a few great youngsters in difficult circumstances: Willie Miller, John McPhail and Bobby Evans owe a lot to Jimmy McStay.

The end was made as humiliating by the board for McStay as much as they had done throughout his whole tenure as manager. He was made to carry the burden of Celtic’s decline, and at the end of the war he was dismissed in preference for Jimmy McGrory by the board. Disgracefully he found out his dismissal through the press whilst on holiday and not directly from the board either.

A great old stalwart like him deserved better treatment. He may not have ended up being the right man for the job (although his stint at Alloa showed he did have good managerial capabilities), yet if he wasn’t fully responsible for team selection then shouldn’t the others have also stepped down or be accounted for their performance (i.e. the board)?

At the end, Jimmy McStay summarised his time at Celtic as succinctly well as he could: “Celtic policy was not moulded to suit my requirements. Rather my plans had to suit the Celtic requirements,” and in that last part it was clear that he was referring to the directors, a final dig at them. A surprisingly frank comment from a generally docile gentleman.

An irony is that another member of his illustrious family (Paul McStay in 1990’s) had to later work under the same level of incompetence of board management as himself. Thankfully, in Paul McStay’s case, he came out on top against that set of board directors.

Jimmy McStay later managed Hamilton Academical between 1946 and 1951. He died in 1952. Very much missed but fondly remembered and always will be.

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