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Juniors teams that are linked with the old firm?


edinabear

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On 29 March 2020 at 02:33, The Speaking Pariah said:

Needless to say the Old Firm, as it was called, doesn't exist anymore after the demise of the original Rangers club who died in 2012...  but enough of that.

I was born in Maryhill many decades ago. I was too young to go to Celtic Park, my parents deemed it too mental because of the gang fights and the general madness that existed during the sixties at Paradise at that time. But my dad would sometimes take me and my elder brother to see Maryhill Harp at Kelvinvale Park , a junior club that died a sad death in 1967, of all years. Later on I moved to the Drum, and my parents still deemed me too young to go see Celtic, for the same reasons, so I would head down to Clydebank and watch the Bankies with ma pals (a mixture of Celtic fans and pre-sevco Rangers fans, lol)  not long after they joined the Scottish League.

The Harp gave Celtic 26 players throughout their short history (1923-67), including loans such as the famous Peter Scarff. Other Celtic players also played for the Harp, including Frank Haffey and of course Bertie Auld who was born in Maryhill. 26 players went to Celtic in total, 4 players to Partick Thistle, 25 players to thirteen other Scottish clubs, and 6 players to six English clubs, including the likes of Everton.

So given the amount of players that actually went to, or were loaned from, Celtic, I would say, that Maryhill Harp had quite a close relationship with the Hoops. I was only six and a half when the Harp were forced out of existence by the old Glasgow Corporation, who issued them with a CPO so they could build houses on their land. My memories are obviously vague but I do remember going to see them, and my dad in later years used to tell me all about them and the Celtic players that played for them.

Btw well done, interesting to hear of one of the old long gone clubs. Where exactly was Kelvindale Park in relation to Maryhill Rd?

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5 hours ago, Tutankhamen said:

Btw well done, interesting to hear of one of the old long gone clubs. Where exactly was Kelvindale Park in relation to Maryhill Rd?

As you probably know Maryhill Road is one of the longest roads in Glasgow. Kelvinvale Park was located on the right hand side of Maryhill Road. The old Maryhill Harp ground was just down from the present day Maryhill train station, between Duart Street (which was previously known as Watt Street) and Duncruin Street. The ground ran along beside Maryhill Road, as I said on the right hand side. 

It has been many a long year since I've been back to Maryhill but I think Kelvindale is further to the west on the other side of the canal, quite a posh area, if I remember correctly.

This is a few years old but this is were Kelvinvale Park used to be:

 

The Harps park today.jpg

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11 hours ago, The Speaking Pariah said:

As you probably know Maryhill Road is one of the longest roads in Glasgow. Kelvinvale Park was located on the right hand side of Maryhill Road. The old Maryhill Harp ground was just down from the present day Maryhill train station, between Duart Street (which was previously known as Watt Street) and Duncruin Street. The ground ran along beside Maryhill Road, as I said on the right hand side. 

It has been many a long year since I've been back to Maryhill but I think Kelvindale is further to the west on the other side of the canal, quite a posh area, if I remember correctly.

This is a few years old but this is were Kelvinvale Park used to be:

 

The Harps park today.jpg

Here's an aerial photo that shows the location of both Lochburn and Kelvinvale Parks -it was taken in 1942 so there's a fair chance we've got the Luftwaffe to thank for taking it!

Lochburn is on the left just down from Stockingfield Junction, and Kelvinvale is the right hand arrow just off Maryhill Road

NCAP-000-000-161-089.jpg

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8 hours ago, Hillonearth said:

Here's an aerial photo that shows the location of both Lochburn and Kelvinvale Parks -it was taken in 1942 so there's a fair chance we've got the Luftwaffe to thank for taking it!

Lochburn is on the left just down from Stockingfield Junction, and Kelvinvale is the right hand arrow just off Maryhill Road

NCAP-000-000-161-089.jpg

Thanks for that, Hillonearth. That's a cracking photo. Mind you, I'm quite an auld kunt but I wasn't about in 1942 😄

Edited by The Speaking Pariah
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On 01/04/2020 at 15:35, Tutankhamen said:

You must have supped a gallon of Soup before you posted that. What a riddy.

Wheres the link? They did open Moore Park back in the day, but then Rangers opened McKenna Park in 2003, We have sold them players in the past, as most junior clubs have, as we have also done with numerous other clubs. I can only guess your referring to the colours and style of home strip that we wear, which, if Celtic's own website is to believed, was actually adopted by them having seen us wear it.

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12 hours ago, Stants1902 said:

Wheres the link? They did open Moore Park back in the day, but then Rangers opened McKenna Park in 2003, We have sold them players in the past, as most junior clubs have, as we have also done with numerous other clubs. I can only guess your referring to the colours and style of home strip that we wear, which, if Celtic's own website is to believed, was actually adopted by them having seen us wear it.

I dont know of any official link with Celtic but there has always been affection for the Ants from the Rangers fans

I can remember several times when they used to share the odd can of beer or a screw top with the Ants players.

Usually lobbed from Edmiston Drive along with a few hand gestures and a party tune.

All taken in good part by the boys tho

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On 27/03/2020 at 16:55, Marten said:

When I go out I often wear my Lochee United scarf, which due to the colours is sometimes mistaken for a Rangers one. Especially in Lochee there is not much love lost for Rangers and neither at Lochee United. When I see shirts of SPFL teams at Lochee United games it's mainly both Dundee teams and occasionally I see a kid wearing a Celtic top. Never seen a Rangers one.

I recall the "Blue Belles" visiting the Hibbee when we played Lochee Utd in the Scottish. They sang the "Oh the Bluebells are Blue" song which is popular down Govan way ... but take yer word for it :)

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On 27/03/2020 at 14:48, glensmad said:
On 27/03/2020 at 14:37, edinabear said:
Ah ok, apologies. I just took that they played in green and white hoops as a sign of some Celtic influence on them. 

I understand that Celtic wear green and white hoops because one of their directors attended a St Anthony's match and liked their strip, so chose to copy it.

I was told by a football history boffin that Celtic had changed to green and white hoops a year before the Ants wore them, but it being the other way round is a good story. The Ants and the Bens, of course, used to play within a few hundred yards of each other near Ibrox  turning out in Old Firm kits.

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Celtic started wearing hoops in 1903, but although St Anthony's claim a foundation date of 1902, this website suggests 1904.  There's a newspaper article from 1933 which backs that up.  Suggests they were nicknamed "the wee Celts".  And the list of players going on to senior clubs here shows none going to Rangers...

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On 04/04/2020 at 18:21, Hampden Diehard said:

I was told by a football history boffin that Celtic had changed to green and white hoops a year before the Ants wore them, but it being the other way round is a good story. The Ants and the Bens, of course, used to play within a few hundred yards of each other near Ibrox  turning out in Old Firm kits.

Your history boffin is correct, Hampden. Celtic played in the hoops a year before the Ants. It has become a bit of an urban myth that the Ants did before Celtic. An auld boy from Croy who used to play for the Ants told me that myth many years ago whilst sharing a few jars with me. He believed it, and I believed him, but it turned out not to be the case.

But in saying that, Celtic were'nt the first club in Scotland to play in the green and white hoops either. No, that honour and distinction lies with Hibernian. Edinburgh Hibernians were the first club to wear the hoops.

 

Edited by The Speaking Pariah
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I am purely going by an article on the Celtic website - 

http://www.celticfc.net/news/4427

Given the number of historians they will have, and the records they will more than likely still have (We lost a lot of our historical documents in a fire at the club pavilion in the 80s I think), they would seem better placed than us to confirm or deny the story. 

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