Playing for Celtic on Christmas: 8-1 away wins & a granny's icy glare

If you know you're history then Celtic supporters will be well aware that it was once a day for competitive football too.

December 25 was an infrequent, yet highly popular, day for the beautiful game to be played for more than 70 years.

Between 1897 and 1971 Celtic played 15 times in competitive matches on December 25. The club sports an incredible record on such occasions having won 13, drawn one and lost on just a solitary occasion. The Hoops have also netted an incredible 58 goals on Christmas day and conceded a measly 13.

Indeed, the green-and-white sides of yesteryear proved very good at dishing out dollops of Christmas cheer to their supporters.

In fact, it's now been 51 years since the tradition of Christmas Day fixtures on the Scottish football calendar ended for Celtic.

It had a happy ending for the men from Glasgow's east end on that occasion as Jock Stein's side triumphed 3-2 against Hearts in a festive five-goal thriller in front of an astonishing crowd of 34,000 inside Parkhead.

So what was it really like to play football when most of society was stuffed to the gills with pigs in blankets?

Lisbon Lion Jim Craig was involved in two Christmas Day fixtures with Celtic – an 8-1 trouncing of Morton at Cappielow in 1965 and then the game against Hearts six years later.

READ MORE: Lisbon Lion John Clark relives Celtic's greatest glory 55 years on

He insists that it was business as usual for Celtic manager Stein despite the time of the year and joked that he even got into trouble with his mother for daring to be late for the traditional Christmas dinner at his grandma's house after busting a gut playing in the Greenock game.

"Playing football for Celtic on Christmas Day was just something you accepted and never ever said anything about it,” Craig told The Celtic Way. “I was used to having to have a discussion with Jock Stein about most things but that was trivial so I wouldn't have bothered him with that.

"Jock's attitude was to always keep your eye on the game regardless of the time of the year. There would be jocularity around the game beforehand but the football match itself was to be taken most seriously.

"Christmas Day 1965 was a special day for Celtic as we beat Morton 8-1. We were 7-0 up at Cappielow and 21,000 were packed into the ground that day, which is astonishing.

"I was single at the time and living with my parents. Before I left the house my mother said to me ‘listen, son, your grandma is making Christmas dinner and I want you there at 5pm’.

"I was playing for Celtic in a 3pm kick-off in Greenock and my mother wanted me at my gran's house so soon after the final whistle! I arrived at my gran's house around 5:30pm and what a glare I got from everybody."

Celtic reeled off an impressive run of three victories over that 1965 festive period to overtake Rangers in the title race.

Stevie Chalmers would also net a hat-trick in the traditional New Year derby in 1966 as Celtic hammered Rangers 5-1. It was a feat that would not be equalled for 50 years until Celtic striker Moussa Dembele claimed a treble in a 5-1 Premiership victory for Brendan Rodgers’ men in September 2016.

Craig said: "It was an amazing time for Celtic as we beat Morton 8-1, then we beat Clyde 3-1 at Shawfield on New Year’s Day before demolishing Rangers 5-1 on January 3.

"Back in 1966, that was a crucial game for Celtic as it put us ahead of Rangers in the league for the first time that season. We treated Rangers as a team that we had to overcome to win things in order to be successful."

Craig was also involved – albeit on the bench – in Celtic's last-ever Christmas Day fixture against the Jambos at Paradise.

The bumper crowd got a treat as both teams served up some great fare. Harry Hood opened the scoring in the first minute before the Edinburgh men equalised on the half-hour mark through Derek Renton.

Jimmy Johnstone put Celtic in front when he netted to make it 2-1 before Dixie Deans kept up his goal-a-game record by making it 3-1 to the hosts.

There was still time for James Brown to pull one back for Hearts with 13 minutes to go but Celtic remained top of the table by a point from Aberdeen and seven ahead of third-placed Rangers.

WATCH: Jock Stein's life and legacy with Three Kings filmmaker Jonny Owen

“It really is incredible to think that 34,000 turned up for the 1971 game,” he said. “There would have been no public transport and whilst there may have been taxis and supporters buses they were not as prevalent as they were today. I can only assume that many supporters would have walked to Celtic Park.”

Craig admits that he is glad the fixture has been consigned to history as it caused a lot of consternation in households up and down the country with many leaving Christmas Day duties to attend the matches.

"I had only been married a couple of years and I had no children in 1971 so it was easier to cope with Christmas Day fixtures back then,” he said.

"Most of the guys would have been married with families and it must have been very difficult for them leaving their kids to play a football match.

"A lot of households would have been unhappy with their loved ones skiving off to the football and leaving the women to attend to the children, presents, cooking and all sorts.

"My wife, Elizabeth, wasn't very happy about the fact that I was having to play a football game but it was a tradition at that time that has since faded.

"New Year fixtures in football is a tradition that has continued. Christmas is a family time, the time of peace on earth and goodwill to all men… but you don't get that at a football match!"