Alec McNair – Celtic’s Icicle by David Potter

Alec McNair – Celtic’s Icicle by David Potter

Alec McNair wore Celtic’s colours an incredible 716 times over that period, second only to Billy McNeill, whose total of 822 included over 200 matches in the League Cup and European football, neither of which were available in the era of McNair.

He made 584 League appearances, still a club record. For the last of those games, against Queen’s Park in April 1925, he was 42 years and 4 months young, another record. Indeed, Alec McNair is the only outfield player in Celtic’s proud 133-year history to take the field beyond his 40th birthday, with his goalkeeper of that golden era, fellow ‘Holy Trinity’ member Charlie Shaw, the only other man to play for Celtic after achieving the age of 40.

And it was a highly successful career, as Willie Maley’s first great sides enjoyed a golden era.

Alec’s astonishing medal haul of 34 includes a club record 12 League titles, with his Scottish Cup tally of six beaten only by fellow Celtic legends, Jimmy McMenemy, Billy McNeill and Bobby Lennox.

And to literally ‘cap’ things off, as well as being a Celtic icon, Alec McNair was chosen to represent his country no fewer than 15 times, captaining Scotland to victory over both England and Ireland.

A genuine all-time legend for both Celtic and Scottish football.

Great stories require great authors to tell them properly. Someone who can get under the skin of the main characters, feel and share their joy and their pain and take you as the reader into the story itself. Fortunately, we have David Potter in this role. A man whose lifelong devotion to his beloved Celtic would sit comfortably beside any of the great names mentioned above. The eminent Celtic historian is in his element here.