Celtic Celebrates 75th Anniversary of the St Mungo Cup Victory

In July and August 1951, Glasgow hosted the St Mungo Cup, a football contest linked to the Festival of Britain and open to clubs from across Scotland. Celtic, fresh from a Scottish Cup triumph and a trans-Atlantic tour, began by edging Hearts 2-1 and then survived a 4-4 draw with Clyde after a replay. Subsequent victories over Raith Rovers and a semi-final win against Aberdeen set up a final on 1 August at Hampden, where 80,000 spectators watched Celtic overturn a 2-0 half-time deficit to win 3-2, thanks to goals from Sean Fallon (or possibly Charlie Tully) and a third from Jimmy Walsh, who had scored in every match.

The trophy ceremony took place at Kelvin Hall, attended by 3,000 fans, but the cup was later identified as a second-hand yachting prize, leading to a dispute over its replacement. Celtic ultimately kept the original trophy, which now resides in the club’s Parkhead museum.