Great Britain

The name Celtic is now a famous and respected name in the world of soccer; the club having come from the most humble of beginnings to be crowned Kings of Europe by winning the European Cup. In November 1887 a group of men from the three parishes in the East End of Glasgow decided to form a football team to help raise funds to feed the poor in that part of the city. They were given great help and encouragement by Brother Walfrid, a member of the Marist Order who taught in Sacred Heart School. By the beginning of the following year a team had been built and a name chosen. That name was CELTIC. The name was selected by brother Walfrid despite a strong lobby for the name of Glasgow Hibernians. The club played their first match on 29th May 1888, and won. From then on winning became a Celtic habit. They won their first Scottish League championship in 1893 and a year earlier they had won the Scottish Cup. In 1902 Rangers put up a trophy in aid of their Ibrox Disaster Fund. They invited Everton and Sunderland; the two biggest clubs in England; to compete with themselves and their Glasgow neighbours, Celtic. Celtic won the trophy. In 1938 Celtic won the Empire Exhibition Trophy by coming out top in a knock-out tournament, involving four top teams from England and four from Scotland. It seemed that every time a permanent trophy was put up to be retained by the winners Celtic won it. In 1945 it was the Victory in Europe Cup. In 1951 they won the St. Mungo Cup and in 1953, they took part in a competition to commemorate the Coronation, involving Aberdeen, Hibernian and Rangers from Scotland and Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur from England. Again, Celtic were winners of the trophy. These victories tell the history of a proud football club. So do the many triumphs in domestic competitions and the many records Celtic have set up, including a world record of nine League Championships in succession. Records can be broken, but history cannot be changed. On May 25, 1967, Celtic made history by becoming the first British club to win the European Champions Cup. This video tape illustrates that history. it [sic] tells of the games, the competitions, the players and the tradition. It is most fitting that the finishing sequence of this film shows Celtic as champions of Europe, coming back to their stadium in the east end of Glasgow. Celtic may now be a mighty footballing force, but they have not forgotten their origins or the reason for their formation and, to this day, make large donations to charity. It is part of their tradition, too, that the man on the terracing is always considered an important part of the club and an integral part of the Celtic Family.