Celtic’s club website has wondered into unstable waters with their tribute to Birthday Bhoy Danny McGrain. Or Daniel Fergus McGrain to give him his full title.
It is a fairly well-established story that as a kid his leanings were towards Rangers where the club had a very strict signing policy which effectively amounted to Nae Kaflkiz.
Across Scotland in the mid-sixties those recruitment policies were far from unusual, it certainly wasn’t an issue that BBC Scotland would have turned a spotlight on since it mirrored their own stance.
Under Jock Stein Celtic’s profile had been turned around, in two years in charge he transformed a faltering, inconsistent group of players into Champions of Europe, something that almost every emerging player in Scotland would want to be part of.
Recalling how McGrain joined Celtic, the Celtic website claims:
Celtic legend, Danny McGrain, celebrates his 71st birthday today (May 1), and the best wishes of all the Celtic Family are with Danny.
Danny started in schools’ football with Camus Place Primary and Kingsridge Secondary and caught the eye of the club while playing for Scottish Schools at Ibrox.
Legend has it that Rangers approached the young player, but on hearing that his name was Daniel Fergus McGrain, they wrongly presumed he was Catholic and didn’t pursue the matter further. The same day he played at Ibrox, May 13, 1967, Sean Fallon was sitting with the youngster’s parents when he got home and he signed for Celtic that day.
Comment from Celtic on the signing policy of their city rivals is very rare, sticking to all matters football and milking their beloved Glasgow Derby appears to be club policy.
Tomorrow the club website will be full on for the action from Ibrox, celebrating the Derby fixture as if it is an asset and attraction for the club.
The Celtic squad will travel to Ibrox on coaches advertising Park’s of Hamilton, the firm owned by Ibrox chairman Douglas Park.
