Patsy Gallacher
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Patrick Gallacher or Gallagher | ||
| Date of birth | 16 March 1891 | ||
| Place of birth | Milford (County Donegal), Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 15 June 1953 | ||
| Place of death | Scotstoun (Glasgow), Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Inside-right | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Renfrew St James | |||
| 1911 | Clydebank Juniors | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1911-1925 | Celtic | 432 | (186) |
| 1925 | New Bedford Whalers | ||
| 1926–1932 | Falkirk | 131 | (23) |
| Total | 563 | (209) | |
| National team | |||
| 1913-1924 | Scottish League XI | 2 | (0) |
| 1919-1927 | Ireland (IFA) | 11 | (0) |
| 1927 | Scottish FA tour | 7 | (7) |
| 1931 | Irish Free State (FAI) | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Patsy Gallacher (16 March 1891 – 17 June 1953) was an Irish footballer, playing in the inside-right position, and most noted for his career at Celtic - he is one of the club's leading goalscorers of all time.
He shouldn't be mistaken with Patrick Gallacher, who had a nickname "Patsy".
Patsy was born in a workhouse in the small Donegal town of Milford, although his hometown in early childhood was Ramelton. His parents were both originally named Gallagher (a very common surname in the area) but at some point the spelling was altered. The New Zealand rugby international Dave Gallaher was also from Ramelton and his pre-emigration name was also Gallagher, but there is no evidence that the two sportsmen were related.
Gallacher was just three years old when his family moved to Clydebank in Scotland, and he played for his first schoolboy team at Holy Redeemer Primary School in Glasgow. Patsy had to organise the team, acting as captain and secretary because every teacher in the school was female and showed little interest in the sport. Patsy remembered his first trophy in the Yoker Athletic Schools' Tournament playing for Holy Redeemer who were the dark horses of the competition. He recalled that the organisers were unwilling to award the cup to a team without an adult manager.
Patsy then joined Benvue, a team in the Clean Speech League. He then moved up to the juvenile side, Renfrew St. James. He then moved up again to Clydebank Juniors and began to attract the attention of scouts from senior clubs. They could see his talent which was impressive, but had doubts due to his puny, frail appearance. Despite this he received offers of a trial with Clyde F.C and Celtic. During his trial period he scored twice in a 6–1 defeat of Dumfries and three times in a 5–0 win against a British Army XI.
He was quickly promoted to the Celtic first team and made his debut aged 20 against St Mirren at Parkhead in November 1911. He was to overcome his supposed physical problems in the same way that Garrincha would in years to come, and his resilience and stature earned him the nickname 'The Mighty Atom'. Within six months he secured his first winner's medal, scoring once in the 2–0 victory over Clyde in the 1912 Scottish Cup Final.
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