Jimmy McGrory

St Roch's

McGrory began playing for St Roch's Juniors aged 16, earning £2 a week. In his first season of 1921–22, he helped the side win a Double. St Roch's won the Scottish Junior Football League and the Scottish Junior Cup, where he scored the equaliser in a 2–1 win over Kilwinning Rangers. In 2013, St Roch's renamed their ground in honour of McGrory, changing it from Provanmill Park to The James McGrory Park.

Celtic

1920s

With many clubs now scouting McGrory, such as Third Lanark and Fulham, Celtic jumped in first and approached to sign him. He signed his first full professional contract for Celtic on 10 June 1922, for £5 a week, in the pavilion at Third Lanark's Cathkin Park. He made his debut on 20 January 1923, in a 1–0 away defeat, also at Cathkin Park. His first goal came two weeks later on 3 February 1923, in a 4–3 League defeat against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. In total, he made three League and one Scottish Cup appearances, scoring that one goal at Rugby Park. He was loaned out to Clydebank on 7 August 1923 and later that month scored on his debut against Aberdeen at Pittodrie in a 3–1 defeat. On 1 March 1924, he lined up in the Clydebank side to face Celtic at Parkhead. It ended up being quite a bizarre day for him, as he ended up scoring the winner in a shock 2–1 victory for Clydebank. Not long after this, and before the season was out, he was recalled to Celtic. In his time at Clydebank he played 33 League and Scottish Cup games,…

McGrory gained a total of seven caps for the Scottish national team, scoring six goals. In the mid and late 1920s he was generally overlooked, as were Dave Halliday and Hughie Ferguson, in favour of Hughie Gallacher who played 18 times in that period, scoring 24 goals in 17 victories and one draw. McGrory's full international debut was at Firhill in 1928 against Ireland when Gallacher was on a two-month suspension; Scotland lost 1–0 to an opponent Gallacher usually scored freely against. McGrory became something of a scapegoat, waiting over three years for his full international recall. McGrory's six other caps were in the 1930s when Gallacher was unavailable due to a ban affecting non-English players playing for English clubs (Gallacher had been at the centre of this club-versus-country dispute when, under pressure from Newcastle United directors in April 1930, he played for them against Arsenal rather than for Scotland against England – Arsenal felt especially aggrieved since they had released Alex James and David Jack to play in the international at Wembley). In these six games, McGrory scored six goals, but despite this strike rate he was never given an extended run in the team; his final appearance, the only one in which he did not score aside from his debut, was also against Ireland and resulted in defeat, this time at his home club ground Celtic Park. The press were critical of the Scottish players individually and collectively, and McGrory was one of five in the…

Although he was only 5 ft 6ins, McGrory was renowned for his prowess and ability from headers. His trademark was an almost horizontal, bullet header, which he performed and scored regularly from and which earned him his nicknames, of the "Human Torpedo" and the "Mermaid". Johnny Paton, who played for Celtic and Chelsea, described McGrory as being "all strength and muscle" and having a "great bull neck", adding that he was "the hardest header of a ball I ever saw" and also had "a great shot in his right boot."

McGrory was born at Millburn Street in the Garngad neighbourhood of Glasgow. He was the son of Henry McGrory and Catherine Coll, both of whom were Irish Catholic immigrants from Ulster. Henry and Catherine had been married at Saint Baithin's Church (known locally as 'the Chapel') in St Johnston, a village in The Laggan district in the east of County Donegal, before emigrating to Scotland. Catherine was from the townland of Cavanacaw and Henry was from the townland of Tullyowen, both in St Johnston, where Jimmy's elder brother was born before the family left Ireland. They lived in Glasgow's East End on his father's wages as a gasworks labourer.