Jimmy McMenemy

Club

McMenemy began his career playing for local Junior teams Cambuslang Hibernian and Rutherglen Glencairn, winning the Scottish Junior Cup and Glasgow Junior League double with the latter in 1902, alongside Alec Bennett. In June 1902, aged 21, he joined Celtic, where he would become a mainstay in the side for the next two decades. Nicknamed "Napoleon" by manager Willie Maley due to his strategic and leadership qualities and calmness, as well as an apparent resemblance to Napoleon Bonaparte, he was also said to be "a master of the deceptive movement" who "seldom troubled himself with the physical side of the game – he had no need." He made his debut on 29 September 1902 against Hearts, scoring for the first time in a 3–0 win over Port Glasgow Athletic two months later. One of his first important actions was away from the pitch when he successfully persuaded Bennett to join him at the club; the pair would form Celtic's first famous forward line, along with Davie Hamilton (another former Cambuslang Hibs player), Jimmy Quinn and Peter Somers.

McMenemey was in the team that defeated Rangers 3–2 in the 1904 Scottish Cup final after being down 2–0, and also played and opened the scoring in a playoff match against the same opposition to decide the 1904–05 league title. It would be the first of six league titles in a row between 1905 and season 1909–10, with Celtic also securing two further Scottish Cups in 1907 and 1908. Rangers built a strong team of their own (including…

James was born in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, on 11 October 1880 to John McMenamin and Hannah Regan; his father adopted the name 'McMenamin' after he moved to Scotland from County Tyrone. John's brother, also called James, settled in Rutherglen during the same period with his wife Ann Smith but maintained the traditional spelling 'McMenemy'. This – and also due to the player himself using both styles – has led to some mis-attributing of the player's date of birth to that of his cousin (James McMenemy, born at Rutherglen on 23 August 1880).

After retiring from playing, McMenemy spent some years away from football and spent time as a publican. He came back to Partick Thistle as a coach, then in 1934 returned to Celtic as trainer assisting Willie Maley (the same manager who had brought him to the club three decades earlier), helping players such as Jimmy Delaney and Willie Buchan to develop and taking charge of the squad which won the Empire Exhibition Trophy in 1938, having already secured that season's League title. Maley retired in 1940, however McMenemy was not chosen to succeed him, the role instead going to Jimmy McStay. By then the world was again at war, and McMenemy and Celtic parted company. He died in Glasgow in 1965.

Legacy

In 2010, a selection of McMenemy's medals, Scotland caps and other memorabilia was sold at auction for £3,500. In 2013, the Evening Times newspaper ranked him in 12th position among Celtic's greatest-ever players. In 2014, the 'Celtic Graves Society' held a commemorative event for McMenemy in Dalbeth St Peters Cemetery to recognise his achievements, attended by family members and former players.

Jimmy McMenemy's six sons were also footballers: John won the Scottish Cup with Celtic in 1927 – just six years after his father's last win – and the Scottish League Championship with Motherwell in 1932; Harry played for Newcastle United where he won the FA Cup in 1932; Frank played for Hamilton Academical and Crystal Palace; and James (Maryhill) Joe (Strathclyde) and Neil (Strathclyde, Ayr United) were prominent junior players but did not play at the professional level. Joe McMenemy is also credited with saving the sister of Sean Fallon from drowning during a holiday in Sligo, after which the families became acquainted; Fallon would go on to serve Celtic as a player and coach for many years. Lawrie McMenemy, the former manager of Southampton and many other teams, is a distant relation of the family.