It took a good man to replace Willie Orr, but Jamie Weir was just that man, replacing the ageing Willie Orr in the left back position in summer 1907 and holding the position down for three glorious years in which he won three Scottish League medals, one Scottish Cup medal, one Glasgow Cup medal and one Glasgow Charity Cup medal – not a bad haul for three years!
More than 90 Minutes Issue 113 Print Edition
The change was seamless, although the style of play was different. Weir was younger (born in 1887 in Muirkirk, Ayrshire) and has been described as ” strong, truculent and fearless” and freely compared to Storrier, Battles and Doyle. not to mention Willie Orr himself. This doughty character whose tackle was ferocious, apparently he had the habit of shouting at his opponent “Get Rid Of The Ball” as a sort of warning as he charged in! He had a good relationship with his full back partners Donnie McLeod and later Alec McNair, and on the left flank he could interchange with another Ayrshire man, James Hay, who was of course now the captain.
Being an Ayrshire man, Weir, like quite a lot of early Celts (Sandy McMahon, Peter Somers, Sunny Jim) had a great love of Robert Burns and did, we are told, a mean Tam O’Shanter at the Celtic soirees at the intensive training sessions at various Hydro hotels.
His finest hours were the Scottish Cup final in 1908 and the glorious 12 days of April 1909 when Celtic were required to play 8 games to win the League. They duly did so, and Weir played in every game without giving the slightest hint of being tired!
Thousands Are Sailing T-Shirt (Pre-Order Includes FREE Badge)
His departure in 1910 was quite abrupt, and apparently involved a falling out with Maley and the establishment over wages. He left to play for Middlesbrough and stayed with them until after World War One. He settled in the North East and as late as the 1950s, he was running the Crown Hotel in Redcar. He died in around 1959 or 1960 but the exact date of his death has been difficult to tie down.
Jamie Weir is yet another of the many undervalued Celts of the great days. His replacement at left back was eventually the great Joe Dodds.
Born in 1948, David Potter first saw Celtic at Dens Park, Dundee in March 29. It was a 3-5 defeat, which equipped him admirably for the horrors of the early 1960’s. He had “followed” Celtic for a few years before that and recalls having been called upon to impersonate Jock Stein and receive the family silver teapot which had to do for the Scottish Cup as it was presented on April 24 1954, after he and his father had spent a nerve wracking afternoon listening to the radio! Since then, he has “followed” every Celtic game with bated breath, and has written extensively about the club in magazines and books. His favorite team was that of 1969 (which he rates marginally better than 1967) and his favorite player was Henrik Larsson.
His ambition for Celtic is for them to keep on winning silver in Scotland and to be something in Europe once again. His other interests are cricket and drama. He is 70, a retired teacher of Classical Languages, married with three children and five grandchildren. He now travels on the Joseph Rafferty bus from Kirkcaldy. He also loves Forfar Athletic.
If you would like to support our Independent Celtic Fan Media Platform you can become a Member, Subscribe, Buy or Donate for the Price of a Pint. Your Support helps us continue to produce Daily News & Articles, Weekly Newsletter, Weekly Podcasts, Monthly Fanzine, Video Content & Live Shows.
https://celticfanzine.com/join-us/
https://celticfanzine.com/product-category/monthly-print-subscription
https://celticfanzine.com/shop/
https://celticfanzine.com/donations-page/
y/
Copyright 2018 Celtic Fanzine | Developed by Blueberry Design