Jimmy Quinn

Who was Jimmy Quinn?

Jimmy Quinn was a Scottish footballer who played for Celtic and represented Scotland.

Signed for Celtic by Willie Maley from junior club Smithston Albion in 1900, he took several seasons to make his mark, playing at outside- then inside-left before being moved to centre. Like so many players of the time and since, he was a coal miner.

He scored 216 competitive goals in 331 appearances – 187 in the league and 29 cup goals in 58 appearances, 7 or 8 of those goals in finals. He won six successive championship and five Scottish Cup medals with Celtic and was capped eleven times for Scotland, scoring seven times, including four out of five goals v Ireland in 1908. His strike rate of 0.65 – almost two goals every three games – is surpassed among Celtic goalscorers only by Jimmy McGrory, Henrik Larsson and Sandy McMahon. As a scorer of league goals, his total of 187 is surpassed only by McGrory's.

The foundations of Quinn's enduring fame were laid in the 1904 Scottish Cup Final, when Celtic faced their Old Firm rivals Rangers. At half-time Rangers led by two goals to nil. In the second half, however, Celtic came back to win 3-2, Quinn scoring all the goals.