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Fullname: Joseph Bailie
aka: Joe Bailie
Born: 26 February 1929
Died: 23 Mar 1966
Birthplace: Dumfries
Signed: 15 Dec 1945
Left: 1 Nov 1954 (to Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Position: Defender (left side)
Debut: Queen of the South 3-1 Celtic, League 14 Sep 1946
Internationals: n/a
International Caps: n/a

Biog

Having signed for Celtic in 1945 from Glasgow junior club St Roch's Joe Baillie made his debut on September 14 1946 in a 3-1 league defeat at Queen of the South.

It was to be another 18 months before he was to force his way back into the team but once he did he slowly began to establish.himself as a first team regular at left-half and he forged a fine partnership with the great Bobby Evans.

The immediate years after the end of World War II were lean times for Celtic and success was hard to come by but when it finally arrived in the shape of Scottish Cup glory in 1951 Joe Baillie played an admirable part.

Baillie had put in some stirling performances on the left flank as Celtic battled to a final date with Motherwell. In a tense match Celtic won by a solitary goal in which Joe Baillie made a significant contribution. With about 14 minutes gone Baillie superbly broke up a dangerous Motherwell attack. His long sweeping ball then released John McPhail who coolly finished to score the only goal of the game.

A few months later Baillie was also part of the Celtic team which was to win the St Mungo Cup - a competition organised to mark the Festival of Britain - by defeating Aberdeen 2-1 at Hampden on August 1st. Those few months in 1951 were to be the peak of Joe Baillie's Celtic career and after slowly slipping out of contention for a first team slot, following ligament damage, he moved south to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1954.

A lack of honours should not disguise the fact that Joe Baillie was a fine player and in total he made 151 appearances for Celtic and netted one goal. He played for us during a very difficult time for the club and in society as a whole.

He died tragically, being found drowned in the River Kelvin when his car crashed through the parapet of a bridge.

*Joe was rejected for National Service due to cartilage problems but he did his bit for the people as a 'Bevin Boy'. Indeed during his later seasons at Parkhead he combined his playing career with shifts down the mine at Twechar.

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Indicate any known awards (player of the year, etc)

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