Brodie, John

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Fullname: John Brodie
Born: 5 January 1896
Died: […1979…. [TBC, see notes]]
Birthplace: Dumbarton
Signed: 9 June 1916
Left: June 1919 (Chelsea)
Position: Outside-Left
Debut: Celtic 3-2 Clyde, 01 Sep 1917
Internationals: none

Biog

In a short-lived Celtic career John Brodie made just two league appearances before departing the club for English side Chelsea.

Brodie signed for the Celts during wartime in 1916 from his hometown club Dumbarton Harp. But – with strong competition for a place in the Celtic forward line – the player didn’t make his debut until 1st September 1917 when he played in a 3-2 victory at home to Clyde. Celtic lost their league title after dominating through the decade.

His second – and final – appearance for the Hoops came the following season when he netted in a 2-1 victory at Falkirk. The Herald noted that Falkirk gave “by far their best display of the season, Celtic on the other hand were distinctly below par“.

He was to only play a single game in season 1918/19, but it helped Celtic to regain the league title. As Celtic regained the league title by just one point above Rangers (wins were 2pts in those days), his contribution in retrospect was very valuable.

Didn’t help he was played out of position at left-wing instead of his preferred inside-forward. Also, Celtic had an abundance of talent at the time having had a very successful first team dominating the league for many years, so not easy for anyone to break through.

He eventually left Glasgow for Chelsea in 1919, and made five reserve team appearances, scoring two goals. His stint there was short, and he returned up north to play again for Dumbarton Harp.

Playing Career

APPEARANCES LEAGUE SCOTTISH CUP LEAGUE CUP EUROPE TOTAL
1916-19 2 0 n/a n/a 2
Goals: 1 0 – – 1

Honours with Celtic

Scottish League

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Notes

  • I’ve asked @CFC_Graves_Soc Chelseas Graves Society, but like us no luck with pics or further info at present (Dec 2023).
  • Chelsea Graves Society believe he possibly died in Dumbarton in 1979 [TBC]
Played for Dumbarton FC on 5/1/1918
(Daily Record report, Monday, 7/1/1918)