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Personal
Fullname: John McFarlane
aka: Jean McFarlane, John Macfarlane
Born: 24 Nov 1899
Died: 25 Feb 1956
Birthplace: Bathgate, West Lothian
Signed: Nov 1919
Left: 20 June 1929 (to Middlesborough)
Position: Inside-right
Debut: Motherwell 0-0 Celtic, League, 17 Apr 1920
Internationals: none
Biog
| “Jean McFarlane was a classic wing-half, a carpet artist and an all-time Celtic great.” Eugene MacBride, (Alphabet of the Celts) |
The Bathgate-born son of a colliery manager, John ‘Jean’ McFarlane first signed for Celtic in November 1919 after being spotted in the junior grade at Wellesley.
Initially signed as an inside right he made his big team debut in a 0-0 league draw at Motherwell on April 17th 1920.
The following year he was tried out at left-half in Patsy Gallacher’s benefit game with Burnley and such was the quality of his assured performance that in time he was make the position his own.
The legendary Hughie Gallacher said of him that he was “Some player…his play lacked only devil“. John McFarlane was a master of the “raking cross-field pass“.
After his debut he was used sporadically in runs and it wasn’t until the second half of 1922 that he was finally made a regular starter, and from then he was a guaranteed player in the side. An important move as it helped the club seal its first league title for a few seasons.
An elegant presence on the pitch, John McFarlane was a wonderful passer of the ball and was supremely gifted at feeding his forwards with chance after chance. He helped pull in the crowds no matter what else the performance of the Celtic crowd. An “artist all the time” and “a glorious passer of the ball“.
He revealed in his weekly (humourous) column for the Weekly News that it was a Celtic groundsman who first started to call him Jean instead of John and it stuck for ever more.
He played his part in the Scottish Cup triumphs of 1923, 1925 and 1927 and even when Celtic were off-colour, John McFarlane could always be relied upon to provide some moments of real quality to lift the support. He even set up the winner in the 1925 Scottish Cup final for Jimmy McGrory:
“It was a mighty goal scored by McGrory diving full-stretch to ram a perfect free-kick from McFarlane past future Celt Jock Britton. Jean McFarlane was a classic wing-half, a carpet artist and an all-time Celtic great.” (Eugene MacBride, Alphabet of the Celts)
He helped the club to the league title in 1925-26 when he was a near ever-present.
He made his last appearance in a 4-1 win over Arbroath in Feb 1929, having been a near-cert first team player over the past decade.
A consistent and faithful Celtic servant John McFarlane played 304 times in the league & Scottish Cup for Celtic and scored 13 goals.
He eventually departed Parkhead for Middlesbrough in June 1929 but by then there was no doubt he had given his very best service to the Bhoys. He later moved to Dunfermline Athletic in 1934, retiring the following year.
A tremendous footballer and a Celtic great.
William Fagan was John McFarlane’s nephew and Celtic player who also came from Wellesley.
He passed away on 25 Feb 1956. A fine Celt.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1919-1929 | 268 | 36 | n/a | n/a | 304 |
| Goals: | 11 | 2 | – | – | 13 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Scottish Cup