Celtic Player of the Day – Jock Weir, the striker who kept Celtic up

The Celtic Star

·7 May 2025

Celtic Player of the Day – Jock Weir, the striker who kept Celtic up

The word used often in the war years and immediately after was “utility”, meaning something that would do for the moment, like for example prefabricated houses which in fact were a total success and lasted a lot longer than they were meant to…

In such a way one looks upon Jock Weir, a man who was never a classy footballer, but he was determined, grim and did his best for the club in the difficult days of the late 1940s. He was never more than an “honest journeyman” but he was held in great affection by the supporters who will always love a trier.

He probably has two claims to fame

He probably has two claims to fame. One was the hat-trick that he scored at Dens Park in April 1948 to save Celtic from relegation – one with his right foot, one with his left foot and the other was a header! Celtic probably would have been safe in any case, and Dundee (allegedly) “co-operated”, but he was a hero none the less.

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And then he had his big moment in the Scottish Cup final of 1951 when the forward line of Weir, Collins, McPhail, Peacock and Tully beat Motherwell 1-0 in a grim Cup final which saw Weir helping out his beleaguered defence for most of the second half before Celtic won their first trophy since 1938.

He was not Celtic’s greatest ever player, but he deserves his place in our history.

David Potter

“One with my left, one with my right and one with my head, the perfect hat-trick to win the match and guarantee safety from relegation,” Jock Weir on his hat-trick v Dundee to save Celtic from the threat of relegation

Dundee v Celtic, 17 April 1948. Photo The Celtic Wiki

*Article by David Potter from The Celtic Star archives.

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Celtic Player of the Day – Jock Weir, the striker who kept Celtic up | OneFootball