The Celtic Underground

Celtic Underground No271 - Let's Be Frank


Listen Later

This week St Anthony is joined by a Celtic star whom Saint would put into a list of potential all time great Celtic strikers - Mr Frank McGarvey.


Most will know that Frank began his career very succesfully at St Mirren before, in May 1979, McGarvey signed for Liverpool for £270,000. However, his tenure with the club lasted only 10 months. Unable to breakthrough into the first team, McGarvey sought a transfer. Liverpool accepted a bid of £270,000 by Celtic in March 1980, and for a short time McGarvey became Scotland's most expensive footballer.


McGarvey played 245 times for Celtic over five years, scoring 113 goals. In that time he won two League Championships, two Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup. However, Celtic manager David Hay decided Mo Johnston and Brian McClair would be his forward line for the 1985–86 season and declined to offer McGarvey an extended contract. His final, and perhaps most notable act as a Celtic player, was to score the winning goal six minutes from the end of the 1985 Scottish Cup Final.


In June 1985 McGarvey rejoined St. Mirren for £80,000. Two years later, he won a third Scottish Cup with them. In total he played 387 times for St Mirren, scoring 125 goals. Later in his career, McGarvey had spells with Queen of the South (where he was player-manager), Clyde (with which he won a Second Division Championship title at the age of 37) and Shotts Bon Accord.


Having retired from the game before footballers began earning high salaries (he notes that he "took home £190 a week after tax" while playing for Celtic) McGarvey now works as a joiner. In 2008, McGarvey wrote an autobiography called Totally Frank in which he described the highs and lows of his career and revealed how he overcame a long-time gambling addiction



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecelticunderground.substack.com/subscribe
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Celtic UndergroundBy The Celtic Underground

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

33 ratings


More shows like The Celtic Underground

View all
Scottish Football Podcast by BBC Radio Scotland

Scottish Football Podcast

119 Listeners

Off the Ball Podcast by BBC Radio Scotland

Off the Ball Podcast

79 Listeners

Superscoreboard by Bauer Media

Superscoreboard

150 Listeners

20 Minute Tims by Evil Genius Media

20 Minute Tims

56 Listeners

HomeBhoys by The HomeBhoys Channel

HomeBhoys

7 Listeners

Open Goal - Football Show by Open Goal - Football Show

Open Goal - Football Show

128 Listeners

A Celtic State of Mind by A State of Mind

A Celtic State of Mind

48 Listeners

The Cynic | A Celtic FC Podcast by Christopher Gallagher

The Cynic | A Celtic FC Podcast

43 Listeners

4 Tims and a Podcast by 4 Tims

4 Tims and a Podcast

5 Listeners

The Etims Show by ETims

The Etims Show

1 Listeners

The Huddle Breakdown by The Huddle Breakdown

The Huddle Breakdown

13 Listeners

Celtic Exchange: Celtic Football Club in Focus by The Celtic Exchange

Celtic Exchange: Celtic Football Club in Focus

9 Listeners

Celtic Way Podcast by Celtic Way

Celtic Way Podcast

6 Listeners

Rangers Review Podcast by The Rangers Review

Rangers Review Podcast

1 Listeners

RGC - A Celtic Podcast by The RGC Team - Chris, Jim & Paul

RGC - A Celtic Podcast

4 Listeners