Neil McCallum (footballer, born 1868)

Neil McCallum
Personal information
Full name Cornelius McCallum
Date of birth 3 July 1868
Place of birth Bonhill, Scotland
Date of death 5 November 1920(1920-11-05) (aged 52)
Place of death Springburn, Glasgow
Position(s) Outside right
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1885–1888 Renton[a]
1888–1890 Celtic[a] 189 (178)
1890 Blackburn Rovers 2 (0)
1890–1891 Nottingham Forest[b] 19 (8)
1891–1892 Celtic 20 (12)
1892–1895 Nottingham Forest 36 (13)
1894Loughborough (loan)
1895Newark Town (loan)
1895–1896 Notts County 13 (3)
1896–1897 Heanor Town
Gravesend
International career
1888 Scotland 1 (1)
1892 Scottish League XI 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Cornelius "Neil" McCallum (3 July 1868 – 5 November 1920) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right for Renton, Celtic,[1] Blackburn Rovers, Nottingham Forest,[2] Notts County, Heanor Town and Scotland.[3][4]

McCallum had the distinction of being part of the Renton team that defeated West Bromwich Albion in a challenge match in May 1888, billed as the "World Championship". By now also an international but still a teenager, later in the same month he joined the newly formed Celtic and scored the club's first ever goal in their inaugural match, a 5–2 win over Rangers.[5] When he won the Scottish Cup during his second spell at Celtic in 1892 alongside former Renton teammate James Kelly, they became the first players to win the competition with two different clubs, having also been victorious with their old club in 1888.

His nephew Charles and great-nephew Denis McCallum were also footballers, the latter playing for Celtic in the 1920s.[6]


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  1. ^ (Celtic player) McCallum, Neil, FitbaStats
  2. ^ Neil McCallum, TheCityGround.com. Retrieved 18 February 2022
  3. ^ (Smith 2013, p. 171)
  4. ^ Cornelius Joseph McCallum, Play Up Liverpool
  5. ^ "Neil McCallum". The Vale of Leven. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  6. ^ The Death Of Charles McCallum, Northern Whig, 16 August 1930, via Play Up Liverpool