George McCluskey

George McKinley Cassidy McCluskey (born 19 September 1957) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a forward for Celtic, Leeds United, Hibernian, Hamilton Academical, Kilmarnock and Clyde. He represented Scotland up to under-21 level.

For the NYPD police inspector, see George W. McClusky. For the British actor, see George McCluskey (actor).

George McCluskey
Personal information
Full name George McKinley Cassidy McCluskey
Date of birth (1957-09-19) 19 September 1957
Place of birth Hamilton, Scotland
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1970–1973 Celtic Boys Club
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1983 Celtic 145 (54)
1973–1974 → Thorniewood United (loan)
1983–1986 Leeds United 73 (16)
1986–1989 Hibernian 83 (16)
1989–1992 Hamilton Academical 95 (34)
1992–1994 Kilmarnock 57 (13)
1994–1996 Clyde 35 (8)
Total 488 (141)
National team
1978–1982[1] Scotland U21 7 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

While with Celtic (his childhood and formative team and longest spell as a professional at eight seasons, otherwise spending two or three years at each club), he scored the winning goal in the 1980 Scottish Cup Final[2][3] and won three Scottish League titles (1978–79, 1980–81 and 1981–82),[4] scoring in the decisive last-day fixtures in 1979[5] and 1982[6] and finishing as top goalscorer in the latter season.[7] In the autumn of his career in 1993, he helped Kilmarnock[8] (managed by his Celtic teammate and friend Tommy Burns) gain promotion to the top tier from the First Division, where they have remained since.

McCluskey is now a coach at Celtic's Youth Academy.[9]

Personal life

George McCluskey's son Barry is registered blind and is a blind golf player.[10] His younger brother, John, was also a footballer who played one match for Celtic in the early rounds of the European Cup in 1977 aged 16,[11] becoming their youngest continental debutant (a record which stood for 42 years before being taken by Karamoko Dembélé in 2019)[12] before being forced to retire soon afterwards due to a thrombosis condition in his leg which endangered his health. It was also revealed some years later that John McCluskey had been one of the victims of the sexual abuse of child footballers which took place at Celtic Boys Club (for which George also played) in the 1970s.[13][14] The siblings are not related to Pat McCluskey who also played for Celtic in the 1970s.

References
  1. Scotland U21 player McCluskey, George, FitbaStats
  2. Celtic legend George McCluskey: I scored the goal that still gets me blame for the fact fans can't get a pint at the game anymore, Daily Record, 22 October 2016
  3. George McCluskey's trip down memory lane, Celtic FC, 9 March 2014
  4. Celtic player McCluskey, George, FitbaStats
  5. When 10 men won the league, Celtic FC, 21 May 2012
  6. 15 May 1982 – The Day We Won The League for Doyle, The Celtic Star, 15 May 2019
  7. Scotland - List of Topscorers, RSSSF
  8. Kimarnock player McCluskey, George, FitbaStats
  9. "Tonight on the Huddle Online". Celtic FC. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  10. Celtic legend George McCluskey's son is making his mark on the blind golf scene, Daily Record, 30 August 2018
  11. Celtic player McCluskey, John, FitbaStats
  12. Oates, Kathleen (12 December 2019). "Karamoko Dembele enters history books as Celtic youngster makes European debut against CFR Cluj". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  13. McCluskey, John, The Celtic Wiki
  14. Dark secret that took 30 years to expose: No more cover-ups: how the Record brought an end to the cancer that existed in Celtic Boys Club, Daily Record, 13 November 1998 (via TheFreeLibrary)
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