Supporter Bill Daly, a family member of 1950s’ Celtic player Mike Haughney, is supporting both Celtic FC Foundation and Beatson Cancer Charity by auctioning some prized possessions.
Bill hopes to raise as much as possible with his unique football memorabilia dating back to 1952, which will be auctioned via McTear’s Sporting Auction, who have also very kindly waived their seller’s fees in support of his efforts.
Bill’s cousin, Mike, played at right-back for Celtic between 1949 and 1957, scoring on his debut against Rangers and, unusually for a full back, went on to score a further 43 goals.
Winning five major honours throughout his Celtic career, Mike played alongside the legendary Jock Stein before retiring in 1957 and moving stateside to Indiana with his family.
It is that historic link with the club that has now led Bill to support the Foundation. He said: “My cousin played against so many famous teams and would take his notebook into the opposition dressing room after each match and collect signatures for me.
“As a young child I remember being so grateful and to still have that book now, is really special.”
Alongside the endless pages of historic teams’ signatures, Mike and Bill also gathered a mixture of tickets, programmes and other footballing memorabilia throughout the years.
Bill was in Lisbon on that historic day in 1967 and his collection includes his original European Cup final ticket.
Bill continued: “The European Cup ticket brings back some lovely memories. With an amazing personal link to Celtic Football Club and our history, it was incredible to be there on the day. Being able to pass these on and support two amazing charities at the same time feels like the right thing to do.”
Although the Celtic memorabilia piques real interest, the stand out item is an original collection of signatures from the famous ‘Busby Babes’, when Manchester United played a friendly against Celtic in 1956. Two years later, in February of 1958, many of the team who played that day would sadly lose their lives in the tragic Munich Air Disaster.
Along with the ‘Busby Babes’ collection, there are many other wonderful items in the auction, including the signatures of many teams such as the Arsenal team of 1953, the Wolves team of 1954, the Partick Thistle team circa 1950s and the Aberdeen team circa 1950s.
All proceeds will be split equally between Celtic FC Foundation and Beatson Cancer Charity and will be gratefully received by both charities.
You can support Bill’s wonderful fundraising efforts by participating in the auction with McTear’s. You can bid on the auction lots (1516 to 1533) in person or online HERE.
