Celtic Park is the lasting legacy of a great man.

Celtic Park is not only the best stadium in the world, in my view, but also one with a fantastic, magical atmosphere and the greatest fans of all time.

I have to say, Celtic Park feels like home to me. Every time I attend a match and hear You’ll Never Walk Alone echoing around the ground, I’m filled with pride and joy at being a Celtic fan. I hope to be going to games for years to come.

In this article, I want to take you on a wee adventure and show you how Celtic Park has changed through the decades—its ups and downs—and talk about the man who saved Celtic: Fergus McCann.

To start, as many of you will know, Celtic FC was formed on the 6th of November 1887 by Brother Walfrid and was originally a charitable organisation, created to help poor Irish immigrants arriving in Glasgow to find work and support.

If there hadn’t been a Brother Walfrid, there would be no Celtic FC. We Celtic fans owe him everything; all we have flows from what he started. Celtic Football Club has always represented a community, and even though times have changed, we Celtic supporters never turn our backs on that history.

Shortly after its formation, on the 13th of November 1887, the newly formed Celtic Football Club leased six acres of idle ground between Janefield Street Cemetery and Dalmarnock Street (what is now Springfield Road) to build their first stadium. Work began quickly, and by the 8th of May 1888 the ground was opened, with the first match played there.

Around 1892, Celtic decided to move from their original home to a site not far from Janefield Street, known then as the brickyard’s crater. On the 20th of August 1892, the New Celtic Park officially opened.

Over the years and decades, Celtic Park struggled. It endured fires and demolitions—such as the one in 1904, when the 3,500-capacity Janefield Street Stand and the pavilion were destroyed. Another fire in 1929 wiped out the Pavilion again, and the Grant Stand was demolished. As a result, the Glasgow firm Duncan & Kerr was brought in to construct a new stand, which officially opened on the 10th of August—coincidentally, the day Celtic beat Hearts 2–1.

Between 1959 and 1988, the stadium went through only modest changes. In 1964, Celtic launched the Celtic Pools to raise funds for ground improvements and team development.

The Janefield enclosure—better known as The Jungle—was renovated a year later. Around 1977, work began on redeveloping the main South Stand, including the addition of a new façade and scoreboards.

The 1990s brought hard times. Celtic Park had fallen into serious disrepair. The board at the time made grand promises about moving to a new futuristic stadium in Cambuslang, but none of it came to pass.

Nothing was done to restore the ground to its former glory. I have to be honest here—writing or even reading about Celtic Park falling apart causes me pain. The Celtic board of that era showed gross incompetence and utter inertia. In fact, don’t you think we’re seeing a bit of that same situation nowadays? We know that there are aspects of the stadium which aren’t up to snuff … we’ve known it for years.

Celtic Park remained in a state until March 1994, when Fergus McCann arrived and took the reins. McCann announced that Celtic would remain at Parkhead and that it would be redeveloped into a 60,000-seat stadium.

Now, let me tell you about that brilliant man, a man I’ve been reading about lately and for another article I’m working on for this site.

Fergus McCann—The Bunnet—was a Scottish-Canadian businessman who came in and took command of the Celtic FC and the Athletic Company Ltd. The club was on the brink of bankruptcy, but McCann stepped in. He acted as guarantor for the club’s £7 million debt, injected much-needed funds, floated the club on the London Stock Exchange as a limited company (Celtic plc) to raise capital, and oversaw the massive redevelopment of Celtic Park.

During the 1994–95 season, Celtic played at Hampden while the work on “Paradise” began. Later that year, the North Stand was opened by the legendary Rod Stewart—himself a passionate Celtic fan, often spotted wearing the Hoops at matches. The return to Celtic Park was marked with a friendly against Newcastle United.

In August 1996, the Lisbon Lions Stand was opened to commemorate that iconic victory on 25th May 1967, when Celtic defeated Inter Milan at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon to win the European Cup. To this day, Celtic fans sing ’67 In The Heat of Lisbon’ to honour that glorious moment—the greatest in our club’s history.

Later, in late 1998, the Jock Stein Stand was opened to honour the greatest manager of them all. Bill Shankly once said, “John, now you’re immortal.” His achievements, his statue and the stand that bears his name guarantee it.

I’ve got a wee curiosity to share: the “new” Celtic Park was officially opened in 1996—and I was born in 1995. So, it’s only one year older than me. Would you believe it? Well, it’s true. It’s amazing to think, whenever I visit there, that the stadium, in its current form, is younger than I am. I often wonder what it would have been like to visit the old Celtic Park.

Without Fergus McCann, where would Celtic be right now? I’ll answer that for you. Without him, Celtic FC and Celtic Park would still be crumbling. But on 4th March 1994, he flew into Glasgow from the States, wearing his trademark bunnet, and saved our club from a deadly fate.

The words that sum him up best, and what his approach to that time was, were those he uttered years later when someone asked why he didn’t just let the club slide into administration (or worse) and force the sale at a lesser price.

“It would’ve cost less, and left the previous owners with nothing, to go into liquidation,” he said. “But it would also be humiliating for Celtic. So, we paid all the bills. Celtic means the same to me as it does to other fans. I identify with the club and wish to be proud of it. Celtic supporters want to be proud of their club. That’s all they want. It is what they deserve.”

This year marks the 31st anniversary of Fergus McCann’s arrival to rescue Celtic FC and Celtic Park. I believe every single one of us in the vast Celtic family should be forever grateful. We must remember this man and tell future generations of his legacy. May Fergus McCann forever live in the hearts and minds of Celtic supporters:

Fergus McCann is the greatest hero in Celtic’s modern history.

Because without him, the club’s story might have ended—not with Hampden in the Sun or that day in Lisbon—but with silence and loss. He saved my club. He saved our club. He saved Celtic. God bless him.