Brief History  | CelticFC
Brief History
November 6, 1887
Celtic Football Club is formally constituted in St Mary's Church Hall in East Rose Street (now Forbes Street), Calton. The purpose is stated as being to alleviate poverty in Glasgow's East End parishes.
May 28, 1888
Celtic beat Rangers 5-2 in a "friendly". It is the new club's first match and is played on the first Celtic Park.
1889
Celtic reach the final of the Scottish Cup in their first full season of competition, but they lose 2-1 to the well-established Third Lanark. However, the club wins its first trophy, the North-Eastern Cup (a local competition), beating Cowlairs 6-1 in the final.
1892
Celtic win the Scottish Cup for the first time in their history by defeating Queen's Park 5-2 in the final at Ibrox Park. A few months later, the club moves to its present ground.
1893
Celtic win their first Scottish League Championship.
1897
The club becomes a private limited liability company, and Willie Maley is appointed secretary-manager.
1905-1910
Celtic win the League Championship for six successive seasons.
1907
Celtic achieve the "double" by winning the Scottish Cup and the League Championship in the same season, the first time the feat has been achieved in the history of the national sport. The team repeats the achievement the following season.
1914-1917
Celtic win the championship four times in a row.
1937
Celtic beat Aberdeen in a Scottish Cup final, watched by a record crowd of 146,433 at Hampden Park. The attendance (sometimes reported as 147,365) remains a record for a club match in Europe.
1939
Celtic win the Empire Exhibition Trophy by defeating Everton 1-0 at Ibrox after extra time in the final.
1945
Former player and ex-captain Jimmy McGrory replaces Jimmy McStay as manager.
1953
Celtic defeat Hibernian 2-0 in the final of the Coronation Cup, held to celebrate the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II. The invited teams included the best in Scotland and England, and the final attracted a crowd of 117,000 at Hampden Park.
1956
Celtic win the League Cup for the first time - after a decade of striving - by beating Partick Thistle 3-0 in a replay.
1957
Celtic retain the League Cup in memorable style by thrashing Rangers 7-1 in the final.
1964
Celtic reach the semi-final of the European Cup-Winners' Cup in only their second campaign in European competition, but lose 4-3 on aggregate to MTK Budapest.
1965
Jock Stein succeeds Jimmy McGrory as manager in March 1965, and guides the team to the first victory in a Scottish Cup final in 11 years. Billy McNeill's dramatic header seals a 3-2 win over Dunfermline Athletic.
1966
Celtic win the championship for the first time in 12 seasons, and reach the semi-final of the Cup-Winners' Cup again before losing 2-1 on aggregate to Liverpool.
1967
Celtic complete their most glorious season by winning every competition entered: Scottish League, Scottish Cup, League Cup, Glasgow Cup and the European Cup. The climax of the season is the 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in the European Cup final played at the Estadio Nacional in Lisbon on May 25, 1967. Celtic thus become the first British (and non-Latin) club to win Europe's most coveted trophy.
1970
Celtic reach the final of the European Cup again, but lose 2-1 to Feyenoord after extra time in Milan. In the semi-final Celtic defeated Leeds United in both legs. The second leg at Hampden Park was watched by 133,961, the largest crowd ever to watch a match in European club competition.
1972
Celtic reach the European Cup semi-final for the third time, but lose in heart-breaking fashion at Parkhead to Inter Milan when Dixie Deans misses the first spot kick during the penalty shoot-out.
1974
Celtic win the league championship for the ninth season in a row - at the time, a joint world record for success in domestic titles. The team reaches the semi-final of the European Cup for the fourth time, but loses 2-0 on aggregate to Atletico Madrid.
1978
Billy McNeill, captain of the 1967 team, succeeds Jock Stein as manager. During Stein's 12-year tenure (excluding 1975/76, when he was recuperating from injuries received in a car accident), the club enjoyed 25 successes in major competitions: the European Cup, 10 Championships, 8 Scottish Cups and 6 League Cups.
1979
Billy McNeill guides Celtic to the championship in his first season as manager. The title is gained in truly dramatic fashion at Celtic Park with a 4-2 win over Rangers in the club's final match.
1983
Another ex-player, David Hay, replaces Billy McNeill as manager.
1985
Celtic win the Scottish Cup by beating Dundee United 2-1 at Hampden Park in the 100th cup final.
1986
Celtic snatch the championship by edging out Heart of Midlothian on the last day of the campaign. The margin was on goal difference, as Celtic beat St Mirren 5-0 at Love Street and Hearts fall to two late goals from Dundee at Dens Park.
1987
Billy McNeill returns to Celtic Park as manager, replacing David Hay.
1988
Celtic celebrate the centenary season (1987/88) by winning the first "double" in 11 years. The accomplishment marks the 35th league title, and the 28th Scottish Cup.
1989
Celtic win the Scottish Cup for the 29th time as Joe Miller's goal sinks Rangers by 1-0.
1991
Liam Brady becomes Celtic's manager when he takes over from Billy McNeill. His appointment marks a break from tradition, as he is the first Celtic manager never to have played for the club.
1993
Liam Brady is replaced as manager by former-Celt Lou Macari. 
1994
In March, Fergus McCann rescues the club from financial ruin. Shortly afterwards, Lou Macari is replaced as manager by Tommy Burns. Later that same year, the club is reconstituted as a plc, a development quickly followed by the most successful share-issue in the history of British.
1995
Celtic play home fixtures at Hampden Park during season 1994/95, while Celtic Park is undergoing the first phase of a reconstruction. The 'exile' ends with a 1-0 victory over Airdrie in the Scottish Cup final, marking the club's 30th triumph in the competition and also the first major trophy since 1989.
1997
Tommy Burns is replaced by the Dutch coach Wim Jansen, ironically a member of the Feyenoord side which defeated Celtic in the European Cup final in Milan in 1970. In 1997 he guides Celtic to the first League Cup final victory in 15 years in a 3-0 defeat of Dundee United at Ibrox Park.
1998
Celtic ‘stop the 10’, winning their first league title in a decade and preventing Rangers from making it 10-in-a-row. However, Wim Jansen departs almost immediately and is replaced for the start of the new campaign by Dr Jozef Venglos.
1999
In April, Fergus McCann departs at the completion of his five-year stint. Allan MacDonald, a former British Aerospace managing director, succeeds him as chief executive. A few months later Dr Venglos retires and is replaced by John Barnes, with Kenny Dalglish installed as director of football operations.
2000
A shock 3-1 defeat at Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup by Inverness Caledonian Thistle in February leads to the departure of John Barnes, with Kenny Dalglish taking control of team matters until the end of the season. He steers Celtic to victory in the League Cup final. During the summer Martin O'Neill takes over as Celtic's manager and he endears himself to the support by masterminding an astonishing 6-2 league victory over Rangers at Celtic Park on August 27. 
2001
A treble-winning season for the Hoops. They beat Kilmarnock 3-0 in the League Cup final and beat Hibernian by the same scoreline in the Scottish Cup final. And a Tommy Johnson goal beat St Mirren at Celtic Park to seal the title. The season also sees Henrik Larsson score 53 goals, including 35 league goals, to win Europe’s Golden Boot Award. The following season, Celtic compete in the UEFA Champions League group stages for the first time.
2003
Celtic reach the UEFA Cup final – their first European final in 33 years. Over 80,000 fans flock to Seville, but see the Hoops lose 3-2 in extra-time to FC Porto of Portugal. Days later, they miss out on the SPL title by a single goal.
2004
Celtic win the league title convincingly, while Henrik Larsson leaves the club after seven magnificent years, scoring 242 goals in 315 appearances – becoming the third top goalscorer in the club’s history. 
2005
Heartache on the final day of the league season as Celtic lose 2-0 at Fir Park to miss out on the title in Mrtin O’Neill’s last season. The Hoops win the Scottish Cup a week later with a 1-0 win over Dundee United. Gordon Strachan takes over as Celtic manager.
2006
Celtic win the League Cup with a victory over Dunfermline just days after Jimmy Johnstone, the Greatest Ever Celt, dies, and they also win the SPL title. It means automatic qualification into the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, and a 1-0 victory over Manchester United courtesy of a Shunsuke Nakamura goal and an Artur Boruc penalty save, means the club qualifies for the knockout stages for the first time.
2007
Celtic retain the league title, securing it with a victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. In the UEFA Champions League last 16, they are knocked out by eventual winners AC Milan. The Hoops also secure the Double with a 1-0 win over Dunfermline in Neil Lennon’s last game for the club.
2008
Celtic legend, and first-team coach, Tommy Burns, passes away. Days later, a third league title is won at Tannadice on an emotional night, the triumph being dedicated him.
2009
Celtic win the League Cup with a 2-0 extra-time win over Rangers, thanks to goals from Darren O’Dea and Aiden McGeady, but lose out on a fourth league title in a row. Gordon Strachan leaves as Celtic manager and is replaced by Tony Mowbray.
2010
After a mixed few months of the campaign, Tony Mowbray is sacked following a 4-0 defeat against St Mirren. Neil Lennon takes over as interim manager, but can’t prevent a disastrous Scottish Cup semi-final exit against Ross County. His team, however, wins all eight of their league matches, and he is appointed manager on a permanent basis.
2011
Neil Lennon wins his first trophy as Celtic manager with a 3-0 victory over Motherwell in the Scottish Cup final, having narrowly lost out in the SPL and League Cup final.
2012
Celtic won their 43rd championship after being 15 points behind in November, but they were back on top by the end of December and that’s where they stayed.
2013
Celtic successfully retained the league title, while they also completed the double with a Scottish Cup final victory over Hibernian. And Neil Lennon also steered the Hoops to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, beating Barcelona along the way in the group stages on a memorable night at Paradise, just 24 hours after the club celebrated the 125th anniversary of its foundation.
2014
Neil Lennon became only the fourth Celtic manager, after Willie Maley, Jock Stein and Gordon Strachan, to win three league titles in a row, as the Hoops dominated the Scottish Premiership. And the team also reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League for a second consecutive season.
2015
Ronny Deila arrived as manager from his native Norway and carried on the silverware success as the SPFL title was lifted for the fourth time in a row and the League Cup was also secured while the club reached the knockout stages of the Europa League before losing narrowly to Inter Milan.