‘Dixie’ Deans, a scoring great for Celtic in the 1970s, dies at 79

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/12/2025 (279 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — John Kelly “Dixie” Deans, a high-scoring forward for Scottish clubs Celtic and Motherwell in the 1960s and 70s, has died. He was 79.

Celtic and Motherwell both announced the death Tuesday.

Deans was nicknamed after Everton and England scoring great Dixie Dean and had a record-setting impact for Celtic after joining the Scottish powerhouse in 1971. That included hat tricks in two separate domestic cup finals, both against Hibernian — first in a 6-1 victory in the 1972 Scottish Cup and then in a 6-3 win two years later in the League Cup.

In November 1973, he scored six goals in single game, a 7-0 defeat of Partick Thistle.

Overall, Deans scored 124 goals in 184 appearances for Celtic.

Before that, he netted 89 times during a six-year spell at Motherwell, which signed him in 1965 for 100 pounds. That would be the equivalent of about 1,700 pounds ($2,260) today, according to the inflation calculator of the Bank of England.

Deans set a new post-war record for the club after scoring 30 goals in the 1966-67 season. He managed two more two seasons later after Motherwell was relegated, to help the club return to the top division.

He moved to Luton Town in 1976 and also played for Adelaide City in Australia, Carlisle United and Partick Thistle before retiring in 1980.

“Every Celtic supporter will be saddened by this news,” Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson said. “Dixie was always a Celtic supporter, and his fellow fans recognized and loved that about him, as well as appreciating his talents as a player and what he did throughout his time wearing the Hoops.”

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer