Madden Johnny Image 1 Glasgow Celtic 1896

Description

Dumbarton born centre forward Johnny (sometimes known as Jake) Madden began his football career with Dumbarton, and first came to English football with Gainsborough Trinity in their 1886-87 season, also playing for Grimsby Town 1n 1887-88, He is recorded scoring once in 3 matches during Dumbarton’s 1887 Scottish Cup campaign when they were beaten 2-1 by Hibernian in the Final at Hampden Park, and a further 3 goals in 8 matches during their 1888 Scottish Cup pursuits, He played a single match for Celtic in May 1888 in their inaugural match, a 5-2 home defeat of Rangers, but then returned to Dumbarton before joining The Bhoys permanently in August 1889.

At Celtic, where he played for eight years, he won the Scottish Cup in 1892 (also losing in two other finals, adding to a defeat with Dumbarton in 1887) and the Scottish League Championship in 1892-93, 1893-94 and 1895-96, playing a major role in their establishment as one of the leading clubs in the country, though he had been on the verge of leaving to join Sheffield Wednesday before professional contracts were officially introduced in Scottish football in 1893. He scored 49 goals for Celtic in 118 matches through to 1897

While with Celtic he was capped twice by Scotland in 1893 and in 1895, both against Wales. He scored four times in an 8-0 win over Wales in March 1893 and also scored in his other match, a 2-2 draw, both matches played at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham. He also played for Dumbartonshire (3 caps/4 goals), Glasgow (3 caps/1 goal) and scored twice in 4 matches for the Scottish League XI between 1893 and 1896. In 1897 he joined Dundee but only featured in 4 matches between October and December that year, before a return to England to join Southern League Tottenham Hotspur in 1898, where he played twice, his last recorded club before his retirement from playing.

Madden is also notable for his management career in the Czech Republic. Between 1905 and 1930, Madden was the manager of SK Slavia Praha, and is considered an important figure in the development of the sport in the Bohemia region (at that time another Scot, Johnny Dick, was in charge of Slavia’s city rivals Sparta). Early in his tenure, Madden won four Charity Cups (the first organized tournament in Czech lands) and became Czech champions in 1913, 1915, and 1918. He eventually lead Slavia to the Czechoslovak First League title in 1925 (the first organized national league), 1928-29, and 1929-30. His final match incharge was 3-2 defeat of their city rivals Sparta Prague. A result that meant Slavia retained the Czech title undefeated all season. A stand at Slavia’s Eden Arena is named after him, and each year a supporter group pays tribute at his grave in Prague, where he lived until his death. Madden earned the nickname “The Codger”. He also took charge of the Bohemian team during the UIAFA European Championship in 1911, defeating the England Amateur team 2-1 in the Final.