Johnny Bonnar (11 January 1924 – 14 January 2004) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

and

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

. Bonnar signed for Celtic from

on 9 August 1948 and made his league debut in the 4–0 victory over

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

on 6 November that year. Despite playing second (and even third fiddle) he was given his back chance on Hogmany 1949 when Willie Miller was injured and it was Bonnar and not Alex Devanny given the nod to play. He was soon heralded as "Celtic's best since John Thomson". Although small, Bonnar was agile enough to make over a century of league appearances for Celtic, and over 200 appearances altogether. Bonnar was not particularly tall for a goalkeeper but was able to produce moments of magic. He was Celtic's goalkeeper and hero in the 1953

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2, ...

final against Hibs, where he kept their '' Famous Five'' forward line at bay, it is considered to be one of the best performances ever by a Celtic goalkeeper. Bonnar achieved 49 clean sheets in his 180 competitive appearances for Celtic. In 1954 he played his part in a league and Scottish Cup double for Celtic. Additionally, in 1954 he made four world-class saves against Partick Thistle on 20 March to help Celtic to the points on the road to a league title win. This adds to the affection the support from the time had for him. Bonnar moved to

in 1958 - he had lost his place in the first team to

Dick Beattie Richard Scott Beattie (24 October 1936 – 15 August 1990) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in both the Scottish and English football leagues. A Scotland under-23 international, who appeared in three major f ...

three years earlier and had made only sporadic appearances thereafter. After his spell at Dumbarton, Bonnar left the game to concentrate on business interests. However,

managed to entice him back, where he helped the club win promotion for the first time. Bonnar was also one of the founders of the Celtic's original development fund during the 1960s and was in charge of organising the Fund during that period.

Quotations

Charlie Tully Charles Patrick Tully (11 July 1924 – 27 July 1971) was a Northern Irish football player and manager who played for Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peo ...

References

*Celtic: A complete record 1888-1992 by Paul Lunney ()

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnar, John 1924 births 2004 deaths Footballers from West Lothian Men's association football goalkeepers Scottish men's footballers Scottish Football League players Arbroath F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players