James Edward McGrory (1904-82) is a Celtic legend, remembered today as the greatest goal-scorer in the history of Scottish football. His record of 550 goals in his 15-year career at Parkhead from 1922 to 1937 is unlikely to be surpassed and will stand forever as a memorial to a player who was a typical product of the period between the two world wars. At a depressing time when wages were low and work was scarce, his feats on the field provided a welcome and much-needed escape for the thousands of ordinary, cloth-capped Scottish working men who packed the dirt terracing to cheer on every move he made.
Heroes are Forever tells the full story of McGrory’s life and career, and is set against the vividly drawn background of the inter-war period. It is a portrait of a loyal, modest and inspirational man who lifted the hearts of his countrymen and raised the spirits of a nation. It was he, after all, who by scoring twice for Scotland in 1933 provoked the original ‘Hampden Roar’.
