As of the end of the 2023–24 season, the club have played more than 125 seasons in Scottish football. The table details their achievements and the top goalscorer in senior major first-team competitions to the end of the most recently completed season. Details of the partially completed league campaign in the 1939–40 season, abandoned due to the Second World War, are also included.[5]
History
Celtic played their first ever competitive match on 1 September 1888, a first round Scottish Cup tie against Shettleston, winning 5–1,[6] and eventually reaching the final where they lost to Third Lanark after a replay.[7] The team also made their debuts in the Glasgow Cup and the North-Eastern Cup that same season, reaching the semi-final of the Glasgow Cup where they lost to Queens Park,[7] and defeating Cowlairs 6–1 in the final of the North-Eastern Cup to win their first ever trophy.[1][8] The Scottish Football League was formed in 1890, and Celtic were among the founding members,[9] finishing third behind joint-winner's Rangers and Dumbarton in the competition's inaugural season.[10]
In 1891, Celtic won their second trophy when they beat Third Lanark 4–0 in the final of the Glasgow Cup.[11] The following year saw Celtic winning their first major tournament, defeating Queen's Park 5–1 in the 1892 Scottish Cup Final.[3] A first league title then followed in season 1892–93.[3] The Glasgow Cup remained a prestigious tournament for some years, but declined in importance after the Second World War following the introduction of the Scottish League Cup and European club competitions.[12] Celtic have since gone on to win the Scottish League Championship on 54 occasions, including a run of nine consecutive titles in the 1960s, 1970s and the 2010s, the Scottish Cup 42 times, and the Scottish League Cup 21 times.[3]
^The 1939–40 season was suspended following the outbreak of the Second World War
^John Divers is listed as Celtic's top scorer for 1939-40, but this tally includes goals scored in the unofficial wartime competitions set up in the aftermath of the suspension of official football. Prior to the official season being suspended in October 1939, Frank Murphy was the top scorer.
^12th place in 1947–48 is Celtic's lowest ever league position.