Born in
Lambhill,
Glasgow, McPhail attended
St Mungo's Academy before signing for
Celtic, the club he supported, in October 1941 from
junior side
Strathclyde, aged just 17. He initially played as a
right half and soon earned a nickname, "Hooky", due to his tendency to kick the football with the outside of his boot. The name stuck with him throughout his life. His early years with Celtic coincided with a period of domination by their
Old Firm rivals,
Rangers. In 1945 he did earn a winner's medal in the minor
Victory In Europe Cup, but in 1948 was part of the Celtic team that only narrowly avoided relegation on the last day of the season. In 1950 McPhail was transformed into a
centre forward, a move that revitalised his career. During the first season following the switch he was "his side's inspiration, and the idol of the supporters", according to author and historian Tom Campbell in
Glasgow Celtic 1945-1970. He captained the team to a
Scottish Cup victory in
1951, scoring seven of the team's 19 goals in that competition, including the only goal of the final against
Motherwell with a skilful lob over the opposing goalkeeper. This marked the first cup success for the club in 14 years; it was followed by a
Coronation Cup victory in 1953 and a
league championship title and Scottish Cup
double in
1954 (although he played little part in the cup run). It was in this period McPhail earned five caps for
Scotland, scoring three goals. By 1954 McPhail had begun to struggle to maintain his match fitness and he only played for the Celtic first team intermittently. Journalist
Archie Macpherson recounts that McPhail admitted to him that he began to adopt the "ageing remedy of the Hungarian international
Ferenc Puskás, shortening the stride and increasing the number of steps he took to lend the false impression of pace." John McPhail had also scored three goals against Rangers, in the 1950
Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup final; this is the only occasion in Old Firm history that brothers have achieved this feat. ==Retirement==