Scottish sporting anthology
This is a personal selection of published articles and books on Scottish sport history. There is a wealth of interesting material online, from digitised books to scholarly research, which I will continue to add to, and I would welcome any suggestions for inclusion here.
To read any book, just click on the cover image to open a pdf file.
To read any book, just click on the cover image to open a pdf file.
Scottish Football Annual 1875The first ever Scottish FA annual, containing a wealth of detail on the early clubs and pioneers of football.
Tales from Tynecastle 1928![]() This brief history of Hearts was published by Simmath Press, who later specialised in Scottish club histories and handbooks.
1901 history of Ayr FC![]() In 1901, Ayr Football and Athletic Club held a fund-raising bazaar, and the souvenir guide book contained a short history of the club which later merged with Ayr Parkhouse to form Ayr United FC.
Spanish football's Scottish roots![]() The fascinating story of the formation of Sevilla Football Club in Spain by emigré Scots was discovered by the club's historians. Read the full story here on the British Newspaper Archive blog, and a longer article on lafutbolteca.com, telling how Scotland was the cradle of Spanish football.
Rugby's tragic heroes![]() These articles by me, first published in The Scotsman, describe the life and early deaths of three Scottish rugby pioneers: JLH McFarlane (above), WD Brown and RW Irvine, who all played in the first international of 1871.
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Popular Football in ScotlandThis is a chapter on medieval Scottish football from FP Magoun's classic work The History of Football from the Beginnings to 1871, which was published in 1938.
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The Story of the London Caledonians FC 1924History of the Caledonians, the football club for Scottish players in London.
The Sport in War by John McCartney, 1930Astonishing story of the Edinburgh charity that sent footballs to the front in the First World War.
Football Described by Giants of the Game 1904A fascinating guide by leading football players which gives an insight to training and coaching.
Glasgow, City of FootballThis article, published in CB Fry's magazine in January 1905, captures the unique standing of Glasgow as a football city.
1924 history of St Mirren![]() One of a series of Scottish football club histories published in the 1920s by veteran journalist RM Connell.
Fifty Years of Kilmarnock FC![]() A rare booklet from 1919, the jubilee history of Kilmarnock FC.
DD Bone's Scottish Football Reminiscences & SketchesPublished in 1890, this was the first book about Scottish football.
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The Story of the Scottish Football League by John McCartney, 1930A history of the first 40 years of league football in Scotland.
Some Football Reminiscences by Frank Walker, c1928A rare booklet on 1920s football by Scotland international Frank Walker.
A thousand miles in a thousand hours![]() One of the earliest Scottish sports books was Pedestrianism (1813), which described the amazing exploits of Captain Barclay.
Walter Arnott looks back![]() One of Scotland's first football greats, Walter Arnott (1861-1931) published this little booklet of memories in 1928.
Rise and fall of Alfred Downer![]() Alfred Downer, Scottish sprint champion, came to a tragic end in an Edinburgh asylum.
Read about him in my article in the Scotsman, and he was also profiled in the Daily Record. Scotland's deadliest striker![]() Footballers going off the rails? It's nothing new: just read this article by Gary Ralston in the Daily Record about Robert Crawford, who scored the first ever goal in international football in 1870 and turned into a mass murderer. |