John McPherson is at the far right of the middle row of the Hearts team that won the Scottish Cup in 1891. Seven years later he won the FA Cup with Nottingham Forest.
A mistake in the allocation of a Scotland cap has come to light, with John McPherson of Hearts finally being credited for his international debut in 1890, rather than his namesake of Cowlairs.
Thanks to the detective work of David Speed and Davy Allan at Hearts Heritage, the confusion over the two players with the same name has been resolved.
The issue relates to two consecutive Scotland matches in 1890, just a week apart. The games against Ireland on 29 March and against England on 5 April both featured a John McPherson in the forward line, and in recent years both caps have been credited to the man from Cowlairs.
However, a close look at the evidence in the newspapers and annuals of the time has revealed that the player in the first of these was actually John McPherson of Hearts. He was previously recorded as winning a single cap, against England in 1891, but his tally can now be doubled. As for the Cowlairs player, who later starred for Rangers and was known as 'Kitey', he made his debut in 1888 and his caps total over the following decade can now be confirmed as eight rather than nine.
Thanks to the detective work of David Speed and Davy Allan at Hearts Heritage, the confusion over the two players with the same name has been resolved.
The issue relates to two consecutive Scotland matches in 1890, just a week apart. The games against Ireland on 29 March and against England on 5 April both featured a John McPherson in the forward line, and in recent years both caps have been credited to the man from Cowlairs.
However, a close look at the evidence in the newspapers and annuals of the time has revealed that the player in the first of these was actually John McPherson of Hearts. He was previously recorded as winning a single cap, against England in 1891, but his tally can now be doubled. As for the Cowlairs player, who later starred for Rangers and was known as 'Kitey', he made his debut in 1888 and his caps total over the following decade can now be confirmed as eight rather than nine.
John 'Kitey' McPherson, wearing a Scotland cap while with Rangers, where he won four league titles and three Scottish Cups. His younger brother Davie was also an internationalist.
In some respects it is an unusual mistake because the publications of the time, including the Scottish FA annual, were all correct. In fact, I have been looking at later annuals and the correct attribution appears to be in place until about fifty years ago. However, recent publications and online guides contain the mistake.
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Unfortunately I failed to pick upon the error when compiling my Scotland Who's Who and although it has now been corrected, it does mean that copies already printed have the wrong total. I apologise for this. Seen above are the corrected entries in the Who's Who for both players.
Amazingly enough, there were four Scotland players in the Victorian era who were called John McPherson. The first, of Clydesdale, was capped against England in 1875; the next was a Vale of Leven half back who was capped eight times from 1879 onwards; and then the two contemporaries came to the fore in the 1890s and that is what caused this confusion.
Amazingly enough, there were four Scotland players in the Victorian era who were called John McPherson. The first, of Clydesdale, was capped against England in 1875; the next was a Vale of Leven half back who was capped eight times from 1879 onwards; and then the two contemporaries came to the fore in the 1890s and that is what caused this confusion.
This report in the Dundee Courier makes it clear that Scotland's centre forward on 29 March 1890 was John McPherson of Hearts, not his Cowlairs namesake.
John McPherson (Heart of Midlothian)
Scotland v Ireland 1890, v England 1891.
John McPherson (Kilmarnock, Cowlairs and Rangers)
Scotland v Wales 1888, 1892; v England 1889, 1890, 1894, 1895; v Ireland 1895, 1897.
Scotland v Ireland 1890, v England 1891.
John McPherson (Kilmarnock, Cowlairs and Rangers)
Scotland v Wales 1888, 1892; v England 1889, 1890, 1894, 1895; v Ireland 1895, 1897.
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