One of the pioneers of Danish football was a man from Dundee who was top scorer in the country's first football league. James Young Smart, a player and administrator with Strathmore FC, went to Copenhagen in 1885 and made a huge impact through his skills on and off the field.
   Smart's influence was recalled when Queen's Park went on tour to Copenhagen in 1898. Scottish Sport magazine carried an interview with former player Alexander Hamilton, in which he stated that the honour of introducing the game in Denmark belonged to a former Dundee Strathmore player called JT Smart (they got his middle initial wrong). See Matt McDowell's fascinating research paper and an article on the Scottish Football Museum website.
   However, although Smart was an important figure he was not the actual founder of the game in Denmark. The first football was a birthday gift in 1878 for Johannes Juhl Raahauge, whose father was a merchant based in Hull; he then introduced the sport to his fellow students at Sorø Academy. And in 1879, KB (Kjøbenhavns  Boldklub) took up association football, three years after being founded as a multisport club, 
   James Young Smart was born in Dundee in 1862, the eldest surviving son of a jute mill manager. In the summer of 1878 he was elected secretary and treasurer of Strathmore FC, aged just 16, and played regularly for them over the next few years, rising to become club president in 1882. Strathmore had been founded early in 1877, named in honour of its patron the Earl of Strathmore, and its ground was at Rollo's Pier, off Magdalen Yard Road at the west end of the city.
    He remained still president until he left Dundee to go abroad, as reported in the Evening Telegraph on 18 February 1885: 'On Monday evening a number of gentlemen met in the Queen's Hotel and entertained Mr J.Y. Smart to supper on the occasion of his leaving Dundee for Copenhagen.'
   Soon after he arrived in Denmark, he joined KB and gained quite a reputation for his skills. An early history of Danish football said Smart was: 'an excellent player in almost every position… a crowd favourite, especially among the boys, jovial and playful, teaching them tricks and ball skills.'
   In the winter of 1886–87, he helped to translate the laws of association football from English into Danish, working with Ludwig Sylow and other KB committee members.
   In 1888, KB instigated the country's first knockout cup competition, and won it convincingly with Smart in the forefront. Then a year later, he was the top scorer in Denmark's first league tournament in 1889-90, scoring 12 times for KB although they finished second behind Akademisk. The following season, KB did win the league and Smart showed his versatility by sometimes playing in goal.
   Even after he left Denmark he was not forgotten and the creative Danish midfielder August Lindgren, who played in the 1908 Olympics, was nicknamed 'Smart' in tribute to the Scot.
​   In 1892, Smart went to New York for a while, then returned to Dundee to join the family business at Rosebank jute mill. He kept up his football interest as a member of Dundee FC's match committee, helping out in December 1898 when the club got going again after liquidation, and in December 1899 his sisters ran a stall at the football club's fundraising bazaar.
   Thereafter, things get a bit hazy. His father had died in 1896 and in March 1900 the Dundee Courier carried a company advert to announce that Mr James Young Smart was no longer employed at Rosebank mill. Although he was still listed as a jute factory manager in the 1901 census, there is nothing to indicate that he was still involved in the family business; yet his brother and two sisters were directors.
   It appears his life had started to go into a downward spiral and Smart died at Duke Street Hospital, Glasgow in 1921, age 59 and unmarried. The death certificate gave his usual residence as the Great Eastern Hotel, politely known as a 'working man's hostel' but in reality a doss-house; cause of death was myocardial degeneration and chronic nervous congestion (ie heart disease and stroke). It was a sorry end for a Scottish sporting pioneer whose impact on Danish football is remembered to this day.

​James Young Smart

Born 18 March 1862 in Dundee
Died 8 May 1921 in Glasgow

Update: in June 2026, a remarkable medal which was won by James Young Smart came up at auction. It was awarded for his success in Denmark in season 1887-88, and after fierce bidding it sold for well over the pre-sale estimate, realising 1600 euros plus commission.

Over a decade ago I wrote a blog about the biographies of Danish footballer Carl Hansen, who had played in Scotland for Rangers in the 1920s. 
   Better known as Carl Skomager ('shoemaker'), Hansen spent several harrowing months in prison during World War 2 when Denmark was occupied by the Germans. After the conflict ended he wrote a book about his experiences, Carl Skomager i tysk faengsel (in a German prison). Of course, the book was written in Danish and I thought it would be a great project for a translator to bring his story to a modern audience.
   I was delighted to be contacted by Rangers supporter Ian Hogg who took up the translation challenge and he has just published an ebook with Hansen's story in English, which he has made available free. Ian has kindly given me permission to post links to the book here, in the hope it will reach as wide an audience as possible.
   You will also be able to buy and download the ebook on Amazon, with any profits going to the Erskine Veterans Charity.

Epub file: click here
PDF file: click here

With the Euro 2016 play-offs this weekend, one that catches my eye is the 'local derby' between Sweden and Denmark. The first leg is in Solna on Saturday and the return in Copenhagen on Tuesday.
   By chance I have in my collection a couple of attractive souvenirs of two early encounters between the nations. These silver medals were presented by the Swedish FA to the players (caps never really took off outside the UK) and they have been engraved with the match details.
   The two games were both at the old Rasunda Stadium in Solna (now replaced by the Friends Arena) and were played on 10 October 1920, then a year later on 9 October 1921. Denmark won the first 2-0 and drew the second 0-0, and I'm sure they would be delighted with similar outcomes on Saturday night.
   The medals appear to have belonged to a Danish player as the 1920 engraving uses the term 'fodbold' rather than Swedish 'fotboll'. Also - one for the etymologists - it describes Denmark's opposition as 'Sverrig', an archaic word that was replaced in the Danish language by 'Sverige' early in the 20th century.  Four Danish players featured in both matches, so it could have belonged originally to any one of Leo Dannin, Ernst Nilsson, Steen Blicher or Poul Nielson.
   Of course, I could not write a blog without a Scottish reference, and one of the pioneers of Danish football was a man from Dundee.
   When Queen's Park went on tour to Copenhagen in 1898, Scottish Sport magazine carried an interview with former player Alexander Hamilton, in which he stated that the honour of introducing the game in Denmark belonged to a former Dundee Strathmore player called JT Smart. (See Matt McDowell's fascinating article for full details).
   With a bit of investigation, I have uncovered a few details about Smart, which indicate that although he was an important figure he was likely not the actual founder of the game in Denmark.
   The first thing is that the Scottish Sport article gets his middle initial wrong. He was James Young Smart, born in Dundee on 18 March 1862, the son of a jute mill manager. Strathmore FC was founded early in 1877, named in honour of its patron the Earl of Strathmore, and played its first match in March against Dunmore. Its ground was at Rollo's Pier, off Magdalen Yard Road at the west end of the city.
   James Young Smart was elected secretary and treasurer of Strathmore in the summer of 1878, aged just 16, and played regularly for the club over the next few years, rising to become club president in 1882. He held that role until he left Dundee, as reported in the Evening Telegraph on 18 February 1885: 'On Monday evening a number of gentlemen met in the Queen's Hotel and entertained Mr J.Y. Smart to supper on the occasion of his leaving Dundee for Copenhagen.'
   Clearly Smart continued to play football as he was the top scorer in Denmark’s first league tournament in 1889-90, with 12 goals for KB who finished second behind Akademisk.
   He returned to Dundee, probably when his father died in 1896, to join the family business at Rosebank jute mill, and is listed as a member of Dundee FC's match committee in December 1898, when the club got going again after liquidation. In December 1899 his sisters ran a stall at the football club bazaar.
   Thereafter, things get hazy. Although listed as a jute factory manager in the 1901 census, by 1907 he was no longer involved in the business.
   It appears his life went into a downward spiral as Smart died at Duke Street Hospital, Glasgow on 8 May 1921, age 59 and unmarried. The death certificate gave his usual residence as the Great Eastern Hotel, politely known as a ‘working man’s hostel’ but in reality a doss-house; cause of death was myocardial degeneration and chronic nervous congestion (ie heart disease and stroke). A sorry end for Scottish football pioneer.

An interesting little project for a Danish speaker would be a translation of these books by Carl Hansen into English. The Danish international joined Rangers in 1921 and spent three years in Scotland, one of the earliest foreigners to play here. He was widely known in Denmark as Carl Skomager (or Skoma'r), ie shoemaker. 
   I've picked up enough Danish watching the likes of Borgen and The Bridge to work out some anecdotes in his life, and he goes into great detail about his time in Scotland. He arrived at Leith on the boat without speaking any English other than 'Yes' or 'No', to be met by Rangers manager Bill Struth who drove him to Glasgow. He made his debut in some style against Queen's Park at Hampden, scoring a hat trick in a 3-2 win on 22 November 1921 (it was a match in the Lord Provost's Rent Relief Cup). However, he never really established himself as first choice, playing just 23 league matches over three seasons, with a broken leg effectively ending his career.
   His time at Rangers was influential enough for him to choose an aerial photo of Ibrox on his autobiography Et liv i fodbold (A life in football) which came out in 1954. The stadium is packed, but there is nobody on the pitch, and the picture seems to have  been taken during a sports meeting.
   More poignantly, in 1945 he had published a much darker volume Carl Skomager i tysk Faengsel (in a German prison) which details his wartime experiences, including four months imprisonment by the Nazis. When arrested he was taken to Kastellet, the old fortress in Copenhagen, having already been beaten up. Putting his bleeding hand into his trouser pocket he felt a small badge which he knew he had to get rid of, and surreptitiously threw it into the fireplace: 'Det var Scottish Football-Associations Maerke, og havde Tyskerne funded det paa mig, var det sikkert blevet mig en dyr Historie'. (It was a Scottish Football Association badge, and if the Germans had found it on me, there would certainly have been more blood in this story).  So, perhaps somewhere in this Danish castle, a little SFA badge or medal lies waiting to be discovered!

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​Update: over a decade later, Hansen's book has been translated into English! Read my updated blog:   https://www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-history-news-and-blog/carl-hansens-wartime-experiences-have-just-been-translated