SPORTS HISTORY BLOG
Over 250 articles on all aspects of Scottish sport
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A remarkable find in a family archive has shed new light on the earliest days of Scottish tennis. The minute book of the Glasgow Lawn Tennis Club, founded in March 1877, has resurfaced after years at the back of a drawer, and is now with the Mitchell Library in Glasgow having been donated by a descendant of an original member.
As no other tennis club north of the border is known to have existed this early, the discovery of this leather-bound book could give Glasgow the honour of being Scotland's first lawn tennis club.
As no other tennis club north of the border is known to have existed this early, the discovery of this leather-bound book could give Glasgow the honour of being Scotland's first lawn tennis club.
A printed circular calling the first meeting of the new Glasgow Lawn Tennis Club in March 1877
The Glasgow Lawn Tennis Club was established by men who were members of the city's prestigious Western Club and they were soon flooded with subscriptions from prospective members, with equal numbers of men and women being allowed to join.
The committee ordered two sets of equipment from London, and the minutes record carefully all their early activities as the club got under way. It will surprise many to learn that they played primarily indoors, renting Burnbank Drill Hall, off Great Western Road.
They were clearly a vibrant organisation, playing for at least a decade, and were unusual for a Victorian sporting body as they gave equal playing status to male and female members. Gentlemen had to be over 21 years old and their subscription was one pound, while ladies were 17 or over and paid ten shillings, and they were all clearly of the prosperous middle classes, with many who were or became prominent citizens.
While many of the meetings focussed on administration and finances, the minute book also has some fascinating social detail.
In February 1878, one can almost hear the gasps of horror when the Chairman informed the committee that complaints had been made by ladies that some gentlemen had been playing in their shirt sleeves, without coats! Decorum had to be restored, and the Honorary Secretary was tasked with placing a notice in the Gentlemen's dressing room: 'In deference to representations by some of the lady members of the club, the Committee request that gentlemen removing their coats for play will substitute a light jacket while ladies are present. By order.'
The committee ordered two sets of equipment from London, and the minutes record carefully all their early activities as the club got under way. It will surprise many to learn that they played primarily indoors, renting Burnbank Drill Hall, off Great Western Road.
They were clearly a vibrant organisation, playing for at least a decade, and were unusual for a Victorian sporting body as they gave equal playing status to male and female members. Gentlemen had to be over 21 years old and their subscription was one pound, while ladies were 17 or over and paid ten shillings, and they were all clearly of the prosperous middle classes, with many who were or became prominent citizens.
While many of the meetings focussed on administration and finances, the minute book also has some fascinating social detail.
In February 1878, one can almost hear the gasps of horror when the Chairman informed the committee that complaints had been made by ladies that some gentlemen had been playing in their shirt sleeves, without coats! Decorum had to be restored, and the Honorary Secretary was tasked with placing a notice in the Gentlemen's dressing room: 'In deference to representations by some of the lady members of the club, the Committee request that gentlemen removing their coats for play will substitute a light jacket while ladies are present. By order.'
Notice to members advertising the club's second annual tournament in 1880
The club held its first tournament in 1879, although sadly the winners are not recorded, and the minute book continues to detail meetings up to November the following year. After that, member subscription lists are detailed up to 1885, but what happened to the club after that is not known.
Lawn tennis was still a new sport when the Glasgow club was set up, invented by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, an English sportsman who patented his invention in 1874 and called it Sphairistike. He marketed it as a boxed set costing upwards of five guineas and although he sold over a thousand sets in the first year, because of the expense it went primarily to the well-heeled country house set. Lawn tennis was seen initially as a summer recreation for garden parties rather than a competitive sport.
However, tennis developed rapidly as it captured the imagination and the first clubs were established in England, leading to the creation of the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. By the time the first national championship was held in the summer of 1877 – the forerunner of the Wimbledon we know today – the modern game was taking shape with a rectangular court, where the cloth-covered ball and the modern racket shape had been introduced.
Lawn tennis was still a new sport when the Glasgow club was set up, invented by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, an English sportsman who patented his invention in 1874 and called it Sphairistike. He marketed it as a boxed set costing upwards of five guineas and although he sold over a thousand sets in the first year, because of the expense it went primarily to the well-heeled country house set. Lawn tennis was seen initially as a summer recreation for garden parties rather than a competitive sport.
However, tennis developed rapidly as it captured the imagination and the first clubs were established in England, leading to the creation of the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. By the time the first national championship was held in the summer of 1877 – the forerunner of the Wimbledon we know today – the modern game was taking shape with a rectangular court, where the cloth-covered ball and the modern racket shape had been introduced.
TF Donald, one of the members of the Glasgow Lawn Tennis Club, whose family preserved the original minute book
In Scotland, the earliest known recreational players were in Edinburgh. Sir James Patten McDougall KCB – then plain James Patten, a young lawyer – recalled sending off to London for a tennis set in 1874 and setting it up with some friends at the Grange Cricket Ground in Raeburn Place. He described the game as it was then: 'The racquets were light, longer in the head and shorter in the handle than now. The balls were uncovered rubber, about two thirds the diameter of the modern ball, with a hole in them. The court was shaped like a sandglass, narrower at the net than the backline.'
After experimenting outdoors, like the Glaswegians they played indoors at a specially constructed hall at the Grange Club, built by the Edinburgh Lawn Tennis Company and known as the 'old tin hut'. It was there, in the summer of 1878, that Patten won a tournament which was later recognised as the first Scottish championship, even though it was a purely Edinburgh affair.
Over in the west, the Glasgow Lawn Tennis Club played an important role in getting tennis off the ground in the city, and was clearly a success, but what happened after the first decade remains something of a mystery: there are no known mentions of the club in the newspapers of the day or in tennis histories, and its existence might never have been discovered had it not been for the chance survival of the minute book.
The handwritten records of this pioneering club show that there are still significant discoveries to be made in the history of Scottish sport.
* I am immensely grateful to Jamie Donald, great-great-nephew of club member Thomas Francis Donald, for recognising the significance of the minute book which had been kept in the family for generations, and for letting me read and photograph it on its way to the Special Collections Department of the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.
Glasgow Lawn Tennis Club
Founding Committee, March 1877
Donald Matheson (1832-1901), Chairman. East India Merchant, later Brigadier-General Sir Donald Matheson KCB.
Captain Robert Mercer-Tod (1839-1903), Honorary Secretary. 43rd Light Infantry.
Captain William Bannatyne (1839-1925). 8th (The King’s) Regiment.
Robert Martin Barklie (1846-1903). Architect, Royal Engineers.
William Richard Buchanan (1847-1901). Wine Merchant.
William Crouch (1840-1927). Civil Engineer.
Thomas Robert Johnston Logan (1837-1913). Iron and Coal Master.
More tennis reading on this blog
Herbert Lawford, Scotland's forgotten Wimbledon winner.
In search of Mr Laing - Hill and Adamson's famous Edinburgh tennis player
After experimenting outdoors, like the Glaswegians they played indoors at a specially constructed hall at the Grange Club, built by the Edinburgh Lawn Tennis Company and known as the 'old tin hut'. It was there, in the summer of 1878, that Patten won a tournament which was later recognised as the first Scottish championship, even though it was a purely Edinburgh affair.
Over in the west, the Glasgow Lawn Tennis Club played an important role in getting tennis off the ground in the city, and was clearly a success, but what happened after the first decade remains something of a mystery: there are no known mentions of the club in the newspapers of the day or in tennis histories, and its existence might never have been discovered had it not been for the chance survival of the minute book.
The handwritten records of this pioneering club show that there are still significant discoveries to be made in the history of Scottish sport.
* I am immensely grateful to Jamie Donald, great-great-nephew of club member Thomas Francis Donald, for recognising the significance of the minute book which had been kept in the family for generations, and for letting me read and photograph it on its way to the Special Collections Department of the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.
Glasgow Lawn Tennis Club
Founding Committee, March 1877
Donald Matheson (1832-1901), Chairman. East India Merchant, later Brigadier-General Sir Donald Matheson KCB.
Captain Robert Mercer-Tod (1839-1903), Honorary Secretary. 43rd Light Infantry.
Captain William Bannatyne (1839-1925). 8th (The King’s) Regiment.
Robert Martin Barklie (1846-1903). Architect, Royal Engineers.
William Richard Buchanan (1847-1901). Wine Merchant.
William Crouch (1840-1927). Civil Engineer.
Thomas Robert Johnston Logan (1837-1913). Iron and Coal Master.
More tennis reading on this blog
Herbert Lawford, Scotland's forgotten Wimbledon winner.
In search of Mr Laing - Hill and Adamson's famous Edinburgh tennis player
The leather-bound book containing the minutes of the Glasgow Lawn Tennis Club
A report on the opening week's play in April 1877. 'Much satisfaction was expressed as to the arrangements made and the four courts were pronounced correct.'
The club rules, with pencil annotations
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The only known photo of the pavilion at the first Hampden Park, shortly after it was built there in 1878.
The buried remains of a football pavilion at the first Hampden Park are to be protected from the threat of development, thanks to the timely intervention of Historic Environment Scotland which plans to designate the site as a scheduled monument.
The foundations of the pavilion, which stood at Hampden for just five years between 1878 and 1883, are the only tangible surviving elements of what is thought to be the world's first stadium which was purpose-built for association football. It is a fascinating story that deserves to be examined in detail.
Hampden Park, in the south of Glasgow, opened in 1903 and is well known as Scotland's national football stadium, but it is the third stadium of that name and its origins go back three decades earlier to the summer of 1873. That was when Queen's Park Football Club took the inspired decision to build a ground of their own.
Founded in 1867, Queen's Park had previously played on open recreation ground but the rapid growth in football's popularity, demonstrated by the crowds that flocked to the first international match in 1872, convinced them they needed somewhere to call home. A dedicated ground would also enable them to charge for admission, providing money for further development.
After much lobbying, they persuaded Glasgow Council to lease an area of open ground off the Cathcart Road called Hampden Park after the nearest street to the south, Hampden Terrace. The club put up a wooden fence to enclose their playing area, built a modest wooden pavilion, and opened for business with a Scottish Cup tie against Dumbreck on 25 October 1873, winning 7-0.
Hampden Park was unique, a place where football was king, unlike other grounds which had been created primarily to host sports such as cricket and athletics, with football only allowed as an afterthought. As such, the Queen's Park innovators created a template which was quickly copied as other football clubs saw the benefits of having their own ground, where they could cash in on the growing fervour for football.
Queen's Park continued to invest in improvements, notably in 1876 when they built a grandstand along the length of one side, where they could charge extra in return for an improved view of the pitch. And the next thing they needed was a better pavilion, to replace the small stripping hut which had stood since the beginning.
They found the answer thanks to the misfortune of others: in the autumn of 1877 Caledonian Cricket Club, which also played football and lacrosse, was ejected from their ground at Kelvinbridge as the landlords had sold the site for the new Glasgow Academy buildings.
Caledonian CC had erected a superb new pavilion just two years earlier but it was now surplus to requirements. Queen's Park knew it well as they had played a Scottish Cup tie there in October 1876, so they saw an opportunity. They made the cricket club an offer of £65 for the building - surely much less than it originally cost - and undertook to dismantle it and move it to Hampden. It was a brave but inspired decision, as although the cost of removing and rebuilding eventually added up to £239, it meant that in February 1878 Queen's Park had a pavilion to be proud of.
It was completed just in time, as Hampden Park was shortly to host its first international matches: against England on 2 March 1878, then against Wales three weeks later. Both ended in comprehensive victories, with scores that would be unthinkable today: 7-2 v England, 9-0 v Wales.
The pavilion was opened with little fanfare, and although there is a single surviving photo (above) which probably shows the opening ceremony, there was no mention of the new building in the press. However, it is possible to build up a picture of its layout and style.
It was an impressive construction, raised on an embankment with solid foundations, a timber-clad frame and a slate roof with decorative woodwork. A few steps led up to a large entrance vestibule, which had doors to two spacious dressing rooms, each with running water and windows facing the pitch.
The foundations of the pavilion, which stood at Hampden for just five years between 1878 and 1883, are the only tangible surviving elements of what is thought to be the world's first stadium which was purpose-built for association football. It is a fascinating story that deserves to be examined in detail.
Hampden Park, in the south of Glasgow, opened in 1903 and is well known as Scotland's national football stadium, but it is the third stadium of that name and its origins go back three decades earlier to the summer of 1873. That was when Queen's Park Football Club took the inspired decision to build a ground of their own.
Founded in 1867, Queen's Park had previously played on open recreation ground but the rapid growth in football's popularity, demonstrated by the crowds that flocked to the first international match in 1872, convinced them they needed somewhere to call home. A dedicated ground would also enable them to charge for admission, providing money for further development.
After much lobbying, they persuaded Glasgow Council to lease an area of open ground off the Cathcart Road called Hampden Park after the nearest street to the south, Hampden Terrace. The club put up a wooden fence to enclose their playing area, built a modest wooden pavilion, and opened for business with a Scottish Cup tie against Dumbreck on 25 October 1873, winning 7-0.
Hampden Park was unique, a place where football was king, unlike other grounds which had been created primarily to host sports such as cricket and athletics, with football only allowed as an afterthought. As such, the Queen's Park innovators created a template which was quickly copied as other football clubs saw the benefits of having their own ground, where they could cash in on the growing fervour for football.
Queen's Park continued to invest in improvements, notably in 1876 when they built a grandstand along the length of one side, where they could charge extra in return for an improved view of the pitch. And the next thing they needed was a better pavilion, to replace the small stripping hut which had stood since the beginning.
They found the answer thanks to the misfortune of others: in the autumn of 1877 Caledonian Cricket Club, which also played football and lacrosse, was ejected from their ground at Kelvinbridge as the landlords had sold the site for the new Glasgow Academy buildings.
Caledonian CC had erected a superb new pavilion just two years earlier but it was now surplus to requirements. Queen's Park knew it well as they had played a Scottish Cup tie there in October 1876, so they saw an opportunity. They made the cricket club an offer of £65 for the building - surely much less than it originally cost - and undertook to dismantle it and move it to Hampden. It was a brave but inspired decision, as although the cost of removing and rebuilding eventually added up to £239, it meant that in February 1878 Queen's Park had a pavilion to be proud of.
It was completed just in time, as Hampden Park was shortly to host its first international matches: against England on 2 March 1878, then against Wales three weeks later. Both ended in comprehensive victories, with scores that would be unthinkable today: 7-2 v England, 9-0 v Wales.
The pavilion was opened with little fanfare, and although there is a single surviving photo (above) which probably shows the opening ceremony, there was no mention of the new building in the press. However, it is possible to build up a picture of its layout and style.
It was an impressive construction, raised on an embankment with solid foundations, a timber-clad frame and a slate roof with decorative woodwork. A few steps led up to a large entrance vestibule, which had doors to two spacious dressing rooms, each with running water and windows facing the pitch.
A possible floor plan for the pavilion at first Hampden, with entrance vestibule and two dressing rooms. This has been adapted from a plan published in 1889 after the pavilion was moved and extended.
An 1882 sketch of the dressing room inside the Hampden pavilion, from 'Free Kicks at Football'.
Some views of the pavilion and its surroundings at Hampden Park were published in 1882 in a humorous book, Free Kicks at Football, which is available at Glasgow University Special Collections.
The building was erected just in time, as the original wooden pavilion fell down in September 1879, when spectators sitting on its roof caused it to collapse.
With the best facilities and a capacity for over ten thousand spectators, Hampden Park had become the principal football stadium in Scotland, and continued to host the internationals against England and Wales, which came along in 1880 and 1882. In all, Scotland played six matches at first Hampden and won them all, never scoring less than five goals in any of the games. It was also the venue for Scottish Cup finals in 1874, 1875, 1877 (second replay), 1878, 1879 and 1883, not to mention numerous high profile Queen's Park games.
More broadly, having a 'home of Scottish football' gave the game considerable impetus and allowed it to develop rapidly, beyond all recognition. This was a period when Scotland dominated football on the field of play, the English in particular having no answer to the passing game that, in time, came to characterise the 'Scotch professor'.
However, the life of first Hampden was cut short in 1883, when the Caledonian Railway published its plans for a new route that would cut right through the football ground, which the club still leased from the Council. The last major match to be played there was the Glasgow Charity Cup final on 19 May 1883, when Queen's Park beat Rangers 4-1 in front of a crowd estimated at over 10,000.
The building was erected just in time, as the original wooden pavilion fell down in September 1879, when spectators sitting on its roof caused it to collapse.
With the best facilities and a capacity for over ten thousand spectators, Hampden Park had become the principal football stadium in Scotland, and continued to host the internationals against England and Wales, which came along in 1880 and 1882. In all, Scotland played six matches at first Hampden and won them all, never scoring less than five goals in any of the games. It was also the venue for Scottish Cup finals in 1874, 1875, 1877 (second replay), 1878, 1879 and 1883, not to mention numerous high profile Queen's Park games.
More broadly, having a 'home of Scottish football' gave the game considerable impetus and allowed it to develop rapidly, beyond all recognition. This was a period when Scotland dominated football on the field of play, the English in particular having no answer to the passing game that, in time, came to characterise the 'Scotch professor'.
However, the life of first Hampden was cut short in 1883, when the Caledonian Railway published its plans for a new route that would cut right through the football ground, which the club still leased from the Council. The last major match to be played there was the Glasgow Charity Cup final on 19 May 1883, when Queen's Park beat Rangers 4-1 in front of a crowd estimated at over 10,000.
A plan of the first Hampden Park, showing the pavilion at top left, the grandstand to the south, and Cathcart Turnpike Road to the west. This has been adapted from the Cathcart District Railway planning map drawn up in 1879.
An overlay on the Ordnance Survey map of 1893 showing the position of first Hampden in relation to the surrounding area, after the construction of the railway to the east and new roads with tramlines, cutting across the football ground. By this time Queen's Park had moved to second Hampden (to the right).
As the new railway line took precedence, Queen's Park had no option but to move, and although it was to an adjacent site - the second Hampden, later rebuilt as New Cathkin Park - it meant a year of upheaval as the new ground was constructed. However, they took the pavilion with them, rebuilding it with brick cladding, and then in 1889 it was further expanded with the addition of an upper storey, a gymnasium extension, and other rooms.
The pavilion at second Hampden Park, where it was rebuilt following the move in 1883, and then substantially extended in 1889. However, it retained recognisable features including the ground floor layout and the decorative woodwork.
The pavilion's life came to an end in 1903 when Queen's Park moved once again, constructing the gigantic arena that we now know as Hampden Park, the third to bear that name.
The club was forced to sell the pavilion piecemeal after misguidedly turning down an offer of £350 from Third Lanark for the building. It was broken up for its materials, fetching just £73 and 10 shillings, much less than its market value.
The club was forced to sell the pavilion piecemeal after misguidedly turning down an offer of £350 from Third Lanark for the building. It was broken up for its materials, fetching just £73 and 10 shillings, much less than its market value.
The Scottish Referee, 7 August 1903, recorded the sale of the pavilion and its fixtures.
The pavilion packed a lot into its short life. Having started out in 1875 as a cricket pavilion on the other side of the city, it found new life at first Hampden in the south side, and was moved yet again to a third site before it was ten years old. It was moved, rebuilt, refurbished, expanded and finally demolished, a sorry conclusion to the story of a building which had been a focal point for the meteoric growth of Scottish football over three decades.
However, it is now widely recognised that the first Hampden Park is an iconic football ground whose importance to Scottish heritage cannot be overstated. That is why I am delighted that Historic Environment Scotland has recognised its significant cultural value to the nation, and has taken steps to protect the site for future generations.
It will also, hopefully, encourage further archaeological exploration of the site after two previous digs in 2017 and 2021 uncovered the pavilion's foundations as well as wider evidence of the stadium's early life.
However, it is now widely recognised that the first Hampden Park is an iconic football ground whose importance to Scottish heritage cannot be overstated. That is why I am delighted that Historic Environment Scotland has recognised its significant cultural value to the nation, and has taken steps to protect the site for future generations.
It will also, hopefully, encourage further archaeological exploration of the site after two previous digs in 2017 and 2021 uncovered the pavilion's foundations as well as wider evidence of the stadium's early life.
Historic Environment Scotland's map highlighting the area within Kingsley Gardens to be designated as a scheduled monument.
Footnote: Hampden Bowling Club and its pavilion
It had long been claimed by members of Hampden Bowling Club (now closed) that their pavilion was the same as the original football pavilion. This has now been proven to be a myth, as it was built new in 1905. HES have recognised this, and have turned down a request to designate the Bowling Club pavilion as a listed building.
The HES proposal to designate the site of the first Hampden pavilion covers only a part of Kingsley Gardens, and the area occupied by the bowling club grounds has been excluded.
Thanks
This article would not have been possible without the input of a number of football historians, and I acknowledge with thanks the work done by Phil Martin, Frank McCrossan and Ged O'Brien in particular.
Update - 13 May 2026
Historic Environment Scotland has confirmed that the site of the Hampden pavilion has been designated as a scheduled monument, following a public consultation.
See https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/historic-site-of-first-hampden-scores-scheduled-status/
It had long been claimed by members of Hampden Bowling Club (now closed) that their pavilion was the same as the original football pavilion. This has now been proven to be a myth, as it was built new in 1905. HES have recognised this, and have turned down a request to designate the Bowling Club pavilion as a listed building.
The HES proposal to designate the site of the first Hampden pavilion covers only a part of Kingsley Gardens, and the area occupied by the bowling club grounds has been excluded.
Thanks
This article would not have been possible without the input of a number of football historians, and I acknowledge with thanks the work done by Phil Martin, Frank McCrossan and Ged O'Brien in particular.
Update - 13 May 2026
Historic Environment Scotland has confirmed that the site of the Hampden pavilion has been designated as a scheduled monument, following a public consultation.
See https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/historic-site-of-first-hampden-scores-scheduled-status/
- Published on
Silver belt buckle awarded to Hugh McColl junior in 1871 by the members of West End Cricket Club
Many years ago I bought this attractive belt buckle at an antique fair, engraved for presentation to Hugh McColl junior by the members of West End Cricket Club for the highest bowling average in 1871.
At the time I had no idea where it came from, in fact initially I thought that West End may have referred to one of the ancestors of Newcastle United. But recently I finally uncovered the full story about Hugh McColl, and his little buckle has taken me on a fascinating journey of cricket and football from Scotland to South America.
Thanks to the online digitisation of old newspapers and other publications, I established that West End was a Glasgow cricket club which took up football in the winter months and was one of the early members of the Scottish Football Association. McColl was not just a player at both sports, the SFA's first annual in 1875 listed him as the club contact, which was an important breakthrough as it gave his home address.
At the time I had no idea where it came from, in fact initially I thought that West End may have referred to one of the ancestors of Newcastle United. But recently I finally uncovered the full story about Hugh McColl, and his little buckle has taken me on a fascinating journey of cricket and football from Scotland to South America.
Thanks to the online digitisation of old newspapers and other publications, I established that West End was a Glasgow cricket club which took up football in the winter months and was one of the early members of the Scottish Football Association. McColl was not just a player at both sports, the SFA's first annual in 1875 listed him as the club contact, which was an important breakthrough as it gave his home address.
The Scottish Football Annual for 1875-76 lists Hugh McColl as secretary of West End FC in Glasgow
By a strange quirk, I found that Hugh McColl was later credited with being one of the pioneers of football in Chile, while his namesake Hugh MacColl had come to notice as one of the founders of Spanish football in Seville. My initial thought was that this could possibly be the same man, but it turned out to be a remarkable coincidence with a slight variation in spelling. So, who was the West End man, and how did he end up in Chile?
Hugh McColl was born in 1852, the fifth child of Hugh McColl and Lillias Inglis Mackie who had married in 1841 and lived in Glasgow. His father was a skilled tradesman as an engine pattern maker, and the family home was in Richard Street in Anderston, now long gone but at the time a respectable area of town.
As a young commercial clerk Hugh enjoyed cricket in his free time and around 1870 was one of the founding members of West End Cricket Club. He was clearly a decent player, as the following year he won the prize for bowling, but just how good is hard to tell as West End was a minor club whose matches rarely appeared in the press, nor did they trouble the Scottish Cricketers' Annual.
In 1873 the club took a big step forward by securing the lease of Burnbank, the Glasgow Academicals ground on Great Western Road, and also formed a football section for the winter months. That spurred them on to join the Scottish FA, which enabled West End to enter the Scottish Cup in 1874, beating Star of Leven in the first round before going down 7-0 to the mighty Queen's Park in the second.
They had to leave Burnbank in 1875 (with Rangers taking over the lease for a year), which appears to have prompted the cricket section to wind up, but West End carried on as a football club and took up residence at Avenue Park in Cowlairs.
Hugh McColl was not just a player, appearing at full back, he held an integral role as club secretary for 1875-76. West End continued to enter the Scottish Cup and in 1876 they reached the third round after defeating 4th RRV and Govan, but were thrown out of the competition following a 1-1 draw with Edinburgh side Swifts, as the SFA ruled that West End must be disqualified for not scheduling the match on the due date.
Like many clubs of the day, West End’s existence was brief. Their final Scottish Cup tie was in September 1877, a 5-1 loss to Strathclyde, and the club's last known fixture was in March 1878. They disbanded at the end of the season.
That might have been the end of Hugh McColl's involvement with football, as he embarked on a career in the import/export trade, got married and started a family. However, a decade later he crossed the Atlantic and set up in business in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso with his family.
Hugh McColl was born in 1852, the fifth child of Hugh McColl and Lillias Inglis Mackie who had married in 1841 and lived in Glasgow. His father was a skilled tradesman as an engine pattern maker, and the family home was in Richard Street in Anderston, now long gone but at the time a respectable area of town.
As a young commercial clerk Hugh enjoyed cricket in his free time and around 1870 was one of the founding members of West End Cricket Club. He was clearly a decent player, as the following year he won the prize for bowling, but just how good is hard to tell as West End was a minor club whose matches rarely appeared in the press, nor did they trouble the Scottish Cricketers' Annual.
In 1873 the club took a big step forward by securing the lease of Burnbank, the Glasgow Academicals ground on Great Western Road, and also formed a football section for the winter months. That spurred them on to join the Scottish FA, which enabled West End to enter the Scottish Cup in 1874, beating Star of Leven in the first round before going down 7-0 to the mighty Queen's Park in the second.
They had to leave Burnbank in 1875 (with Rangers taking over the lease for a year), which appears to have prompted the cricket section to wind up, but West End carried on as a football club and took up residence at Avenue Park in Cowlairs.
Hugh McColl was not just a player, appearing at full back, he held an integral role as club secretary for 1875-76. West End continued to enter the Scottish Cup and in 1876 they reached the third round after defeating 4th RRV and Govan, but were thrown out of the competition following a 1-1 draw with Edinburgh side Swifts, as the SFA ruled that West End must be disqualified for not scheduling the match on the due date.
Like many clubs of the day, West End’s existence was brief. Their final Scottish Cup tie was in September 1877, a 5-1 loss to Strathclyde, and the club's last known fixture was in March 1878. They disbanded at the end of the season.
That might have been the end of Hugh McColl's involvement with football, as he embarked on a career in the import/export trade, got married and started a family. However, a decade later he crossed the Atlantic and set up in business in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso with his family.
Sport was thriving in Valparaiso before football came along - this silver beaker was presented at the Cricket Club's athletic sports in 1879
There was already an established British community in Valparaiso with a long-standing cricket club, and that gave him the opportunity to resume his enthusiasm in football, which presumably had never gone away. In 1889 he was a founder of the first organised football club in Chile as an offshoot of the cricket club. Although details are sketchy it appears that Hugh McColl was a driving force, elected as its first president, one of several Scots involved on and off the field.
The Valparaiso club took a while to settle, not helped by a civil war in 1891, then in 1892 was established as a standalone entity and began to promote football in the port city. The following year it elected a board of directors to became the first constituted football club in the country, and went on to be a founding member of the Football Association of Chile in 1895. Valparaiso was undoubtedly the most important team in the nascent football association, known simply as 'The Club' or 'The Senior Club' until the outbreak of the First World War forced it into a hiatus, as most of its players left to defend the British Empire.
Meanwhile, Hugh McColl played an active role not just in Valparaiso but in the early development of football in Chile's capital, as he is seen in a photo of the first Santiago football eleven, which had been founded in 1893 by the Santiago Cricket and Athletic Club to play in the first intercity match between Valparaiso and Santiago. It is not clear how he was involved, and perhaps had been recruited to coach the new team. This is presently the only known photo of McColl.
The Valparaiso club took a while to settle, not helped by a civil war in 1891, then in 1892 was established as a standalone entity and began to promote football in the port city. The following year it elected a board of directors to became the first constituted football club in the country, and went on to be a founding member of the Football Association of Chile in 1895. Valparaiso was undoubtedly the most important team in the nascent football association, known simply as 'The Club' or 'The Senior Club' until the outbreak of the First World War forced it into a hiatus, as most of its players left to defend the British Empire.
Meanwhile, Hugh McColl played an active role not just in Valparaiso but in the early development of football in Chile's capital, as he is seen in a photo of the first Santiago football eleven, which had been founded in 1893 by the Santiago Cricket and Athletic Club to play in the first intercity match between Valparaiso and Santiago. It is not clear how he was involved, and perhaps had been recruited to coach the new team. This is presently the only known photo of McColl.
Hugh McColl (back left) is in this photo of Santiago Football Club, founded in July 1893 by British expatriates in Chile
Not long after, Hugh McColl and his family returned to Glasgow, having spent at least five years in Chile, with his daughter Lillias born there in 1891. Back home, he went into partnership in a shipping agency with John Crosbie Rogers (1839-1921), who had spent a long time in Chile before returning to Glasgow, where he was Chilean vice-consul. The business prospered and that meant several return trips to Valparaiso for McColl over the next two decades, as he developed trade between Chile and the UK. His company McColl and Rogers were described in the Glasgow directory as ship and insurance brokers, commission agents, export and produce merchants.
After the War, the company became known as McColl and Sons, operating from an office in Wellington Street until his death in 1928.
At the time, nothing was said about his role in football, and even today Hugh McColl is one of those little-known exporters of Scottish football, who learned the game at home before taking it abroad.
He is now recognised as one of several Scots who were pioneers of Chilean football, and it is remarkable that his story has come to light thanks to a chance find at an antique fair.
Hugh McColl
Born 28 April 1852 in Glasgow
Died 13 October 1928 in Glasgow
With sincere thanks to Chilean football historian Sebastián Núñez Mardones for his input. Director of CEDEP, the Chilean Centre for Sports Studies, his book Selección Chilena 1910 - Duelos del Centenario is the definitive story of the first Chilean international team.
See his comprehensive article on the early years: The background to the founding of Santiago Wanderers
Further reading:
Scots Football Worldwide - Valparaiso.
Scots Football Worldwide - Santiago.
How John Hamilton played for Chile in 1910.
After the War, the company became known as McColl and Sons, operating from an office in Wellington Street until his death in 1928.
At the time, nothing was said about his role in football, and even today Hugh McColl is one of those little-known exporters of Scottish football, who learned the game at home before taking it abroad.
He is now recognised as one of several Scots who were pioneers of Chilean football, and it is remarkable that his story has come to light thanks to a chance find at an antique fair.
Hugh McColl
Born 28 April 1852 in Glasgow
Died 13 October 1928 in Glasgow
With sincere thanks to Chilean football historian Sebastián Núñez Mardones for his input. Director of CEDEP, the Chilean Centre for Sports Studies, his book Selección Chilena 1910 - Duelos del Centenario is the definitive story of the first Chilean international team.
See his comprehensive article on the early years: The background to the founding of Santiago Wanderers
Further reading:
Scots Football Worldwide - Valparaiso.
Scots Football Worldwide - Santiago.
How John Hamilton played for Chile in 1910.
- Published on
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
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
- Published on
Dewar's Temperance Hotel in Glasgow holds a special place in Scottish football history. It was there on 13 March 1873 that eight clubs resolved to 'form themselves into an association for the promotion of football according to the rules of the Football Association'.
Queen's Park FC issued an invitation to 'Scotch clubs' to the founding meeting of the Scottish FA. [North British Daily Mail, 3 March 1873, via British Newspaper Archive]
That founding meeting of the Scottish FA took place in the hotel at 11 Bridge Street, just south of the river Clyde. It followed two Scotland v England encounters which were organised by Queen's Park FC, who realised that they could not continue on their own and it was time for a national body. Their appeal for clubs to join them attracted representatives from Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Third Lanark, Eastern and Granville, while Kilmarnock sent a letter of support.
Between them, they chose Archibald Campbell of Clydesdale as President with William Ker of Queen's Park as treasurer and Archibald Rae of Queen's Park as secretary. The eight committee members were James Turnbull (Dumbreck), Donald Macfarlane (Vale of Leven), Ebenezer Hendry (Clydesdale), William Dick (Third Lanark), John Mackay (Granville), James McIntyre (Eastern), Robert Gardner (Queen's Park) and William Gibb (Clydesdale). Apart from 49-year-old Campbell, all of them were active players and three of them (Ker, Gardner and Gibb) were internationalists.
Between them, they chose Archibald Campbell of Clydesdale as President with William Ker of Queen's Park as treasurer and Archibald Rae of Queen's Park as secretary. The eight committee members were James Turnbull (Dumbreck), Donald Macfarlane (Vale of Leven), Ebenezer Hendry (Clydesdale), William Dick (Third Lanark), John Mackay (Granville), James McIntyre (Eastern), Robert Gardner (Queen's Park) and William Gibb (Clydesdale). Apart from 49-year-old Campbell, all of them were active players and three of them (Ker, Gardner and Gibb) were internationalists.
A detailed report of the founding meeting in the North British Daily Mail, 17 March 1873 [BNA]
Archibald Campbell, elected first President of the Scottish Football Association
The committee laid down a set of rules and while the Scottish FA took on the role of organising future internationals, its primary focus was the inauguration of a national competition, the Scottish Cup, which was played for the first time the following season.
So, who was Dewar, where exactly was this hotel and why was it chosen as the venue?
There is nothing there now to mark the spot: Dewar's Hotel is long gone, having been demolished in the 1930s, and a later building stands on the site. The Scottish FA did commission a plaque to commemorate their founding meeting, but they outsourced the work and rather ineptly it was put on the wrong side of the street.
The story goes back to 1840, when Alexander Dewar married Jane Wylie, not long after he arrived in Glasgow from his native Perthshire. Shortly after their marriage they opened the Railway Arms Tavern in Clyde Place, the first of four businesses, all with the same name and all in close proximity to the newly-built Bridge Street Station which was then the southern terminus for Glasgow.
After five years the Dewars moved their business briefly to Jamaica Street, then in 1847 they opened the third Railway Arms at 16 Bridge Street. This was in a prime position, right next to the station entrance and it proved to be a popular venue, expanding in 1852 and with further improvements in 1857. By this time the Dewars had six daughters who helped run the hotel, but in 1863 Alexander Dewar was declared bankrupt. He told the bankruptcy court that business had recently fallen off, and although he was discharged six months later the hotel closed in 1864. It was later taken over as railway offices.
Undeterred by this setback, the family moved across the road to more modest premises at 11 Bridge Street, on the upper floors of a building which had shops and a restaurant at street level. This time it was on a no-alcohol basis, hence the name Dewar's Temperance Hotel, although it was formally still known as the Railway Arms.
So, who was Dewar, where exactly was this hotel and why was it chosen as the venue?
There is nothing there now to mark the spot: Dewar's Hotel is long gone, having been demolished in the 1930s, and a later building stands on the site. The Scottish FA did commission a plaque to commemorate their founding meeting, but they outsourced the work and rather ineptly it was put on the wrong side of the street.
The story goes back to 1840, when Alexander Dewar married Jane Wylie, not long after he arrived in Glasgow from his native Perthshire. Shortly after their marriage they opened the Railway Arms Tavern in Clyde Place, the first of four businesses, all with the same name and all in close proximity to the newly-built Bridge Street Station which was then the southern terminus for Glasgow.
After five years the Dewars moved their business briefly to Jamaica Street, then in 1847 they opened the third Railway Arms at 16 Bridge Street. This was in a prime position, right next to the station entrance and it proved to be a popular venue, expanding in 1852 and with further improvements in 1857. By this time the Dewars had six daughters who helped run the hotel, but in 1863 Alexander Dewar was declared bankrupt. He told the bankruptcy court that business had recently fallen off, and although he was discharged six months later the hotel closed in 1864. It was later taken over as railway offices.
Undeterred by this setback, the family moved across the road to more modest premises at 11 Bridge Street, on the upper floors of a building which had shops and a restaurant at street level. This time it was on a no-alcohol basis, hence the name Dewar's Temperance Hotel, although it was formally still known as the Railway Arms.
The buildings in Bridge Street which contained Dewar's Hotel are highlighted in this 1930s photo, taken shortly before the buildings were demolished. [canmore.org.uk/collection/1257774]
As well as providing rooms for visitors, its function room hosted a wide range of meetings and proved particularly popular for sporting associations and clubs. The Scottish FA certainly liked the environment as it held committee meetings at Dewar's Hotel regularly through the 1870s until it acquired its own premises, and others who met there included Rangers, Third Lanark and numerous smaller football clubs, as well as cricketers, bowlers and shinty players.
Dewar's Hotel was used by numerous football clubs and other sporting bodies. Rangers held their AGM there in 1879. [Evening Times, 7 June 1879, via BNA]
When the Scottish FA first met in 1873, however, Alexander Dewar was no longer there. He had died in October 1868 aged 57, and his widow Jane was left to carry on the business with the support of her daughters, so they were the hosts for the inaugural meeting.
Even after Jane's death in 1875 the hotel remained in the family, with the daughters in charge until they gave it up in 1880. That was shortly after the opening of the much larger Glasgow Central Station on the other side of the river, which diminished the status of Bridge Street Station as trains could now cross the Clyde directly to the city centre. Although a reconfigured station was created a few yards to the south, it had much less traffic and that meant the hotel lost much of its viability.
It carried on under new management as Fleming's Temperance Hotel until the turn of the century, then appears to have become rented apartments. With the slow decline of the Gorbals, the whole block where Dewar's Hotel stood, from 5 to 15 Bridge Street, was demolished in the mid-1930s.
Even after Jane's death in 1875 the hotel remained in the family, with the daughters in charge until they gave it up in 1880. That was shortly after the opening of the much larger Glasgow Central Station on the other side of the river, which diminished the status of Bridge Street Station as trains could now cross the Clyde directly to the city centre. Although a reconfigured station was created a few yards to the south, it had much less traffic and that meant the hotel lost much of its viability.
It carried on under new management as Fleming's Temperance Hotel until the turn of the century, then appears to have become rented apartments. With the slow decline of the Gorbals, the whole block where Dewar's Hotel stood, from 5 to 15 Bridge Street, was demolished in the mid-1930s.
A aerial view of Cumbrae House in Bridge Street, which stands on the site of Dewar's Hotel and the Old Hampden Bar.
On the site today is Cumbrae House, an attractive deco building with contrasting black and cream tiles, built in 1937 as a furniture showroom. Now used as offices, it faces onto Carlton Court, with a prominent façade on Bridge Street, although the building is need of attention and has been shrouded in scaffolding for the past couple of years. This is the place where that Scottish FA plaque should be.
This 1893 map shows the Old Hampden Bar (marked P.H. in the circle) at 9 Bridge Street, next to the hatched area which is the entrance to Dewar's Hotel. [National Library of Scotland]
John Crichton and the Old Hampden Bar
Curiously, directly beneath Dewar's Hotel there was a football-related pub at street level. The Old Hampden Bar at 9 Bridge Street was for many years run by John Gray Crichton, who had played for Third Lanark against Queen's Park in the 1876 Scottish Cup final and appeared in a Scotland trial match.
Curiously, directly beneath Dewar's Hotel there was a football-related pub at street level. The Old Hampden Bar at 9 Bridge Street was for many years run by John Gray Crichton, who had played for Third Lanark against Queen's Park in the 1876 Scottish Cup final and appeared in a Scotland trial match.
John Crichton's entry in the 1875 Scottish Football Annual. That season he played for Third Lanark in the Scottish Cup final.
He sounds like a great sportsman and a character. After leaving Thirds he was a player for Alexandra Athletic and Queen's Park, but had particular prominence as an athlete with a speciality for sack racing. While this may sound like a novelty event, the sack race was a staple of athletics meetings in the late Victorian era, and Crichton was virtually unbeatable until he gave it up in 1881.
The Athletic News paid tribute to his abilities, describing him as 'the cleverest sackist I ever saw … and, above all, he is every inch of him a gentleman.' After he retired, Crichton's natural successor as Scotland's leading sack racer was another footballer, Tuck McIntyre of Rangers.
There had been a pub or restaurant at 9 Bridge Street since the 1870s, and when Crichton took it over in 1887 he named it the Old Hampden Café as he provided food as well as drink. He decorated the walls with portraits of theatrical, political and sporting celebrities, and among the photos was an original image of the 1873 Scotland team that faced England a week before the Scottish FA was formed. Sadly, many of the photos were destroyed in a fire in 1916 but it is a measure of his popularity that he received over a hundred letters of support from his customers.
Crichton's influence extended far beyond these shores as he was made an honorary patron of Thistle Football Club in Fremantle, Western Australia, and supplied them with a set of strips and then a gold medal for their top scorer. The reason for this unlikely link is that his daughter had emigrated there with her husband, who played for the team.
The Athletic News paid tribute to his abilities, describing him as 'the cleverest sackist I ever saw … and, above all, he is every inch of him a gentleman.' After he retired, Crichton's natural successor as Scotland's leading sack racer was another footballer, Tuck McIntyre of Rangers.
There had been a pub or restaurant at 9 Bridge Street since the 1870s, and when Crichton took it over in 1887 he named it the Old Hampden Café as he provided food as well as drink. He decorated the walls with portraits of theatrical, political and sporting celebrities, and among the photos was an original image of the 1873 Scotland team that faced England a week before the Scottish FA was formed. Sadly, many of the photos were destroyed in a fire in 1916 but it is a measure of his popularity that he received over a hundred letters of support from his customers.
Crichton's influence extended far beyond these shores as he was made an honorary patron of Thistle Football Club in Fremantle, Western Australia, and supplied them with a set of strips and then a gold medal for their top scorer. The reason for this unlikely link is that his daughter had emigrated there with her husband, who played for the team.
The Scotland v England match programme in 1927 had this advert for the Old Hampden Bar, 9 Bridge Street.
John Crichton continued as landlord until 1920 when he sold up and retired to Surrey, where he died eight years later. However, the Old Hampden Bar remained open for at least another decade and had a prominent advert in the Scotland v England match programme in 1927, still boasting a photo gallery of footballers past and present.
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The first football match in Scotland under Association rules was played in Glasgow on 1 August 1868 between Queen's Park and Thistle. But while the foundation and history of Queen's Park is well known, it takes two sides to play a match, so who exactly were their opponents, Thistle? And was this really the starting point for football in the city?
The answers lie in the hidden history of football in Glasgow before Queen's Park came on the scene, with a man called John B Connell claiming to have brought the first football to the city several years earlier.
The traditional version of events was written by Richard Robinson in the Queen's Park jubilee history, where he asserted that there was no serious football in the city before the club was founded on 9 July 1867: 'Football was played in a more or less happy-go-lucky fashion in the Queen's Park and Glasgow Green. Play with the round ball was then comparatively new, and had not yet been systematised in Scotland.'
Robinson described how Queen's Park was founded after a few young men from the north of Scotland were engaged in athletic pursuits near to a group of YMCA members who were playing football. Sometimes the game spilled over into the athletics area, so the northerners challenged the YMCA boys. They enjoyed football enough to start playing regularly 'to amuse themselves, among themselves, in their own way,' and then decided to form a proper club. The rest is history as Queen's Park blazed a trail for association football in Scotland.
However, it is clear that football was already a popular recreation in Glasgow long before 1867, although frustratingly for historians there are only tantalising glimpses of football in the press and written records.
For example, in the summer of 1862 the Glasgow Abstainers' Union took over Gilmorehill Recreation Grounds to promote outdoor activities, and top of their list was football. Although it was initially described as 'the ancient and praiseworthy pastime of football', the activity was soon disparaged by an English observer in a letter to the Glasgow Morning Journal: 'Football as we play it in England, with two sides, and a goal to be kept by one of them, is a noble game. Here there was no game. By the English eye a mob of people kicking a ball about quite aimlessly and at random could only be regarded as a pitiful congregation of blockheads working off their superfluous physical energies in a particularly insane and stupid manner.' (7 May 1862)
This drew an angry riposte from 'A Scotchman' who wrote: 'Failing to discover the drunkenness over which he would have gloated with delight, he gives vent to his bile in a scurrilous attack on the play at foot-ball, which was not managed, he says in the English style. It may be right, perhaps, to let this conceited Englishman know that the game of football is as well understood in all parts of Scotland as England.' (9 May 1862)
It appears the Abstainers' Union were scared off by the bad publicity and they abruptly ended the short-lived experiment with the stark announcement: 'Foot-Balling has been discontinued in consequence of interfering with the comfort of visitors'. The game was simply too popular.
The answers lie in the hidden history of football in Glasgow before Queen's Park came on the scene, with a man called John B Connell claiming to have brought the first football to the city several years earlier.
The traditional version of events was written by Richard Robinson in the Queen's Park jubilee history, where he asserted that there was no serious football in the city before the club was founded on 9 July 1867: 'Football was played in a more or less happy-go-lucky fashion in the Queen's Park and Glasgow Green. Play with the round ball was then comparatively new, and had not yet been systematised in Scotland.'
Robinson described how Queen's Park was founded after a few young men from the north of Scotland were engaged in athletic pursuits near to a group of YMCA members who were playing football. Sometimes the game spilled over into the athletics area, so the northerners challenged the YMCA boys. They enjoyed football enough to start playing regularly 'to amuse themselves, among themselves, in their own way,' and then decided to form a proper club. The rest is history as Queen's Park blazed a trail for association football in Scotland.
However, it is clear that football was already a popular recreation in Glasgow long before 1867, although frustratingly for historians there are only tantalising glimpses of football in the press and written records.
For example, in the summer of 1862 the Glasgow Abstainers' Union took over Gilmorehill Recreation Grounds to promote outdoor activities, and top of their list was football. Although it was initially described as 'the ancient and praiseworthy pastime of football', the activity was soon disparaged by an English observer in a letter to the Glasgow Morning Journal: 'Football as we play it in England, with two sides, and a goal to be kept by one of them, is a noble game. Here there was no game. By the English eye a mob of people kicking a ball about quite aimlessly and at random could only be regarded as a pitiful congregation of blockheads working off their superfluous physical energies in a particularly insane and stupid manner.' (7 May 1862)
This drew an angry riposte from 'A Scotchman' who wrote: 'Failing to discover the drunkenness over which he would have gloated with delight, he gives vent to his bile in a scurrilous attack on the play at foot-ball, which was not managed, he says in the English style. It may be right, perhaps, to let this conceited Englishman know that the game of football is as well understood in all parts of Scotland as England.' (9 May 1862)
It appears the Abstainers' Union were scared off by the bad publicity and they abruptly ended the short-lived experiment with the stark announcement: 'Foot-Balling has been discontinued in consequence of interfering with the comfort of visitors'. The game was simply too popular.
Announcement in the Glasgow Herald, 24 November 1865
The only other meaningful announcement about football is a solitary advert for members of the St Andrew Football Club, placed in the Glasgow Herald in November 1865. Unfortunately, apart from the location of their ground on Great Western Road - which was also the home of cricket clubs including Caledonian, Bellegrove and Blythswood - nothing more is revealed about the club, not even whether they played with a round or oval ball.
Although the city's first rugby clubs were founded at West of Scotland (1865) and Glasgow Academicals (1866), there are precious few mentions of football in the press until Queen's Park advertised the start of their first summer season in March 1868, shortly followed by their annual meeting on 4 April.
Although the city's first rugby clubs were founded at West of Scotland (1865) and Glasgow Academicals (1866), there are precious few mentions of football in the press until Queen's Park advertised the start of their first summer season in March 1868, shortly followed by their annual meeting on 4 April.
Thought to be the first announcement by Queen's Park in the Glasgow Evening Citizen, 18 March 1868
The club was quickly growing in a stature, as a letter to the Glasgow Evening Citizen on 6 June confirmed. The writer stated the need for dressing rooms for sportsmen at the Queen's Park Recreation Ground and described the football club as 'the most influential in numbers, well organised and respectable, and with their flags, goal posts, putting stones, hammers and balls.' This was quite an accolade for a club which was less than a year old.
That summer they decided to broaden their horizons beyond their own membership and, according to Robinson: 'It was found that there were in existence other clubs in exactly the same position as the Queen's Park, on the lookout for opponents.'
Two challenges were received: one from Ayr FC, the other from the Thistle FC, whose headquarters were on Glasgow Green. A trip to Ayr was deemed impractical on financial grounds, so the game with Thistle was arranged and a letter from Robert Gardner, accepting the challenge, is in the Scottish Football Museum. It was addressed to Andrew Holmes, secretary of the Thistle Football Club, which indicates a properly organised club.
A few days later, the teams met at the Queen's Park Recreation Ground, with Queen's Park winning by two goals to nil. Association football had arrived in Glasgow.
What of their opponents? To establish the story of the Thistle Football Club one has to depend on later reminiscences, some of which contradict what Robinson wrote in the Queen's Park history.
I was first alerted to an anecdote published in a 1934 book, The Mighty Kick. The authors wrote that 'John Connal [sic] brought the first football to Glasgow in 1862, having been brought up on the traditions of Hansel Monday in Callander, and helped to found the Thistle Football Club at Glasgow Green. Callander boys came to Glasgow and played football at Monteith Row, Glasgow Green, where the People's Palace now stands, paying a penny a week to take part. They wore the colours of Drummond Castle, which was owned by Baron Willoughby d'Eresby. This included tartan caps.'
I found more of Connell's story in a couple of newspaper articles which described how he made the transition from the rural football of Perthshire to the organised game in Glasgow.
That summer they decided to broaden their horizons beyond their own membership and, according to Robinson: 'It was found that there were in existence other clubs in exactly the same position as the Queen's Park, on the lookout for opponents.'
Two challenges were received: one from Ayr FC, the other from the Thistle FC, whose headquarters were on Glasgow Green. A trip to Ayr was deemed impractical on financial grounds, so the game with Thistle was arranged and a letter from Robert Gardner, accepting the challenge, is in the Scottish Football Museum. It was addressed to Andrew Holmes, secretary of the Thistle Football Club, which indicates a properly organised club.
A few days later, the teams met at the Queen's Park Recreation Ground, with Queen's Park winning by two goals to nil. Association football had arrived in Glasgow.
What of their opponents? To establish the story of the Thistle Football Club one has to depend on later reminiscences, some of which contradict what Robinson wrote in the Queen's Park history.
I was first alerted to an anecdote published in a 1934 book, The Mighty Kick. The authors wrote that 'John Connal [sic] brought the first football to Glasgow in 1862, having been brought up on the traditions of Hansel Monday in Callander, and helped to found the Thistle Football Club at Glasgow Green. Callander boys came to Glasgow and played football at Monteith Row, Glasgow Green, where the People's Palace now stands, paying a penny a week to take part. They wore the colours of Drummond Castle, which was owned by Baron Willoughby d'Eresby. This included tartan caps.'
I found more of Connell's story in a couple of newspaper articles which described how he made the transition from the rural football of Perthshire to the organised game in Glasgow.
Start of the article in the Scottish Referee, 29 June 1914, which detailed Connell's early experiences in football
The Scottish Referee (29 June 1914) had an article titled 'A Football Pioneer' which was based on a conversation with John B Connell. It told how he came to Glasgow from Port of Menteith in 1863, and brought his football with him, one that had been used in the annual game at Callander on Hansel Monday (the first day of the traditional new year).
'He was the only individual in the city who possessed a public ball, and the charge for the use of it was a penny a week. The games were played on Glasgow Green, the boundaries being from Geordie Geddes's house [ie the Glasgow Humane Society] to Monteith Row, and the objective was to kick over the boundary on either side. Both hands and feet were used. There was no limit to the number of players who joined each side, once the penny was paid. These games ultimately culminated in the formation of the Thistle, in which Connell took a prominent part, though prior to that there was the Drummond Club, composed of Callander men.'
'He was the only individual in the city who possessed a public ball, and the charge for the use of it was a penny a week. The games were played on Glasgow Green, the boundaries being from Geordie Geddes's house [ie the Glasgow Humane Society] to Monteith Row, and the objective was to kick over the boundary on either side. Both hands and feet were used. There was no limit to the number of players who joined each side, once the penny was paid. These games ultimately culminated in the formation of the Thistle, in which Connell took a prominent part, though prior to that there was the Drummond Club, composed of Callander men.'
A contemporary map of the part of Glasgow Green where the Callander boys played their football. Monteith Row is top right, and the Glasgow Humane Society building lower left. The People's Palace now stands on the site.
A couple of years later, the Daily Record (29 March 1916) had an article 'supplied by one who played in what is believed to have been the club's first serious match'. It described the early games on Glasgow Green, with Callander lads wearing the tartan caps in the colours of Drummond Castle, and related how, when Queen's Park was formed, they sent a challenge to the new club. It is further evidence that Thistle was in existence before Queen's Park.
'The challenge limited the teams to eleven a side, and each club had to furnish a football, the visitors using theirs in the first half and the home team theirs in the second half. There was no referee, no goal nets, not even touch lines, merely an umpire for each side. The game was the chasing of a football, the fastest runners and the hardest kickers being the champions. Combination was unheard of, but dribbling was a fine art and everything was subordinated to footwork, fast running and vigorous shoulder charging.
'Each club had its own rules, the matches being played under the ruling of the home club. Against Drummond, the Queen's stipulated no tripping, in which the Perthshire players specialised. Their football was a hybrid type between present day Association and Rugby with tripping thrown in.'
This gives rise to some confusion, as Queen's Park played Thistle in 1868 (20-a-side) and Drummond in 1870 (18-a-side), so recollections of the two matches appear to have been muddled.
'The challenge limited the teams to eleven a side, and each club had to furnish a football, the visitors using theirs in the first half and the home team theirs in the second half. There was no referee, no goal nets, not even touch lines, merely an umpire for each side. The game was the chasing of a football, the fastest runners and the hardest kickers being the champions. Combination was unheard of, but dribbling was a fine art and everything was subordinated to footwork, fast running and vigorous shoulder charging.
'Each club had its own rules, the matches being played under the ruling of the home club. Against Drummond, the Queen's stipulated no tripping, in which the Perthshire players specialised. Their football was a hybrid type between present day Association and Rugby with tripping thrown in.'
This gives rise to some confusion, as Queen's Park played Thistle in 1868 (20-a-side) and Drummond in 1870 (18-a-side), so recollections of the two matches appear to have been muddled.
However, the accounts do reveal something of the nature of early association football in Glasgow. They also provide a documented direct link between Scottish rural football and association football, as first described by Dr Neil Tranter who told the story of Callander’s Hansel Monday football game over twenty years ago (click on link and scroll to page 143) and it was then reported in The Herald. The traditional new year match continued in the town until 1885, and overlapped with the formation in 1877 of Callander's first association football club, Rob Roy.
Connell described in the Scottish Football Annual of 1875
Connell was no mean player and was rated in the first Scottish Football Annual: 'Powerful back; kicks well, although rather nervous when pressed.' In 1875, while with Eastern, he played for Glasgow v Sheffield and a year later featured in an international trial.
His full name was John Burns Connell and he was born in Doune in 1846, then brought up on a farm near Port of Menteith, a few miles south of Callander. He clearly took part in the annual football match there and after coming to Glasgow to work in the early 1860s he continued to enjoy the game and appears to have been the captain of both the Thistle and the Drummond teams.
Later he played for Callander (a Glasgow club) in the first ever Scottish Cup tournament in 1873, after the club subscribed £1 for the purchase of the trophy. He then joined Eastern, a club which produced many prominent players, notably the Scotland internationalists Peter Andrews, JJ Lang, Alex Kennedy and WS Somers. Ultimately Eastern became one of the forerunners of Clyde FC.
He remained in Glasgow for the rest of his life and worked for over 50 years as a draper and warehouseman with J&W Campbell. He died in Scotstoun in 1930, aged 84, and although he and his wife Louisa had two children, there are not thought to be any living descendants.
There are no known photos of Connell, which is unfortunate as he is a key figure in the early development of football. Similarly, there is no documentary evidence of the Thistle or Drummond clubs.
As research into the story of early Scottish football continues, I hope that, in time, the contributions of John B Connell and his fellow players from Callander will become better known and appreciated.
**Update - following the digitisation of the Daily Record by the British Newspaper Archive, a lengthy article by Connell has come to light. Published three years after his death, it is a detailed and fascinating account of the pre-history of football in Glasgow.
His full name was John Burns Connell and he was born in Doune in 1846, then brought up on a farm near Port of Menteith, a few miles south of Callander. He clearly took part in the annual football match there and after coming to Glasgow to work in the early 1860s he continued to enjoy the game and appears to have been the captain of both the Thistle and the Drummond teams.
Later he played for Callander (a Glasgow club) in the first ever Scottish Cup tournament in 1873, after the club subscribed £1 for the purchase of the trophy. He then joined Eastern, a club which produced many prominent players, notably the Scotland internationalists Peter Andrews, JJ Lang, Alex Kennedy and WS Somers. Ultimately Eastern became one of the forerunners of Clyde FC.
He remained in Glasgow for the rest of his life and worked for over 50 years as a draper and warehouseman with J&W Campbell. He died in Scotstoun in 1930, aged 84, and although he and his wife Louisa had two children, there are not thought to be any living descendants.
There are no known photos of Connell, which is unfortunate as he is a key figure in the early development of football. Similarly, there is no documentary evidence of the Thistle or Drummond clubs.
As research into the story of early Scottish football continues, I hope that, in time, the contributions of John B Connell and his fellow players from Callander will become better known and appreciated.
**Update - following the digitisation of the Daily Record by the British Newspaper Archive, a lengthy article by Connell has come to light. Published three years after his death, it is a detailed and fascinating account of the pre-history of football in Glasgow.
John B Connell's detailed account of early Glasgow football in the Daily Record, 21 February 1933 (British Newspaper Archive)
- Published on
I was recently asked to write an article about the origins of Scottish football. In the end, it wasn't used, but rather than let it go to waste I wanted to share it here. This is an extended and updated version of a piece I wrote back in 2013.
The established narrative of the birth of association football in Scotland generally starts with the foundation of Queen's Park FC in 1867. But if you look behind the bare facts of that event in Glasgow you will discover that a little village school in Aberdeenshire can stake a claim as a birthplace of Scottish football.
At least three of the founders of Queen's Park were educated at Fordyce Academy, while many of their fellow pioneers also came from Scotland's north-east. Their origins encapsulate a story which helps to explain why football north of the border evolved along different lines to that in England, with passing and teamwork rather than dribbling and individuality as its principal characteristics.
Scotland's first association football club came into being on 9 July 1867 when a group of young men met in Glasgow 'for the purpose of forming a Football Club'.
The minutes of Queen's Park's inaugural meeting were captured in beautiful script by 19-year-old William Klingner, a merchant's clerk, who was elected secretary. The single sheet recorded a few basic rules and a list of committee members from whom four office bearers were appointed to lead the club.
Unfortunately for researchers it is not possible to consult the original document, which was lost in a fire at Hampden Park on Boxing Day 1945. However, a picture of the minute was reproduced in Richard Robinson's History of Queen's Park, published in 1920. His book is widely accepted as the definitive version of how the club was formed, and who its founders were, but in the course of my research I became aware of a few anomalies in Robinson's version of events, which merited a close re-examination.
Dublin-born Robinson, the club historian, was in fact more of a cycling aficionado when he came to Glasgow in his youth and was one of the founders of the Scottish Cyclists' Union, elected its president in 1896. His day job was managing the Post Office telegraph office in the city, with a sideline as football editor of the Glasgow News and he also launched the Scottish Athletic Journal. Newly-retired at the time of the Queen's Park jubilee, he was in a good position to write the club's history.
In the build-up to the club's fiftieth anniversary there was copious newspaper coverage of some early reminiscences, and two books of press cuttings from 1916-17 are held in the Scottish Football Museum. These provide a number of pointers which are not in Robinson's book, which had to wait until the First World War was over to see the light of day.
What is clear is that the Queen's Park story began in the mid-1860s when a group of young men exercised together each Saturday on a patch of ground in Strathbungo, on the south side of Glasgow.
One of them was James Cruickshank Grant who, when interviewed in 1916 for the Athletic News, identified the initial group as comprising himself, Robert and James Smith, Donald Edminston, Lewis Black and 'a couple of others'. They were all north of Scotland men: Grant came from the Highland village of Duthil, not far from Black's home in Grantown-on-Spey, the Smiths had been brought up in Morayshire and Edminston was from Aberdeenshire.
Grant related how initially they practised traditional Highland sports at Strathbungo but when the ground became too confined they decamped to Queen's Park Recreation Ground in Langside. There, they encountered about forty youths from the local YMCA who were kicking a ball about and the men from the north joined in their game of football. They enjoyed it so much that they went into town to buy their own ball, as even in the 1860s footballs could be bought over the counter – there was a range on sale at the Royal Polytechnic Warehouse – which indicates the game was already popular in Glasgow.
As more and more people joined in their football games, in the summer of 1867 they decided to form a proper club, hence the meeting at 3 Eglinton Terrace in Crosshill. It was attended by about 20 young men, of whom 13 were elected onto a committee, and this is where the minute of that first meeting merits close examination, with a particular focus on those individuals.
William Klingner, the secretary, came from Portsoy on the Banffshire coast, the son of an émigré from Dresden who was village doctor.
The treasurer is recorded as 'Smith senior' to distinguish himself from 'Smith junior' who was one of the ordinary members. These were James Smith and his younger brother Robert, the sons of the Earl of Fife's head gardener at Innes House in Morayshire. (Richard Robinson got them the wrong way round in his book.)
The Smith brothers and Klingner were all educated at the same school, Fordyce Academy. It is really at the epicentre of Queen's Park's foundation as just five miles west of Fordyce is the coastal village of Cullen, birthplace of Queen's Park's first captain, Lewis Black.
Fordyce Academy was a remarkable institution. It was endowed in 1790 by George Smith, son of the village blacksmith who had made his fortune as a merchant in Bombay. He left £10,000, known as the Smith Bounty, to fund a schoolmaster and minister and to pay for the education of boys whose surname was, preferably, Smith.
Not surprisingly, there was fierce competition for places, with entrance exams for seven bursaries each year as well as for private fee-paying pupils. This gave it a cosmopolitan mix of pupils from different classes.
With the benefit of their surname, the Smith brothers from Morayshire were among the bursary pupils, probably as boarders as the family home was about 25 miles away. Klingner, however, could easily have travelled the three miles from home to school each day.
The Academy only had about 40 pupils, but the education they received could be life-changing and former pupils included surgeons, barristers and men such as Thomas Glover, responsible for introducing Western technology to Japan, and Sir James Clark, physician to Queen Victoria. The school enjoyed immense prestige in the Victorian era, described on occasion as the 'Eton of the North' (although it must be admitted that the term has been applied to several other schools such as Sedbergh, Rossall, Glenalmond and Fettes). In 1902, HM Inspector of Schools wrote 'The position of this school is now well established as the most important feeder of the university outside the city of Aberdeen.'
The last of the four Queen's Park office bearers was 30-year-old Mungo Ritchie, chosen as president, who came from Madderty in Perthshire. Lewis Black would succeed Ritchie as club president the following year.
The other members of the club, at least those who can be identified, came from various parts of Scotland ranging from Ayrshire to Inverness-shire and it appears that only one of them, the future club captain Robert Gardner, was a native Glaswegian.
With so many different backgrounds, and with none of the club members coming from schools with written rules, one of the first acts of the new committee was to decide which form of football to play. They wrote to Lillywhite's sports shop in London to ask for examples, and soon adopted their own 'Rules of the Field'. These were based on those of the Football Association and copies were printed in 1868 for the members, although none are known to have survived. Thankfully Robinson reproduced them in full in his book.
Rather than adopting the FA's rules entirely, the Queen's Park pioneers took their own view, and a sub-committee redrafted some of the text. Crucially they came up with a different wording to Law 6, covering offside.
The original text reads: When a player has kicked the ball, any one of the same side who is nearer to the opponents' goal-line is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatever prevent any other player from doing so, until the ball has been played, unless there are at least three of his opponents between him and their own goal; but no player is out of play when the ball is kicked from behind the goal-line.
The text in italic was altered to read: 'unless there are at least two of his opponents between him and their own goal, who must not be more than fifteen yards from the goal-line'.
By relaxing the number of opponents from three to two, and introducing a stipulation that those opponents had to be performing a defensive role in the last fifteen yards of the pitch, there was clearly a desire to have greater freedom to pass the ball forwards. This indicates that the Queen's Park players had an understanding about how to play football that was based on a passing game. They did not have the mental baggage that constrained public school-educated footballers in England.
They were not alone in choosing this approach. Also playing football in Glasgow then were young men from Callander, brought up in the tradition of the town's Hansel Monday game. One of them, John B Connell, claimed to have brought the first football to the city back in 1862 and his team, the Thistle, was Queen's Park’s first opponents in August 1868. Connell's story of the early games on Glasgow Green was related in The Mighty Kick, published in 1933.
From these pioneers' approach to the rules there is a strong inference that they already knew how they liked to play the game, and the outcome of that understanding is that Scottish football in the 1870s and 1880s was defined by the ability to pass the ball, while English football foundered on its 'manly' origins that valued strength over teamwork.
The challenge for the football historian is to demonstrate the facts behind this theory, as there are few written records. The complete truth of Scottish football's origins will probably never be known as there is little hard evidence that boys played a kicking and passing type of football at Fordyce Academy, or at other Scottish rural schools, in the 1850s and 1860s.
What is evident, however, is that while the pioneering club in Scottish football was founded in Glasgow, the roots of the club and its founding fathers can be traced to a small school at the other end of the country.
Today, Fordyce is a conservation village caught in a time warp. It boasts a medieval castle at its centre, a church which has stood since Pictish times, and a historic schoolhouse. Fordyce Academy may have closed in 1964, and the building is now a private house, but its legacy remains.
The established narrative of the birth of association football in Scotland generally starts with the foundation of Queen's Park FC in 1867. But if you look behind the bare facts of that event in Glasgow you will discover that a little village school in Aberdeenshire can stake a claim as a birthplace of Scottish football.
At least three of the founders of Queen's Park were educated at Fordyce Academy, while many of their fellow pioneers also came from Scotland's north-east. Their origins encapsulate a story which helps to explain why football north of the border evolved along different lines to that in England, with passing and teamwork rather than dribbling and individuality as its principal characteristics.
Scotland's first association football club came into being on 9 July 1867 when a group of young men met in Glasgow 'for the purpose of forming a Football Club'.
The minutes of Queen's Park's inaugural meeting were captured in beautiful script by 19-year-old William Klingner, a merchant's clerk, who was elected secretary. The single sheet recorded a few basic rules and a list of committee members from whom four office bearers were appointed to lead the club.
Unfortunately for researchers it is not possible to consult the original document, which was lost in a fire at Hampden Park on Boxing Day 1945. However, a picture of the minute was reproduced in Richard Robinson's History of Queen's Park, published in 1920. His book is widely accepted as the definitive version of how the club was formed, and who its founders were, but in the course of my research I became aware of a few anomalies in Robinson's version of events, which merited a close re-examination.
Dublin-born Robinson, the club historian, was in fact more of a cycling aficionado when he came to Glasgow in his youth and was one of the founders of the Scottish Cyclists' Union, elected its president in 1896. His day job was managing the Post Office telegraph office in the city, with a sideline as football editor of the Glasgow News and he also launched the Scottish Athletic Journal. Newly-retired at the time of the Queen's Park jubilee, he was in a good position to write the club's history.
In the build-up to the club's fiftieth anniversary there was copious newspaper coverage of some early reminiscences, and two books of press cuttings from 1916-17 are held in the Scottish Football Museum. These provide a number of pointers which are not in Robinson's book, which had to wait until the First World War was over to see the light of day.
What is clear is that the Queen's Park story began in the mid-1860s when a group of young men exercised together each Saturday on a patch of ground in Strathbungo, on the south side of Glasgow.
One of them was James Cruickshank Grant who, when interviewed in 1916 for the Athletic News, identified the initial group as comprising himself, Robert and James Smith, Donald Edminston, Lewis Black and 'a couple of others'. They were all north of Scotland men: Grant came from the Highland village of Duthil, not far from Black's home in Grantown-on-Spey, the Smiths had been brought up in Morayshire and Edminston was from Aberdeenshire.
Grant related how initially they practised traditional Highland sports at Strathbungo but when the ground became too confined they decamped to Queen's Park Recreation Ground in Langside. There, they encountered about forty youths from the local YMCA who were kicking a ball about and the men from the north joined in their game of football. They enjoyed it so much that they went into town to buy their own ball, as even in the 1860s footballs could be bought over the counter – there was a range on sale at the Royal Polytechnic Warehouse – which indicates the game was already popular in Glasgow.
As more and more people joined in their football games, in the summer of 1867 they decided to form a proper club, hence the meeting at 3 Eglinton Terrace in Crosshill. It was attended by about 20 young men, of whom 13 were elected onto a committee, and this is where the minute of that first meeting merits close examination, with a particular focus on those individuals.
William Klingner, the secretary, came from Portsoy on the Banffshire coast, the son of an émigré from Dresden who was village doctor.
The treasurer is recorded as 'Smith senior' to distinguish himself from 'Smith junior' who was one of the ordinary members. These were James Smith and his younger brother Robert, the sons of the Earl of Fife's head gardener at Innes House in Morayshire. (Richard Robinson got them the wrong way round in his book.)
The Smith brothers and Klingner were all educated at the same school, Fordyce Academy. It is really at the epicentre of Queen's Park's foundation as just five miles west of Fordyce is the coastal village of Cullen, birthplace of Queen's Park's first captain, Lewis Black.
Fordyce Academy was a remarkable institution. It was endowed in 1790 by George Smith, son of the village blacksmith who had made his fortune as a merchant in Bombay. He left £10,000, known as the Smith Bounty, to fund a schoolmaster and minister and to pay for the education of boys whose surname was, preferably, Smith.
Not surprisingly, there was fierce competition for places, with entrance exams for seven bursaries each year as well as for private fee-paying pupils. This gave it a cosmopolitan mix of pupils from different classes.
With the benefit of their surname, the Smith brothers from Morayshire were among the bursary pupils, probably as boarders as the family home was about 25 miles away. Klingner, however, could easily have travelled the three miles from home to school each day.
The Academy only had about 40 pupils, but the education they received could be life-changing and former pupils included surgeons, barristers and men such as Thomas Glover, responsible for introducing Western technology to Japan, and Sir James Clark, physician to Queen Victoria. The school enjoyed immense prestige in the Victorian era, described on occasion as the 'Eton of the North' (although it must be admitted that the term has been applied to several other schools such as Sedbergh, Rossall, Glenalmond and Fettes). In 1902, HM Inspector of Schools wrote 'The position of this school is now well established as the most important feeder of the university outside the city of Aberdeen.'
The last of the four Queen's Park office bearers was 30-year-old Mungo Ritchie, chosen as president, who came from Madderty in Perthshire. Lewis Black would succeed Ritchie as club president the following year.
The other members of the club, at least those who can be identified, came from various parts of Scotland ranging from Ayrshire to Inverness-shire and it appears that only one of them, the future club captain Robert Gardner, was a native Glaswegian.
With so many different backgrounds, and with none of the club members coming from schools with written rules, one of the first acts of the new committee was to decide which form of football to play. They wrote to Lillywhite's sports shop in London to ask for examples, and soon adopted their own 'Rules of the Field'. These were based on those of the Football Association and copies were printed in 1868 for the members, although none are known to have survived. Thankfully Robinson reproduced them in full in his book.
Rather than adopting the FA's rules entirely, the Queen's Park pioneers took their own view, and a sub-committee redrafted some of the text. Crucially they came up with a different wording to Law 6, covering offside.
The original text reads: When a player has kicked the ball, any one of the same side who is nearer to the opponents' goal-line is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatever prevent any other player from doing so, until the ball has been played, unless there are at least three of his opponents between him and their own goal; but no player is out of play when the ball is kicked from behind the goal-line.
The text in italic was altered to read: 'unless there are at least two of his opponents between him and their own goal, who must not be more than fifteen yards from the goal-line'.
By relaxing the number of opponents from three to two, and introducing a stipulation that those opponents had to be performing a defensive role in the last fifteen yards of the pitch, there was clearly a desire to have greater freedom to pass the ball forwards. This indicates that the Queen's Park players had an understanding about how to play football that was based on a passing game. They did not have the mental baggage that constrained public school-educated footballers in England.
They were not alone in choosing this approach. Also playing football in Glasgow then were young men from Callander, brought up in the tradition of the town's Hansel Monday game. One of them, John B Connell, claimed to have brought the first football to the city back in 1862 and his team, the Thistle, was Queen's Park’s first opponents in August 1868. Connell's story of the early games on Glasgow Green was related in The Mighty Kick, published in 1933.
From these pioneers' approach to the rules there is a strong inference that they already knew how they liked to play the game, and the outcome of that understanding is that Scottish football in the 1870s and 1880s was defined by the ability to pass the ball, while English football foundered on its 'manly' origins that valued strength over teamwork.
The challenge for the football historian is to demonstrate the facts behind this theory, as there are few written records. The complete truth of Scottish football's origins will probably never be known as there is little hard evidence that boys played a kicking and passing type of football at Fordyce Academy, or at other Scottish rural schools, in the 1850s and 1860s.
What is evident, however, is that while the pioneering club in Scottish football was founded in Glasgow, the roots of the club and its founding fathers can be traced to a small school at the other end of the country.
Today, Fordyce is a conservation village caught in a time warp. It boasts a medieval castle at its centre, a church which has stood since Pictish times, and a historic schoolhouse. Fordyce Academy may have closed in 1964, and the building is now a private house, but its legacy remains.
- Published on
Marjorie Langmuir in action for Scotland [from One Hundred Years of Scottish Hockey]
Marjorie Langmuir has an extraordinary claim to fame as she not only represented Scotland in three different sports, she did so in the same calendar year, 1932. What is more, two of those appearances came on consecutive days, playing badminton against England in London on a Friday then travelling overnight to Belfast to captain Scotland’s hockey team against Ireland.
All this was done as an amateur, paying her own travel expenses while juggling the demands of a full time job. She was one of a generation of pioneering Scottish sportswomen who performed remarkable feats but received little recognition at the time and have since been largely forgotten. However, having discovered her story I nominated her for the inaugural Scottish Women in Sport Hall of Fame and I am delighted she was selected as one of the first inductees.
Born in Glasgow in 1905, Langmuir was one of five daughters educated at Hillhead High School where she developed her love of sport.
She was West of Scotland Junior Tennis Champion but it was in hockey that she first made her mark at national level. She was capped in 1923 as an 18-year-old student and by the time she returned to Hillhead in 1927 as a PE teacher, she was a fixture in the Scotland hockey team, playing in 36 consecutive internationals.
She also made quite a name for herself on the tennis courts and won the Scottish ladies doubles championship in 1926, while at badminton she first represented Scotland in 1930, going on to win eleven caps and twice won the Scottish mixed doubles championship.
All this was done as an amateur, paying her own travel expenses while juggling the demands of a full time job. She was one of a generation of pioneering Scottish sportswomen who performed remarkable feats but received little recognition at the time and have since been largely forgotten. However, having discovered her story I nominated her for the inaugural Scottish Women in Sport Hall of Fame and I am delighted she was selected as one of the first inductees.
Born in Glasgow in 1905, Langmuir was one of five daughters educated at Hillhead High School where she developed her love of sport.
She was West of Scotland Junior Tennis Champion but it was in hockey that she first made her mark at national level. She was capped in 1923 as an 18-year-old student and by the time she returned to Hillhead in 1927 as a PE teacher, she was a fixture in the Scotland hockey team, playing in 36 consecutive internationals.
She also made quite a name for herself on the tennis courts and won the Scottish ladies doubles championship in 1926, while at badminton she first represented Scotland in 1930, going on to win eleven caps and twice won the Scottish mixed doubles championship.
Her great ‘triple’ international feat came in 1932. On Thursday 3 March she caught the night train from Glasgow to London, where she played mixed doubles and ladies’ doubles badminton at the Royal Horticultural Hall against England. She then travelled overnight to Belfast where, on Saturday afternoon, she captained Scotland to a 3-2 victory at hockey over Ireland, scoring twice to help turn round a two goal half-time deficit. That summer, in July, she represented Scotland twice at tennis against England.
Her hockey career was crowned in glory in 1933, when she captained the only Scotland women’s team ever to win in England. In fact, the 2-1 victory in front of 5,000 spectators at Merton Abbey was the only time Scotland defeated England, home or away, between 1909 and 1972. It was a sharp contrast to Marjory’s first game against England ten years earlier which ended in a 13-0 defeat. That autumn she led Scotland to a 5-4 victory over USA at Old Anniesland, her final match before retiring.
Her hockey career was crowned in glory in 1933, when she captained the only Scotland women’s team ever to win in England. In fact, the 2-1 victory in front of 5,000 spectators at Merton Abbey was the only time Scotland defeated England, home or away, between 1909 and 1972. It was a sharp contrast to Marjory’s first game against England ten years earlier which ended in a 13-0 defeat. That autumn she led Scotland to a 5-4 victory over USA at Old Anniesland, her final match before retiring.
The Scotland team which beat England in 1933, captained by Marjorie Langmuir (front row centre) [Scottish Hockey]
She left Scotland in 1934, emigrating to Canada to marry her former badminton partner, James Barr, who had been appointed professional at the Montreal Badminton and Squash Club. She continued to play in tennis tournaments in Canada and spent the rest of her life there, dying in Montreal in 1984.
Marjorie Langmuir
Born Glasgow, 20 January 1905 to Dr Robert Langmuir and Jessie Ritchie
Died Montreal, 17 March 1984.
* The only other Scottish athlete I can find who represented their country in three sports in the same year was Isabel Barr (later Newstead), who won Paralympic medals in 1984 at swimming, shooting and athletics. She has also been inducted in the Hall of Fame.
Marjorie Langmuir
Born Glasgow, 20 January 1905 to Dr Robert Langmuir and Jessie Ritchie
Died Montreal, 17 March 1984.
* The only other Scottish athlete I can find who represented their country in three sports in the same year was Isabel Barr (later Newstead), who won Paralympic medals in 1984 at swimming, shooting and athletics. She has also been inducted in the Hall of Fame.
- Published on
Fifty years ago today, Third Lanark took on Berwick Rangers at Cathkin Park in Glasgow, in what turned out to be their last season. This rare colour image of the team in action - never published before - was taken by football historian George Campbell, who was years ahead of his time in documenting some of Scottish football's lesser known teams and stadia.
There is just a sparse crowd watching Thirds (in scarlet) and Berwick (in black and gold stripes). Some of them are sitting in the fine-looking, but uncompleted, grandstand, the rest of them scattered around terracing which had once held over 40,000. The crowd for this game was around 1100, and as the club continued to decline it was the last time a four figure attendance was recorded at the ground.
Although times were hard, nobody realised at the time that Third Lanark were on the brink of extinction, the victims of years of corrupt mis-management which was orchestrated by club chairman Bill Hiddelston (often mis-spelled as Hiddleston), who took control at the end of 1962. The sad story has been told many times, notably in great detail in John Litster's book 'Life and Death of the Hi Hi'.
There is just a sparse crowd watching Thirds (in scarlet) and Berwick (in black and gold stripes). Some of them are sitting in the fine-looking, but uncompleted, grandstand, the rest of them scattered around terracing which had once held over 40,000. The crowd for this game was around 1100, and as the club continued to decline it was the last time a four figure attendance was recorded at the ground.
Although times were hard, nobody realised at the time that Third Lanark were on the brink of extinction, the victims of years of corrupt mis-management which was orchestrated by club chairman Bill Hiddelston (often mis-spelled as Hiddleston), who took control at the end of 1962. The sad story has been told many times, notably in great detail in John Litster's book 'Life and Death of the Hi Hi'.
As so often in football, the main people to suffer were the supporters. who ended up losing their club. Third Lanark had a particularly active Supporters' Association, founded in 1946 and which produced the club's match programme and annual handbook, making substantial donations from the proceeds to back the club they loved. Despite not seeing eye to eye with Hiddelston and his directors, they were still going strong up to the end. This membership card for 1965-66 was the last one issued, and inside is stapled a sheet with the details for 1966-67.
8 October 1966
Scottish League Division 2
Third Lanark 3 (Fyfe 5, Henderson 25, Stewart 87)
Berwick Rangers 0
Third Lanark: Russell, Connell, Baillie; McLaughlin, Little, McKay; Kinnaird, Stewart, Fyfe, May, Henderson. Sub: Kilgannon.
Berwick Rangers: Tait, Haig, Riddle; Craig, Coutts, Rodgers; Lumsden, Forsyth, McLaren, Boyce, Veitch. Sub: Stewart.
Referee: RD Henderson (Dundee)
On the same day, the SFA sacked Scotland manager John Prentice after just six months; Celtic maintained their 100 per cent record at the top of Division 1 with a 5-3 win at Hibs; and the league's new club Clydebank maintained their own 100 per cent record with a ninth successive defeat at home to Albion Rovers to remain rooted at the foot of Division 2.
Scottish League Division 2
Third Lanark 3 (Fyfe 5, Henderson 25, Stewart 87)
Berwick Rangers 0
Third Lanark: Russell, Connell, Baillie; McLaughlin, Little, McKay; Kinnaird, Stewart, Fyfe, May, Henderson. Sub: Kilgannon.
Berwick Rangers: Tait, Haig, Riddle; Craig, Coutts, Rodgers; Lumsden, Forsyth, McLaren, Boyce, Veitch. Sub: Stewart.
Referee: RD Henderson (Dundee)
On the same day, the SFA sacked Scotland manager John Prentice after just six months; Celtic maintained their 100 per cent record at the top of Division 1 with a 5-3 win at Hibs; and the league's new club Clydebank maintained their own 100 per cent record with a ninth successive defeat at home to Albion Rovers to remain rooted at the foot of Division 2.
- Published on
The last resting place of a Scottish football pioneer has been found in Glasgow after years of searching by a Spanish sports historian.
Hugh MacColl, the first captain of Sevilla and one of the club's founding members, was born in Glasgow in 1861. As a young marine engineer he worked in Seville for seven years, during which time he took part in the club's first match against Huelva on 8 March 1890. It is considered the first official football match in Spain.
When Hugh (or Hugo as he was known in Spain) returned to Great Britain in the mid 1890s, he and former team-mate Gilbert Pollock established MacColl & Pollock Ltd at Wreath Quay Engineering Works in Sunderland, a link which could be the origin of the Spanish club's red and white stripes. Although he ran the successful marine engine company on Wearside, MacColl met his end in Glasgow, dying suddenly in the Central Station Hotel on 31 August 1915 while on holiday in his home town. He was just 54 and had amassed a fortune of over £14,600.
Hugh MacColl, the first captain of Sevilla and one of the club's founding members, was born in Glasgow in 1861. As a young marine engineer he worked in Seville for seven years, during which time he took part in the club's first match against Huelva on 8 March 1890. It is considered the first official football match in Spain.
When Hugh (or Hugo as he was known in Spain) returned to Great Britain in the mid 1890s, he and former team-mate Gilbert Pollock established MacColl & Pollock Ltd at Wreath Quay Engineering Works in Sunderland, a link which could be the origin of the Spanish club's red and white stripes. Although he ran the successful marine engine company on Wearside, MacColl met his end in Glasgow, dying suddenly in the Central Station Hotel on 31 August 1915 while on holiday in his home town. He was just 54 and had amassed a fortune of over £14,600.
Sevilla club historian Javier Terenti had already found the gravestones for EF Johnston (first president) in Elgin and Gilbert Reid Pollock's (who scored the first away goal in Spain) on the Isle of Man, but MacColl was a challenge.
He said: "I have been researching Hugh MacColl for the last few years, but I was never able to find his grave. Recently, I discovered some references in his wife’s personal correspondence, according to which Hugh MacColl was most probably buried in Cathcart Cemetery."
He followed that up with East Renfrewshire Council, who manage the cemetery, and to his delight they not only pinpointed the lair (Section 2a, Lair 38), but then sent out a member of staff to take the above photographs.
As Javier and colleagues are preparing a book on Hugh MacColl, this was a wonderful find. He has since uncovered the certificate (below) which records the purchase of the lair by MacColl's widow, Maude.
It is the latest fascinating episode since the discovery three years ago of the story of the club's foundation in the British Newspaper Archive, which effectively changed the history of Spanish football. Earlier this year there was a TV documentary and exhibition to mark the 125th anniversary.
While some fans of Betis and Huelva don't agree with the findings and have their own claims as Spain's oldest football teams, this week a meeting of club shareholders will vote to formally adopt 25 January 1890 as the date of foundation in Sevilla's articles of association.
For the UEFA Europa League title holders, it is another important step forward in discovering their history.
He said: "I have been researching Hugh MacColl for the last few years, but I was never able to find his grave. Recently, I discovered some references in his wife’s personal correspondence, according to which Hugh MacColl was most probably buried in Cathcart Cemetery."
He followed that up with East Renfrewshire Council, who manage the cemetery, and to his delight they not only pinpointed the lair (Section 2a, Lair 38), but then sent out a member of staff to take the above photographs.
As Javier and colleagues are preparing a book on Hugh MacColl, this was a wonderful find. He has since uncovered the certificate (below) which records the purchase of the lair by MacColl's widow, Maude.
It is the latest fascinating episode since the discovery three years ago of the story of the club's foundation in the British Newspaper Archive, which effectively changed the history of Spanish football. Earlier this year there was a TV documentary and exhibition to mark the 125th anniversary.
While some fans of Betis and Huelva don't agree with the findings and have their own claims as Spain's oldest football teams, this week a meeting of club shareholders will vote to formally adopt 25 January 1890 as the date of foundation in Sevilla's articles of association.
For the UEFA Europa League title holders, it is another important step forward in discovering their history.
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Author
All blog posts, unless stated, are written by Andy Mitchell.