SPORTS HISTORY BLOG
Over 250 articles on all aspects of Scottish sport
- Published on
The second of two rugby matches between Dollar and Alloa, played on 20 November 1869. [Alloa Journal, via British Newspaper Archive]
A couple of football match reports from 1869 caught my eye.
Dollar and Alloa, neighbouring towns in Clackmannanshire, were playing 15-a-side to rugby rules, and what really stood out was the name of the Dollar captain, which the papers gave variously as Bombajee Dadabhoy or Bomont G Daddabhoy.
He was clearly of Asian origin, and having previously written about the multi-ethnic nature of Scottish team sport in its earliest days, I was intrigued to find out more about a man who appears to be the first recorded Indian rugby player.
The correct spelling of his name was Bomanjee Dadabhoy, and he was one of three Parsi boys from Bombay [Mumbai] who had been sent to Scotland to finish their schooling at Dollar Institution (now Dollar Academy). They all feature in the school registers although Bomanjee does not appear to have devoted much time to study, only taking classes in Mathematics and Drawing.
Dollar and Alloa, neighbouring towns in Clackmannanshire, were playing 15-a-side to rugby rules, and what really stood out was the name of the Dollar captain, which the papers gave variously as Bombajee Dadabhoy or Bomont G Daddabhoy.
He was clearly of Asian origin, and having previously written about the multi-ethnic nature of Scottish team sport in its earliest days, I was intrigued to find out more about a man who appears to be the first recorded Indian rugby player.
The correct spelling of his name was Bomanjee Dadabhoy, and he was one of three Parsi boys from Bombay [Mumbai] who had been sent to Scotland to finish their schooling at Dollar Institution (now Dollar Academy). They all feature in the school registers although Bomanjee does not appear to have devoted much time to study, only taking classes in Mathematics and Drawing.
Bomanjee Dadabhoy's name appears in the Dollar Institution class register, although he appears not to have attended many classes! [from Dollar Academy Archive]
However, Bomanjee certainly made an impact on his fellow pupils, and a flavour of this comes in letters written by Alice Cadenhead, a 12-year-old boarder at the school. In November 1868 she told her parents about the newly-arrived Parsis: 'They look so funny, they wear splendid ties all worked in every colour and little black caps of velvet with blue tassels coming over their shoulders.'
Another contemporary, Archibald Gibb, also recalled their arrival in a letter he wrote to the school magazine many years later: 'We had several Parsees from Central India, grown-up men they were who, when they arrived in Dollar, wore frock coats and fez caps, and were naturally objects of great interest to all the other boys.'
Bomanjee quickly got involved in social activities and was given a part in the school play, The Rose of Amiens. He then took up dancing, albeit to the despair of young Alice Cadenhead: 'I got that great fat Parsee for a Madrille. I could hardly dance for laughing and Boman didn't know anything about the dance, he just trotted about after me.' Two weeks later she wrote: 'I am oppressed by a Parsee who will dance with me, and he can't dance one bit but does nothing but tread on my toes.'
He was also active in sport, recorded as a cricket umpire and coming second in Throwing the Hammer at the school sports. But he must have been a keen rugby player as by the autumn he was named captain of the Dollar team, which was founded in 1868 and notionally independent of the school.
Bomanjee's team first travelled to Alloa on 23 October 1869, where the home team won comfortably by a goal and four tries to nil. Four weeks later, on 20 November, the Dollar side got their revenge, winning by a single goal (a converted try), helped by an 'uncommonly short' pitch of just 70 yards length.
The only other player named in either report was Matthew Brydie, the Alloa captain. Born in 1846, he was a solicitor who had recently graduated from Edinburgh University but sadly he went bankrupt in 1883. A couple of years later he was committed to an asylum in Edinburgh where he remained until his death in 1912.
Another contemporary, Archibald Gibb, also recalled their arrival in a letter he wrote to the school magazine many years later: 'We had several Parsees from Central India, grown-up men they were who, when they arrived in Dollar, wore frock coats and fez caps, and were naturally objects of great interest to all the other boys.'
Bomanjee quickly got involved in social activities and was given a part in the school play, The Rose of Amiens. He then took up dancing, albeit to the despair of young Alice Cadenhead: 'I got that great fat Parsee for a Madrille. I could hardly dance for laughing and Boman didn't know anything about the dance, he just trotted about after me.' Two weeks later she wrote: 'I am oppressed by a Parsee who will dance with me, and he can't dance one bit but does nothing but tread on my toes.'
He was also active in sport, recorded as a cricket umpire and coming second in Throwing the Hammer at the school sports. But he must have been a keen rugby player as by the autumn he was named captain of the Dollar team, which was founded in 1868 and notionally independent of the school.
Bomanjee's team first travelled to Alloa on 23 October 1869, where the home team won comfortably by a goal and four tries to nil. Four weeks later, on 20 November, the Dollar side got their revenge, winning by a single goal (a converted try), helped by an 'uncommonly short' pitch of just 70 yards length.
The only other player named in either report was Matthew Brydie, the Alloa captain. Born in 1846, he was a solicitor who had recently graduated from Edinburgh University but sadly he went bankrupt in 1883. A couple of years later he was committed to an asylum in Edinburgh where he remained until his death in 1912.
Bomanjee Dadabhoy is recorded as a member of the Marquis of Dalhousie masonic lodge in London in 1871
I have been trying to establish more about the life of Bomanjee Dadabhoy, who may well be the first non-white rugby footballer. However, tracking him down has proved a challenge, not helped by the variations in spelling his name.
However, what is clear is that after he left Dollar he went to London, where he can be found in the 1871 census lodging in Ladbroke Grove. He also signed up for The Marquis of Dalhousie masonic lodge, and from their records it can be established that he was born in Bombay about 1850, and had embarked on a career as a civil engineer.
Thereafter, the trail goes cold. He is listed in other masonic records, in Lahore in the 1880s and in Meerut a decade later, but I have been unable to find any records of Bomanjee in newspapers or family history sites. A Parsee Foot-Ball Club was active in Bombay in the early 1870s, but again he is not mentioned.
Bomanjee must have come from a prominent family to have been able to afford to go to Dollar, and was perhaps related to Dadabhoy Naoroji who became a British MP, but there are no obvious leads – nor have I found any photos. Any information would be welcome!
Two other Parsi boys went to Dollar at the same time, both of whom featured in the school prize lists. A little more is known about them: Hormusjee Pestonjee Cola spent some years at a boarding school on Merseyside before coming to Scotland, then returned to Bombay; and Sorabjee Cursetjee Cama attended University College School in London prior to Dollar, but sadly he never went home as he died of a fever in March 1870, aged 20.
The cosmopolitan nature of life at Dollar Institution at that time was emphasised by the presence of three Chinese pupils, Wei Ah Yuk, Wong Ching and Woo Ah See. They all performed well academically but do not seem to have been active on the sporting front.
While Bomanjee Dadabhoy's fleeting appearance in Scottish rugby gives just a tantalising glimpse, the wider picture of the story of Dollar Football Club's Parsi captain is that this is further evidence of Scottish sport being considerably more ethnically diverse than other parts of the UK in the 1860s and 1870s.
Prominent black and Asian sportsmen in Scotland of that era included James Robertson (Gambia, rugby), Alfred Clunies-Ross (Malay, rugby), Andrew Watson (Guyana, football), Robert Walker (Sierra Leone, football), Thomas Marten (Java/Chinese, football) and William Forman (USA, athletics).
Bomanjee Dadabhoy's name can be added to that list, and I have little doubt that more will be discovered.
I would like to thank Janet Carolan, archivist at Dollar Academy, for her kind assistance in checking school archives and supplying contemporary records.
However, what is clear is that after he left Dollar he went to London, where he can be found in the 1871 census lodging in Ladbroke Grove. He also signed up for The Marquis of Dalhousie masonic lodge, and from their records it can be established that he was born in Bombay about 1850, and had embarked on a career as a civil engineer.
Thereafter, the trail goes cold. He is listed in other masonic records, in Lahore in the 1880s and in Meerut a decade later, but I have been unable to find any records of Bomanjee in newspapers or family history sites. A Parsee Foot-Ball Club was active in Bombay in the early 1870s, but again he is not mentioned.
Bomanjee must have come from a prominent family to have been able to afford to go to Dollar, and was perhaps related to Dadabhoy Naoroji who became a British MP, but there are no obvious leads – nor have I found any photos. Any information would be welcome!
Two other Parsi boys went to Dollar at the same time, both of whom featured in the school prize lists. A little more is known about them: Hormusjee Pestonjee Cola spent some years at a boarding school on Merseyside before coming to Scotland, then returned to Bombay; and Sorabjee Cursetjee Cama attended University College School in London prior to Dollar, but sadly he never went home as he died of a fever in March 1870, aged 20.
The cosmopolitan nature of life at Dollar Institution at that time was emphasised by the presence of three Chinese pupils, Wei Ah Yuk, Wong Ching and Woo Ah See. They all performed well academically but do not seem to have been active on the sporting front.
While Bomanjee Dadabhoy's fleeting appearance in Scottish rugby gives just a tantalising glimpse, the wider picture of the story of Dollar Football Club's Parsi captain is that this is further evidence of Scottish sport being considerably more ethnically diverse than other parts of the UK in the 1860s and 1870s.
Prominent black and Asian sportsmen in Scotland of that era included James Robertson (Gambia, rugby), Alfred Clunies-Ross (Malay, rugby), Andrew Watson (Guyana, football), Robert Walker (Sierra Leone, football), Thomas Marten (Java/Chinese, football) and William Forman (USA, athletics).
Bomanjee Dadabhoy's name can be added to that list, and I have little doubt that more will be discovered.
I would like to thank Janet Carolan, archivist at Dollar Academy, for her kind assistance in checking school archives and supplying contemporary records.
- Published on
This month marks the bicentenary of the world's first football club, founded in Edinburgh in December 1824.
To celebrate Scotland's role in helping to create the modern game of football, I gave talks in Edinburgh and Glasgow to reveal how members of The Foot-Ball Club played the game and wrote the first known rules of the game (pictured above).
While football has been played for centuries, the Foot-Ball Club was the first known organisation devoted to the sport. Precisely two hundred years ago, on a winter's day in 1824, the founders bought a football – a leather casing with an inflated pig's bladder inside – and set up goalposts in a field just outside the city boundaries.
They met once or twice a week for almost two decades, and the city's young men flocked to the Foot-Ball Club to play the game they loved. Some of them went on to influence the early development of our most popular sport, long before it split into the different codes like rugby and association football.
The club's founder, John Hope, managed the Foot-Ball Club throughout its existence until it was wound up in 1841. Because he was a pedantic hoarder, the club records survived within his unique and extensive archive, now held at the National Records of Scotland where the first of the talks took place. The second talk was at the Scottish Football Museum in Glasgow.
Please join me in celebrating the birthday of The Foot-Ball Club!
To read the text of the talk, click here for a pdf of my presentation.
To view my talk in its entirety, click here for the National Records of Scotland's YouTube channel.
And to buy the book '1824: The World's First Foot-Ball Club' by John Hutchinson and Andy Mitchell, click here.
To celebrate Scotland's role in helping to create the modern game of football, I gave talks in Edinburgh and Glasgow to reveal how members of The Foot-Ball Club played the game and wrote the first known rules of the game (pictured above).
While football has been played for centuries, the Foot-Ball Club was the first known organisation devoted to the sport. Precisely two hundred years ago, on a winter's day in 1824, the founders bought a football – a leather casing with an inflated pig's bladder inside – and set up goalposts in a field just outside the city boundaries.
They met once or twice a week for almost two decades, and the city's young men flocked to the Foot-Ball Club to play the game they loved. Some of them went on to influence the early development of our most popular sport, long before it split into the different codes like rugby and association football.
The club's founder, John Hope, managed the Foot-Ball Club throughout its existence until it was wound up in 1841. Because he was a pedantic hoarder, the club records survived within his unique and extensive archive, now held at the National Records of Scotland where the first of the talks took place. The second talk was at the Scottish Football Museum in Glasgow.
Please join me in celebrating the birthday of The Foot-Ball Club!
To read the text of the talk, click here for a pdf of my presentation.
To view my talk in its entirety, click here for the National Records of Scotland's YouTube channel.
And to buy the book '1824: The World's First Foot-Ball Club' by John Hutchinson and Andy Mitchell, click here.
- Published on
The Naples team of 1906/07. Although the players are not named, it is possible that Peter Jackson, the captain, is standing at the right of the back row. [Stampa Sportiva, June 1907]
The arrival of Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour at SSC Napoli has added to the list of distinguished Scottish footballers in Italy. But they are not the first Scots stars in Naples, as my new research has found that the very first football captain in the city was born in Glasgow.
His name was Peter Jackson, and he was elected captain of Naples Foot Ball Club at their inaugural meeting in the spring of 1906. He was a key player as organised football made its first steps in Naples but only remained with the club for a couple of years. His identity has remained hidden until now.
Naples FBC is a direct ancestor of SSC Napoli, which came into being in 1926 but its exact date of founding is uncertain. Around 1904/05 a group of Italian, British and Swiss residents with links to cricket and rowing came together to play football, and in February 1906 they established a standalone club.
Peter Jackson was a popular choice as captain at that meeting. An influential player who led by example, when he left Naples at the end of 1907 for work reasons, his departure was perceived as a 'heartfelt loss' according to Stampa Sportiva, which said he had 'trained his team with such diligence since the formation of the NFBC'.
Somewhat misleadingly, the same article called him a champion player of 'the First Union of Newcastle', which has baffled historians as there is no such club. So, who was Peter Jackson?
His name was Peter Jackson, and he was elected captain of Naples Foot Ball Club at their inaugural meeting in the spring of 1906. He was a key player as organised football made its first steps in Naples but only remained with the club for a couple of years. His identity has remained hidden until now.
Naples FBC is a direct ancestor of SSC Napoli, which came into being in 1926 but its exact date of founding is uncertain. Around 1904/05 a group of Italian, British and Swiss residents with links to cricket and rowing came together to play football, and in February 1906 they established a standalone club.
Peter Jackson was a popular choice as captain at that meeting. An influential player who led by example, when he left Naples at the end of 1907 for work reasons, his departure was perceived as a 'heartfelt loss' according to Stampa Sportiva, which said he had 'trained his team with such diligence since the formation of the NFBC'.
Somewhat misleadingly, the same article called him a champion player of 'the First Union of Newcastle', which has baffled historians as there is no such club. So, who was Peter Jackson?
A match between Naples FBC and the crew of the White Star Line ship RMS Cedric, which spent a week in port in December 1906. Peter Jackson captained Naples, whose only other British player was William Potts. [Stampa Sportiva, June 1907]
It took a lot of research to track him down, as although there is a link to Newcastle it was not immediately obvious. I found that Jackson had come to Naples to work at the Stabilimento Armstrong armaments factory at Pozzuoli, a couple of miles west of the city. This was a subsidiary of WG Armstrong & Co, based at Elswick in Newcastle, where it had a massive plant for naval munitions and shipbuilding.
Jackson had actually learned his football at school in Harrogate, where he attended Western College along with his elder brother Thomas. They both played for the school, then progressed to the Harrogate Corinthians amateur team. Peter was good enough to be picked for the town select in 1903.
The reason he ended up in Naples is that he followed his father into the steel-making industry. His father James, from Glasgow, was a metals expert whose career had taken him as far as Russia. While there, he married his Scottish wife Janet in St Petersburg, and when they came back to the UK their second son Peter Ainslie Jackson was born in Govan, the shipbuilding heart of Glasgow, in the summer of 1883.
The family did not remain in Scotland for long as James Jackson then took up a post as foreman steel smelter in Newcastle, moved to Harrogate and came back to Newcastle in the mid 1900s. Peter appears to have been taken on by WG Armstrong but was sent to the Pozzuoli factory to serve his apprenticeship. He was clearly a useful employee, as his name appears in the Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1907, for contributing to a research project.
He was not the only Pozzuoli apprentice to play for Naples, as the name of George Pratt appears in some early reports.
However, their time in Italy concluded at the end of 1907 when Jackson and Pratt were recalled to Newcastle, probably because there was an Italian management buyout of the Pozzuoli plant.
Jackson had actually learned his football at school in Harrogate, where he attended Western College along with his elder brother Thomas. They both played for the school, then progressed to the Harrogate Corinthians amateur team. Peter was good enough to be picked for the town select in 1903.
The reason he ended up in Naples is that he followed his father into the steel-making industry. His father James, from Glasgow, was a metals expert whose career had taken him as far as Russia. While there, he married his Scottish wife Janet in St Petersburg, and when they came back to the UK their second son Peter Ainslie Jackson was born in Govan, the shipbuilding heart of Glasgow, in the summer of 1883.
The family did not remain in Scotland for long as James Jackson then took up a post as foreman steel smelter in Newcastle, moved to Harrogate and came back to Newcastle in the mid 1900s. Peter appears to have been taken on by WG Armstrong but was sent to the Pozzuoli factory to serve his apprenticeship. He was clearly a useful employee, as his name appears in the Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1907, for contributing to a research project.
He was not the only Pozzuoli apprentice to play for Naples, as the name of George Pratt appears in some early reports.
However, their time in Italy concluded at the end of 1907 when Jackson and Pratt were recalled to Newcastle, probably because there was an Italian management buyout of the Pozzuoli plant.
The Armstrong factory at Pozzuoli, where Peter Jackson worked during his time with Naples FBC. The factory was set up in the 1880s and specialised in naval armaments including heavy cannons and armour plating.
Peter Jackson is credited in the Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, September 1907
I can find no evidence of Peter Jackson playing football once he returned to Newcastle, but he was perhaps focussed on his rising career as a steel engineer. He was clearly prosperous as in 1913 he was reported to have a motor car - a rare luxury in those days - and he remained in Newcastle for the next decade. After getting married in 1917 he took up a job in Manchester, first with Armstrong Whitworth at Openshaw, then at the Trafford Park steelworks, where he was manager of the melting shop.
He was still in post when he died in 1939, aged just 55. As he had no children, and his siblings did not marry, there were no descendants to carry on the family name.
He was still in post when he died in 1939, aged just 55. As he had no children, and his siblings did not marry, there were no descendants to carry on the family name.
Peter Jackson's signature on the 1921 census form
At a time when two modern-day Scots are making such an impact in Naples, it is worth remembering that the football-mad city opened its arms to another Scotsman over a hundred years ago.
Peter Ainslie Jackson
Born 28 June 1883 at 23 Burndyke Street, Govan, Glasgow.
Died 8 May 1939 at Mellor, Cheshire.
Peter Ainslie Jackson
Born 28 June 1883 at 23 Burndyke Street, Govan, Glasgow.
Died 8 May 1939 at Mellor, Cheshire.
A newspaper report of Peter Jackson's funeral.
Naples football pioneers
In the course of researching this article, I identified some other early Naples players:
William Henry Potts (1883-1959) was an important player for Naples through their first decade, one of the founders of the club and its captain after Peter Jackson left in 1907. After winning the Lipton Challenge Cup for the second time in 1911 he joined US Internazionale Napoli. Originally from South Shields, he came to Naples as a young man and remained there until the Second World War, apparently as a local agent for the White Star Line. He spent his final years on Merseyside, dying in Southport.
Harry Saltmarshe (1870-1929) was not only a player but also club treasurer in 1907. He moved to Naples around the turn of the century and worked for Dent Allcroft & Co, luxury glove makers. Originally from London, he married in Naples and spent the rest of his life there.
George Archibald Pratt (1888-1971) played alongside Jackson in the first games between Naples and Rome in 1907. An engineer, after returning to England he became a well-known tennis player in Cheshire, and even played once at Wimbledon against Bill Tilden.
Harold Frederick Greaves (1881-1962) appears in an early team line-up. Originally from Derbyshire, he was a shipping clerk in Liverpool before heading to Italy, and married in Naples in 1907.
George Edgar Little (1884-1961) played for Naples in 1906 and settled in the city for most of the rest of his life, although was forced to return to his home town of Liverpool during World War 2. He was a director of a pharmaceutical firm, Bell Sons & Co Ltd, and died in Naples.
I have more detailed information about these players which I will gladly share if you contact me using the form on the home page.
I would like to thank Felice Ba, football historian in Naples, for his assistance in researching this article.
Click on these links to the site Calcio Antico for further information on the early years of Naples Foot Ball Club:
La fondazione del Naples
Pionieri del Naples
In the course of researching this article, I identified some other early Naples players:
William Henry Potts (1883-1959) was an important player for Naples through their first decade, one of the founders of the club and its captain after Peter Jackson left in 1907. After winning the Lipton Challenge Cup for the second time in 1911 he joined US Internazionale Napoli. Originally from South Shields, he came to Naples as a young man and remained there until the Second World War, apparently as a local agent for the White Star Line. He spent his final years on Merseyside, dying in Southport.
Harry Saltmarshe (1870-1929) was not only a player but also club treasurer in 1907. He moved to Naples around the turn of the century and worked for Dent Allcroft & Co, luxury glove makers. Originally from London, he married in Naples and spent the rest of his life there.
George Archibald Pratt (1888-1971) played alongside Jackson in the first games between Naples and Rome in 1907. An engineer, after returning to England he became a well-known tennis player in Cheshire, and even played once at Wimbledon against Bill Tilden.
Harold Frederick Greaves (1881-1962) appears in an early team line-up. Originally from Derbyshire, he was a shipping clerk in Liverpool before heading to Italy, and married in Naples in 1907.
George Edgar Little (1884-1961) played for Naples in 1906 and settled in the city for most of the rest of his life, although was forced to return to his home town of Liverpool during World War 2. He was a director of a pharmaceutical firm, Bell Sons & Co Ltd, and died in Naples.
I have more detailed information about these players which I will gladly share if you contact me using the form on the home page.
I would like to thank Felice Ba, football historian in Naples, for his assistance in researching this article.
Click on these links to the site Calcio Antico for further information on the early years of Naples Foot Ball Club:
La fondazione del Naples
Pionieri del Naples
- Published on
A fitting tribute to Scottish football pioneer Joseph Taylor was unveiled this week, following the restoration of his grave at Cathcart Cemetery in Glasgow.
Taylor was one of the 'originals', a key member of the Scotland team that faced England in the world's first international match in 1872. He went on to play six times for Scotland, twice as captain, and also won the first three Scottish Cups with Queen's Park, the latter two as captain. On giving up playing he was elected President of Queen's Park and continued to guide the progress of the game until tragedy intervened and he was struck down by pleurisy and tuberculosis. He died aged just 37, leaving a wife and four children.
Taylor was one of the 'originals', a key member of the Scotland team that faced England in the world's first international match in 1872. He went on to play six times for Scotland, twice as captain, and also won the first three Scottish Cups with Queen's Park, the latter two as captain. On giving up playing he was elected President of Queen's Park and continued to guide the progress of the game until tragedy intervened and he was struck down by pleurisy and tuberculosis. He died aged just 37, leaving a wife and four children.
Joseph Taylor, Queen's Park and Scotland
The restored grave is unveiled by Ally Firth (left) and Colin Taylor, who is Joseph's great grandson. (Photo: Ross Turpie, Daily Record)
I first visited the grave in 2012, tracking it down through the undergrowth as part of a project to trace the last resting places of the Scotland team from 1872. All of them are now known with the frustrating exception of the captain, Robert Gardner, as I wrote about a few years ago.
I was then contacted by Colin Taylor, a great grandson of Joseph who spotted my article, and we have been in regular contact over the years. To my delight, he told me that some of Joseph's prize possessions remained in the family, including his Scottish Cup medal from 1876 (pictured below).
However, the grave was in a poor condition, leaning dangerously forward, hidden by ivy, and had lost the fleur-de-lys on top. It needed to be saved before it was too late, and a fundraiser last year raised over £1,000 for its restoration. There were contributions from a number of fans (the biggest from the West of Scotland Tartan Army) but fell short of the goal of £2,500, with the shortfall met by Joseph's descendants. The work took place over the winter.
Colin Taylor and his cousin Alex were guests of the Scottish FA at the 150th anniversary match between Scotland and England last year, and this week they travelled back to Glasgow for the unveiling of the restored grave. It can now be safely visited and admired at Cathcart Cemetery, where it is in Section I, Lair 567.
I was then contacted by Colin Taylor, a great grandson of Joseph who spotted my article, and we have been in regular contact over the years. To my delight, he told me that some of Joseph's prize possessions remained in the family, including his Scottish Cup medal from 1876 (pictured below).
However, the grave was in a poor condition, leaning dangerously forward, hidden by ivy, and had lost the fleur-de-lys on top. It needed to be saved before it was too late, and a fundraiser last year raised over £1,000 for its restoration. There were contributions from a number of fans (the biggest from the West of Scotland Tartan Army) but fell short of the goal of £2,500, with the shortfall met by Joseph's descendants. The work took place over the winter.
Colin Taylor and his cousin Alex were guests of the Scottish FA at the 150th anniversary match between Scotland and England last year, and this week they travelled back to Glasgow for the unveiling of the restored grave. It can now be safely visited and admired at Cathcart Cemetery, where it is in Section I, Lair 567.
Joseph Taylor's restored grave in all its glory. It includes an additional plaque which records his achievements and contains a QR code for further information.
Cathcart Cemetery is 'home' to an extraordinary number of Scottish football giants, some of which have now been restored in recognition of their importance to the game. You can read about them at the Scots Football Historians Group website, or with the Friends of Cathcart Cemetery.
The Queen's Park team which won the first Scottish Cup in 1874. Joseph Taylor is front row, second from left, proudly wearing the lion rampant that denotes him as a Scotland internationalist. His Scottish Cup medal from 1876, when he captained the team, is below.
A ticket to the memorial match played after Taylor's death, to raise funds for his widow and four children. Not only did 7,000 spectators turn out to pay their respects, Queen's Park added a further £50 to the fund.
A gathering of football fans witnessed the unveiling of the restored grave in Cathcart Cemetery (Photo: Ged O'Brien)
Joseph Taylor
Profile from The Men Who Made Scotland
Born 16 December 1850; Wellington Street, Dunoon, Argyllshire.
Died 4 October 1888; Victoria Terrace, Mount Florida, Glasgow.
Son of a hotel keeper in Dunoon, Taylor grew up in the town and was successful locally as a runner, winning numerous athletic contests at the Cowal Gathering in 1869 and 1870. When he came to Glasgow to work around that time, he joined Queen's Park and they soon made use of his athleticism, speed and leadership on the football field. He was selected at full back for the first Scotland international in 1872 and retained his place every year until 1876, captaining the side twice against England. He also won the first three Scottish Cups, the latter two as team captain. According to DD Bone: 'No man who captained the Queen's Park was so much respected both on the field and in private life. None hated unfair or rough play more.' After giving up playing in 1877, still only 26 years old, he continued his involvement with the club and was elected President for 1878-79, while he worked as a clerk for a drapery wholesaler. Sadly, he was struck down with pleurisy and tuberculosis and although he went to New Zealand in an attempt to clear his lungs, it was to no avail. He returned home to Mount Florida and died there in 1888, aged 37, leaving a wife and four children.
Honours
Scotland v England 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875c, 1876c; Wales 1876.
Queen's Park player 1870-77 (Scottish Cup winner 1874, 1875c, 1876c).
Profile from The Men Who Made Scotland
Born 16 December 1850; Wellington Street, Dunoon, Argyllshire.
Died 4 October 1888; Victoria Terrace, Mount Florida, Glasgow.
Son of a hotel keeper in Dunoon, Taylor grew up in the town and was successful locally as a runner, winning numerous athletic contests at the Cowal Gathering in 1869 and 1870. When he came to Glasgow to work around that time, he joined Queen's Park and they soon made use of his athleticism, speed and leadership on the football field. He was selected at full back for the first Scotland international in 1872 and retained his place every year until 1876, captaining the side twice against England. He also won the first three Scottish Cups, the latter two as team captain. According to DD Bone: 'No man who captained the Queen's Park was so much respected both on the field and in private life. None hated unfair or rough play more.' After giving up playing in 1877, still only 26 years old, he continued his involvement with the club and was elected President for 1878-79, while he worked as a clerk for a drapery wholesaler. Sadly, he was struck down with pleurisy and tuberculosis and although he went to New Zealand in an attempt to clear his lungs, it was to no avail. He returned home to Mount Florida and died there in 1888, aged 37, leaving a wife and four children.
Honours
Scotland v England 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875c, 1876c; Wales 1876.
Queen's Park player 1870-77 (Scottish Cup winner 1874, 1875c, 1876c).
- Published on
Nettie Honeyball in her football costume, as she appeared in The Sketch, 6 February 1895 (British Newspaper Archive)
She had one of the most evocative names in football. Historians have speculated for years about the identity of Nettie Honeyball, the iconic Victorian pioneer of women's football, and most concluded that her name was a clever pseudonym. But a startling new discovery indicates she really did exist.
Honeyball was founder and captain of the British Ladies Football Club which launched in 1895. In response to intense media interest, the 'moving spirit of the lady footballers' gave interviews, posed for photos, and for a brief moment in time was known throughout the land. Then, just as suddenly, she vanished.
She was such a significant character in the development of women's sport that she is celebrated for her contribution, yet she has proved frustratingly elusive. Not only was she invisible in official records, her name sounded implausible, and one Victorian writer described her name as 'singularly ominous and Dickensian'. Today, most sources will tell you that Honeyball was a made-up name, a cover for one of the other players.
However, the mystery has just taken a dramatic twist and may have been solved thanks to a newly-digitised newspaper on the British Newspaper Archive.
Honeyball was founder and captain of the British Ladies Football Club which launched in 1895. In response to intense media interest, the 'moving spirit of the lady footballers' gave interviews, posed for photos, and for a brief moment in time was known throughout the land. Then, just as suddenly, she vanished.
She was such a significant character in the development of women's sport that she is celebrated for her contribution, yet she has proved frustratingly elusive. Not only was she invisible in official records, her name sounded implausible, and one Victorian writer described her name as 'singularly ominous and Dickensian'. Today, most sources will tell you that Honeyball was a made-up name, a cover for one of the other players.
However, the mystery has just taken a dramatic twist and may have been solved thanks to a newly-digitised newspaper on the British Newspaper Archive.
This brief paragraph in the Morning Leader appears to confirm that Honeyball was a genuine name, not a pseudonym
On 11 March 1896, the Morning Leader published a brief announcement: 'I am desired by Miss Nettie J Honeyball, the hon sec of the British Ladies Football Association, to state that her address is not now 27 Weston Park, Crouch End, but 56 Lillington Street, Belgravia, S.W., where all communications should be addressed.'
This is the missing link historians have searched for, as the Lillington Street address was the home of Anne Honeyball, a single woman in her twenties who lived there with her widowed father. Surely she must be Nettie?
There are so many tangents to the story of the British Ladies FC that the answer is not yet conclusive, as I will explain, but in many respects she fits the bill.
Anne Jane Honeyball was born in 1867 in Pimlico, the younger daughter of Francis, a carpenter and cabinet maker, and his wife Emma.
She was baptised (as Annie rather than Anne) in the nearby church of St James the Less, and is recorded at 56 Lillington Street in most subsequent censuses up to 1911 with her family. Two brothers appear to have died young, her elder sister Fanny married George Stubbles in 1882, her mother died in 1892, and she remained with her father until his death in 1915.
Only in 1891 is she not at home, but intriguingly a Janetta Honeyball, aged 21 and born in Pimlico, is lodging in Lambeth where she worked as a cashier for a grocer. The age is slightly wrong but as Janetta does not appear in any other records, is this Anne? Given her middle name of Jane, which also appears as Nettie Honeyball's middle initial, it does seem to be a strong possibility.
This is the missing link historians have searched for, as the Lillington Street address was the home of Anne Honeyball, a single woman in her twenties who lived there with her widowed father. Surely she must be Nettie?
There are so many tangents to the story of the British Ladies FC that the answer is not yet conclusive, as I will explain, but in many respects she fits the bill.
Anne Jane Honeyball was born in 1867 in Pimlico, the younger daughter of Francis, a carpenter and cabinet maker, and his wife Emma.
She was baptised (as Annie rather than Anne) in the nearby church of St James the Less, and is recorded at 56 Lillington Street in most subsequent censuses up to 1911 with her family. Two brothers appear to have died young, her elder sister Fanny married George Stubbles in 1882, her mother died in 1892, and she remained with her father until his death in 1915.
Only in 1891 is she not at home, but intriguingly a Janetta Honeyball, aged 21 and born in Pimlico, is lodging in Lambeth where she worked as a cashier for a grocer. The age is slightly wrong but as Janetta does not appear in any other records, is this Anne? Given her middle name of Jane, which also appears as Nettie Honeyball's middle initial, it does seem to be a strong possibility.
A picture postcard view of Lillington Street, Pimlico. The street no longer exists, having suffered substantial bomb damage in WW2, it was later demolished.
In late 1894 the first letters from Nettie Honeyball appeared in the papers, promoting the football club from an address in Crouch End, which was the home of the Smith family. The house at 27 Weston Park, which still stands, is a six-bedroom three-storey villa, so the Smiths would have had space for a lodger, and she proudly told one journalist that she had a room entirely for her own use.
As the British Ladies FC captured the public imagination, Nettie gave numerous interviews in the first few months of 1895, in which she came across as assured, determined and forthright in her support for women's emancipation. She often posed for photos, including a full page plate in The Sketch, and gained a fair degree of notoriety or popularity, depending on your point of view. When the opening match was played at Crouch End on 23 March, she was a team captain and very clearly the figurehead of the club.
As the British Ladies FC captured the public imagination, Nettie gave numerous interviews in the first few months of 1895, in which she came across as assured, determined and forthright in her support for women's emancipation. She often posed for photos, including a full page plate in The Sketch, and gained a fair degree of notoriety or popularity, depending on your point of view. When the opening match was played at Crouch End on 23 March, she was a team captain and very clearly the figurehead of the club.
The poster for the first match of the British Ladies FC, which names Nettie Honeyball as the main contact.
Honeyball continued to speak intelligently and assuredly on behalf of the team as they toured the country in April and May.
Yet, despite her high profile, and the large crowds which the lady footballers attracted, there was trouble behind the scenes. In May she had to deny a press report that 'the lady footballers are at loggerheads among themselves, and the team is likely to break up in consequence'.
However, there does appear to be truth in the rumours as by the end of May, just two months after the club played its first match, she was nowhere to be seen. Without her, the British Ladies FC continued to pursue a hectic schedule of matches, with a second team springing up in apparent rivalry.
Nettie's name was still briefly quoted in the autumn as club secretary before Jessie Allen took over, citing an illness for Honeyball, then the rival captain Mrs Graham (real name Helen Matthew) said 'she is no longer connected with us in any way'.
Yet, despite her high profile, and the large crowds which the lady footballers attracted, there was trouble behind the scenes. In May she had to deny a press report that 'the lady footballers are at loggerheads among themselves, and the team is likely to break up in consequence'.
However, there does appear to be truth in the rumours as by the end of May, just two months after the club played its first match, she was nowhere to be seen. Without her, the British Ladies FC continued to pursue a hectic schedule of matches, with a second team springing up in apparent rivalry.
Nettie's name was still briefly quoted in the autumn as club secretary before Jessie Allen took over, citing an illness for Honeyball, then the rival captain Mrs Graham (real name Helen Matthew) said 'she is no longer connected with us in any way'.
Nettie Honeyball with the British Ladies FC players as they prepare for their first match in 1895. She is front centre, holding the ball, clearly in charge of the group. (Picture from Sporting Favourites magazine)
What went wrong? It could have been the incessant glare of publicity, disagreements with other players, or maybe the household dynamics at Weston Park became a challenge, with too many involved in the team: Alfred Hewitt Smith, the team manager, would go on to marry Hannah Oliphant, who played for and administered the team right up until its demise a decade later; his brother Frederick was already married to Jessie Allen, named as assistant secretary; and their little sister Phoebe was also a player and club secretary.
Whatever happened, Nettie Honeyball was out of the picture and left Crouch End to return to Pimlico, notifying her change of address to the Morning Leader. Apart from that brief mention, there were no further interviews and no more press interest in her.
On the surface, the move to Lillington Street points to Anne Honeyball being Nettie but there are still doubts which are raised by a careful reading of her press interviews. Although she gave little away about her background, she made a telling comment to The Sketch in January 1895 that the other recruits to the team 'were all strangers to me, except my sister' Then in April she told the Maidenhead Advertiser after a match that 'I have been accustomed to athletics all my life with my brothers'.
If these comments are true, Anne cannot be Nettie. Her sister was in her thirties, married with three young children; her brothers had both died young.
Whatever happened, Nettie Honeyball was out of the picture and left Crouch End to return to Pimlico, notifying her change of address to the Morning Leader. Apart from that brief mention, there were no further interviews and no more press interest in her.
On the surface, the move to Lillington Street points to Anne Honeyball being Nettie but there are still doubts which are raised by a careful reading of her press interviews. Although she gave little away about her background, she made a telling comment to The Sketch in January 1895 that the other recruits to the team 'were all strangers to me, except my sister' Then in April she told the Maidenhead Advertiser after a match that 'I have been accustomed to athletics all my life with my brothers'.
If these comments are true, Anne cannot be Nettie. Her sister was in her thirties, married with three young children; her brothers had both died young.
The British Ladies FC North team which played in the first match on 23 March 1895. They were captained by Nettie Honeyball, back row, second from left. (The Sketch, 27 March 1895, via British Newspaper Archive)
While much of the British Ladies FC press coverage must be taken with a great degree of scepticism, this opens the door to another possibility: Anne's cousin Nellie. Her identity was explored in detail by James Lee, whose well-researched book The Lady Footballers was published in 2008.
Nellie, born in Pimlico in 1873, was the daughter of Frederick Honeyball, elder brother of Francis and also a carpenter. The family lived at 36 Tachbrook Street, which was literally a stone's throw from Lillington Street. Nellie had two elder brothers, which fits with those interview comments, and a younger sister Edith, although there is no record of her playing for the club.
Perhaps most tellingly of all, the Westminster and Pimlico News of 12 June 1896 carried a report of a dispute that ended up in Westminster Magistrates Court, where Nellie Honeyball of 56 Lillington Street was bound over to keep the peace.
Nellie is with her family at Tachbrook Street in the 1891 census, so she cannot be 'Janetta' but did she then go to live for a while with her uncle round the corner? He would have had a spare room after his married daughter Fanny moved out.
So, the mystery continues. While Nettie Honeyball does appear to be a real person rather than a pseudonym, I can find no conclusive proof whether she was Anne or Nellie.
And of course, I cannot entirely dismiss a third possibility, that the paragraph in the Morning Leader was a deliberate red herring. But she was well known to the paper, so I think this unlikely.
Nellie, born in Pimlico in 1873, was the daughter of Frederick Honeyball, elder brother of Francis and also a carpenter. The family lived at 36 Tachbrook Street, which was literally a stone's throw from Lillington Street. Nellie had two elder brothers, which fits with those interview comments, and a younger sister Edith, although there is no record of her playing for the club.
Perhaps most tellingly of all, the Westminster and Pimlico News of 12 June 1896 carried a report of a dispute that ended up in Westminster Magistrates Court, where Nellie Honeyball of 56 Lillington Street was bound over to keep the peace.
Nellie is with her family at Tachbrook Street in the 1891 census, so she cannot be 'Janetta' but did she then go to live for a while with her uncle round the corner? He would have had a spare room after his married daughter Fanny moved out.
So, the mystery continues. While Nettie Honeyball does appear to be a real person rather than a pseudonym, I can find no conclusive proof whether she was Anne or Nellie.
And of course, I cannot entirely dismiss a third possibility, that the paragraph in the Morning Leader was a deliberate red herring. But she was well known to the paper, so I think this unlikely.
A mention of Alfred Hewitt Smith's elusive book on the British Ladies FC (East Anglian Daily Times, 30 Nov 1896, via British Newspaper Archive)
On top of the Honeyball identity question is conundrum as to how she got involved in football in the first place. The answers may lie in a book by Alfred Hewitt Smith, who managed the team's affairs. In 1896 he published The Truth about the British Ladies Football Club and sent it to journalists. Sadly, no copies are known to exist but perhaps one will surface.
The Honeyball cousins had much in common: both were daughters of carpenters, both spent their lives in Pimlico, both remained single. Curiously, the Smith family’s father Arthur was also a carpenter. While carpenters and cabinet makers were skilled craftsmen, this tends to demolish the much-repeated claim that the football club drew its players from the 'upper middle class'.
The Honeyball cousins had much in common: both were daughters of carpenters, both spent their lives in Pimlico, both remained single. Curiously, the Smith family’s father Arthur was also a carpenter. While carpenters and cabinet makers were skilled craftsmen, this tends to demolish the much-repeated claim that the football club drew its players from the 'upper middle class'.
Death certificate for Anne Jane Honeyball, otherwise known as Constance Young. She died alone in 1947, aged 80.
According to the 1911 census, Anne also became an upholsterer, probably working for her father, but after his death in 1915 she changed her name to Constance Younge. This can perhaps be explained in part by a marriage (although no trace has been found) as electoral rolls show that she lived with a George Younge for a couple of years, but by 1921 she was a widow, working as a cleaner, and she lived alone until her own demise in Pimlico in 1947.
She died in sad circumstances, aged 80 and alone, her death certificate describing her as a 'blind spinster' and the informant was the coroner's officer, who also arranged her burial. Her name was also recorded as Constance Younge, the name she had used since 1918, and it would be an irony indeed if Nettie Honeyball chose her own alias.
She died in sad circumstances, aged 80 and alone, her death certificate describing her as a 'blind spinster' and the informant was the coroner's officer, who also arranged her burial. Her name was also recorded as Constance Younge, the name she had used since 1918, and it would be an irony indeed if Nettie Honeyball chose her own alias.
Probate record for Nellie Honeyball, who died in 1941 aged 68.
Nellie also remained in Pimlico and by 1921 she was a clerk for St Clement's Press, which had printed the suffragist newspaper Votes for Women before the war, although by then it was better known for printing the Financial Times. She died in 1941, aged 68, at the wartime emergency hospital in Haileybury College, and is buried in Brompton Cemetery. She left her estate to her younger sister Edith, who was also single.
The crucial question remains: which of them was Nettie? Neither Anne nor Nellie appear to have left any trace, and neither have any direct descendants to ask. It is a question which will continue to intrigue historians but I am sure the answer will eventually come out.
In the course of my research I have accumulated a range of background material which I would be happy to share with other researchers. Please use my contact form.
The most comprehensive online source of information about the British Ladies FC is Patrick Brennan's outstanding Donmouth site, launched almost 20 years ago and which has continued to grow. Click here for more, and also check out their own research into Nettie Honeyball.
If you would like to read more about another significant but elusive player for the British Ladies FC, click here to read my article about Emma Clarke.
The crucial question remains: which of them was Nettie? Neither Anne nor Nellie appear to have left any trace, and neither have any direct descendants to ask. It is a question which will continue to intrigue historians but I am sure the answer will eventually come out.
In the course of my research I have accumulated a range of background material which I would be happy to share with other researchers. Please use my contact form.
The most comprehensive online source of information about the British Ladies FC is Patrick Brennan's outstanding Donmouth site, launched almost 20 years ago and which has continued to grow. Click here for more, and also check out their own research into Nettie Honeyball.
If you would like to read more about another significant but elusive player for the British Ladies FC, click here to read my article about Emma Clarke.
- Published on
The silver medal won in 1851 by the 93rd Highlanders against the University of Edinburgh Football Club.
Many places claim to be the true home of football, not least Sheffield, London and Glasgow. But had events taken a different slant, the title would undoubtedly belong to the capital of Scotland.
Recently I gave a talk to the FootyCon football history conference in Manchester, in which I explained how, in the first half of the 19th century, Edinburgh was a leading exponent for the type of game that ultimately became association football. But the direction of travel changed dramatically in the summer of 1854, when two sports grounds opened in the same week, each hosting a different code of football. In brief, rugby won and the landscape of sport in the city changed.
To read my PowerPoint talk detailing what happened and why, click here to open an illustrated pdf and read about a classic case of 'what if'.
Recently I gave a talk to the FootyCon football history conference in Manchester, in which I explained how, in the first half of the 19th century, Edinburgh was a leading exponent for the type of game that ultimately became association football. But the direction of travel changed dramatically in the summer of 1854, when two sports grounds opened in the same week, each hosting a different code of football. In brief, rugby won and the landscape of sport in the city changed.
To read my PowerPoint talk detailing what happened and why, click here to open an illustrated pdf and read about a classic case of 'what if'.
The earliest known rules of football, written in 1833 in Edinburgh by John Hope for his Foot-Ball Club.
To read more about the story of football in Edinburgh, and John Hope's involvement, read 1824: the World's First Foot-Ball Club.
- Published on
This month sees two significant milestones for Scottish football. It is the 150th anniversary of the first international match in the world, between Scotland and England on 30 November 1872. It is also the 50th anniversary of Scotland's first women's international, against England on 18 November 1972.
Both these events provide a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our football heritage. It is also a chance to recognise all the players who have contributed to Scottish football's national teams over the years.
That is why I am proposing the introduction of unique Heritage Numbers for everyone who has played for Scotland, men and women.
Currently the Scottish FA has a Roll of Honour for players who have amassed 50 or more caps. When this scheme was originally launched in the 1980s there were just a dozen or so players, all men, who qualified. Today, however, with the increased number of fixtures and greater use of substitutes, it is far easier for players to reach that total and 50 caps is less of a measure of greatness. Indeed, it fails to include many fine players of the past who could never have reached that figure at a time when Scotland only played three games a year.
When I speak to former players, almost without exception the most memorable international they played was their first cap. Representing Scotland is a supreme honour in itself, and earning the tag of 'internationalist' is something that lasts a lifetime. Hence I think that is the event that should be marked, rather than an arbitrary number of caps.
It is not a new idea: several sports from cricket to rugby league have adopted the scheme, and some countries already have it for football. The Football Association in England, for example, launched Legacy Numbers for their men's team in 2019, and this year are extending it to the women's team following a major research programme.
Scotland has yet to adopt the idea. For the men's team, all the information is available although there was a recent complication with the retrospective adoption of some tour matches from 1967 as full internationals, which added players to the list. Including those late additions, a total of 1,227 men have now played for Scotland, the latest being Calvin Ramsay who won his first cap against Turkey.
One of the major stumbling blocks to compiling an equivalent record for the women's national team has been the lack of historic information, but that is no longer a barrier.
In recent months I have been researching and gathering details about the women's national team and I believe I now have a full list of every woman who has ever played for Scotland. The latest additions are Brogan Hay and Rebecca McAllister who made their debuts against Venezuela, taking the total up to 244 players.
Most of that number were first capped under the Scottish Women's FA who ran the team up to 1997. I have to admit that it is possible that my list may have to be slightly revised, as not all the teamlines were recorded at the time and media coverage was minimal. Sometimes players were included in squads but there is no definitive record of whether they actually played (substitutions were a particular problem). However, by a careful examination of archive material and by asking many former players for their memories, I am confident it is 99 per cent correct and possibly 100 per cent. I would be delighted to hear from anyone with additional information.
My overall point is that playing for Scotland is an achievement that should live for ever, and I believe that players deserve the unique recognition that comes with a Heritage Number. At a time of celebration for those anniversaries, there is no better time for the Scottish FA to act.
Click here for the full list of Scotland Men's Heritage Numbers.
Click here for the full list of Scotland Women's Heritage Numbers.
Both these events provide a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our football heritage. It is also a chance to recognise all the players who have contributed to Scottish football's national teams over the years.
That is why I am proposing the introduction of unique Heritage Numbers for everyone who has played for Scotland, men and women.
Currently the Scottish FA has a Roll of Honour for players who have amassed 50 or more caps. When this scheme was originally launched in the 1980s there were just a dozen or so players, all men, who qualified. Today, however, with the increased number of fixtures and greater use of substitutes, it is far easier for players to reach that total and 50 caps is less of a measure of greatness. Indeed, it fails to include many fine players of the past who could never have reached that figure at a time when Scotland only played three games a year.
When I speak to former players, almost without exception the most memorable international they played was their first cap. Representing Scotland is a supreme honour in itself, and earning the tag of 'internationalist' is something that lasts a lifetime. Hence I think that is the event that should be marked, rather than an arbitrary number of caps.
It is not a new idea: several sports from cricket to rugby league have adopted the scheme, and some countries already have it for football. The Football Association in England, for example, launched Legacy Numbers for their men's team in 2019, and this year are extending it to the women's team following a major research programme.
Scotland has yet to adopt the idea. For the men's team, all the information is available although there was a recent complication with the retrospective adoption of some tour matches from 1967 as full internationals, which added players to the list. Including those late additions, a total of 1,227 men have now played for Scotland, the latest being Calvin Ramsay who won his first cap against Turkey.
One of the major stumbling blocks to compiling an equivalent record for the women's national team has been the lack of historic information, but that is no longer a barrier.
In recent months I have been researching and gathering details about the women's national team and I believe I now have a full list of every woman who has ever played for Scotland. The latest additions are Brogan Hay and Rebecca McAllister who made their debuts against Venezuela, taking the total up to 244 players.
Most of that number were first capped under the Scottish Women's FA who ran the team up to 1997. I have to admit that it is possible that my list may have to be slightly revised, as not all the teamlines were recorded at the time and media coverage was minimal. Sometimes players were included in squads but there is no definitive record of whether they actually played (substitutions were a particular problem). However, by a careful examination of archive material and by asking many former players for their memories, I am confident it is 99 per cent correct and possibly 100 per cent. I would be delighted to hear from anyone with additional information.
My overall point is that playing for Scotland is an achievement that should live for ever, and I believe that players deserve the unique recognition that comes with a Heritage Number. At a time of celebration for those anniversaries, there is no better time for the Scottish FA to act.
Click here for the full list of Scotland Men's Heritage Numbers.
Click here for the full list of Scotland Women's Heritage Numbers.
- Published on
Robert Guérin is hailed as the founder of FIFA, having hosted the meeting in May 1904 that brought football nations together in common cause. He then served as its President for two years and is rightly celebrated as a sporting pioneer.
Yet there is an amazing mystery behind the man, as his true identity has been hidden for over a hundred years: Robert was his surname, not his first name, while Guérin was a suffix he adopted in adult life.
I would like to introduce you to Maurice Robert. That was the real name of FIFA's first President.
Yet there is an amazing mystery behind the man, as his true identity has been hidden for over a hundred years: Robert was his surname, not his first name, while Guérin was a suffix he adopted in adult life.
I would like to introduce you to Maurice Robert. That was the real name of FIFA's first President.
The birth registration in 1876 for FIFA's first President (Archives de Reims)
When he was born in Reims in 1876, his full name was registered as Clément Auguste Maurice Robert. He was the son of Jean-Marie Robert, a cloth manufacturer and merchant, and his wife Louise.
Little is known about the first two decades of his life but he must have learned English - a skill which was essential in years to come - as in 1898 Maurice Robert was accepted into the Society for the Propagation of Foreign Languages. By then he was working in commerce and living in Paris, in a narrow street in Montmartre that was to remain his home for the rest of his life.
He joined Union Sportive Parisienne, a multi-sports club founded in 1896, but was not much of a player and became its secretary between 1900 and 1904. He was therefore mentioned regularly in the press as the club's contact for fixtures, which reveals that he was known as Maurice Robert until the end of 1900, then early in 1901 he changed his surname to Robert-Guérin.
Little is known about the first two decades of his life but he must have learned English - a skill which was essential in years to come - as in 1898 Maurice Robert was accepted into the Society for the Propagation of Foreign Languages. By then he was working in commerce and living in Paris, in a narrow street in Montmartre that was to remain his home for the rest of his life.
He joined Union Sportive Parisienne, a multi-sports club founded in 1896, but was not much of a player and became its secretary between 1900 and 1904. He was therefore mentioned regularly in the press as the club's contact for fixtures, which reveals that he was known as Maurice Robert until the end of 1900, then early in 1901 he changed his surname to Robert-Guérin.
These cuttings from L'Auto in late 1900 (above) and early 1901 (below) demonstrate the change in surname from Robert to Robert-Guérin (from gallica.bnf.fr)
Although his reason for change is not clear, the root of this addition can be found in his family tree: his grandfather Jean-Pierre Robert had married Reine-Antoinette Guérin, and the family firm of Robert-Guérin had exhibited its merino fabrics at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Maurice Robert-Guérin became more involved in sport and joined the USFSA, a national governing body for many sports, where he was in turn its treasurer and secretary, working from its base at 229 rue Saint Honoré in Paris. His first love at the time was football, refereeing several high profile matches, but he was also involved in a range of activities which no doubt helped him to make his way as a sports journalist.
The story of the founding of FIFA is well known and Robert-Guérin recalled the spirit of the times for FIFA's 25th anniversary: 'It was not difficult to foresee in 1903 that football was going to become more popular all over the world. I decided to found the International Federation of Association Football, with the collaboration of very good friends.
'I was rather surprised that the initiative was not taken up by England, where football was triumphing. I though that, by rights, the chairmanship belonged to the Football Association of England.'
He went to London to meet Frederick Wall, the FA secretary, who listened but merely replied that he would refer the matter to the FA board. Robert-Guérin waited patiently for months but heard nothing, so he asked again and was invited back to London where, this time, he met Lord Kinnaird who was friendly but non-committal. 'It was like cutting water with a knife,' he recalled.
Faced with English prevarication, 28-year-old Robert-Guérin felt he had no option but go ahead without them, and called the meeting at which FIFA was established on 21 May 1904. Reluctantly he accepted the role of President, which was not a role he cherished but he remained at the helm of the fledgling organisation for two years until Englishman Daniel Woolfall was persuaded to take over in 1906.
Maurice Robert-Guérin became more involved in sport and joined the USFSA, a national governing body for many sports, where he was in turn its treasurer and secretary, working from its base at 229 rue Saint Honoré in Paris. His first love at the time was football, refereeing several high profile matches, but he was also involved in a range of activities which no doubt helped him to make his way as a sports journalist.
The story of the founding of FIFA is well known and Robert-Guérin recalled the spirit of the times for FIFA's 25th anniversary: 'It was not difficult to foresee in 1903 that football was going to become more popular all over the world. I decided to found the International Federation of Association Football, with the collaboration of very good friends.
'I was rather surprised that the initiative was not taken up by England, where football was triumphing. I though that, by rights, the chairmanship belonged to the Football Association of England.'
He went to London to meet Frederick Wall, the FA secretary, who listened but merely replied that he would refer the matter to the FA board. Robert-Guérin waited patiently for months but heard nothing, so he asked again and was invited back to London where, this time, he met Lord Kinnaird who was friendly but non-committal. 'It was like cutting water with a knife,' he recalled.
Faced with English prevarication, 28-year-old Robert-Guérin felt he had no option but go ahead without them, and called the meeting at which FIFA was established on 21 May 1904. Reluctantly he accepted the role of President, which was not a role he cherished but he remained at the helm of the fledgling organisation for two years until Englishman Daniel Woolfall was persuaded to take over in 1906.
The officials of the USFSA in 1905, with Robert-Guérin holding several roles including secretary-general, head of football and head of croquet. (gallica.bnf.fr)
Meanwhile, as president of the association football section of the USFSA, he was effectively the manager of the France national team for its first 12 matches, from their 1904 debut against Belgium up to the disastrous 1908 Olympic Games in London.
His time included defeats of 15-0 and 12-0 to England amateurs, and ultimately the humiliating 17-1 crushing by Denmark at the Olympics.
His time included defeats of 15-0 and 12-0 to England amateurs, and ultimately the humiliating 17-1 crushing by Denmark at the Olympics.
The marriage registration from 1907 for Maurice Robert and Edith Harris, which he signed in his real name (Archives de Paris)
In 1907 he married, and as his formal name had never been changed he signed the document as Maurice Robert. His wife was an Englishwoman called Edith Harris, who already had a two-year-old daughter called Rosetta. The marriage certificate specifically includes Rosetta so that she was legitimised and took the surname Robert. It is not clear whether Maurice was the father.
For the rest of his professional life, he was known as Robert Guérin, with the ambiguity of Robert being a first name or part of a double-barrelled surname. I cannot find any instance of him using Maurice as a journalist, and he appears always to have described himself simply as Robert-Guérin, sometimes with a hyphen, sometimes not.
In his private life, however, his surname remained simply Robert. After Edith died in 1926 he remarried the following year to Andrée Brunel and again he signed the certificate as Maurice Robert.
Having given up sports administration in 1908, he worked for most of his life as sports editor of Le Matin, and although he continued to report on football he developed a passion and expertise in aviation, writing for several specialist magazines. He was highly respected in his field, and was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1922, then promoted to Officer in 1934.
For the rest of his professional life, he was known as Robert Guérin, with the ambiguity of Robert being a first name or part of a double-barrelled surname. I cannot find any instance of him using Maurice as a journalist, and he appears always to have described himself simply as Robert-Guérin, sometimes with a hyphen, sometimes not.
In his private life, however, his surname remained simply Robert. After Edith died in 1926 he remarried the following year to Andrée Brunel and again he signed the certificate as Maurice Robert.
Having given up sports administration in 1908, he worked for most of his life as sports editor of Le Matin, and although he continued to report on football he developed a passion and expertise in aviation, writing for several specialist magazines. He was highly respected in his field, and was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1922, then promoted to Officer in 1934.
The promotion of Robert-Guérin to officer of the Légion d'honneur in 1934 (Midi Olympique, via gallica.bnf.fr)
Despite his prestigious reputation, Robert-Guérin appears to have kept a fairly low public profile. I was amazed when researching this article that only one photo of him appears to be available, and he left little in the way of personal reminiscences.
After Le Matin folded in 1944 (with its reputation sullied for taking a pro-German stance during the occupation) he was left impoverished, and that led to the only time he is known to have used another version of his name. A few years ago some of his personal letters came up at auction and they were apparently signed Clément Robert-Guérin. Written in the late 1940s, they revealed he was in difficult financial circumstances and losing his sight.
After Le Matin folded in 1944 (with its reputation sullied for taking a pro-German stance during the occupation) he was left impoverished, and that led to the only time he is known to have used another version of his name. A few years ago some of his personal letters came up at auction and they were apparently signed Clément Robert-Guérin. Written in the late 1940s, they revealed he was in difficult financial circumstances and losing his sight.
A rare photo of Maurice Robert-Guérin
And when he died in 1952, his death was registered with the same name as when he was born: Clément Auguste Maurice Robert. His pioneering days were long gone, and there were just brief reports in the press of his demise, a sorry farewell to one of the pioneers of world football.
His death is announced in the newspaper Combat (gallica.bnf.fr) and in the Archives de Paris
Clément Auguste Maurice Robert, also Robert-Guérin
Born 28 April 1876 at 16 boulevard du Temple, Reims.
Married (1) 11 July 1907 to Edith Emma Harris.
Married (2) 27 January 1927 to Andrée Brunel
Died 14 February 1952 at 17 rue Germain Pilon, Montmartre, Paris.
- Published on
This year sees the 150th anniversary of the world's first football international, Scotland v England at Hamilton Crescent in 1872. This is the story of one of the players in that match, a pioneer of association football in both Scotland and England.
Robert Smith was an important figure: a founder of Queen's Park, a Scotland internationalist, thought to be the first man to play the game on both sides of the border. Yet, until recently, little was known about him as he emigrated in 1873 and, as my title says, went off to the Rocky Mountains.
Tracking him down simply would not have been possible a few years ago, but newly-digitised resources have transformed research.
Robert Smith was an important figure: a founder of Queen's Park, a Scotland internationalist, thought to be the first man to play the game on both sides of the border. Yet, until recently, little was known about him as he emigrated in 1873 and, as my title says, went off to the Rocky Mountains.
Tracking him down simply would not have been possible a few years ago, but newly-digitised resources have transformed research.
Robert Smith, Scotland internationalist in 1872
Let's begin with what was known about him: he was present in 1867 at the starting point for Scottish football, in a room on the south side of Glasgow where a group of young men founded Queen's Park FC. It was the first club in Scotland to take up association rules.
A couple of years later Robert moved to London for work, where he continued to play football with South Norwood, but retained his Queen's Park membership and played for them against Wanderers in the semi-final of the inaugural FA Cup competition in 1872. He also represented his parent club – and by extension the interests of Scottish football – on the FA management committee. In November that year, Robert and his brother James came back to Glasgow to take part in the first international. Then, in 1873, Robert emigrated and disappeared from view.
So, what else do we know? A key document is the first minute of Queen's Park FC from 9 July 1867. The original was lost in a fire in 1945, along with much of the club archive, but thankfully it was reproduced in Richard Robinson's club history, published in 1920. A word of caution, though, as his book is often used as the prime source of information for this period. Robinson was not there in person and made mistakes: for example, he thought Robert Smith was the senior of the brothers, whereas it was James. I'll come back to this document later.
A couple of years later Robert moved to London for work, where he continued to play football with South Norwood, but retained his Queen's Park membership and played for them against Wanderers in the semi-final of the inaugural FA Cup competition in 1872. He also represented his parent club – and by extension the interests of Scottish football – on the FA management committee. In November that year, Robert and his brother James came back to Glasgow to take part in the first international. Then, in 1873, Robert emigrated and disappeared from view.
So, what else do we know? A key document is the first minute of Queen's Park FC from 9 July 1867. The original was lost in a fire in 1945, along with much of the club archive, but thankfully it was reproduced in Richard Robinson's club history, published in 1920. A word of caution, though, as his book is often used as the prime source of information for this period. Robinson was not there in person and made mistakes: for example, he thought Robert Smith was the senior of the brothers, whereas it was James. I'll come back to this document later.
Minute of the founding meeting of Queen's Park Football Club, 9 July 1867
Descriptions of James and Robert Smith in the first Scottish Football Annual of 1875
Having left Scotland, Robert Smith soon faded from memory, with just a few less-than-complimentary recollections of him and his brother in the first Scottish Football Annual. Published in 1875, all they could write was: Gone to the Rocky Mountains.
Another chronicler of early Scottish football, the journalist DD Bone, was also ambivalent about Smith's talents – 'he was not what could be called a brilliant forward' – and equally vague as to where he had gone.
At first sight, it looked like it would be almost impossible to track down what happened to him. Not only is Smith the most common name, the Rocky Mountains stretch for three thousand miles from Canada to New Mexico. He could be anywhere.
However, as with any research, there are clues, and the breakthrough for me was a snippet in Richard Robinson's book, where he described a club presentation to Robert Smith on the occasion of his marriage.
He gave a precise date, 22 July 1879, and using the digitised Glasgow Herald, I trawled through the following day's personal announcements, and there he was, getting married in Glasgow. He was described as a merchant of Green River City, Wyoming, not exactly a prime destination for an emigrant Scot. Even now, Green River is a humdrum mining community in south-west Wyoming, its economy based on vast underground resources of 'trona', the raw material for soda ash.
Another chronicler of early Scottish football, the journalist DD Bone, was also ambivalent about Smith's talents – 'he was not what could be called a brilliant forward' – and equally vague as to where he had gone.
At first sight, it looked like it would be almost impossible to track down what happened to him. Not only is Smith the most common name, the Rocky Mountains stretch for three thousand miles from Canada to New Mexico. He could be anywhere.
However, as with any research, there are clues, and the breakthrough for me was a snippet in Richard Robinson's book, where he described a club presentation to Robert Smith on the occasion of his marriage.
He gave a precise date, 22 July 1879, and using the digitised Glasgow Herald, I trawled through the following day's personal announcements, and there he was, getting married in Glasgow. He was described as a merchant of Green River City, Wyoming, not exactly a prime destination for an emigrant Scot. Even now, Green River is a humdrum mining community in south-west Wyoming, its economy based on vast underground resources of 'trona', the raw material for soda ash.
In the 1870s, however, Green River was almost nothing, a frontier town of tents and shacks. It owed its existence – and still does – to the trans-continental railway, the Union Pacific Railroad. You can just see the train there, steaming out of town.
I duly googled 'Robert Smith' and 'Green River', and to my astonishment his life appeared before my eyes as the New York Public Library had digitised and put online Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming, a collection of biographies published in 1903. There were copious details of his life, from his fairly humble family background – his father was a gardener – through his education at Fordyce Academy, his employment in Glasgow and London, his early experiences in Wyoming as a financial clerk with a mining company, and concluding with his glittering career as newspaper editor and politician. He founded a paper called the Sweetwater Gazette, which has since changed its name but is still going, and became Chief Clerk of the Wyoming House of Representatives.
Then, in the Wyoming Newspaper Archive, another free online resource, I filled in more gaps. Smith left Wyoming in 1903 and sold lucrative mineral rights in what was then called Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma, until his death.
I duly googled 'Robert Smith' and 'Green River', and to my astonishment his life appeared before my eyes as the New York Public Library had digitised and put online Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming, a collection of biographies published in 1903. There were copious details of his life, from his fairly humble family background – his father was a gardener – through his education at Fordyce Academy, his employment in Glasgow and London, his early experiences in Wyoming as a financial clerk with a mining company, and concluding with his glittering career as newspaper editor and politician. He founded a paper called the Sweetwater Gazette, which has since changed its name but is still going, and became Chief Clerk of the Wyoming House of Representatives.
Then, in the Wyoming Newspaper Archive, another free online resource, I filled in more gaps. Smith left Wyoming in 1903 and sold lucrative mineral rights in what was then called Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma, until his death.
Yet one thing was missing in all this: football. It seems he had left it all behind. Eventually I did come across a report in 1883 when he got up a football team from Green River to face the nearby town of Rock Springs, but that was a one-off novelty for Independence Day. Scots may have introduced soccer to many parts of the world, but Wyoming was not going to be one of them.
Sport apart, he certainly made an impact locally. Here is the famous put-down from Bill Nye, editor of a rival newspaper in nearby Laramie: 'We have nothing more to say of the editor of the Sweetwater Gazette. Aside from the fact that he is a squint-eyed, consumptive liar, with a breath like a buzzard and a record like a convict, we don't know anything against him. If he don't tell the truth a little more plenty, the Green River people will rise as one man and churn him up till there won't be anything left of him but a pair of suspenders and a wart.'
Anyway, Smith was undaunted by the criticism and the electorate were happy to be represented by him in the Wyoming legislature, so that eventually he became the Honorable Robert Smith.
Taking the project further, I carried on piecing together the Smith family story. His son was a doctor in Chicago, his grandson was a US naval officer who survived Pearl Harbour unscathed. And finally I traced the footballer's great-granddaughter in Connecticut, and she has the family scrapbook and even an athletics trophy that Robert won in 1869. That gave me an outstanding source of material, pictured below.
Sport apart, he certainly made an impact locally. Here is the famous put-down from Bill Nye, editor of a rival newspaper in nearby Laramie: 'We have nothing more to say of the editor of the Sweetwater Gazette. Aside from the fact that he is a squint-eyed, consumptive liar, with a breath like a buzzard and a record like a convict, we don't know anything against him. If he don't tell the truth a little more plenty, the Green River people will rise as one man and churn him up till there won't be anything left of him but a pair of suspenders and a wart.'
Anyway, Smith was undaunted by the criticism and the electorate were happy to be represented by him in the Wyoming legislature, so that eventually he became the Honorable Robert Smith.
Taking the project further, I carried on piecing together the Smith family story. His son was a doctor in Chicago, his grandson was a US naval officer who survived Pearl Harbour unscathed. And finally I traced the footballer's great-granddaughter in Connecticut, and she has the family scrapbook and even an athletics trophy that Robert won in 1869. That gave me an outstanding source of material, pictured below.
Robert Smith (third from left) with fellow members of the Rock Springs Caledonian Club, in their finery
Robert Smith in his mineral rights leasing office in Oklahoma
A trophy won by Robert Smith at the West of Scotland CC Sports in 1869. It is still held by his family
And finally, Chicago's Graceland Cemetery sent me this photo of Robert's gravestone, complete with thistle to mark his Scottish roots. His death in 1914, while visiting his son in Chicago, prompted obituaries in the Wyoming press but nothing back in Scotland where he was forgotten.
James Smith, Robert's elder brother
James is on the family grave at Urquhart, near Elgin
Robert Smith's story might end there, but in terms of my football research all sorts of doors were starting to open. I found what happened to James, his older brother and fellow Scotland internationalist, who had also played for Queen's Park and South Norwood in the FA Cup. Having worked in London as a salesman, sadly he suffered a stroke and returned to the family home near Elgin in the north of Scotland, where he died aged just 32, in 1876.
Another key name at the birth of Queen’s Park was the club's first secretary, who wrote and signed the minute in 1867, in beautiful handwriting. He was called Klinger in Robinson's club history, but if you look closely at the signature you can see his name was actually Klingner, with an 'n'. That small difference made it possible to research one of the founders of Queen's Park: William Klingner was born in 1848 in Portsoy, a fishing village on the north-east coast.
The other signature was Lewis Black, the first club captain, born in Cullen, which is just six miles west of Portsoy. And halfway between Cullen and Portsoy is Fordyce, where both Smith brothers and William Klingner went to the local Academy.
So, you have three out of the four office bearers of Scotland's first football club – Black, Klingner and Smith – all coming from a tiny group of communities on the north-east coast. The exception was the club president Mungo Ritchie, who came from Perthshire.
What is more, that sense of togetherness remained as when Klingner moved to London, he shared digs in Lambeth with the Smith brothers, then followed Robert to America.
Another key name at the birth of Queen’s Park was the club's first secretary, who wrote and signed the minute in 1867, in beautiful handwriting. He was called Klinger in Robinson's club history, but if you look closely at the signature you can see his name was actually Klingner, with an 'n'. That small difference made it possible to research one of the founders of Queen's Park: William Klingner was born in 1848 in Portsoy, a fishing village on the north-east coast.
The other signature was Lewis Black, the first club captain, born in Cullen, which is just six miles west of Portsoy. And halfway between Cullen and Portsoy is Fordyce, where both Smith brothers and William Klingner went to the local Academy.
So, you have three out of the four office bearers of Scotland's first football club – Black, Klingner and Smith – all coming from a tiny group of communities on the north-east coast. The exception was the club president Mungo Ritchie, who came from Perthshire.
What is more, that sense of togetherness remained as when Klingner moved to London, he shared digs in Lambeth with the Smith brothers, then followed Robert to America.
An advert for Smith and Klingner's store in Green River
To cap it all, in 1878 a new store opened in Green River: Smith and Klingner. So, two of the founders of Queen's Park, and therefore of Scottish football, could be found selling oysters and fruit in the American west just ten years later.
I could go on with these personal stories. But the next stage was to look at the bigger picture, and the obvious question was: who else got Scottish football going? You could write a book about it – and I did.
The focal point, of course, is the world's first football international, staged on St Andrew's Day 1872, at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Partick. I recommend a visit as it has changed little in 150 years and it is easy to imagine the scene that day, with a section of the cricket pitch roped off, the football field running north to south.
I could go on with these personal stories. But the next stage was to look at the bigger picture, and the obvious question was: who else got Scottish football going? You could write a book about it – and I did.
The focal point, of course, is the world's first football international, staged on St Andrew's Day 1872, at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Partick. I recommend a visit as it has changed little in 150 years and it is easy to imagine the scene that day, with a section of the cricket pitch roped off, the football field running north to south.
This is one of nine pictures that appeared in the Graphic magazine, the only contemporary illustrations of the match, drawn by Glasgow artist William Ralston. There is a life-size model of this tussle in the Scottish Football Museum, and that's also where you can see the only known surviving ticket from the match, as well as an original Scotland cap, which belonged to JJ Thomson, who played in the first three internationals.
Here are the 22 players in that first match. But who were they, how do they compare? First, their occupations. It's something of a generalisation, but clearly the Scots could be described as white collar workers – clerks, salesmen and middle management – although some did go on to be very successful in their careers. The English, on the other hand, were almost all in the 'professions' and senior management – the only real exception being John Brockbank, who took the unusual path for a Cambridge University graduate of being a Covent Garden actor.
The same goes for their educational background. As far as I can ascertain, not a single Scot stayed at school beyond the age of 15, and certainly none of them went to university, although they seem to have acquired a good standard of literacy and numeracy. The English, however, had the best education money could buy.
Perhaps the most glaring difference between Scots and English is their life span: on average the Scots died aged 55 against 68 for the English. In the England team, with the exception of Cuthbert Ottaway who died of pneumonia at 27, the youngest death was 47. Contrast that with the Scots, five of whom were dead by 40, mainly from tuberculosis.
You can draw your own conclusions about the links between social status, health and life expectancy, but the obvious inference from all of this is that association football in Scotland arose from a very different set of circumstances to England. Free from the baggage of school rules and traditions, the Scots developed their own style of play, using passing and teamwork rather than dribbling and individuality. That suited their smaller stature, and what is more it was incredibly successful.
Within five years of Queen's Park being established the Scots were able to match the English in that international of 1872, drawing 0-0. A few years on, they were virtually unbeatable: in 1878, Scotland won 7-2 against England and 9-0 against Wales.
By coincidence that was also the year that Fergie Suter and Jimmy Love went south to Darwen, the first of the flood of Scots professors who would transform the English game in years to come. The pioneers such as Robert Smith laid the ground for the modern sport of football that we all know today.
You can draw your own conclusions about the links between social status, health and life expectancy, but the obvious inference from all of this is that association football in Scotland arose from a very different set of circumstances to England. Free from the baggage of school rules and traditions, the Scots developed their own style of play, using passing and teamwork rather than dribbling and individuality. That suited their smaller stature, and what is more it was incredibly successful.
Within five years of Queen's Park being established the Scots were able to match the English in that international of 1872, drawing 0-0. A few years on, they were virtually unbeatable: in 1878, Scotland won 7-2 against England and 9-0 against Wales.
By coincidence that was also the year that Fergie Suter and Jimmy Love went south to Darwen, the first of the flood of Scots professors who would transform the English game in years to come. The pioneers such as Robert Smith laid the ground for the modern sport of football that we all know today.
I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more about Scotland's football pioneers later this year when the 150th anniversary comes up. And if you want to read about them I do have a couple of books available which may interest you.
- Published on
Jack Diment
James Squair
Only two male Scottish footballers have ever played in a title-winning side in Italy. It happened way back in 1905, when Jack Diment and James Squair starred for the Juventus team that won the club's first 'Scudetto'.
Despite that remarkable achievement the pair remain almost unknown, even though precious few Scotsmen have featured at the top level in Italy over the years. The most notable names are Denis Law, Graeme Souness and Joe Jordan, while currently Liam Henderson and Aaron Hickey are starring in Serie A, but none of these fine players ever won a title.
While it has to be acknowledged that Diment and Squair were amateurs and hardly of the same standard, they have a fascinating story and their lives followed remarkably similar paths through work, football and even in marriage, before tragedy intervened.
Of the same age and background, they met in Newcastle as they embarked on a career in shipping, and while many records state that they joined Juventus from Newcastle United, the truth is that they were never on the club's books and their names do not appear in any contemporary British football records.
However, they must have played football at some level in England before they were sent to Turin in the autumn of 1904. Aged 19 and 20, they joined the staff of Walter F Becker, an influential steamship owner with interests in several Italian ports, whose company Navigazione Alta Italia ran the Creole Line. He also had a passion for football, having founded a club in Messina (Sicily) in 1901.
Shortly after their arrival, the two young men were pitched straight into the Juventus team. They made their debuts on 13 November 1904 in a 1-0 defeat to Genoa, a contest for the Palla Dapples – the silver ball donated by Henri Dapples for a series of challenge matches which saw the winner retain the elegant trophy.
Despite that remarkable achievement the pair remain almost unknown, even though precious few Scotsmen have featured at the top level in Italy over the years. The most notable names are Denis Law, Graeme Souness and Joe Jordan, while currently Liam Henderson and Aaron Hickey are starring in Serie A, but none of these fine players ever won a title.
While it has to be acknowledged that Diment and Squair were amateurs and hardly of the same standard, they have a fascinating story and their lives followed remarkably similar paths through work, football and even in marriage, before tragedy intervened.
Of the same age and background, they met in Newcastle as they embarked on a career in shipping, and while many records state that they joined Juventus from Newcastle United, the truth is that they were never on the club's books and their names do not appear in any contemporary British football records.
However, they must have played football at some level in England before they were sent to Turin in the autumn of 1904. Aged 19 and 20, they joined the staff of Walter F Becker, an influential steamship owner with interests in several Italian ports, whose company Navigazione Alta Italia ran the Creole Line. He also had a passion for football, having founded a club in Messina (Sicily) in 1901.
Shortly after their arrival, the two young men were pitched straight into the Juventus team. They made their debuts on 13 November 1904 in a 1-0 defeat to Genoa, a contest for the Palla Dapples – the silver ball donated by Henri Dapples for a series of challenge matches which saw the winner retain the elegant trophy.
The Palla Dapples, the attractive silver trophy which now sits in the Genoa football museum
They soon became an integral part of the team. Diment at right half was known as 'Il Mulo' – the mule – for his tenacity and no-nonsense approach, while fair-haired Squair at inside left was quick and creative, pitching in with the occasional goal.
Early in 1905 their influence was an important factor as Juventus lifted the Campionato Prima Categoria title, the predecessor to Serie A. By modern standards, it was not a lengthy campaign, with Juventus first winning the right to represent Piedmont by beating city rivals Torinese.
That qualified them for a mini league where they faced the champions of Lombardy and Liguria, US Milanese and Genoa respectively. The three teams played each other, home and away, over six weeks and Juventus had no difficulty defeating Milanese twice, with Squair scoring one of the goals, while both games against Genoa ended in draws.
That left them with six points before the final match of the series when, to general amazement, Genoa failed to beat Milanese. This meant that Juventus, a point clear, were declared champions of Italy for the first time (and they would not win it again until 1926).
Early in 1905 their influence was an important factor as Juventus lifted the Campionato Prima Categoria title, the predecessor to Serie A. By modern standards, it was not a lengthy campaign, with Juventus first winning the right to represent Piedmont by beating city rivals Torinese.
That qualified them for a mini league where they faced the champions of Lombardy and Liguria, US Milanese and Genoa respectively. The three teams played each other, home and away, over six weeks and Juventus had no difficulty defeating Milanese twice, with Squair scoring one of the goals, while both games against Genoa ended in draws.
That left them with six points before the final match of the series when, to general amazement, Genoa failed to beat Milanese. This meant that Juventus, a point clear, were declared champions of Italy for the first time (and they would not win it again until 1926).
The Juventus team of 1905 which won the championship. Back, from left: Armano, Durante, Mazzia. Middle: Walty, Goccione, Diment. Front: Barberis, Varetti, Forlano, Squair, Donna.
Amidst the celebrations the triumphant Juventus team posed for the cover photo of La Stampa Sportiva, with Diment and Squair taking pride of place. But while the two 'foreigners' were widely referred to as English, both were from Scottish families and many of their descendants still live in Scotland.
James Macgregor Squair was born in Edinburgh in 1884 and spent his early years there but sadly his mother died when he was only three. When he was about eight he moved briefly to London, where his father remarried, then to Newcastle, where he went to school. He started working as a shipbroker's clerk in the city but there is no record of his sporting activities in the local press apart from an appearance for a minor cricket club.
John Bowman Diment, known as 'Jack', was born in Plymouth in 1885 but that was only because his father, a Sergeant in the Gordon Highlanders, was posted briefly to Devonport Barracks. Jack was only on the south coast of England for the first six months of his life and when the family returned to Scotland he was brought up in the village of Durris, west of Aberdeen. When his father left the army they moved to Newcastle where Jack found a job with a shipping agency. He, too, was not mentioned in local sports reports.
After their title success, Diment and Squair continued to feature regularly for Juventus for three eventful seasons. The side came close to retaining the title in 1906 but when a play-off against Milan ended in a draw, Juventus refused to replay the match in protest at the venue being in their opponents' city, and Milan were awarded the title.
During the 1906-07 season Juventus recruited another British player, goalkeeper James McQueen, also with Scottish roots but born and brought up in London.
However this was a time of discord within the Juventus ranks and when a breakaway club was formed in the city, called Torino, several players moved across. Almost their first act was to knock Juventus out of the 1907 Campionato, in the very first Turin derby, which prompted more players to leave.
James Macgregor Squair was born in Edinburgh in 1884 and spent his early years there but sadly his mother died when he was only three. When he was about eight he moved briefly to London, where his father remarried, then to Newcastle, where he went to school. He started working as a shipbroker's clerk in the city but there is no record of his sporting activities in the local press apart from an appearance for a minor cricket club.
John Bowman Diment, known as 'Jack', was born in Plymouth in 1885 but that was only because his father, a Sergeant in the Gordon Highlanders, was posted briefly to Devonport Barracks. Jack was only on the south coast of England for the first six months of his life and when the family returned to Scotland he was brought up in the village of Durris, west of Aberdeen. When his father left the army they moved to Newcastle where Jack found a job with a shipping agency. He, too, was not mentioned in local sports reports.
After their title success, Diment and Squair continued to feature regularly for Juventus for three eventful seasons. The side came close to retaining the title in 1906 but when a play-off against Milan ended in a draw, Juventus refused to replay the match in protest at the venue being in their opponents' city, and Milan were awarded the title.
During the 1906-07 season Juventus recruited another British player, goalkeeper James McQueen, also with Scottish roots but born and brought up in London.
However this was a time of discord within the Juventus ranks and when a breakaway club was formed in the city, called Torino, several players moved across. Almost their first act was to knock Juventus out of the 1907 Campionato, in the very first Turin derby, which prompted more players to leave.
Torino on the cover of La Stampa Sportiva in April 1908. James McQueen is middle of the back row, Jack Diment is on the right of the middle, and James Squair is front left.
Among them were the Juventus foreigners, with McQueen first to leave and he was followed in the summer by Diment and Squair. They all played for Torino in 1907-08, concluding the season with an international tournament, but after that the team started to break up and they went their separate ways.
McQueen, who was a language teacher, headed for a new job in the south of France where he played for Olympique de Marseille and eventually won the French title in 1913 with Stade Helvetique.
Squair, meanwhile, went to Naples having been appointed as local manager for Peirce Brothers, an off-shoot of Becker's shipping agency. This marked the end of his football career, even though there was a club in Naples, as he had other things on his mind: he was in love with Mabel Stroud, daughter of an English lace manufacturer who was based in Turin.
Mabel followed Squair to Naples and they were married at the British Consulate in March 1909. In November they had a daughter called Emily but tragically he died just five days later, probably from illness although his death certificate does not state the cause. He was only 25.
Meanwhile, Diment remained in Turin and was in a relationship with Mabel's sister Olga. He spent another season with Torino, playing his last matches for them in March 1909 when the team won the Palla Dapples on two consecutive weeks.
His work then took him to Milan and within a week of moving, he joined Milan Cricket and Football Club (which became AC Milan) and played regularly with them for a year. In December, in the newly-expanded Prima Categoria, he showed he had lost none of his combative spirit when he punched an Andrea Doria player in retaliation for an off-the-ball kick, provoking a crowd invasion and an abandonment.
McQueen, who was a language teacher, headed for a new job in the south of France where he played for Olympique de Marseille and eventually won the French title in 1913 with Stade Helvetique.
Squair, meanwhile, went to Naples having been appointed as local manager for Peirce Brothers, an off-shoot of Becker's shipping agency. This marked the end of his football career, even though there was a club in Naples, as he had other things on his mind: he was in love with Mabel Stroud, daughter of an English lace manufacturer who was based in Turin.
Mabel followed Squair to Naples and they were married at the British Consulate in March 1909. In November they had a daughter called Emily but tragically he died just five days later, probably from illness although his death certificate does not state the cause. He was only 25.
Meanwhile, Diment remained in Turin and was in a relationship with Mabel's sister Olga. He spent another season with Torino, playing his last matches for them in March 1909 when the team won the Palla Dapples on two consecutive weeks.
His work then took him to Milan and within a week of moving, he joined Milan Cricket and Football Club (which became AC Milan) and played regularly with them for a year. In December, in the newly-expanded Prima Categoria, he showed he had lost none of his combative spirit when he punched an Andrea Doria player in retaliation for an off-the-ball kick, provoking a crowd invasion and an abandonment.
Milan in 1909, with Jack Diment on the right of the middle row.
By then, Olga had returned to England for the birth of their daughter Ruby, and that probably prompted Jack to leave Italy in the summer of 1910 to come home. This seems to have been the end of his football career as he married Olga and they returned to Newcastle.
During the First World War, Diment joined the Royal Army Service Corps as a driver and spent five years in uniform, serving in Salonika until he was invalided home in 1916. As a personal note, I was fascinated to find that he travelled back on the hospital ship Britannic, on which my own grandmother Sheila Macbeth was serving as a nurse; the ship was sunk by a mine in the Aegean Sea on its very next voyage but she survived to tell the tale.
After he recovered, Jack was posted to France, but surprisingly when the conflict was over he volunteered to remain in the army for an extra year in Germany. This was perhaps an indication that his marriage to Olga was on the rocks, as he later divorced her.
The lure of Italy was still strong as he returned to the country, remarried to Kate Clarke in 1932, and their son Donald was born in Turin. After the second world war, Jack and Kate settled near Hull, where he died in 1978 at the grand old age of 93.
Not many Scottish footballers have found success abroad, so let's celebrate Jack Diment and James Squair, whose exploits with Juventus, Torino and Milan are little known, and whose Italian title win in 1905 remains a unique achievement.
John Bowman Diment
Born 1 June 1885 in Devonport, Plymouth
Died 12 October 1978 in Castle Hill Hospital, by Hull, Yorkshire
Juventus 1904-07
Torino 1907-09
Milan 1909-10
James Macgregor Squair
Born 28 September 1884 in Edinburgh
Died 30 November 1909 in Fuorigrotta, Naples
Juventus 1904-07
Torino 1907-08
NB in the opening sentence I specified 'male footballers' because at least a dozen Scottish women have played professionally in Italy, with several of them winning league titles including Rose Reilly, Edna Neillis, June Hunter and Maria Blagojevic.
During the First World War, Diment joined the Royal Army Service Corps as a driver and spent five years in uniform, serving in Salonika until he was invalided home in 1916. As a personal note, I was fascinated to find that he travelled back on the hospital ship Britannic, on which my own grandmother Sheila Macbeth was serving as a nurse; the ship was sunk by a mine in the Aegean Sea on its very next voyage but she survived to tell the tale.
After he recovered, Jack was posted to France, but surprisingly when the conflict was over he volunteered to remain in the army for an extra year in Germany. This was perhaps an indication that his marriage to Olga was on the rocks, as he later divorced her.
The lure of Italy was still strong as he returned to the country, remarried to Kate Clarke in 1932, and their son Donald was born in Turin. After the second world war, Jack and Kate settled near Hull, where he died in 1978 at the grand old age of 93.
Not many Scottish footballers have found success abroad, so let's celebrate Jack Diment and James Squair, whose exploits with Juventus, Torino and Milan are little known, and whose Italian title win in 1905 remains a unique achievement.
John Bowman Diment
Born 1 June 1885 in Devonport, Plymouth
Died 12 October 1978 in Castle Hill Hospital, by Hull, Yorkshire
Juventus 1904-07
Torino 1907-09
Milan 1909-10
James Macgregor Squair
Born 28 September 1884 in Edinburgh
Died 30 November 1909 in Fuorigrotta, Naples
Juventus 1904-07
Torino 1907-08
NB in the opening sentence I specified 'male footballers' because at least a dozen Scottish women have played professionally in Italy, with several of them winning league titles including Rose Reilly, Edna Neillis, June Hunter and Maria Blagojevic.
Categories
- Aberdeen (1)
- Albion Rovers (1)
- Alloa (1)
- Arthur Kinnaird (3)
- Aston Villa (1)
- athletics (5)
- Australia (6)
- Ayrshire (8)
- Belgium (1)
- black heritage (18)
- Blackburn (1)
- boxing (1)
- Bridge of Allan (2)
- Cambridge (1)
- Canada (8)
- Celtic (1)
- collecting (2)
- cricket (10)
- curling (3)
- Darwen (5)
- Denmark (4)
- Dingwall (1)
- Dougray Scott (1)
- Doune (1)
- Dumbarton (1)
- Dunblane (10)
- Dundee (4)
- Dundee United (1)
- Edinburgh (28)
- England (15)
- Everton (1)
- FIFA (3)
- Film and TV (5)
- First World War (11)
- football (179)
- France (10)
- Germany (1)
- Glasgow (18)
- goal scoring (6)
- golf (1)
- gravestones (9)
- Grimsby (1)
- Hampden Park (5)
- heading (1)
- Heart of Midlothian (6)
- Helensburgh (1)
- Hibernian (2)
- hockey (2)
- Ice hockey (1)
- Italy (2)
- Juventus (1)
- Laws of the Game (8)
- Leith Athletic (1)
- lion taming (2)
- literature (8)
- Mexico (1)
- Newcastle United (1)
- Olympics (9)
- origins (63)
- Partick (5)
- Perthshire (2)
- photography (8)
- Poland (1)
- programmes (2)
- publications (25)
- Queen's Park (17)
- Rangers (5)
- record breaking (2)
- rowing (5)
- rugby (10)
- scandal (16)
- Scotland (103)
- South America (5)
- Spain (2)
- speedway (1)
- St Mirren (1)
- swimming (1)
- tennis (5)
- Third Lanark (6)
- Trophies (4)
- USA (4)
- women (6)
Archives
- September 2026 (1)
- August 2026 (2)
- July 2026 (1)
- June 2026 (1)
- March 2026 (1)
- December 2025 (1)
- November 2025 (3)
- October 2025 (1)
- August 2025 (1)
- June 2025 (1)
- May 2025 (3)
- April 2025 (1)
- March 2025 (1)
- February 2025 (1)
- January 2025 (2)
- December 2024 (1)
- October 2024 (2)
- September 2024 (1)
- July 2024 (1)
- April 2024 (2)
- February 2024 (1)
- June 2023 (1)
- February 2023 (1)
- January 2023 (1)
- December 2022 (1)
- November 2022 (2)
- September 2022 (1)
- July 2022 (1)
- June 2022 (1)
- May 2022 (1)
- March 2022 (1)
- February 2022 (3)
- January 2022 (1)
- December 2021 (1)
- November 2021 (1)
- October 2021 (1)
- September 2021 (1)
- August 2021 (1)
- July 2021 (4)
- June 2021 (1)
- May 2021 (2)
- April 2021 (1)
- March 2021 (1)
- January 2021 (1)
- December 2020 (1)
- November 2020 (1)
- October 2020 (5)
- September 2020 (2)
- August 2020 (1)
- July 2020 (1)
- June 2020 (1)
- May 2020 (1)
- April 2020 (2)
- March 2020 (2)
- January 2020 (1)
- December 2019 (1)
- October 2019 (1)
- September 2019 (1)
- August 2019 (2)
- July 2019 (1)
- June 2019 (1)
- May 2019 (2)
- March 2019 (1)
- January 2019 (3)
- November 2018 (1)
- October 2018 (2)
- September 2018 (2)
- August 2018 (1)
- July 2018 (1)
- June 2018 (1)
- May 2018 (3)
- April 2018 (1)
- March 2018 (1)
- February 2018 (1)
- January 2018 (1)
- December 2017 (1)
- November 2017 (1)
- October 2017 (1)
- September 2017 (2)
- August 2017 (1)
- June 2017 (3)
- May 2017 (3)
- March 2017 (2)
- February 2017 (2)
- January 2017 (2)
- October 2016 (3)
- September 2016 (1)
- August 2016 (1)
- July 2016 (1)
- June 2016 (1)
- May 2016 (2)
- April 2016 (1)
- March 2016 (2)
- February 2016 (1)
- January 2016 (1)
- December 2015 (1)
- November 2015 (1)
- October 2015 (2)
- September 2015 (2)
- August 2015 (2)
- July 2015 (2)
- May 2015 (1)
- April 2015 (1)
- March 2015 (1)
- February 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (3)
- November 2014 (3)
- October 2014 (4)
- September 2014 (4)
- August 2014 (2)
- July 2014 (4)
- June 2014 (2)
- May 2014 (5)
- April 2014 (2)
- March 2014 (2)
- February 2014 (3)
- January 2014 (3)
- December 2013 (3)
- November 2013 (3)
- October 2013 (4)
- September 2013 (3)
- August 2013 (3)
- July 2013 (4)
- May 2013 (3)
- April 2013 (2)
- March 2013 (5)
- February 2013 (1)
- January 2013 (3)
- December 2012 (2)
- November 2012 (5)
- October 2012 (2)
- September 2012 (4)
- August 2012 (3)
- July 2012 (4)
- June 2012 (4)
- May 2012 (1)
Author
All blog posts, unless stated, are written by Andy Mitchell.