Scottish Football Reminiscences and Sketches. Bone David Drummond
Considering the fact that he was a light-weight, under 10st., he many a time astonished both opponents and spectators by his magnificent returns at half-back, and I may mention, in passing, that in a match at Hampden Park I actually saw him kick a ball from the centre of the field right through the goal – a feat that very few of our younger half-backs could accomplish now. As I saw him in two Internationals (1872-73), however, it was not as a half-back, but as an accomplished forward, dribbling with great judgment, and passing in a most unselfish way. Mr. Wotherspoon left the Queen's Park to join the Clydesdale a short time after his old companion Gardner, and the two were associated with that club when it numbered among its members such fine players as Messrs. F. Anderson, G. M. Wilson, J. R. Wilson, W. Wilson, J. P. Tennent, J. M'Pherson, W. Gibb, J. T. Richmond, and David's brother, J. Wotherspoon. In the first of the long string of matches which have been played between Sheffield and Glasgow, dating back to 1874, Mr. Wotherspoon was one of the players; and it may be mentioned that, in the same contest, the Glasgow representatives were made up entirely of Queen's Park and Clydesdale men, and that each city scored a couple of goals.
James J. Thomson
No player among the half-backs of the old school was so much thought of in Association football as Thomson. Once seen and met by an opponent, he could never be forgotten. Tall and stern in appearance, he carried every pound of his heavy weight with the greatest ease, and, what was of more consequence to his club in a hard battle, used it well. He tackled with consummate skill, and had remarkable confidence in himself. For the first three years of his membership no player ever turned out more regularly to practice, and, for a stout man, none could show an opponent a cleaner pair of heels. All the time he was available in the Queen's Park, an International without Thomson as one of the half-backs was out of the question, and for three seasons (1872-73-74), he was selected for that post against England. In the last event, when Scotland won at Partick by two goals to one, the brilliant manner in which Thomson played will not easily be forgotten by those who witnessed the contest. While F. Anderson (Clydesdale), and A. Mackinnon (Queen's Park), scored the goals for Scotland, Thomson never worked harder in his life, and when the English forwards got near his side, he rarely, if ever, failed to take the ball away from them. Just before leaving for Manchester, Mr. Thomson was chosen captain of the Glasgow Eleven against Sheffield. Some years ago he went to Liverpool, and is now secretary of the extensive butcher business of Eastmans Company (Limited). In addition to his ability as a football player, Mr. Thomson was a splendid sprinter, and carried off a large number of prizes both in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
William Ker
Mr. William Ker was captain of the Queen's Park when they leased their first private ground, and did much by his tact and ability to bring on our senior club to seek new conquests in England. Mr. Ker – of whose brother George I shall have occasion to refer by and by – was a most gentlemanly young fellow, and made himself respected by club companions and opponents alike. In the early history of the game a half-back, and even back, did not consider it infra dig. to dribble a bit and bring up the ball to goal, provided the match was against a much weaker club, and while Ker was a grand back and beautiful kicker with his left foot, he was also an accomplished dribbler. In a match he never lost sight of the ball for a moment, and when any of his team made a mistake in following up, Ker frequently stepped into the breach himself, and did his best to get the player out of a difficulty. He was too gentlemanly to upbraid a member of the team on the ground, like some captains now-a-days, but awaited an opportunity, and the advice imparted generally did the careless player a world of good. In the famous match at Partick in 1872, Ker showed some very fine play, both in clever tackling and returning the ball; and, if I mistake not, he was opposed on the opposite side by the English captain (Mr. C. J. Ottaway, since dead), and the manœuvring between the pair was something to be remembered. Mr. Ker did not play very long after this game, as he left Glasgow for Canada.
Robert Smith
Unlike his brother in the manner of his style, Mr. Robert Smith was not by any means an impulsive player, but took in the situation quietly; and while no man ever worked harder in the field, or did more for a club, he was not what could be called a brilliant forward. The brothers, however, did well in the International I have referred to, and considerably helped the eleven to make a drawn battle of it. It may be mentioned that both were then also members of the South Norwood Club (one of the best in England at that time), as they had previously left Scotland for London. Mr. Robert Smith, so far as I am aware, is now in the United States.
Alexander Rhind
A rare but light dribbler was Mr Rhind. One of the old members of the Queen's Park, and associated with men whose names I have already mentioned in its early struggles, he knew, if I may be allowed to use a simile which is likely to force a smile, what football poverty was, for is it not a fact that he was a member of the Q.P. Finance Committee when the annual subscription was sixpence, the yearly income £3 9s. 8d., and as the expenditure amounted up to £4 2s. 4d., the deficit of 12s. 8d. had to be made up by a levy? I never remember Mr. Rhind playing in a match after the International. He is now in Aberdeen.
The First Final Cup Tie
The First Final Association Cup Tie, on Hampden Park, I remember well. The clubs fated to meet each other were the Queen's Park and Clydesdale, and the match, considering the fact that the players were comparatively young in the practice of the dribbling game, proved a very fine one indeed. It was on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of March, 1874, and a crowd of fully 2000 spectators attended. The Hampden Park of to-day, with its splendid pavilion and accessories, and beautifully laid-off turf, was not then conceived in the minds of the Match Committee. It was the Hampden Park of yore, now cut up to form a railway embankment. Mr. Hon. Secy. Rae and his companions in office never for a moment imagined that in sixteen years afterwards the new ground, which is crowded nearly every Saturday afternoon with excited spectators, would be made to satisfy the cravings of a football public, and the exigencies of athletic life. There was no such thing as a pavilion then, only a kind of "wee house" at the gate end of the field, for all the world like an overgrown sentry-box, did duty instead. The grass on the field was not even cut in some places, and at the top corner-flag was long and turfy. The spectators, however, of whom a large number were ladies, enjoyed it very much, and the enthusiasm imparted among the youths who were present had a wonderful effect on the spread of the game. It was thought that a draw was inevitable, so well did both sides play till within twenty minutes of the finish, when Mr. Wm. M'Kinnon scored a goal for the senior club, and this was followed by a second from the foot of Mr. Leckie, not long before no-side was announced, leaving the Q.P. the winners by two goals to none. I must, however, go back a little way and say something about the
Association Challenge Cup,
which has caused a new order of things to arise in Scottish football. Well, during the previous year, and, in fact, not long after the first International at Partick, new clubs were formed in many quarters, but more particularly Glasgow and Dumbartonshire, and it was on March 13, 1873, that the Queen's Park convened a meeting of representatives of clubs, and what is now known as the Scottish Football Association was formed. Eight clubs responded, and created the great Association. The eight, who deserve much honour at the hands of players, were: – Queen's Park, Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Eastern, Rovers, 3rd L.R.V., and Granville, and those clubs were represented on the committee by Mr. Arch. Campbell (Clydesdale), president; Mr. W. Ker (Queen's Park), hon. treasurer; Mr. Archibald Rae (Queen's Park), hon. secretary; with the following committee: – Messrs. Ebenezer Hendry and Wm. Gibb (Clydesdale), J. Turnbull (Dumbreck), D. Macfarlane (Vale of Leven), W. E. Dick (3rd L.R.V.), T. Mackay (Granville), J. M'Intyre (Eastern), and R. Gardner (Queen's Park). Next in order came the Challenge Cup, and the competition for that trophy was in full swing. The necessary funds were soon forthcoming, and a very neat, but plain, specimen of the silversmith's art was brought forth. The subject for ornamentation was taken from a cut in the Graphic, representing a player in the act of dribbling at the first International, and made by Messrs. George Edward & Sons. There you have it now, gentlemen, rather dry reading and technical, though, but nevertheless the infant life of a great competition. By a strange coincidence in the respective matches, and one which the players of a former era will look upon with a sense of sadness, consists in the fact that