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RECOGNISED ATHLETIC WAREHOUSE
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the City.
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Supplied at Prices considerably less than any other House in the Trade.
Patronised by all the Leading Clubs throughout the country.
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* * * * *
FOOTBALL SPECTATORS
Should wear nothing in STYLISH HATS
BUT THE
PURE FUR FELTS,
which never CRACK OR BREAK, no matter how many times they are taken off
to assist the Cheering when
A GOAL IS SCORED.
Sold at 4s. 6d., 5s. 6d., and 6s. 6d.
They are admitted to be the best Value ever offered to the Public.
THOMAS STEWART,
THE POPULAR CITY HATTER.
71 ARGYLE STREET (Near Dunlop Street).
Sign of the Clock Hat.
Branches--73 TRONGATE (Tron Steeple), and at
Temporary Premises, 134 NORFOLK STREET.
* * * * *
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL REMINISCENCES
AND
SKETCHES.
BY D. D. BONE
_GLASGOW._
GLASGOW:
JOHN MENZIES & CO., 15 DRURY STREET.
HAY NISBET & CO., 25 JAMAICA STREET.
EDINBURGH: JOHN MENZIES & CO., HANOVER STREET.
1890.
* * * * *
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Union Billiard Rooms,
42 ARGYLE STREET,
GLASGOW.
* * * * *
LARGEST BILLIARD ROOM IN THE KINGDOM.
20 Full-Sized Billiard Tables. 1s. per Hour.
POOL EVERY EVENING
* * * * *
Handicaps.
During the season, Handicaps, open only to frequenters of the Rooms,
will be held, and Handsome Prizes in Cash will be given. NO ENTRY-MONEY.
* * * * *
Football Rendezvous.
Results of all important matches received by telegram. Secretaries of
Clubs are invited to forward these.
* * * * *
PREFACE.
In bringing my first edition of Football Reminiscences and Sketches
before the public, I do so with a sense of profound regard for the game
and its players, and heartfelt gratitude to numerous friends--some of
whom, alas! are no more--for advice and assistance. If my readers
consider it worthy of one who has devoted a quarter of a century in
attaining that experience necessary to criticise the players of the dead
past and those of the living present with fidelity, I will have gained
something to be remembered, and be amply repaid for what I have done to
assist the spread of the Association game in Scotland. Many of my
sketches, under different names, have already appeared in various
journals, including the _Daily_ and _Weekly Mail_, _Bell's Life in
London_, and the "Scottish Football Annual," but I have remodelled some
of them very considerably, and indulge in the hope that they may while
away an hour or so at the fireside of the Player and Spectator after a
big Cup Tie or other interesting match.
THE AUTHOR.
* * * * *
WATERPROOFS.
CAOUTCHOUC.
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Superior Quality,
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Every Garment Guaranteed.
CURRIE, THOMSON & CO.,
(LATE THORNTON, CURRIE. & CO.).
43} JAMAICA STREET, {43
45} {45
47} GLASGOW. {47
No. 56. | BUCHANAN STREET BRANCH | NO 56.
LADIES' SALOON. (Opposite _Herald_ Office,)
* * * * *
TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS--"MOSES," GLASGOW.
The old-established Booking
Office for Tourists, Travellers, & Emigrants.
Through tickets issued to all parts of the
World, by best Lines and at Lowest Rates.
AGENCY for "Guion," "National," "Cunard," "White Star," "American,"
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States and Canada at special low rates; also, "Currie," "Orient," and
other Lines, for South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South
America.
Through Railway Tickets issued at reduced fares to the principal Cities
and Towns in Canada and the United States. Free Land Warrants of £20
value granted to Queensland passengers.
List of Sailings, Dates, Fares, and all Particulars on application to
MOSES BUCHANAN,
62 BUCHANAN ST., GLASGOW.
* * * * *
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I.--FOOTBALL: ANCIENT AND MODERN, 17
II.--THE FOOTBALL WAVE, 20
III.--A "SWEEP FOR THE CUP;" OR, HOW PATE BROWN KEPT HIS ENGAGEMENT, 21
IV.--FAMOUS ASSOCIATION PLAYERS--PAST AND PRESENT, 26
V.--THE PIONEERS OF ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL IN SCOTLAND;
OR, "THE CONQUEROR'S FOOTBALL BOOTS," 63
VI.--HOW CLUBS WERE STARTED LONG AGO, 71
VII.--THE GREAT INTERNATIONAL; OR, NED DUNCAN'S DREAM, 73
VIII.--THE PATRONS, SPECTATORS, AND POPULAR PLAYERS, 79
IX.--A DREAM OF THE PAST, 82
X.--THE DUEL NEAR THE FOOTBALL FIELD, 86
XI.--THE FINAL TIE FOR THE ASSOCIATION CHALLENGE CUP--1889-90, 93
* * * * *
AERATED WATERS
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AGENTS FOR SCOTLAND.
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WALLACE,
The ONLY LARGE MAKER of SAUSAGES in Glasgow who has always used First
Quality only of Beef and Pork. Certified, but NOT by Dr. CLARK, City
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ESTABLISHED 1835.
* * * * *
Telegraphic Address--"Football," Glasgow.
Connected by Telephone.
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WINE AND SPIRIT MERCHANT,
170 Dumbarton Road,
242 Berkeley St., and 9 Stobcross St.,
GLASGOW.
* * * * *
BROWN BROS.,
New Central Hat Warehouse,
195 ARGYLE STREET
(A FEW DOORS EAST OF JAMAICA STREET), ONE STAIR UP.
FELT HATS,
The very Latest Shapes and Shades to
suit Gents., Youths, and Boys.
Prices, 3/6, 4/6, 5/6, 6/6, and 7/6
SILK HATS,
Newest London and Paris Shapes,
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Also at 25 MAIN STREET,
ANDERSTON CROSS, GLASGOW.
* * * * *
FOOTBALL REMINISCENCES.
_I.--FOOTBALL: ANCIENT AND MODERN._
"Then strip, lads and to it, though cold be the weather,
And if, by mischance you should happen to fall,
There are worse things in life than a tumble on heather,
For life is itself but a game at Football."
--_Sir Walter Scott._
In Scotland, so closely associated with traditional lore, and the
acknowledged birth-place of romance and patriotic song, it would be
almost dangerous to incur displeasure by attempting to refer to the
early history of anything associated with the amusements or recreations
of the people, without actually touching on tradition--a point held by
some in far greater regard and reverence than actual fact. Under these
circumstances, then, I do not want to run the risk of complete
annihilation by ignoring the traditional, and even territorial, aspect
of Football. That the game was played as early as the tenth century
there is any amount of authentic evidence to show, and that it continued
to be one of the chief recreations of the people there can be no doubt.
Coming much further down, however, the game of Football is referred to,
both by historical and romance writers. In Sir Walter Scott's "Lay of
the Last Minstrel," we find that the English and Scotch soldiers, in a
few hours' actual cessation from skirmishing on the eve of a battle,
engaged in "the merry Football play." Our forefathers, however, must
have played the game in rather a rude and undignified fashion, if we can
believe certain authorities--actual brute force and superiority in point
of weight being the indispensable concomitants of a successful side. The
matches, too, must have been played utterly regardless of science. Just
fancy a couple of crack teams meeting on a heather-covered field, with
the "hailing spots" about a mile and a-half apart, and playing a match
lasting four or five hours! Could any of our young men nowadays stand
such rough-and-tumble work? Happily it is not required. It has been
found that a match lasting an hour and a-half, with the ball ever and
anon passing in front of one on a level field, is quite enough, even for
the strongest back, half-back, or forward. Experience has sufficiently
proved that, even in this age of scientific play. So much for the past,
and I will proceed to touch briefly on the spread and popularity of
football.
To those who only know football as promoted by the Queen's Park, and
subsequently by the Vale of Leven, Clydesdale, Granville (now defunct),
3rd L.R.V, and lastly, though not leastly, by the Scottish Football
Association, we are almost compelled to offer some information. A
quarter of a century ago a Union was formed in Edinburgh to draw up a
code of rules to encourage the game of Football, and matches were played
between schools and other clubs. These rules were a combination of the
present Association and Rugby, dribbling being largely indulged in, but
the goal-posts were similar to those now in use under the latter code of
rules, and a goal could not be scored unless the ball went over the
posts. This game made considerable progress in Edinburgh, being
vigorously promoted by scholastic clubs and students attending college.
Some years later, when the number of young gentlemen sent over from
England to be educated in Scotland, particularly Edinburgh, began to
increase, these old rules were subjected to considerable alteration, and
eventually assimilated to those of the English Rugby Union, and all the
known clubs in Scotland at that time adhered tenaciously to these rules,
and under them many exciting games were played between Eastern and
Western clubs, the Glasgow Academicals and Edinburgh Academicals being
the leading ones. Eventually, however, the new clubs springing into
existence in the Western District of the country did not care to play
these rules, and, following the example of similar clubs in England,
adhered to what they considered an improvement on the old system of
Football, and joined the English Football Association, formed in 1863.
The first to do this was the Queen's Park, the mother of Association
Football in Scotland, in 1867, and the example was soon followed by the
Clydesdale, 3rd L.R.V., Vale of Leven, Granville, and others, a few
years afterwards. Well can I remember witnessing several exciting
tussles on the Queen's Park recreation ground (then the only
meeting-place of the Premier Association Club), between the Vale of
Leven, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Clydesdale, Granville, and 3rd L.R.V.
Since then the spread and popularity of the Association style of play
has been so often written about that it is, so to speak, bound up in the
actual history of the Western District of Scotland. In Edinburgh,
however, the new rules have not made so much headway, the Rugby code
being there as extensively played as of yore. Some advances, however,
have taken place, and the Edinburgh University has an Association team,
and that city several promising clubs, including the Hibernian, Heart of
Midlothian, and St. Bernard, and, in Leith, the Athletic, that made such
a plucky fight with the Queen's Park in a recent cup tie.
No one, except a close observer, can believe the earnestness and
enthusiasm imparted into the game by the formation of young clubs, but
there is one danger which should be avoided. There is such a thing as
overdoing; and, depend upon it, if this is continued, the game will
suffer. To those who love and appreciate everything in season, the
advice I am about to impart will be doubly significant. Football is a
winter game, and while it may be all right to practice in spring and
autumn, the line is bound to be drawn somewhere, and why attempt to
force it down the throats of cricketers, athletes, yachtsmen, and even
lawn-tennis players, in the heart of summer? It must not be forgotten
that some of our best and most influential football clubs have also
cricket clubs and kindred summer recreations attached, and, in the
interests of football, these should be encouraged; and to this end I am
confident my remarks will be treated with some respect. I am also sure
that no one who has taken a deep interest in the game from its
comparative infancy, but can look back with extreme pleasure on its
development, and even go the length of registering a vow that he will do
his utmost to make and uphold it as an honest and manly game, despite
isolated assumptions by a few traducers who question such earnestness,
and I will endeavour to point them out, and draw comparisons.
"What came ye out to see?" might often be asked by an uninterested
spectator who had ventured forth to look at some of the matches. A crowd
of young men pursuing a round object, called a ball, with great
earnestness of purpose. To the young cad, who can think of nothing but
the colour of his latest pair of kid gloves, or the check of his newest
acquisition in the shape of fashionable trousers, all out-door amusement
is considered an interminable bore, the game of Football has, of course,
no charm. There is too much hard work for him, and the training required
to put one in condition, fraught with all that is called self-denial, he
could never endure. The musty old duffer, too, looks upon the game in
the light of a deadly sin, which can never be associated in his mind
with anything short of idiocy and the most virulent fanaticism. To some
of his young men he remarks--"And you call that a grand game, running
about a field trying to put a ball near a pair of upright posts, and
knocking the first lad down who attempts to retard your progress! Do you
call that manly, eh? Would anyone but a pure lunatic run the chance of
getting his shins cut, or collar-bone dislocated, indulging in such
work, and donning coloured stockings and fantastic shirt the while to
make the matter all the more absurd!" He seems to forget that "all work
and no play makes Jack a dull boy," and the real meaning of a dull boy
and a dull man is irregularity and vexation in the counting-house and
office. There are amusements and amusements, and recreations and
recreations, but I know of none adapted for the winter months which can
be so cheaply indulged in, with so much profit to health, as Football.
Accidents do happen occasionally, I admit, but they are exceedingly few
when the number of young men engaged in the game is taken into account,
combined with the fact that, last year, some of the leading Association
matches were played much more roughly than in previous years, it is an
astonishing fact that no fatal accident occurred in Scotland. There are,
of course, many, if the whole truth must be written, whom the exciting
and manly game has failed to touch by its magic and fascinating
influence, but they should not be courted, and fortunately their
patronage is neither sought nor needed, for they are the men most to be
avoided on a wintry Saturday afternoon while one is on his way to see an
exciting "cup tie." Depend upon it, they will allure you to some haunt
where the language is not even so choice as where the "final" is being
played between two leading clubs.
I am fully convinced that when the game was first improved and adapted
to stand side by side with others requiring both pluck and skill, the
thought never entered the heads of its promoters that some of the laws
might be abused, not used. Unfortunately, such is too true, and the
sooner these things are discouraged the better. The old precept about
warriors feeling a stern joy when they knew they were opposed to foemen
worthy of their steel, should never be forgotten by the biggest back,
half-back, or the smallest forward. To put it in another way,
gentlemanly conduct towards an opponent in the field is pleasing to see,
and, indeed, civility is worth much, and costs nothing--only a small
effort of self-denial. In this enlightened age, the nation who crows too
much over a vanquished foe is naturally detested, and why should not
this spirit regulate the game of Football? If this were carefully
remembered during the season, there would undoubtedly be such a close
bond of fellowship and good feeling amongst Football players that
nothing could disturb.
And again, I cannot allow the present opportunity to pass without
protesting against a practice, now, unfortunately, too largely followed
by a section of the spectators who turn out to all the big events--viz.,
betting. About as long as I can remember, and it may be before
Football, perhaps, was played, many an honest wager was made by the
leaders in all out-door sports that they would be the victors, but the
practice, I have been assured, never went further. Now it is quite a
common thing to see cash dancing about a ring of spectators at a big
match, and often the loss of cash to certain individuals means a
proportionate loss of temper, and the practice is all the more to be
deplored. It is for this end, it is for this avowed purpose, that one
and all connected with its development and culture, will strive to their
utmost to ennoble and raise Football to a higher and purer level, and
consequently discourage, by every legitimate means, betting in all its
phases, and the slightest tendencies amongst the players who take part
in the various matches towards rough play, and a disposition to indulge
in unnecessary charging.
_II.--THE FOOTBALL WAVE._
Like Dogberry's idea of certain kinds of novel writing, both Association
and Rugby Football seem to come to the Scotchmen by nature. My readers
can, perhaps, easily remember the clever _jeu d'esprit_ on the antiquity
of the Gaelic tongue which appeared several years ago advocating the
claims of that race as lisping the first "speech" heard in Eden in a
manner that must have stirred the blood of Professor Blackie. As the
history of Association Football, with which I have only to deal under
the present circumstances, is so well-known and a thing of yesterday,
its origin, like that of the Gaelic language, is not shrouded in
mystery, but actually known (or should be known) to all who take an
interest in the game. In my previous article, I tried to trace the
origin of football in its rudest form as played by our forefathers, when
goal-posts and bars, to say nothing of corner-flags, were unknown.
Football now, however, has been reduced to something like a scientific
game, and to the credit of England be it said, the Association Rules
there first saw the light. Scotch players in the Western District soon
emulated their Southern brethren, and from the Parent Club, which had a
humble and unassuming origin on the recreation ground at Queen's Park,
sprang hundreds of clubs, spreading over the length and breadth of the
land with remarkable rapidity. The wave soon rolled all over Glasgow and
suburbs, submerged the whole country, and eventually invaded the Heart
of Midlothian itself, where the Rugby code had hitherto reigned supreme.
The schoolboys who played cricket and rounders in the summertime came
out on a wintry afternoon to see their seniors engaged in Association
football, and soon felt the desire creep over them to be members of a
club containing lads like themselves. The young men engaged in the city
all day thought on the health-imparting exercise it afforded, and had
the necessary funds raised to form a club. The artisans, too, from the
dusky foundry, the engineer shop, and the factory, soon began to dribble
about. The young ones, and even the seniors themselves, had many a
collision with mother earth ere they could rely on keeping their pins
with any degree of accuracy, and it was rare fun to see a bearded man
turning a somersault as he missed the ball in trying to make a big
kick. Football is easily acquired in so far as the rudimentary part is
concerned, but a great deal of probation is required to convert one into
a crack player. Among those who now practice football, and their name is
legion, the superior players can be numbered in (to give it a wide
scope) hundreds. In fact, to be able to master all the details requisite
to win a first-class match, one has to be capable of dribbling,
middling, heading, and passing in a way that would do credit to solving
a complicated problem in Euclid. It is all very well to talk about brute
force and lasting power, but unless these are accompanied by scientific
application, they are worth little, and cost much. "The race is not
always to the swift," says the old proverb. In at least eight cases out
of ten, the match is to the scientific and careful, but of this more
anon. There is one thing that can be said about football which in the
nature of things must recommend it to all lovers of out-door exercise.
Of late years bicycling has obtained a great deal of popularity all over
the three kingdoms, both for its usefulness as a speedy means of
conveyance, and exercise to the limbs, but that it has its drawbacks has
just been made apparent by undisputed medical authority. "The bicycle
back," the effect of hard work on the "iron horse," is beginning to
appear on the handsome young man who thinks nothing of doing his 50
miles a day, and while walking occasionally with the young lady with the
"Grecian bend," the contrast in his case is amusing. To say that there
are no dangers of any kind attached to football would be making an
assertion which I cannot substantiate, but these are comparatively few.
All sports, of whatever kind, have the elements of danger attached to
their pursuit, but, with great care, these can be reduced to a minimum.
Although I have certainly never observed the round-shoulders of the
bicyclist in the football player, I have not unfrequently seen the
"football leg." That is a series of cuts about the shin bone,
administered by a vicious opponent while (as it generally happens)
playing a "cup tie," and last season they were more plentiful than ever.
In fact, I heard from the lips of a member of one of the crack clubs
that in not a few of the ties they retired from the field "greatly
impressed with the unmistakable signs of muscular ability shown by their
opponents." This means most undoubtedly hacking and tripping, under the
guise of tackling, and if Association football is to go on and prosper
such disgraceful acts of tyranny on the football field must forever
cease. These "accidents" can, of course, be avoided, and as there are
distinct rules forbidding them, clubs would do well to see that these
are rigidly enforced.
_III.--A "SWEEP FOR THE CUP;"_
OR,
_HOW PATE BROWN KEPT HIS ENGAGEMENT._
"What do you say, old fellow, about a 'Sweep for the Cup.' Why, a 'sov.'
is nothing to the like of you, and there will be such fun at the
lifting." This was said to me one morning about nine, just as I was
preparing to get my shaving utensils into working order before turning
out to the warehouse. Pate Brown used to make fun of me about my scanty
hirsute appendages, and many a time caused me to blush before sundry
members of the Druids when he emphatically declared that I was one of
those effeminate individuals who shaved, not because they had whiskers,
but because they hadn't. This was in September, and a more open year for
the respective chances of the clubs in the Cup had, perhaps, never come
round.
I was unattached then. I was, in fact, neither a member of the Druids
nor the Nomads, but simply a friend of both, and an enthusiastic admirer
of the game. My big brother Angus, it is true, was one of the best men
in the Conquerors, and he and I sometimes had animated discussions about
the respective merits of the clubs. "Why, Jack, this is only September,
it will be more sensible for us to postpone the affair till after the
preliminary ties. A lot of chaps to whom I have spoken consider it next
to nonsense to draw the 'sweep' so soon."
After a great deal of talking and another meeting, it was agreed to go
right ahead with the "sweep," and accordingly the necessary arrangements
were duly made, and subscribers' names taken, as well as their cash.
The warehouse of Ball & Field was the largest in the whole city. Their
trade connection extended to every known country on the face of the
globe. There was a decided charm about the way in which the firm did
business, and the kindly, not to say considerate manner, in which they
treated employés, who really deserved it. The two leading members of the
firm, in fact, were not insignificant prototypes of Dickens' Cheeryble
Brothers (with the exception that they were both married). I verily
believe that in an hour's notice a couple of excellent teams could have
been picked from the house to make a decent match of it anywhere.
The senior himself was an enthusiastic admirer of the game, and one way
or another did much to encourage it by his presence on the field at all
the big matches, and if any of the lads, such as myself, Brown, Rose,
Wilson, or M'Nab wanted away to play in a big affair, a hint reaching
the governor's ears to that effect was amply sufficient. The manager,
however, was of a different sort, he hated football like poison. He even
relegated the grand game to a pastime suitable for pure and
unadulterated lunatics, those, as he put it, "who were too daft to get
into Gartnavel." Fancy that! Woe betide the unfortunate half-back or
forward, who in a weak moment relied on the magnanimity of "Sour Plums,"
as he was called, to let him off to a match, without first consulting
the governor himself. Sometimes M'Nab forgot to do so, and as his club
were frequently in great straits to get him to play, he had to steep his
brains to think on a strategic movement to get free, and succeeded; but
sometimes with the aid of a "crammer."
Brown, for reasons best known to himself, but which will duly come out
as my story advances, was very anxious to be at the "draw," and
accordingly duly appeared at the Marie Stuart Hall, Crosshill. There
were a lot of pale faces in the room when Pate drew the Queen's Park,
Dick Wallace the "Vale," Bill Weldon, Dumbarton, and Sandy M'Bean the
Rangers. A rosy-cheeked, country-looking lad belonging to the Q.P. drew
Cowlairs, and a general titter ran through the august assembly when that
same lad remarked, "he was quite satisfied with his draw, the other
crack clubs notwithstanding." Tom Vincent got Kilmarnock Athletic, Alf.
Grant the Clyde, Blower Fleming drew the Heart of Midlothian, and Bill
Fairfield the Hibernian. I was unlucky enough to secure one of the many
insignificant clubs who never survived the first round, and so my "sov."
was a dead letter.
The entire "sweep" came to a fine round sum, as the subscribers included
a good many of the rank and file of football enthusiasts, and even two
"football-daft" members of the upper strata of the Glasgow Police Force,
and three of the Fire Brigade, went the length of taking a couple of
tickets. There was also Luke Wood, the representative of the "Kick-off,"
who knew a thing or two about the game. He was in for a pair of tickets,
too, and drew the Invincible and Morning Star. He was thoroughly
disgusted at the prospect (more particularly as he had been one of the
leading hands in getting up the "sweep"); but, as the Yankees say, he
gradually "cooled himself down," and got thoroughly reconciled to his
loss.
The Cowlairs had to play the Queen's Park in one of the ties, and a
determined tussle it turned out to be. The "boys" bore a wild look that
afternoon as they emerged from the pavilion at Hampden Park. You could
read the anxious and determined character of their mission on every
face. They had fully made up their minds to fight hard for the Cup, and
really they did. Several of the team were big powerful fellows whom not
a few cautious half-backs would think twice before "going for," and two
of the forwards were very smart on their pins, but wanted that true
mastery of the art of passing and dribbling at the proper time which
make up the refined and superior Association player. As for endurance,
they did not toil among iron wheels, steel axles, and brass fittings for
locomotives, to say nothing of generating steam on the shortest notice,
without being "hardy." No, no. They were in the best of condition for
the game. The Queen's took them too cheaply, and nearly paid a lasting
penalty for their carelessness. The game, in fact, was so closely fought
that the teams were unable to overcome one another, and two goals each
was the result. Meeting a second time, however, the Q.P. made short work
of them, and won by nine goals to none.
The evening before the memorable tussle which put the half of
Dumbartonshire into a state of excitement, bordering on the football
fever, "Mary, the Maid of the Football Inn," came to the door of the
little hotel repeatedly, and after casting sundry glances at the roadway
and scanning the passers-by, muttered something about being jilted, and
how shamefully she had been used by Bob. Her own Bob, who was always so
punctual, and occasionally treated her to a nice walk along the Leven,
past Ewing's big work, and even went the length of composing verses in
her honour.
"What had become of him? Had Nancy Pringle waylaid him, as she
positively swore she would do, on the first opportunity, and start the
probationary stages of a drama in real life?" The fact was Bob never
came, and no wonder. He was collared by the Dumbarton captain, and
carried off to the field to practice for the great fight of the next
day, under pains and penalties. He pleaded for Mary, but it was of no
avail. "He had," he went on to remonstrate, "promised on his word of
honour to meet her that evening and take her to Luckie M'Latchie's
booking." Luckie and Tam M'Murtrie (an old footballer) were to be
spliced a fortnight afterwards, and the "cries" were in.
With a serious air the captain lectured Bob till he was blue in the
face, and told him if he did not put himself in condition for the great
battle of the morrow he would be stoned by the town enthusiasts. He
remembered when a boy at school scribbling as best he could on his
copybook, "Discretion is the better part of valour," and the sentence
flashed across his heated brain with all the force of actual conviction.
"What was he to do?" "Was it to be football first, and Mary afterwards?"
Something whispered "yes; Mary could afford to wait, but the 'Cup' was a
transitory article, and the splendid chance his club had of winning it
might pass away like a dream." "Why, there was Joe Laidlay, he was in
something like the same dilemma so far as his 'lass' was concerned, and
if Joe, he thought, could afford to put off his sweetheart, Maggie
Jackson, in the same way, he (Bob) considered that he should be able to
conclude the arrangement, and make the best excuse to Mary."
Quietly speaking, Bob had an ambition in his football, and it consisted
in being a member of the eleven who would at one time or another "lick"
the Queen's Park, and went into the practice game with his whole heart,
and played all through in good form.
Just a year or so before this the "Vale" would have given the same
Dumbarton lot short shift and no favour on any of the grounds, but
matters were altered. They wanted a lot of their old blood, which had in
years gone bye carried them through many a doubtful battle. They had
lost their grand goalkeeper, and the crack half-back had vacated his
favourite position to keep the ball from going between the uprights in
"time o' need."
Some of the daring forwards had also bade farewell to the game, and were
scattered over the length and breadth of the land. The match, however,
had to be played--it would brook no delay--and the spirited captain
resolved to make the best of it, although a score of misgivings passed
through his mind as to the issue. There was one thing in favour of the
"Vale," they had their own ground to play upon, and that was reckoned as
worth a goal any day.
Before the start Johnny Freer told his old chums to keep their "weather
eyes" open for sudden rushes by the Dumbarton forward division, and
before the game was very old, they discovered that the advice did not
come a moment too soon. Keeping close on the touch lines till well down
among the half-backs, Maclure and his light companion, "the Bird,"
assuredly did not allow the grass to grow under their leather bars. The
ground was a little sloppy from the recent rain, but, strange to say,
the Dumbarton men seemed to keep their feet in a remarkable manner.
M'Luckie and big Walton tried their very best to intercept the
dribblers, but at times they were completely mastered, and Dick Wallace
had to come away from his place at back and assist.
The most of the Dumbarton lads were much faster on the ball than the
"Vale," and this, added to a slice of luck, aided them in scoring twice,
and they consequently won a hard battle by two goals to none, and earned
the proud distinction of being the champions.
After the great crowd had dispersed, and lots of silver had changed
hands, a solemn silence reigned in that part of the pavilion utilised by
the "Vale." "There is no use denying the fact, chaps," said the captain
of the defeated team, "these fellows have beaten us on our form this
season, and we'll have to make the best of a bad bargain."
Not so, however, in the other end of the house. The victors were
"blowing" a good deal of the bad luck they had had, and how they ought
to have scored a dozen goals if "Sandy had not repeatedly allowed the
ball to graze the goal-posts, instead of attempting to kick it out. They
had, however, beaten the 'Vale,' and that was all they cared for, in
the said tie. The Rangers they declared they did not fear, and from all
they could hear, they were now quite able to meet the Queen's Park face
to face."
With the Rangers, however, they had just sufficient to do on their own
ground in the first match, but in the second came off victorious by five
goals to one.
One Saturday evening we took forcible possession of Jack Cook's
lodgings, which were situated near the Marie Stuart Hall, Crosshill.
Jack was very fond of billiards, and sometimes pocketed several "pools"
of an evening, when a few choice spirits congregated in "The Rooms."
Jack's landlady had frequently threatened him with pains and penalties
for treating anything approaching "elders' hours" with contempt, and
once intensified it to instant dismissal, bag and baggage, for
encouraging a lot of his chums in leading the chorus of Dickens'
Bacchanalian song:
"We won't go home till morning,
Till morning, till morning,
We won't go home till morning,
Till daylight doth appear,"
at four o'clock A.M., under her kitchen window after a big cup tie,
which the Conquerors had won. Jack, as a matter of precaution warned us
that we were to comport ourselves with decency, and not rouse the
aforesaid lady. Our friend had something in the bottle. We were
comfortably seated, and the room filled with tobacco smoke, when a dim
shadow was noticed at the door, and turned out to be Willie Fairfield,
of the Flying Blues, who had just called to let us know he had received
a telegram from Edinburgh announcing the defeat of the Hibernian in the
protested match with Dumbarton, by six goals to two.
Willie, it may be mentioned, had drawn the Hibernian in our "sweep," and
was, I may inform all concerned, well pleased with his luck when the
ticket came out the bag; but now much crestfallen. Bill Weldon, however,
who had secured Dumbarton in the same drawing, jumped off his chair at
the success of the club he had secured, and remarked--"Look here, boys,
Dumbarton are just about good enough to win the Association Cup, and
I'll take evens on't." "Done," said a chorus of voices, and Mrs. Blank's
parlour was for a few minutes transformed into a betting house on a
small scale.
We had a long chat as to the respective merits of the Rangers and
Dumbarton, who were to play their tie over again, in consequence of some
informality, and after draining Jack's bottle, were accompanied to the
door with solemn injunctions not to kick up a row on the stairs.
Weeks passed after this little incident, and the clubs left in our
"sweep" were getting small by degrees and beautifully less. The Rangers,
Partick, South-Western, Northern, 3rd L.R.V., Arthurlie, Kilmarnock
Portland, Alexandra Athletic, Thornliebank, Heart of Midlothian, and
even the plucky little Clyde were cleared off the list, and the Queen's
Park had their own ado with Kilmarnock Athletic, and only beat that
sturdy Ayrshire Club by three goals to two. All that now remained in the
tie, in fact, were Q.P. and Dumbarton.
It was Weldon and Pate Brown for it now, and both began to dream of a
good pocketful of "sovs."
Pate, who was engaged to charming little Lizzie Green, had been living
very carefully for a time in prospect of shortly calling Lizzie his own,
was only now a casual visitor to Cook's lodgings. One evening, on his
way home from Ball & Field's, Pate began to reckon up his chances of
winning the "sweep."
"One hundred and five subscribers at a 'sov.' a-piece," said he, "why
that makes £105. The odd 'fiver' will pay all the expenses, and if the
Q.P. win the Cup, why all that will be mine. Oh! glorious Q.P.,
invincible Q.P., you must and shall win the Cup," raved excited Pate.
"Lizzie, my own dear lassie, I have not told you about my speculation,
nor will I till the tie is over, and we'll get married this summer yet."
I do not intend to weary my readers with a detailed account of the final
Cup ties, for everybody knows there were two played. In the first, when
the clubs tied, and Dumbarton had the best of the game, little Pate
Brown nearly lost his senses with excitement, and had frequently to lean
heavily on the shoulder of Lizzie Green to prevent him from falling
under the grand stand.
"What is it, dear, that makes you so terribly pale at a match?" she said
to him in a gentle whisper. "You must be ill, for I have never observed
you so excited before." Little did the young lady imagine what was at
issue, and the cause of Pate's nervousness; but she knew afterwards, and
had a jolly laugh over it in her own tidy little house at Govanhill.
Who does not remember the real final tie on Cathkin Park? Such a match
will, perhaps, never be seen in Scotland again. How both Queen's Park
and Dumbarton played with all the force and dash they could command, and
how at length the Queen's Park were the conquerors, and Pate Brown won
the double prize.
A few nights afterwards Pate received one hundred sovs. (there were no
second and third prizes) in the "Marie Stuart," and when he told the
young fellows assembled that he was about to get wed to Lizzie Green,
every soul of them (not even excepting Bill Weldon himself, who had
drawn Dumbarton in the speculation, and lost a few "sovs." on them too),
congratulated him on his choice, and called Pate a "lucky dog."
They all knew and admired the neat little girl who, among other blithe
and gentle faces, turned out to see the leading football matches, to
cheer the players when they won, and chaff them when they lost.
They were married--Pate Brown and Lizzie Green--and in presence of his
old club companions, whom he had invited to spend an evening at his new
house, Pate told the simple story of how he had got married to his
little darling a year sooner than he expected, all through drawing the
Queen's Park in a "SWEEP FOR THE CUP."
_IV.--FAMOUS ASSOCIATION PLAYERS--PAST AND PRESENT._
Little did the comparatively small but orderly group of enthusiastic
spectators who met around the ropes at Hamilton Crescent Ground,
Partick, eighteen years ago, to witness the first International
Association match, imagine the ultimate development of the Association
style of play in Scotland, and in after years the triumphs which awaited
her sons in contests with England. I was present, and shall never
forget the manner in which the teams--both Scotch and English--acquitted
themselves, and made a drawn game of it.
~The Five Dead Internationalists.~
The ranks of the past crack players are beginning to get thinned by the
common enemy of mankind. When I think of the busy feet, blithe and happy
faces, and merry voices that joined in the game twenty years ago, a
sense of sadness comes over me which it is difficult to dispel. "The
first International, sir;" yes. Five of the gallant eleven who fought
Scotland's battle are dead. Poor Gardner, Smith, Weir, Leckie, and
Taylor, football players, have cause to remember thee! It was a hard
struggle to keep up football in those days, and as there were no club
funds all the items of expenditure had to be brought forth from the
capacious pockets of the members. They loved the game, however, those
primitive players, and engaged in it for its own sake, without ever
thinking of reward. In the words of a great poetess, "We shall sing
their praise ere long;" and while it may be thousands of dribblers of
the present never heard their names, it is but right that the young ones
should not forget what they owe to the Association football pioneers.
Yes, the boys of the old brigade are falling out of the ranks in which
they served so well, never to muster again on this side the grave; while
others, still toiling on, are "scattered far and wide, by mountain,
stream, and sea."
~Joseph Taylor.~