HISTORY OF THE QUEEN'S PARK FOOTBALL CLUB 1867 - 1917 By Richard Robinson (1920) PREFACE "While appreciating the signal honour of the committee of the Queen's Park F.C. in asking me to write the history of the club, I would mention that I was very reluctant to undertake such a responsibility, and it was only on the solicitations of personal friends that I eventually consented. Sensible of my literary limitations, these, however, while always uppermost, seemed to lose their terror the more my researches were prosecuted; and if the work may not be as worthy as the engrossing character of the subject deserves, it, at all events, has the merit, if it can claim no other, of being a faithful record of the great and imposing part which the Queen's Park F.C. has played in moulding the history of what is universally acknowledged to be the most democratic of our national sports. "Two courses were at least open to me. One was to deal chronologically with events, making the labours of each season stand by themselves; the other, which was ultimately adopted, was to treat in chapter form the more outstanding incidents and results in the practical operations of the club, as well as its legislative and administrative activities. Possibly the former would have been the more interesting; but the latter, in its historical presentment, provides a wealth of information which should be highly useful, if only for purposes of reference. "It is impossible to give the names of all who have so generously come to my help in supplying incidents and documents of much interest and value; but I cannot omit to mention Mr. John K. M'Dowall, secretary of the Scottish Football Association, Mr. J. C. Grant, and my life-long friend, Mr. Robert Livingstone, for their valuable cooperation, while it is almost superfluous to add that all officially connected with the club have contributed in various ways to make my task "a labour of love." "THE AUTHOR."Glasgow, October, 1920. Contents Chapter I.—Fifty Years' Endeavour, 1867-1917 Chapter II.—The Birth of the Queen's Park Chapter III.—The Pioneers Chapter IV.—Patrons Chapter V.—Football a Summer Game Chapter VI.—The Evolution of the Uniform Chapter VII.—Some Earlier Games Chapter VIII.—The First International Chapter IX.—Queen's Park and Wanderers Chapter X.—Early Honorary Secretaries' Reports Chapter XI.—Queen's Park and Football Legislation Chapter XII.—Three Historic Games Chapter XIII.—Queen's Park and Vale of Leven Chapter XIV.—Queen's Park Team in the Making Chapter XV.—Recruiting Chapter XVI.— Queen's Park's Missionary Efforts Chapter XVII.—Queen's Park and the Scottish Association Chapter XVIII.—Queen's Park and the Scottish Cup Chapter XIX.—Queen's Park and the English Cup Chapter XX.—Queen's Park and Glasgow Charity cup Chapter XXI.—Scottish Second Eleven Association Chapter XXII.—Queen's Park and Dumbarton Chapter XXIII.—Queen's Park and Battlefield Chapter XXIV.—Queen's Park and International Games Chapter XXV.—Glasgow Association Chapter XXVI.—Three Half-Backs Chapter XXVII.—Queen's Park and Professionalism Chapter XXVIII.—The Corinthians and Other New Year Games Chapter XXIX.—English Clubs Chapter XXX.—Famous Brothers Chapter XXXI.—Queen's Park and Scottish League Chapter XXXII.—Financing the Queen's Park Chapter XXXIIl.—First Hampden Chapter XXXIV.—Second Hampden Chapter XXXV.—Third and Greatest Hampden Chapter XXXVI.—Opening New Hampden Chapter XXXVII.—The Pavilion Chapter XXXVIII.—Queen's Park and Limited Liability Chapter XXXIX.—Commuting the Casualty over Hampden Park Chapter XL.—Third Lanark F.C. and Hampden Park Chapter XLI.—Riots at Hampden Park Chapter XLII.—Press and Telegraph Accommodation Chapter XLIII.—Queen's Park and amateur athletics Chapter XLIV.—Queen's Park and the Athletic Ruptures Chapter XLV.—Hampden and Rugby Football Chapter XLVI.—Queen's Park Junior Elevens Chapter XLVII.—the Glasgow League Chapter XLVIII.—Glasgow Second XI Association Chapter XLIX.—Continental Tours Chapter L.—Queen's Park and Referees Chapter LI.—Queen's Park and School Football Chapter LII.—Poaching on Queen's Park Chapter LIII.—The Reinstated Professional Chapter LIV.—The Paid Secretary Chapter LV.—The War Chapter LVI.—Mr. Arthur Geake Chapter LVII.—Officials of the Club Chapter LVIII.—Hospitality Chapter LIX.—Instructions to F.A. Delegates, 1873 Chapter LX.—Record of Matches Played Chapter LXI.—Obituary Chapter LXII.—Miscellaneous Chapter I.—Fifty Years' Endeavour, 1867-1917 The Story of the Queen's Park is so interwoven with the history of Scottish football that the two cannot be dissociated. In writing the story of the club, the more the subject is studied, the more the impression must prevail, that were it not for the fostering care given to Association football in Scotland by this club, the game would never have taken the place it has in the world of sport, nor would Scotland stand where it does, as the nursery and home of football as at present played in all parts of the world. Foresight and enthusiasm enabled the great amateur combination known as the Queen's Park Football Club, to spring into being with a fixed object in view. The able men who first conceived the idea of organising into a club the crude elements gathered together in a city public park for mutual "recreation and amusement," did not then realise the ultimate effect their efforts would have in founding a national sport hitherto unknown in northern latitudes, but which was slowly making its way in England, where the Rugby game had hitherto held sway. These pioneers merely came to a logical conclusion. If they as a body had a membership sufficient to lay the foundation of a club on the lines of the cricket and Rugby football clubs around them, why not have a club of their own, even though there was then no club in existence in Scotland of a similar nature? All things must have a beginning. The club once formed, then rules followed. The desire to have opponents to play came next, and these were not easily found. The Queen's Park tried to discover what clubs existed, and whether there were any other bodies of youths whose predilections lay in the same direction as their own. After some search, two or three, founded after Queen's Park, were located and publicly challenged. When the exact localities of these clubs, or nucleus of clubs, were ascertained, the necessity of playing this new football game under recognised rules, and organising the forces of these clubs into a concrete whole, by forming their constitutions on the lines determined by the Queen's Park, was brought before them. In this the pioneers were not very successful. They refused to play clubs who were not prepared to use the rules of the game as modified by themselves. Certain old Rugby attributes lingered around the new code, even with the Queen's Park. These were not easy to get quit of. They were traditional in a sense, and the new code was introduced solely for the purpose of eradicating what were considered blemishes from football as played under Rugby rules. This took time, and these blemishes were not wholly expelled from the new Scottish game until 1872, about which time England had made progress in the purification of the game from the Rugby traditions, and naturally the Queen's Park followed suit. Thus "handling," "carrying," and "hacking" fell into disuse, and scoring by "touches down" was abolished. After five years of intermittent club football opponents were still few and far between, but at the same time, by carefully studying the game in matches among themselves until they had perfected their methods, the club considered the time had arrived when it should become a member of a recognised association, and as there was then only one such in existence—the Football Association—the rules of that body were adopted "in toto" and admission sought and found to its ranks. If an English Association, why not a similar body in Scotland, in which there existed in 1873 about a dozen clubs? No fitter person could undertake such a task than their own honorary secretary, Mr. A. Rae, and he was at once set to work. Eight clubs were of the same mind as the Queen's Park, and these eight have the honour of founding that great institution known as the Scottish Football Association. Meantime efforts had been made by the Queen's Park to induce or persuade other Scottish clubs to throw in their lot with, and support, the English Association, but no success could be reported in this direction. The reason is not far to seek. None could afford the travelling expenses necessitated by frequent journeyings to and from England to play matches and cup ties—an obstacle which was as great with the Queen's Park as with any other club. Herein we find the opening of the determined spirit which has been the chief characteristic of the club all through the years. Its members pooled their limited finances—the club had none to speak of—friends came to the rescue, and the thing was done. The members were of good standing, for the most part employed in offices and warehouses, and were by this time, through constant association with each other during the five years since the birth of the club, bound together by a common tie—namely, to uphold the reputation of the club, which it was thought might be increased by such a great undertaking as playing an English Cup tie in London. Even were only a modified success to attend them against the Wanderers, the crack English club of the period, still the reputation of the club would not suffer.