Scottish Football Reminiscences and Sketches Part 6

~J. Thomson.~

Although he had a disposition to "poach" a little now and again, as some forwards are apt to do, for you all know it is human to err, Thomson was a grand player, and made the most of his speed. He never kept the ball longer than was necessary, and if he thought his club would benefit by it, s.h.i.+ed quickly in from the touch-line no matter where his companions or opponents alike were stationed on the field. He was really a fine s.h.i.+er, and his dribbling powers beyond dispute.

~J. M'Call.~

The Renton team had now risen to the acme of their fame, and no player helped them more to attain that position than Mr. J. M'Call. Some clubs carry their position through sheer force of medium ability all round; some have rare luck with their goalkeeping and backs; but, there is no doubt about it, Renton was strong in front, and I question if any man during that season played a better game than the younger M'Call. He represented Scotland in the contests with England in 1887 and 1888 as left-wing forward, and played a fine game.

~A. Grant.~

When the Renton men carried off the Glasgow Charity Cup that same season, the forwards showed great ability. Mr. Grant was a very neat player. If my memory serves me right, he backed up Mr. Barbour in this game, and did it very well. He was, however, rather slow on the ball, and was often sent to the right-about by Messrs. Gow and Watson. Like Mr. M'Kechnie, he does not seem to have played in many of the Renton's first-cla.s.s matches, and his name is not found among Internationalists.

~A. M'Intyre.~

Mr. M'Intyre was one of the best forwards in the county which has produced so many fine a.s.sociation football exponents, and acted as centre forward. Like Mr. D. Gow, of the Rangers, when he got fairly on the ball there was no getting it from him and he excelled in hard tackling. Possessing considerable speed, M'Intyre used it to the best advantage, and he had such a liking for dodging round the backs that he sometimes fairly carried away the spectators, and was loudly cheered for his manoeuvring.

~A. Barbour.~

In this event Mr. Barbour was the best man on the Renton side, and kept his feet on the slippery ground in a manner that completely astonished all who saw the contest. He was sometimes fairly puzzled by the clever heading of Mr. Campbell and the terrible tackling of Mr. Arnott, but fought gamely to the last. In close dribbling he was the nearest approach to Mr. William M'Kinnon (Q.P.) I have ever seen, and while he was quite as tricky, wanted the tact to lead an opponent astray. He played against Ireland in 1885.

~J. Kelly.~

What Mr. Marshall is to the 3rd L.R.V., Mr. Berry to the Queen's Park, and Mr. Groves to the Celtic, Mr. Kelly was to his old club, the Renton--viz., a grand man. Kelly, I think, first came out as a forward, and played as such for his county against Renfrews.h.i.+re in 1885, and also in this tussle on Cathkin Park, but he eventually developed into a very fine half-back, and played against England as such twice--in 1888 for his mother club, and last season for his new love, the Celtic. His proper place, however, is undoubtedly at half-back.

~R. M. Christie.~

Slowly but surely Mr. Christie pa.s.sed all the probationary stages in the Queen's Park on the way to develop a brilliant player, and in 1884 appeared in the International with England. He was in the best of form, and caused the strangers a deal of trouble. He was very strong on his legs, and about the most powerful opponent of his day to meet in a close match. The pa.s.sing between Christie and Harrower that day was splendid, and fairly astonished the Renton backs and goalkeeper.

~G. Somerville.~

Mr. Somerville was a very fine all round forward, with a good deal of ability in backing up and middling the ball in front of goal. Mr.

Hamilton and he used to make the spectators laugh at the way in which they annoyed the opposing backs by pa.s.sing the leather to one another in a tantalising way, right in front of the uprights. He was a st.u.r.dy player, something of the same make as Mr. David Davidson, of 3rd L.R.V.

and latterly Queen's Park fame, with a nerve of iron and, shall I say, a frame of steel. He played against England in 1886.

~J. A. Lambie.~

A comparatively short career had Mr. Lambie on Hampden Park, but it was fraught with much distinction. He was a grand forward among a fine division, and scored a lot of goals for the Queen's Park. He was, indeed, at it again in this match, and, as I have already said in the introduction, took one more for the black and white stripes. When nearing the keeper, if he were fortunate enough to pa.s.s the backs, he generally looked about for one of his companions to follow up, and was quite an adept at the "screw-kick." Lambie appeared against England in 1888, and is now an active member of the Corinthians.

~The a.s.sociation International of 1887.~

As the International of 1887 is, so to speak, a thing of yesterday, I have only introduced it here for two reasons. The first of these is to give me an opportunity of bringing new faces into my reminiscences, and shortly criticising their styles of play, and the second to show you how the admittedly best eleven sent out by England in all her matches with Scotland were vanquished on their own soil by three goals to two. The event came off at Blackburn in presence of some 10,000 spectators--a much larger crowd than ever appeared in London to see the International.

The weather was dry overhead during the early stages of the tussle, but a heavy shower of hail fell later on, and this, added to a mud-covered ground, made matters anything but pleasant. The Scotchmen were the first to score, which they did through Mr. M'Call against the wind, half-an-hour from the start; but the Englishmen soon bore down on the Scottish lines, and Mr. Lindley equalised, so that at half-time both nationalities were on terms of equality. Not long after ends were changed, the Scotchmen made one of those determined charges for which they have been famed in many of the International games, and shoved both goalkeeper and ball through between the posts. No sooner, however, had the leather again been started than Mr. Dewhurst, the crack English forward, sent in a shooter, and once more squared the game. It was now "night or Blucher" for Scotland, and after a grand run between Messrs.

Marshall and Allan, which was loudly cheered, even though an enemy did it, the young Queen's Park forward made Scotland one goal up. Till the close the Englishmen had several brilliant sallies on the strangers'

goal, but the backs--Messrs. Arnott and Forbes--held their own, and Scotland won by three goals to two. Mr. Macaulay kept goal in fine style, and was the captain of the victorious team. The Englishmen chosen to meet the Scotchmen on the occasion were--Messrs. Roberts, A. M.

Walters, P. M. Walters, N. C. Bailey, G. Howarth, J. Forrest, E. C.

Bambridge, W. N. Cobbald, J. Lofthouse, F. Dewhurst, and T. Lindley.

Besides the six who are mentioned below, Messrs. Arnott, Macaulay, Kelso, J. M'Call, and W. Sellar (who have already been noticed) also appeared against England in the same contest.

~J. Forbes (Vale of Leven).~

Like certain cricketers who can only cut, and are weak on the leg-side, there are several backs playing for fair medium clubs just now who can only return the ball properly if they have plenty of room to work, but Mr. Forbes, who played in this match along with Mr. Arnott, was none of these. You were, in fact, not five minutes in his company as a spectator at a match before you were captivated with the style and finish of his play. In the excitement of the game you imagined it was "all up with the Vale," when a crowd of opposing forwards were observed getting the ball nearer goal. All the time, however, Forbes was maturing his mode of attack, and like the unsuspecting animal that darts upon its prey, the crack Vale of Leven back dashed in, and you were sure to see the ball flying away down the field, with a magnificent return. While kicking he always got his toes well under the ball, and it was quite a rare thing to see Forbes kicking high into the air. A great favourite with his club and opponents as well, Mr. Forbes first appeared against England in 1884, when Scotland won by one to none, so that in both Internationals in which he took part his team were on the winning side. He is now in business in England.

~L. Keir (Dumbarton).~

When in the spring of 1887 Mr. Leitch Keir was chosen as companion to Mr. Kelso (Renton), and Mr. Auld (3rd L.R.V.), in this great event at Blackburn, almost everybody had confidence in them as half-backs, and I am happy to say that this confidence was not misplaced, for no better trio ever did duty in an International at that important position in the field. For good, even-down tackling, and hard work, both in heading and clean kicking, Keir was one of the very best men who ever played football. So proficient was he at a "free kick," that when a "hand" was given against the opposing team, in most of the Dumbarton matches, Keir was invariably intrusted with the ball; and when the infringement took place near the goal, the opposing team always dreaded his shot. He was also a very fine dribbler for a half-back, and could run out the ball in fine style from a hotly-pressed goal, and send it spinning down the field. In the succeeding year he was chosen to appear against England on Hampden Park, but, like the rest of the Scottish representatives in that fatal contest, he did not show to the best advantage.

~J. Auld (3rd L.R.V.).~

During the past four or five years, Mr. Auld has been one of the best half-backs in Scotland, and was a decided success in this contest. No club in Britain has produced a string of better backs and half-backs than the 3rd Lanark Rifle Volunteer Athletic and Football Club. Long ago, many of their most brilliant victories were won by back play alone, and this means preventing their opponents from scoring, and keeping what they had got in the earlier stages of a contest. Among these old and tried hands I must remember poor John Hunter (who is dead), Mr.

Alexander Kennedy, who still goes out to see his old club, and delights to give the young ones an advice; Mr. William Somers, the gigantic high-kicker, now in America, and many more, whose names shall long be remembered in football history: but to Mr. Auld. He is yet a brilliant half-back, and while by no means a heavy kicker, one of the most judicious men in front of a hard-pressed goal I have ever seen. He is a terrible tackler, and sometimes hugs an opponent so tenaciously that he forces the ball away and saves his side. The 1887 match was the only one in which he played for Scotland against England, but he appeared that same season against Wales.

~J. Marshall (3rd L.R.V.).~

For two seasons, at any rate, and, I think, I might almost say three, Mr. Marshall has maintained the honoured position of being about the best right wing forward on any field. Gifted with an amount of speed, which he uses to the best advantage, combined with rare dribbling powers, he is the pride of the 3rd L.R.V. forward division, and no man is more missed from a match. In connection with the last observation, the Volunteers had to play the Rangers in the third round of the Glasgow Cup without Mr. Marshall, and at the committee meeting before the contest, when this became known, it was like a funeral lodge of Freemasons--n.o.body cared to speak except the R.W.M. and M.C. Mr.

Marshall and Mr. Robertson (Dumbarton) were the right wing forwards on the occasion, and several brilliant runs were made from their side. At the present time he is about the best at middling the ball in front of goal of any player going, and is one of those forwards who never seem to get into a f.a.gged state near the close of a match.

~W. Robertson (Dumbarton).~

Some players are fortunate in easily securing their positions among crack teams, while others have to struggle on before their genuine ability is properly recognised. Long ago, ability in selecting a team went for very little, and positions, like kissing, by favour. Mr.

Robertson, however, received no favour from any combination, and was selected on his merits. In that same season, I am almost positive, I saw him play in brilliant form in the Final cup tie, when the Hibernian overcame the Dumbarton on Hampden Park by two goals to one, and several of the other matches about the same time. He was a very fine backer up, possessing first-rate dribbling powers, and although a little shy in meeting his opponent when he saw a charge inevitable, rather preferring to use stratagem, was by no means afraid to go into the heart of a scrimmage and face up to much heavier men than himself. This was Mr.

Robertson's first game against England, and he has no reason to be ashamed of the way in which he helped Scotland to obtain victory. On the Monday following this match he played against Wales at Wrexham.

~J. Allan (Queen's Park).~

When Mr. Allan made his appearance in the first match of any consequence for the Queen's Park, he did so well that both club companions, opponents, and spectators were completely astonished at his beautiful dribbling and speed. In Ayrs.h.i.+re, when he played for the Monkcastle Club, he was looked upon as a very fair young forward, but a few practice games on Hampden Park seems to have had a remarkable effect on him, and in one short season he was such a good man that International honours were given him at once. In this tussle, which was one of the most trying of the meetings between Scotland and England, Allan played a grand game, and scored the third and winning goal for his country. The run that resulted in the score was started by Mr. Marshall, and was one of the finest ever seen in any contest. In a football sense, however, to use a simile, Mr. Allan was like Octavian's prosperous star, but with this difference, he vanished from the scene as quickly as he came, so far as first-cla.s.s matches were concerned, and only re-appeared on Ibrox Park recently against the 3rd L.R.V. and his old club, Queen's Park.

~Glasgow Charity Cup Final Tie of 1888.~

The Renton Eleven are to-day in the proud position of winning the Glasgow Charity Cup four times in succession--from 1886 down to season 1888-89, and even now the holders of that handsome trophy. In these finals they polished off the Vale of Leven in 1886 by three to one; next season the same club by one to none; in 1888 (the year which I have singled out for review) vanquished the Cambuslang by four to none: and last spring overcame the Queen's Park by three goals to one. In 1888 the Renton men held both cups, and what was of more account, won them by long odds against precisely the same opponents, viz., Cambuslang. In the final for the a.s.sociation Challenge Cup the victory was one of six goals to one, and in the Glasgow Charity Cup four to none. This was, indeed, the largest score made in the former, and was equal in the latter to that made in 1877 (the first year of the compet.i.tion) by the Queen's Park, when they defeated the Rangers. Cambuslang, however, were at this time a power in the land, and had previously carried off the Glasgow Challenge trophy in its first season. In addition to this, they are also credited with the record of fast scoring--having taken four goals from the Queen's Park in the last ten minutes of the fifth round of the Scottish Challenge Cup in 1886, but as the Queen's Park had five points on previously, they saved the game by one goal. The event of which I have presently to deal came off on Hampden Park on the 12th May, 1888, and ended in favour of the Renton, as has already been indicated, by four to none. The Cambuslang men played well at the start, and a close match was expected. Through some cause or other, however, they fell away considerably as the game advanced, and J. Campbell scored the first goal for Renton, and this was soon followed by a second from the foot of J.

M'Call, the record at half-time being two goals to none in favour of the crack Dumbartons.h.i.+re club. The second round, strange to say, was also well contested at the outset, but the grand forward combination of the Renton told the tale of defeat to the Cambuslang men, and other two goals were added. As none of the Cambuslang team have previously come under my pen, I give them first, and will include three of Renton who have not been noticed.