Clydesdale F.C. (Scotland)
The
geographical and traditional region of Clydesdale stretches from the
south-eastern fringes of Glasgow down to Biggar near the Scottish Borders.
Generally speaking, it encompasses the historic county of Lanarkshire and is
specifically focused around the Clyde Valley. Two clubs by the name of
Clydesdale FC existed, and while they weren’t based in the sunny slopes of the
Clyde Valley, they played important roles in the early days of Scottish
football. The first of these clubs was founded in 1872. They were attached to
Clydesdale Cricket Club, and were formed after witnessing the domination of
Queen’s Park in the early days of Scottish football. Clydesdale FC played at
Kinning Park, a sports field in the South of Glasgow. Kinning Park is now a
busy residential district wedged between Govan and Tradeston, but unfortunately
the former sports field of the same name has been replaced by the M8 Eastbound
carriageway.
The team played
in blue and yellow hoops, or ‘gold bars’ as they were once described, perhaps
something reminiscent of the colours worn by Italian outfit Parma Calico. At
the time football in Scotland wasn’t organised, with teams either playing
against each other or teams from England in exhibition games. There was no
league to play in or title to play for, with most teams playing for fun, pride
and (we can assume) bragging rights. Teams were being formed almost overnight
as football swept through Scottish society. These two factors meant that 1873
was a bittersweet year for Clydesdale FC. We’ll start with the positives.
Firstly, they were invited by Queen’s Park, alongside six other teams, to found
the Scottish Football Association (SFA). The aim of founding the SFA was to
bring some organisation to the game in Scotland by introducing an annual
knockout competition for teams to play in: the Scottish Cup. Clydesdale FC’s
chairman, Archibald Campbell, was appointed president of the newly formed SFA,
and a new era of football in Scotland began. Now, for the negatives. While
Clydesdale were preparing to embark on their first venture in the Scottish Cup,
Clydesdale Cricket Club decided to move to Titwood Park in Pollokshields.
They had sold
their lease of Kinning Park to a newly formed football club. Clydesdale FC
opted to stay put in Kinning Park for now, and though the park at first was big
enough for both teams, they would have to make do with sharing the park with
the new club. This newly founded team were called Rangers. Clydesdale however
did have a small upturn in their fortunes; in 1873, after a dispute with
Queen’s Park, Scottish international Frederick Andersen stormed out of a
meeting with the club to join Clydesdale. This caused a bit of an exodus, with
several other players leaving Queen’s Park to join Clydesdale, most notably
Scotland captain Robert Gardner and David Wotherspoon, who had been the best
man at Gardner’s wedding. Gardner and Wotherspoon are two important individuals
within the history of Scottish football. Gardner arranged, played in, and
captained Scotland in the World’s first international football match between
Scotland and England, and a letter he wrote in 1868 is the oldest surviving
letter which references association football, while Wotherspoon is credited
with introducing Queen’s Park’s black and white hooped kit design. Any football
team would jump at the chance to sign their rivals’ best players, and
Clydesdale had benefitted from the fallout between these players and Queen’s
Park.
To give them
even more of a boost, these new players were available to play for Clydesdale
in the inaugural Scottish Cup tournament, played 1873-74. I am wary of
referring to ‘seasons’ at this point - remember, there was no league format at
this stage in Scottish football. The Scottish Cup, exhibition matches, and
erratically arranged fixtures were more or less all teams played until the
formation of the Scottish Football League in 1890. Clydesdale were drawn in the
Scottish Cup against fellow SFA founders Granville, and welcomed them to
Kinning Park for their first official fixture on the 25th October 1873. The result
was a resounding 6-0 win for Clydesdale, with forward John McPherson bagging a
hat trick, the first ever in the Scottish Cup. While they had navigated the
first round with ease, the quarter-final would prove to be a bit more tricky.
In this round, Clydesdale’s opponents were the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle
Volunteers. Still in their infancy, the regiment which bore the team their name
were inspired by the international match between Scotland and England, and some
of their fellow soldiers had played for Queen’s Park and therefore the first
Scotland XI who were fielded in that game. They would eventually change their
name to Third Lanark AC, and became something of a third force of football in
Glasgow during the 1900s. Nowadays, they are arguably Scotland’s most famous
Forgotten Club, having folded in the midst of scandal and corruption in 1967.
On the 8th November 1873, Clydesdale took to the field at Kinning Park to play
3rd Lanark RV. Unable to repeat the feat of their first round triumph, the
match finished 1-1, forcing the Scottish Cup’s first replay. This was played at
Cathkin Park in 16th November, and finished 0-0, meaning a second replay was on
the cards.
This time, on
December 6, Clydesdale ran out 2-0 victors at Kinning Park, securing a
semi-final tie against fellow Glasgow side Blythswood. Again, the match would
be played at Kinning Park, this time on the 20th of December. Clydesdale won
the tie comfortably, emerging 4-0 victors, but were confirmed so in bizarre
circumstances. After Clydesdale had scored their fourth goal, around the 80th
minute, the match was stopped and abandoned due to bad lighting, bordering on
the match being played in complete darkness.
However, given that Clydesdale were 4-0 up,
the result was allowed to stand. Maybe Blythswood can feel a little hard done
by, but I think that even the most budding optimist wouldn’t have had them down
for a comeback at that stage. The match officials and umpires evidently felt
the same. Despite the controversy, if you can call it that, Clydesdale were
through to the very first final of the Scottish Cup, and what a tie it was.
They would play none other than their closest and biggest rivals, Queen’s Park.
As it would transpire, the final had its fair share of controversy and drama.
The final was to be played on the 21st March 1874, at the first Hampden Park in
Crosshill, currently the site of Hampden Bowling Club. Technically, this was
also Scotland’s national stadium at the time, as it had also hosted the first
international match between Scotland and England. However, it was also Queen’s
Park’s home ground, meaning it was one of a handful of Scottish cup finals not
played at a neutral ground. On the day, the weather was also reported to be
particularly windy, and the elements would play their part in the controversy
of the game. Undeterred, Clydesdale took to the field with the aim of winning
the cup. After thirty minutes had been played, the Queen’s Park goalkeeper
fumbled a shot, allowing Frederick Andersen to convert. During this period in
Scottish football, there were no goal nets to catch the ball if a goal had been
scored, and goal decisions were made by ‘umpires’ who watched the goal lines.
According to reports, only one umpire had saw the ball cross the line, and the
other officials could not come to a unanimous decision. Astoundingly, the goal
wasn’t given, despite onlookers saying they had saw the shot rebound off a spectator’s
knee.
Indeed, the spectators behind the goal had
said the ball “dribbled between [the goalkeeper] and the goalpost…we all saw
definitely - and had not the very slightest doubt - that the ball passed off
the goalkeeper’s hands between the posts”. Clydesdale had been playing into the
wind since kick off, and under the rules of the game at that time, had the goal
stood, the teams would have swapped sides, so Clydesdale would have had the
wind behind them. But, with no VAR facilities in 1874 (or goal nets), the match
continued at 0-0, with Clydesdale still playing into the wind. Early into the
second half, with the wind at their back, Billy MacKinnon scored “a powerful
shot after a superb individual run” to give Queen’s Park the lead, with Billy
Leckie scoring the second before full time. The hopes and dreams of Clydesdale
had been crushed, and Queen’s Park lifted the inaugural Scottish Cup, writing
their names into history with the first of their ten triumphs.
It was to be
Clydesdale’s only Scottish cup final appearance, but the club did try to have
an influence in the football rule book, by advocating their own rules. However,
these were widely rejected, and the FA Association rules were finally adopted
to the game that we know today. One of the rules Clydesdale FC had suggested
was the way a throw-in could be taken. Instead of just throwing it overhead,
they suggested it could be thrown in any which way.
In any case,
the club were faltering and in the season of 1877-78, after beating Dennistoun
on September29th, 1877, 3-0, they faced Queens Park in the second round. On
October 20th, 1877, Clydesdale FC played their last ever Scottish
Cup game, when they lost 2-0 to Queens Park. While they did enter the Scottish
cup in the 1878-79 season, they failed to field a team against Dennistoun, who
were awarded the match. Clydesdale FC were as good as gone, losing players to
other clubs in the area. They still technically were a part of the Scottish
cup, but for the next three years they scratched their ties.
The official
year the club were dissolved was in 1881, and that was the end of Clydesdale
FC, the club that played in the first ever Scottish Cup final. They will always
be apart of footballing history and will never be forgotten.