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The Unknown Sodger

February 28, 2014, 4:45 am
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"Sodger" was the nickname of one of Falkirk FC's longest serving, consistent, yet hardest to pin down players of the pre-league era. "Sodger" was James McDonald, but that is about all I know. I have no picture of him [that I know of], and match reports never gave a clue as to his life outwith the game, and, of course, his name is so common as to stand out in the normal places of research [censuses, voting rolls etc].

I can surmise a bit, he played for a season with Grahamston FC before joining Falkirk, so he probably came from from north of the High Street. The nickname "Sodger" might suggest membership of the Rifle Volunteers [a forerunner of the TA], he might even be the big brother of Thomas McDonald. But in all truth, I do not have any real idea of the man outwith the match reports, and so it probably will ever be.

As a player I know a lot more, he was versatile [so versatile as to never make any one position his own], he played all over the front five, he was a regular scorer [if never getting to the levels of some our great goalscorers], but he soon became an old version of a supersub, as in he played regularly, but only when the first choice was not available.

Yet he continued, even when he was not in contention for a first team place, he was there in the 2nd XI, just waiting to take his chance, and he lasted longer than most, only Jock Drummond's career spanned longer in this era [and Jock was a professional, when 'sodger' was ever the amateur], from the first to the last his career spanned 12 years with the club.

Of course, since I do not know of either his birth or his death I can not find a grave, as I don't know where to start looking, however, if you are a relative, and you are reading this, please get in touch, I would be immensely grateful!


James 'Sodger' McDonald

Debut – Saturday January 24th 1885 v Campsie (H) Friendly

Positions – Centre-Forward, Outside-Left, Inside-Left, Inside-Right

Representative Honours – Stirlingshire v Fife 1885/86, v Forfarshire 1886/87, v Renfrewshire 1886/87

Club Honours – Stirlingshire Cup RU 1886/87, 1887/88, Falkirk District Charity Cup W 1889/90, RU 1885/86, 1890/91, Falkirk Infirmary Shield - RU 1889/90, 1890/91

Falkirk FC Career

Scottish Cup Matches/Goals [14/3]
Minor League Matches/Goals [1/-]
Minor Cup Matches/Goals [32/21]
Other Matches/Goals [117/39]
Known Matches/goals [164/63]

Hat-Tricks – 3 [Stirlingshire Cup [1] Other [2]]

Known Career – Falkirk Rangers, Grahamston [1883/84], Falkirk [1884/85-1895/96]

Played for Falkirk District XI v St Mirren, Friendly at Victoria Pk, Camelon, 12th June 1886
Played for Grahamston 2nd XI v Camelon 2nd XI, Friendly at Crichton Pk, Falkirk, 18th December 1886
Played for Falkirk Caledonians v Falkirk Jubileeans, Friendly at Brockville Pk, Falkirk, 20th April 1887
Played for Falkirk Caledonians v Redding Athletic, Friendly at Redding, 5th May 1887
Played for Grahamston Strollers v Grange Athletic, Friendly at Bo'ness, 14th May 1887
Played for Redding Athletic v Falkirk Swifts, Friendly at Redding, 18th May 1887
Played for Arbroath Wanderers v Falkirk, Friendly at Brockville Pk, Falkirk, 16th April 1894
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Barnsmuir - Falkirk District Clubs

March 14, 2014, 5:50 am
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I never wish this blog to be only about Falkirk FC, or even just the senior clubs in the town, the problem is that even though the game was played across the whole of the district, there was very little organised football in the whole country, so much of the football had very little coverage. Therefore for even the most basic knowledge of football in the outlying villages of the district the only source of contemporary news was the local columns of the local press [ie not in the sport columns]. This haphazard nature means other than their existence, and the odd scoreline, next to nothing is known, or is of note, of most of these [short-lived] clubs. Except occasionally we get a deus ex machina.

Possibly the most Southern club in the history of football in Falkirk District was Barnsmuir, coming as they did from the very border settling of Limerigg. Most people have very little reason to go to, nor even pass through Limerigg; there will be some with little inkling of its location [it is on the road from Slamannan to Caldercruix], it is not very big but even they had a senior club in the heyday of Football.

One of the first problems they came across was of course, their location, apart from the two or so Slamannan clubs and Caldercruix, there were not very many other clubs nearby to play regular matches with, so they could not keep up a regular fixture list, and without the fixtures it is hard to keep up the members enthusiasm for training. Lack of training leads to poor results, which results to a lack of support, which does not help induce teams away from other more lucrative fixtures. This lack of fixtures also meant the club had no regular income, making it harder to comit to fixtures further afield, and the short spiral into oblivion kicks in quickly.

The club were not helped in being possibly the most Southern of the Stirlingshire teams, meaning that even when they were given a good draw in the Stirlingshire Cup, much of the receipts would be eaten up in travelling costs, and the lack of transport infrastructure precluded anything like a traveling support. Another poor hand dealt them in the location is that what transport there was [the Monklands-Bathgate Railway, the Monkland Canal] attached them to clubs outwith their sphere. Of the occasional scores which filtered through the grapevine many were against long-gone, long-forgotten Airdrie & Coatbridge sides.

The name is probably connected to the Barnsmuir Colliery which was one of the main reasons for the village's existence, but it is not known at this remove as to whether it was a Works team or whether they just took up the name because of its local attachments. But it is from this mining link that sprung their two best known players, one became better known in the world of mining, trade-unionism and left-wing politics than he did in the world of football, the other climbed the height of footballing success in the this country and down south. In one of the few matches which was reported in any detail, on the 17th of October 1885 Barnsmuir were drawn Falkirk in the Second Round of the Stirlingshire Cup, the game took place at their home ground Lochmill Pk, and by all reports put up a sterling effort, only losing by 3-0 from one of the best clubs in the county.

In this game two players on the Barnsmuir were singled out for playing well, The first was Dan Doyle, who was to soon move to play for East Stirlingshire, then Hibernian, Sunderland, Grimsby, Bolton, Everton, Celtic and Scotland itself, the other put simply as C.Robertson, turns out to have been Robert Chisholm Robertson, later leader of the Stirlingshire Miners Assoc and one of the inaugural leaders of the Independent Labour Party. It is fascinating that through this village passed two of the most important names in diverse aspects of Scottish cultural life, not only at the same time but battling for the same club on the football pitch. That both were Scots of irish descent is also an interesting coincedence, but there is a lot of that in these parts, my family [different name] would have been part of that same millieu [but in a different part of the county].

As I said before there is little left on the records as to the matches they actually played, and they never really made much of an impact even on the local scene: I have only found matches in two competitions and they are completely absent from the Scottish Cup, but they did play in the Stirlingshire Cup occasionally and once in the short-lived Slamannan & District Charity Cup.

26/09/1885 v Grahamston       (H) 2-0 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
17/10/1885 v Falkirk          (H) 0-3 stirlingshire Cup 2nd Rd
22/10/1887 v Vale of Forth    (A) 2-3 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
26/10/1889 v Denny            (A) 0-8 Stirlingshire cup 1st Rd
10/05/1890 v Drumclair        (N) 3-3 Slamannan Charity Cup 1st Rd
15/05/1890 v Drumclair        (N) 2-2 Slamannan charity Cup 1st Rd Replay
22/05/1890 v Drumclair        (N) 3-2 Slamannan Charity Cup 1st Rd Replay
24/05/1890 v Slamannan Swifts (N) 2-4 Slamannan charity Cup 2nd Rd

There were several other friendlies, but they were of a haphazard nature, if anyone is eager to know more, or wishes to research football in Limerigg, get in touch I would be glad to share all I know.
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Grahamston FC - Clubs from Falkirk District

March 16, 2014, 9:51 am
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The first ever attempt at a second team in Falkirk [I stand firm to the fact that Falkirk & Bainsford were distinct and that ESFC were from Bainsford] came in the nature of Grahamston FC. As any local person will know by their name they were from the North of the High Street and took in most of the town East of Grahams Road as their territory. Since the now Victoria Pk was then private, I know they never played there, and have had an ongoing dialogue with Alan McCabe as to where their home ground "Crichton Park" actually was, he is more towards a Stewart Rd angle, whereas I am more towards Bell's Meadow, however the most obvious fact is that neither of us know for sure.

The earliest incarnations of Grahamston came in 1883 when Falkirk's 2nd XI played them in a friendly, but they were quick to grow above that station, soon challenging both Falkirk and East Stirlingshire to home and home matches. But the simple fact is that they were beaten to the chase, both Falkirk & East Stirlingshire 'pilfered' their better players, which hampered any chance at progression.

Grahamston could never compete though, only taking in modern day Chinatoon, and Grahamston, when Falkirk had the whole town, and East Stirlingshire could claim all of Bainsford, there was no place for another club in an era when there was little revenue flowing about the game. The most important fact is that both Falkirk & East Stirlingshire 'pilfered' their best players: James 'Sodger' McDonald moved to Falkirk after a season at Crichton Pk, and Harry Simpson [Uncle of the Falkirk Legend Jock Simpson] quickly moved to Bainsford, Alex Rule played for all three!

It is a fact that Falkirk can only accommodate two teams [and when the one which is not Falkirk is firmly rooted in another community], it is a sad fact. Following Grahamston FC's example came Falkirk Amateurs, through the intermediate team "Grahamston Corinthians" but this is not why I am writing. Grahamston were fully active in the football scene only their results let them down! They were a part of the Stirlingshire Football scene.

At their best they competed, at their nadir they were pathetic, if anyone can help on the location of Crichton Park please get in touch [or anything  else].
Grahamston FC in Competitive Football

09/02/1884 v Tayavalla           (A) 2-4 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
18/10/1884 v Grasshoppers        (A) 2-2 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
25/10/1884 v Grasshoppers        (H) 2-2 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
29/11/1884 v Strathblane         (A) 1-0 Stirlingshire Cup 2nd Rd
14/02/1885 v Camelon             (A) 0-1 Stirlingshire Cup Semi-Final
15/04/1885 v Tayavalla           (N) 9-0 Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd
25/04/1885 v East Stirlingshire  (N) 0-5 Falkirk District Charity Cup Semi-Final
26/09/1885 v Barnsmuir           (A) 0-2 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
03/04/1886 v Camelon             (N) 0-5 Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd [Grahamston awarded the tie as Camelon played 2 inelligible players]
15/05/1886 v East Stirlingshire  (N) 0-7 Falkirk District Charity Cup Semi-Final
25/09/1886 v Laurieston          (H) 3-0 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd [Grahamston disqualified for playing an inelligible player]
02/04/1887 v Camelon             (H) 2-3 Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd
29/10/1887 v King's Park         (A) 0-8 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
n/a        v Vale of Bannock     (A) s-w Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
n/a        v East Stirlingshire  (N) s-w Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd
26/10/1889 v Slamannan           (A) 2-6 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd

Grahamston Corinthians

01/11/1890 v Kilsyth Standard    (H) 5-2 Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
29/11/1890 v Grangemouth         (A) 0-8 Stirlingshire Cup 2nd Rd


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Amateurs

March 17, 2014, 9:12 am
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Amateurs are a rare and fascinating concept in the age of professional football, I could not tell you the last amateur who played for Falkirk FC, but once upon a time they were common in the game. For some reason the term 'amateur' has come to mean something lesser than professional, but this divergence in meaning is flawed. The word 'amateur' in its proper sense means 'one who does it out of love', the fact that they are not remunerated for their effort being the sole difference between them and professional footballers.

The reasons for amateurism were also wide, James Callander played football at weekends, but professionally he was a much more successful architect, it would be sheer folly to abandon his practice; Leslie Skene was a GP which goes a long way to explaining his peripatetic club career, Wiliam Davidson had the luck to come from a well off family, he probably decided not to allow any club to decide what he could and could not do [if you read your contract of work it will likely say that your employer decides whether or not you can have another job] if you get me.

The playing careers of the amateurs were also more interesting, occasionally, they just did not turn up, sometime due to their other committments, sometimes because they were busy doing something in the real world, sometimes they might have simply been otherwise inclined. I was such that in 1909, in the middle of the football season William Davidson just upped and left Falkirk FC to go on a tour of the USA with the Pilgrims. Now good outside-lefts are hard enough to find, and harder to replace at the best of times, but William was an amateur, and had every right to bugger off to the US [I would have done the same thing].


William Davidson [Middle Row, Right]

I think it is a shame that we no longer have the amateurs in our game, if only because all the players are now so samey, it would be nice to think of players playing at a high level because they liked it! But I am a romanticist!


William Davidson

b Langside, Glasgow c1883

Debut – Saturday April 14th 1906 v Forfar Athletic (H) Dewar Shield Semi-Final
League Debut – Saturday August 18th 1906 v Rangers (A) Scottish League Division 1

Positions – Outside-Left

Club Honours – Scottish League Division 1 RU 1907/08, 1909/10, Stirlingshire Consolation Cup W 1906/07,

Falkirk Infirmary Shield W 1906/07, 1907/08
Scottish League Division 1 Matches/Goals [109/7]
Scottish Cup Matches /Goals [8/-]
Minor League Matches/Goals [6/2]
Minor Cup Matches/Goals [9/3]

Known Career – Queen's Park [1903/04-1905/06], Falkirk [1905/06-1909/10], Pilgrims [1909 tour of North America], Middlesbrough [1910/11], Airdrieonians [1910/11], Everton [1911/12-1912/13], St Mirren [1913/14]

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Falkirk Harp - Clubs from Falkirk District

March 17, 2014, 10:38 am
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Long before Glasgow Celtic came into being, Falkirk had a club which adhered to the Irish Flag, they were rubbish. That is not a criticism, just a reflection of their results, yes they limited themselves to a certain demographic, and they would always be limited by anyone good playing for the best teams [Pat Murphy for example] but they were asking for something which was not available.

Football was not a profitable venture in the 1880s, after the rent for the ground, and the lack of 'big matches' it would be difficult for a Falkirk or an ESFC to survive, never mind a Falkirk Harp. This is proven by the fact that of so many teams which existed, none survive. However that is not to say that they did not merit a try, or were not treated with optimism.

I have never found a ground For Falkirk Harp except "Cow Wynd" which is in the chocolate fireguard range of helpfulness, I know there was a football ground much later on where Cochrane Street now is, but have no definitive link between the two, towards the end of their existence, Harp changed name to Erin Rovers, which is problematic as there was a team from Bathgate by that name, so I can not tell in some match reports which is which.

They came just before the burgeoning of junior Football, so had to play teams much bigger than them, after a couple of years Falkirk Hibs/Falkirk Celtic also tried to be a 'green' team in Falkirk, failed.

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Early Football in Grangemouth

March 22, 2014, 7:56 am
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Grangemouth is the relative new town in Falkirk District, only coming to life with the opening of the eastern end of the Forth & Clyde Canal in the 1770s. But it was well situated therefore quickly profited with the completion of the canal due to the increase in trade from both the West Coast and from further abroad.

Started by Lawrence Dundas [a majority shareholder in the canal, who clearly wished to maximise his profits] Grangemouth [or Sealock as it began life] was originally situated between the north bank of the canal and the River Carron, the large influx of workers for the docks meant the town quickly grew and soon expanded south onto the carse lands which is now the centre of the town.

By the time of the football boom in Central Scotland had taken off Grangemouth felt secure enough in itself to join in, after a fashion. The first serious attempt to bring senior football to the town seems to be Zetland FC in June 1882 [largely at the hands of Richard Peddie, a former Falkirk FC forward [he lived in the port, but was actually from Sunderland [one of the many who moved to Grangemouth to work in the docks], he had a brother William [also ex-Falkirk but it not is known what, if any, part he had in Zetland FC].

Next to nothing is known of the players or the nature of Zetland FC [all reports in the press gave the barest of details] except that they played their home matches on the Public Park [Now Zetland Park] [Zetland Park was not named for the club, but for the above Lawrence Dundas, the Earl of Zetland, upon whose land Grangemouth was born, this is shown especially by the fact that the earlier village side of Laurieston [Lawrie's town] a mile or so to the north also played on a Zetland Park].

Zetland’s first match seems to have been against East Stirlingshire [themselves only founded in 1880/81] when a 1-1 draw was played at Grangemouth on the 12th of August 1882. Though the team played a fairly high level of opponents [Bo'ness, Grahamston Victoria, Stenhousemuir] that season it seems the main problem was that they rarely came away victorious in these encounters.

The following season the footballing picture becomes very muddled down on the port, though this might be largely down to poor press coverage. 1883/84 is the first season that matches by a team named Grangemouth appear, playing home and away matches with Tayavalla [from Lime Wharf in Tamfourhill]. But in between these two matches a curiosity occurs, for on the 17th of November East Stirlingshire sent both their 1st & 2nd teams to play in Grangemouth. The 2nd XI defeating ’Zetland’ by a goal, whilst the 1st XI played out a goalless draw with ‘Britannia’ on the same day. Both matches on the public park.

This leaves many questions unanswered. 1) was East Stirlingshire playing two distinct clubs that day? 2) Was Britannia the same club as the ‘new’ Grangemouth? 3) Had Zetland changed name to Grangemouth/Britannia [with their 2nd team styling themselves 'Zetland' in the same way that Falkirk often fielded a 'Brockville XI']? Were there, in fact, three teams now in the port? Sadly lack of any concrete info means we will probably never know.

What is certain is that none of the names, Britannia, Grangemouth or Zetland were amongst the entrants to the inaugural Stirlingshire Cup that season, and until the end of the season there is no more mention of football in the town, but that final mention is interesting because for once the report actually mentioned the players and gave a line-up, the match was Britannia against Grahamston 2nd XI in Falkirk on the 17th of May 1884.

Britannia – Muir; Egan & Syme; Johnston & Anderson; Dixon & Robertson, Drysdale & Proudfoot, McDunachie & Latters.
Albert Dickson! [from Dublin], went on to play for Falkirk and Hodge Drysdale for Grahamston.

The next seasons 1884/85 & 1885/86 senior football completely disappears from the radar in Grangemouth, only a couple of references to the [new?] junior club Grangemouth Thistle appear in the press, and most games were against Linlithgowshire junior teams. Followed with a single mention of St Mirren, seemingly a junior team from the town later on.

In fact, it was not until 1886 that anything like senior football returned to the town, when Grangemouth got its one and only serious claimant to a senior team, they went on to join first the Stirlingshire FA then the Scottish FA playing competitive matches at the highest level in the land [The Scottish Cup]. But it started from very humble origins

Falkirk Herald – 20th February 1886

“A club having been got up in Grangemouth, the 2nd Falkirk Harp kindly consented to play their opening match. The Grangemouth won by eight goals to one. For Grangemouth, Miller and Fenney played well on the right, and James Cox in the centre, and the left wing had some fine runs at goal. The back division played well. Ewen was a host in himself, and the goalkeeper played well. For the Harp the right and left wings played best, and the goalkeeper saved some good shots.”

Though never stated, the club most probably started playing on the same Zetland Public Park, but soon moved to Muirhead Park [on the grounds of Muirhead sawmills, currently part of the BP complex] before moving to their more permanent home of Caledonian Park [behind the Grangemouth Town Hall, on the grounds of the Caledonian sawmill [or where ASDA is now [2014]], the rest, as they say, was history, until the Scottish League killed off Senior Football in all but the largest towns.
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Falkirk District Football 1880/81

March 28, 2014, 7:42 am
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Back in the day, before your internets, and before your mass media, the only way to find about anything was to be there or to be able buy one of the few publications about it. These days we can google this or that and find out in a flash the sum of human knowledge [which some idiot has been bothered to put on the internet] about whatever subject you want. Not so at the start of the 1880s when the only sources of info about football clubs was the local press and the SFA handbooks.

This sadly comes from the season just before East Stirlingshire joined the SFA so are excluded, but this is a very interesting insight into local football from the season 1880/81.

Falkirk

Founded in 1877, 50 members. Grounds - Private: Blinkbonny Grounds - 15 minutes drive from the station. Dressing Room - Crown Hotel. Colours - Blue & White. Last Year - Played: 26 matches - won 13, lost 7, drawn 6, obtained 38 goals, lost 25 goals. George Richardson: Hon & Match Secy.

Grasshoppers

Formed 1875, 30 members. Grounds - Private: Bonnyside, Bonnybridge - 15 minutes walk from Greenhill Station, NBR. Dressing room at ground. Colours - Red Jerseys & Stockings, White Knickers. Last Year - Played: 11 matches - won 4, lost 4, drawn 3, obtained 22 goals, lost 25 goals. William Reid, care of Singer Manufacturing Coy., Bonnybridge: Hon & Match Secy.

Thanks to Forrest Robertson for looking this up!

NB - I hope you note my silence of the foundation date of Falkirk FC published within 5 years of said foundation!!!!!!!
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Falkirk FC Managers - George Richardson

March 29, 2014, 7:01 am
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George Richardson was never, actually, Falkirk Manager: the position did not exist when he was about. He was however Falkirk FC's second Club Secretary [the first John Fleming was only in the position for some months [from the formation of the club in December 1877 until the first AGM in May 1878]. There is not much to say about his tenure, after all the position of Secretary was just an organisational role, most of the important decisions were made by the committee then. It was, however, the most important position in the club [casting vote on the committee, organising the fixture list etc], and it was a very different time from today's football.

George was very middle class, in a town of foundries he was a clerk, so was in the lofty offices instead of getting himself dirty at the coalface [to mix metaphors], therefore he had the perfect background to run the nascent club. And let it not be forgotten that back then the officials of the club were mainly drawn from the playing [and paying] members of the club. Living in Marine Cottage, Grahams Road [I think it was roughly about Carphone Warehouse [but on the Grahams Road]] he came from a well to do family, his father was a Captain in the Merchant Navy, his mother was from far-flung Chelsea, his big brother was a businessman in Glasgow [and a football player with Kelvinbank].

It is difficult to say much about his time in office, for most of the time, there was no other club in Falkirk, and the only other clubs in Stirlingshire were Grasshoppers & King's Park [until the formation of ESFC]. The club failed to make much ground in the Scottish Cup, there was no Stirlingshire Cup, however the club had a healthy fixture card, playing the secondary Glasgow clubs [and occasionally the 2nd XIs of the big Glasgow clubs].

In comparison with later secretaries he organised more charity matches [muscular christianity played some part no doubt] George enticing among others Third Lanark and Pollockshields Athletic to the town to the benefit of the good causes of the town. However, this was a time when football was yet to become the mass spectactle that it now is, and as far as I know he never interacted with the Falkirk Herald or any other medium, so I know nothing of his personality. And try, as I have, I have never come across a mention of him in the local press after he left football [of course he may have emigrated].

On the field of play, he seemed pretty average, moving about position, as you would get when the rules are if you are willing to turn up, you are likely to get a game, so he spent most of his career as right-back, left-back or goalkeeper. He did however play in a couple of Scottish Cup matches, which is more than most of us can say.

At the time the AGMs of Falkirk FC were not regularly published in the Falkirk Herald, so most of the officials of the club are unknown, however it was reported in September 1882 that he was awarded a watch by the club with this inscription:

Presented to Mr G.Richardson by the members of Falkirk Football Club, as a mark of the esteem in which he has been held by them as their secretary for the last four years

I know 'hyperbole', but I would really like to see that watch! If you know anything, please get in touch!

George Richardson

b 9th November 1859, Falkirk, Stirlingshire
d Unknown
Debut – Saturday March 23rd 1878 v Grasshoppers (H) Friendly
Positions – Goalkeeper, Right-Back, Left-Back
Scottish Cup Matches /Goals [2/-]
Other Matches/Goals [11/-]
Known Career – Falkirk [1877/78-1880/81]

Competitive Matches as Secretary

Scottish Cup - 11      7      4      23     19
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Andra Inch

March 31, 2014, 12:03 pm
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Okay I am not having to write about a player who never played for Falkirk,who played for our arch-enemies East Stirlingshire,

In fact I believe he held the record for ESFC appearances for A Long time.
I am talking about Andrew Inch, outwith Alex Stark & Lawrence. Andra Inch was probably the best player In Falkirk District, but he was a CH so was mainly overlooked. I am pissed off, only because he never made even a guest appearrance for Falkirk, this was a shire man through and through, Andra Inch was the best CH in the County for about ten years, and he was shirey pirey and from Bainsford!

During his time in Local football I think he won everything there was to be won! I will go elswhere to be grumpy!

Andrew Inch

b 13/05/1864, Falkirk, Stirlingshire
d 18/09/1928, Falkirk, Stirlingshire

Representative Honours – Stirlingshire v Fifeshire 1885/86 Stirlingshire v
Forfarshire 1886/87, 1887/88 Stirlingshire v Lanarkshire 1883/84 Stirlingshire v Linlithgowshire 1886/87 Stirlingshire v Renfrewshire 1885/86, 1886/87 Club Honours – Stirlingshire Cup W 1885/86, 1886/87. 1887/88, 1888/89, 1890/91 RU 1883/84 Falkirk District Charity Cup W 1884/85, 1885/86, 1886/87, 1887/88, 1890/91 RU 1888/89, 1889/90 Falkirk Cottage Hospitals Shield W 1889/90, 1890/91 Falkirk District XI V Linlithgowshire (Benefit Match) 1885/86 Known Career – East Stirlingshire (1883/84 to 1891/92)
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Falkirk v Kelvinbank 1877

April 1, 2014, 7:02 am
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Back in the day it was common for Combined Elevens to play matches, mostly for benefit games, but often as a bridge between Club and national football. Falkirk District XIs were commonplace throughout the 1880s and 1890s. However the first team to play under such a name was special, since it was the first ever game of football played in Falkirk.

In November 1877 the provost sponsored a match between Kelvinbank and a team of Falkirk Bairns then playing in Glasgow. The game was played at Mayfield, which was probably the same ground as Falkirk FC's later ground at Blinkbonny.

Falkirk XI v Kelvinbank, 8th Dec 1877 at Mayfield, Falkirk

Falkirk XI 0 Kelvinbank 5

Falkirk XI– P.C.Masterton; J.Richardson(Capt) & J.McNee; J.Thomson & J.Finlayson; J.Dunn & D.R.Watson, J.Taylor & R.McNee, J.Pringle & W.Parkinson.

Kelvinbank– D.McCall; McDonald & Robertson; Preston & Watson; W.Cumming(Capt) & W.Kerr, J.Thomson & W.Anderson, M.Currie & R.Cumming.

Scorers– Unknown.


James Richardson for the Falkirk side was the brother of George [the Falkirk FC Secretary], and later played for Falkirk FC, in later life he was manager of the Gothic foundry and as I never tire of telling people, was remarkably Falkirk's only player who was born in Peru!
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International XIs

April 5, 2014, 11:10 am
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In these days of jet setting and pre-season friendlies wherever it is nice [to me anyway] to think back to a time when the Scottish FA would send off a squad to play a whole bunch of games in a fertile territory in a largely proselytising role. The first of these tours undertaken by the SFA was to Canada in 1927 and had 3 Falkirk players. Both Canada & USA by then had their own fledgling clubs, and several Scottish players had journeyed across the pond to play in those leagues, though it must be said that since very few footballers were paid much in the 1920s it was mainly to work in the heavy industries not the football which attracted them for wages.

In 1927, just after the end of the season the Scottish FA sent a team on one of their few 'missionary' tours playing club sides and local XIs [and the Austrian Club side Vienna Hakoah], and were largely successful. But This about the Falkirk side of that tour. The Three Falkirk players, Thomas Scott, Patsy Gallacher and John Hunter were different carachters: Thomas Scott spent nearly his entire career at the club, Gallacher was an ex-Celtic legend who had been jetisonned by Celtic, and Falkirk saw a bargain, even though he was aging, and Shoogly Hunter a local who did well for some six years with Falkirk before going south to chase his fortune in the English Leagues.

These games came nowhere close to internationals, so Patsy Gallacher who was Irish and had previously played for Ireland and the Irish Free State, but was brought in Scotland, and played all his football in Scotland was given an honour which the SFA can no longer bestow on many servants of our game.

Patsy Gallacher

24th May v Montreal All-stars (IR) 1 Goal
28th May v Toronto All-Stars (IR) 1 Goal
8th Jun v Saskatoon All-Stars (IL) 1 Goal
16th Jun v Vancouver All-Stars (IR) 1 Goal
22nd Jun v Victoria All-Stars (IR)
1st Jul v Northern Ontarion (IL) 2 Goals
11th Jul v Toronto Ulster United (IR) 1 Goal

John Hunter

26th May v Hamilton All-Stars (IL)
1st Jun v New Ontario All-Stars (IR) 4 Goals
4th Jun v Manitoba All-Stars (IL) 1 Goal
6th Jun v Regina All-Stars (IR)
12th Jun v Calgary all-Stars (IL) 1 goal
18th Jun v Upper island All-Stars (IL) 1 goal
22nd Jun v Victoria All-Stars (IL) 1 Goals
26th Jun v British Columbia All-Stars (IL)
27th Jun v Edmonton All-Stars (IL)
29th Jun v Vienna Hakoah (IL)
10th Jul v Ontario All-Stars (IL) 1 Goal
11th Jul v Toronto Ulster United (IL)
15th Jul v Montral All-Stars (IL)

Thomas Scott

24th May v Monteal All-Stars (RB)
1st Jun v New Ontario all-Stars (RB)
4th Jun v Manitoba All-Stars (RB)
8th Jun v Saskatoon All-Stars (RB)
12th Jun v Calgary All-Stars (RB)
18th Jun v Upper Island All-Stars (RB)
1st Jul v Northern Ontario (RB)

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Laurieston FC - Clubs in Falkirk District

April 6, 2014, 12:17 am
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Laurieston FC were one of the longest lasting of the small senior clubs in Falkirk District, which, in my opinion, counts greatly in their favour: although always struggling in the face of clubs with a larger support, they never gave up the ghost until League football finally killed off the village club.

Coming from just a mile or two direcly East of Falkirk, Laurieston was a newtown of its era, originally called New Merchiston [along with Grangemouth the Laird was Lawrence Dundas, who also owned Merchiston in Edinburgh] it was created to situate some nail factories, and though Laurieston was soon superceded by Camelon in the nail business, Laurieson remained, though have never discovered which industries replaced the nails!

The club itself seems to have been formed about the summer of 1884, and as far as I know played their home matches throughout at Zetland Park, just below the village toward Grangemouth [though whether this is the same ground as the current football pitches located there is impossible to ascertain]. However much is known of the club, many of the players are clearly named in many of their matches, so there is more known of the club. The players who were randomly 'snatched' by Falkirk & East Stirlingshire just show the big fish nature of football. But Laurieston were also a big fish in their own little pond, often 'pilfering' players from Rumford Rovers & Redding Athletic in their own right.

They were sometimes, but not always, knockovers, but were fully part of the local senior scene, entering the Scottish Cup, Stirlingshire Cup and the two local cups for most of their lifespan, as well as other cups where they had the opportunity. I do not think they won anything in their time, but nor do I think they expected to, they played for their village and they hoped against hope that they could pull off a result.

Among the players they reared were Peter Steele [East Stirlingshire], David Fleming [Falkirk FC], Mathew Myles [many clubs].

One of the few teams where it is known their colours, as the Falkirk Herald in 1889 stated that they played in Amber & Black stripes. It is an absolute shame we went the way of splitting out football on senior/junior lines as they could have survived in a Division 8-10 of Scottish Football, with the odd draw against a big team in the cup keeping them going, but that was not to be: they were replaced by the Junior Club Laurieson Villa soon after, who produced the mighty Jock Simpson.

I would put all of Laurieston FC's competetive matches here, but they did play a lot, am working on it!



18th Oct 1884 King's Park           13  Laurieston            0  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
26th Sep 1885 Laurieston             0  Campsie Central       4  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
17th Apr 1886 Falkirk                7  Laurieston            0  Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd
11th Sep 1886 Grahamston             0  Laurieston            2  Scottish Cup 1st Rd
25th Sep 1886 Grahamston             3  Laurieston            0  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd [Grahamston disqualified]
 2nd Oct 1886 Laurieston             1  Falkirk               3  Scottish Cup 2nd Rd
30th Nov 1886 Falkirk                4  Laurieston            1  Stirlingshire Cup 2nd Rd
19th Feb 1887 East Stirlingshire     6  Laurieston            0  Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd
 7th Sep 1887 Slamannan              5  Laurieston            4  Scottish Cup 1st Rd
29th Oct 1887 Campsie               11  Laurieston            0  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
25th Feb 1888 Laurieston             6  Camelon               3  Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd
 7th Apr 1888 Laurieston             1  Grangemouth           3  Falkirk District Charity Cup Semi-Final
 1st Sep 1888 Vale of Bannock        3  Laurieston            2  Scottish Cup 1st Rd
27th Oct 1888 East Stirlingshire    11  Laurieston            2  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
20th Apr 1889 Laurieston             8  Stenhousemuir         1  Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd
 8th May 1889 Camelon                5  Laurieston            4  Falkirk District Charity Cup Semi-Final
11th May 1889 Denny                  7  Laurieston            2  Kilsyth Charity Cup 1st Rd
 7th Sep 1889 Dunipace               2  Laurieston            3  Scottish Cup 1st Rd
28th Sep 1889 Laurieston             1  East Stirlingshire    4  Scottish Cup 2nd Rd
 2nd Nov 1889 Laurieston             1  Kilsyth Wanderers     0  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
16th Nov 1889 Falkirk                6  Laurieston            2  Stirlingshire Cup 2nd Rd
22nd Feb 1890 Falkirk                4  Laurieston            1  Falkirk Cottage Hospital Shield Semi-Final
 6th Sep 1890 Campsie                4  Laurieston            1  Scottish Cup 1st Rd
 1st Nov 1890 Laurieston             3  Bridge of Allan       2  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
22nd Nov 1890 Laurieston             1  Stenhousemuir         1  Stirlingshire Cup 2nd Rd
29th Nov 1890 Laurieston             2  Stenhousemuir         1  Stirlingshire Cup 2nd Rd Replay
13th Dec 1890 Campsie Hibs           1  Laurieston            6  Stirlingshire Cup 3rd Rd
17th Jan 1891 Grangemouth            4  Laurieston            0  Stirlingshire Cup Semi-Final
28th Feb 1891 East Stirlingshire     7  Laurieston            1  Falkirk Cottage Hospital Shield Semi-Final
25th Apr 1891 Falkirk                8  Laurieston            0  Falkirk District Charity Cup Semi-Final
31st Oct 1891 Laurieston             4  Bridge of Allan       2  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
12th Dec 1891 Falkirk                3  Laurieston            2  Stirlingshire Cup 3rd Rd
18th May 1892 Falkirk                7  Laurieston            0  Falkirk District Charity Cup Semi-Final
29th Oct 1892 Laurieston             3  Camelon               7  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
12th Apr 1893 Falkirk               12  Laurieston            0  Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd
17th May 1893 East Stirlingshire     5  Laurieston            1  Falkirk Cottage Hospital Shield Semi-Final
16th Sep 1893 Denny                  5  Laurieston            0  Stirlingshire League
14th Oct 1893 Laurieston             1  Dunipace              4  Stirlingshire League
21st Oct 1893 Gairdoch               8  Laurieston            0  Stirlingshire League
28th Oct 1893 Laurieston             2  Bridge of Allan       4  Stirlingshire Cup 1st Rd
 4th Nov 1893 Grasshoppers           6  Laurieston            2  Stirlingshire League
11th Nov 1893 Laurieston             5  Grangemouth           7  Stirlingshire League
 3rd Feb 1893 Grangemouth            8  Laurieston            3  Stirlingshire League
10th Feb 1894 Laurieston             2  Denny                 1  Stirlingshire League
24th Feb 1894 Laurieston             7  Slamannan Rovers      4  Stirlingshire League
10th Mar 1894 Laurieston             3  Grasshoppers          3  Stirlingshire League
31st Mar 1894 Laurieston             1  Gairdoch              7  Stirlingshire League
18th Apr 1894 East Stirlingshire     8  Laurieston            2  Falkirk District Charity Cup 1st Rd
15th May 1894 Falkirk                7  Laurieston            0  Falkirk Cottage Hospital Shield Semi-Final
 1st May 1895 Camelon                3  laurieston            1  Falkirk Cottage Hospital Shield Semi-Final

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Arsenal v East Stirlingshire 22nd Feb 1896

April 13, 2014, 4:18 am
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Among my many faults, not only do I follow Falkirk Football Club, but am also a bit of a Gooner! So I can say without doubt that I am sooo jealous of this match! The world has so chnged in the last 100+ plus years that it makes it seem bizarre, or even ridiculous, but in February 1896 the Zebras went south to take on the soon to be mighty Arsenal.


Like I said: Jealous!!
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East Stirlingshire Ancients 1893

April 20, 2014, 3:16 am
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Not even fifteen years after their birth East Stirlingshire were old enough to be fielding an ancients side, and a bloody good one at that. In 1893 they put out a side which thumped their contemporaries from Stirling. Most of the team, it has to be said, were not long retired from the first eleven. But who am I to argue with History.

On Friday May 5th 1893 East Stirlingshire Ancients beat King's Park Ancients by 5 goals to 2 at Merchiston Pk, Bainsford

ES - James Dougall; Allan Rae & Peter Mitchell; Andrew Inch, Henry Brand & Robert Johnston; Robert Wilson & Peter McGregor, Lawrence McLachlan, John Taylor & Alexander Cockburn.

KP - W.Armstrong; T.W.R.Johnston & Robert Wilson; Wm Muir, Wm Morrison & Wm Miller; B.Taylor & John Gray, Wm McLay, John McLaren & McQueen.

Strangely in all my time I have never come across an East Stirlinjgshire Ancients v Falkirk Ancients match, except for the 10th Anniversary match of the first Stirlingshire Cup, but that was meant to be between the same players, so is not quite the same thing.
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ESFC-FFC Brothers

April 24, 2014, 6:37 am
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When two clubs have such a synchretic history and relationship [yet are not hindered by the baggage which weighs down the clubs to the East and [especially] the West of Scotland], they end up sharing many common factors - East Stirlingshire and Falkirk are the embodiment of this ... shared grounds, shared competitions, shared players .....

In this era of professionalism, sets of footballing brothers are more and more becoming a rarity, however back in the Nineteenth Century with more senior clubs therefore more competitions, there were fewer barriers to brothers playing on with the same clubs.

Of course it is not quite so rare for a club to have brothers amongst its ranks, both ESFC and FFC have many examples of this, there is even the case of Michael and Thomas Harley who played for Falkirk until the Summer of 1889 then both at the same time jumped ship to Bainsford. However I know of only one pair of brothers of whom one played for East Stirlingshire and the other for Falkirk.

Alex and Michael Drain came from Kilsyth [well they lived in Kilsyth: their father was from Cumbernauld, Alex was born in Rosehall [John & James, brothers in between were born in Airdrie] and Michael was born in Cumbernauld, and a younger brother in Kilsyth]. And it was in Kilsyth football that they were first noticed. Alex was a solid Left-Back with Smithstone Hibs [and with Kilsyth Hibs when they changed name], before moving up to their bigger rivals Kilsyth Wanderers [getting 'capped' for Stirlingshire], where came to the notice of Glasgow Celtic. Although I do not think he ever made it into the 1st XI, he certainly was a bit of a regular for the reserves for a while. And it was probably the lack of first team chances which prompted him to sign for East Stirlingshire in 1896. However tragedy was to befall him that season, as he was a miner in the real world [he is listed in the 1881 Census, aged 14, as an Iron Miner] and was severely injured in a mining accident, which was to end his life within a year.


His wee brother on the other hand played as an inside forward, normally Inside-Right, and first came to notice with the Junior side Kilsyth Emmet in the Stirlingshire Junior Cup and various Junior Leagues in Stirlingshire, by 1898 he had graduated to Kilsyth Wanderers [Kilsyth Hibs having folded in between] before joining Falkirk midway through the 1899/1900 season, but he never quite hit it off at Falkirk, although scoring when he got the chance, you had to be very good to dislodge Andrew Burt& Thomas Baird, and he wasn't quite that good. After Falkirk he dissapeared from my radar, and may have left football altogether.

Sadly as there were six years between the brothers, and Alex's early death there is little chance they played together [and no chance that they played on either side of the Falkirk Derby]. But there is still the slight chance they played against each other in some bizarre Kilsyth Charity Competition, but the lack of media coverage for Kilsyth at the times no-one will ever know.

Alex Drain

b 20th December 1868, Rosehall, Lanarkshire
d 15th March 1898, Kilsyth, Stirlingshire

Known Career – Smithstone Hibernians [1892/93], Kilsyth Hibernians [1893/94], Kilsyth Wanderers [1894/95], East Stirlingshire [1894/95 guest], Celtic [1895/96], East Stirlingshire [1896/97]

Michael Drain

b 17th December 1874, Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire
d

Known Career – Kilsyth Emmett, Kilsyth Wanderers [1898/99-1899/00], Falkirk [1899/00]

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Unsung Heroes - Andrew Mitchell

April 28, 2014, 4:00 am
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Andrew Mitchell is another of those players who will always come just under the radar, because he was not a great Centre-Foward, he was instead a bloody good Inside-Left, and could score a goal or two, Starting his senior career with the 'Shire, when Falkirk got promoted to the First Division we filched him, and apart from a period on Loan with Vale of Teith, he played his entire career with the two clubs, going back to ESFC in 1910.

During his time at Falkirk he proved his mettle by being selected for the Scottish International Trials in 1906, but didn't make it.

To put it in perspective he scored 47 Leaugue goals for Falkirk [56 in total], and there are no current Falkirk midfielders with anything like that tally.

Known Career – East Stirlingshire [1900/01-1905/06], Falkirk [1905/06-1909/10], Vale of Teith [1906/07], East Stirlingshire [1910/11-1912/13]

with FFC c1907



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Falkirk at Merchiston Park, 1904

May 7, 2014, 7:40 am
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I remember going to an East Stirlingshire v Clydebank match at Brockville Park in the early 1980s due to there being a problem with Shire central, it is interesting to watch League matches at neutral venues, there is an unnatural feel about them, none of the vie wing public being completely at home; and the odd neutral [like I was] being unfamiliar with both teams.

Of course games like this used pop up every so often, but they were mainly to do with the ground being used for another match, and nowadays would be more likely to cause a postponement than moving to another ground.

But the match brought to mind reading about an Abercorn v Falkirk match which was played at the home of East Stirlingshire, Merchiston Park on the 3rd May 1904.


Completely different circumstances of course and in this case it was technically an Abercorn home match, but it is close enough to bring a wry smile to my face.
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Westquarter v Falkirk 1933

May 8, 2014, 5:28 am
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I think I said in a previous blog post on Bob Shankly that he made his debut for Falkirk FC in August of 1933, well I was only half-right. Bill actually made his debut for the club a month earlier, except it was not for the reason he was signed ... as I'm afraid there is no need for a big, burly Centre-Forward in the gentleman's game of cricket.

Even by the 1930s professional football clubs playing the odd cricket match had become a rarity, whereas in the 19th Century it was quite commonplace, but is quite obvious why these social games died off: there is no point in signing a footballer just to have a wannabe tear-away fast-bowler try to knock his head off before he has even kicked a ball in anger.

Falkirk, quite rightly, were thumped by the village team, the game over in a day, but Scotland has never been renowned for its skill in the longer game.

Interestingly it would seem that Alex, Bob's big brother played in the match, interesting as he never played football for the club, and had retired from the professional game by then. Maybe he was just visiting his brother, since, he was meant to be a ringer he patently failed.

Useful for a really obscure trivia question about Shankly brothers playing together for the same football club.

Falkirk's best player in the match, Johnnie Richardson, although born in South Africa, interestibly was brought up in Westquarter, and lived there for the rest of his life.

Westquarter CC v Falkirk FC at Blairlodge, Polmont
Westquarter CC
J.Grant
 b J.Hope
 1
C.Storrar
 c J.Hutchison b J.Hope
 18
J.Myles
 b J.Hope
 0
J.Dick
 b J.Hope
 23
J.McLuckie
 b J.Richardson
 4
A.Fraser
 c G.Grant b J.Richardson
 4
D.Sharpe
 b C.Thomson
 17
W.McGilchrist Sr
 b C.Thomson
 14
W.A.U.Steven
 not out
 39
J.Brandon
 dnb


W.McGilchrist Jr
 dnb


Extras


 17
Total
 For Eight Wickets
 137
Bowling
J.Hope
 4 wickets for 34 Runs
J.Richardson
 2 for 25
C.Thomson
 2 for 50




Falkirk FC
J.Hope
 c & b W.A.U.Steven
 15
A.Henderson
 b J.Dick
 2
J.Thomson
 b J.Dick
 1
C.Thomson
 b W.A.U.Steven
 7
J.Richardson
 not out
 24
J.Bartram
 b D.Sharpe
 0
G.Grant
 c J.Grant b W.McGilchrist Sr
 7
R.Shankly
 b W.McGilchrist Sr
 1
J.Hutchison
 retired
 0
W.Harrison
 b W.McGilchrist Sr
 0
A.Shankly
 b J.Brandon
 7
Extras


 1
Total
 All Out
 65


W.McGilchrist Sr
 3 wickets for 2 runs


J.Dick
 2 for 9


J.Brandon
 1 for 0


W.A.U.Steven
 2 for 15


D.Sharpe
 1 for 12


Westquarter CC won by 72 runs

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Falkirk FC Top Goalscorer 1902 - George Campbell

May 9, 2014, 11:34 am
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Falkirk FC's first ever top Goalscorer, and League Goalscorer we are lucky as in he was a proper Bairn. George [Geordie] Campbell was born and brought up in the Town.

Starting his career as a Juvenile with Brockville Star, within a season he drew the attention of Vale of Carron. Vale of Carron were the 'shire's wee team and were big in Junior Circles and Geordie joined them, after a season though, he removed to Bo'ness [I don't know, East Lothian might have been better at the turn of the Century,] but soon enough, for a Falkirk lad moved to Dunipace Juniors where he made Centre-Forward his place.

Falkirk's ears pricked up and soon offered him terms. Of course he couldn't be the Centre-Forward, Robert Leishman was the CF, but he was put at Outside-Left. And he scored, for a young man he scored. In Falkirk FC's First Season in the League he scored 14 from 22 games. And when you add his goal in the Qualifying Cup v East Stirlingshire, he scored FIFTEEN.

All in all George made the benchmark for all Fakirk Strikers to follow.

It would seem, that he retired from Falkirk due to Ill-health, but was tempted out of retirement due to Raith Rovers, with whom he died. I blame Raith Rovers.He died at the scarily young age of 25, but you know, he is one of our seasonal top scorers.


George Campbell

b c1884, Falkirk, Stirlingshire
d 13th February 1909, Falkirk, Stirlingshire

Scottish League Division 1 Matches/Goals [16/10]
Scottish League Division 2 Matches/Goals [53/25]
Scottish Qualifying Cup Matches /Goals [6/1]
Minor League Matches/Goals [19/8]
Minor Cup Matches/Goals [31/11]

Known Career – Brockville Star, Vale of Carron, Bo'ness Our Boys, Falkirk [1900/01-1906/07], Dunipace Juniors, Raith Rovers [1907/08-1908/09]
Played in Falkirk's first ever Scottish League Match v Clyde (A) Scottish League Division 2, 16th August 1902
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Stirlingshire Coronation Tournament 1902

May 10, 2014, 5:31 am
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In 1902 the Stirlingshire FA organised a seperate Competition on the same lines as the Stirlingshire Cup, It seems to have been in part to celebrate the Coronation, however the proceeds were given to the Ibrox Disaster Fund. I have never found an official name for this competition, so I made up the name above.

The ccup was rather hastily arranged, so the first round was a bit of a disaster, only two games taking place, both between Alloa Athletic & Falkirk, both draws leading Falkirk to withdraw [we had just joined the League and had more important fixtures to fulfill], in the other ties King's Park scratched to East Stirlingshire and Falkirk Amateurs scratched to Stenhousemuir.

At least the Semi-Finals were competed, with East Stirlingshire beating Camelon by a single goal and Stenhousemuir beating Alloa by 3-1 in Alloa.

So for the the big [semi] local final, naw, it was a drab affair by all accounts, ESFC again winning by the only goal of the match, but then again that it is all it takes.

So, in the summing up of all mankind at the end of times, at least ESFC will be able to meet their maker in the eye and say "We were the one and only winner of the Stirlingshire Coronation Tournament" [or whatever it was officially called].

I have put the results on Brian McColl's brilliant Scottish Football Historical Archive site.
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