The Gallant Pioneers: Rangers 1872

by Ralston, Gary

  The majority of the Rangers team were barely out of their teens when they kicked off the Scottish Cup, hoping for third time lucky, with a 4–1 defeat of Queen’s Park Juniors at Kinning Park on 20 September 1876. Defender George Gillespie was just 17, while James Campbell, the only goalscorer from that match to be officially recorded, was 18. His older brother Peter and friends Moses McNeil and Tom Vallance were all 20 years old and William Dunlop was the oldest at 22. Towerhill were swept aside in the next round 8–0 and Rangers also travelled to Mauchline and Lennox and won comfortably 3–0 on each occasion. Surprisingly, even though fixture scheduling can charitably be described in the 1870s as haphazard, Rangers were given a bye at the semi-final stage. The kids from Kinning Park had made the Scottish Cup Final for the first time in their short history – and Vale of Leven lay in wait.

  The club from Alexandria is long gone as a senior outfit – they withdrew from the Scottish League in 1892 and limped on at various levels until 1929 – but Rangers still owe them a debt of gratitude, in part for their Light Blues nickname, which first came to the fore around the time of the Final. In his history of Rangers, written for the SFA’s annual in 1894, a scribe operating under the name of ‘Obo’ claimed Rangers had been known as the Light Blues for the first 22 years of their existence as a result of the colour of their shirts. However, his claims do not stand up to scrutiny when compared against the evidence provided by club officials for the earliest SFA annuals. All teams were required to list their colours and Rangers’ shirts were frequently listed as blue (1876 and 1878) or, more commonly, royal blue (from 1879 onwards). Light blue was never mentioned. They also wore white knickerbockers and blue and white hooped socks.

  It has been argued, with some merit, that the Light Blues refers not to the colour of the shirts but the dash of performers such as Moses McNeil and Peter Campbell when they pulled the cotton kit, most likely provided by H. and P. McNeil, over their youthful shoulders around the time of the 1877 Final. The Glasgow News of Monday 19 March references the ‘light and speedy’ Rangers, while Archie Steel makes a compelling case for the Light Blues to be considered in the context of the tradition of Oxford and Cambridge universities. Vale’s colours were a very dark blue, almost black (although they wore plain white in the second of the three epic matches) and he claimed Vale were similar to the Dark Blues of Oxford in their appearance, while Rangers, in a hue of kit not as powerful, resembled the Light Blues of Cambridge.

  To describe Vale of Leven as favourites to win the Scottish Cup on Saturday 17 March 1877 is as much an understatement as saying football had caught the imagination of the general public ever so slightly. True, the Vale had never lifted the trophy, but the previous season they had been considered unfortunate to be knocked out of the competition at the semi-final stages following a narrow 2–1 loss to Queen’s Park, prompting the editors of the Scottish Football Annual that summer to conclude that the rest of the Scottish game, in particular Vale of Leven and Third Lanark, were quickly catching up with the Hampden giants. The men from Alexandria had caused a sensation in the fifth round by handing Queen’s Park their first defeat on Scottish soil after a decade of existence. Furthermore, experienced players such as Alex McLintock, John McGregor, John Ferguson, John McDougall and John Baird had already been capped for their country – Moses McNeil and Tom Vallance were the only two Scotland players in the Rangers team at that time and the latter had only won his first two caps in the fortnight before the Final. Vale of Leven had age and physical presence on their side, not to mention that morale-boosting win over the greatest club of them all. The rain had fallen ankle deep on the Hampden playing surface that historic Saturday afternoon of 30 December 1876 as the men from Alexandria celebrated their 2–1 win over Queen’s Park to take them into the semi-final. However, subsequent events threatened to dampen the feelgood factor of their sensational victory.

  The following Tuesday, several Queen’s Park members were strolling over the playing surface and noticed suspicious marks in the turf that looked as if they had come from spiked boots, which were strictly forbidden at the time. As a result, Queen’s Park wasted no time in dispatching a delegation of two men to the lodgings of various Vale players with a request to see the footwear worn three days earlier. They first called upon the home of John Ferguson and although he was out, his wife invited the visitors into their home and produced her husband’s boot bag. As luck would have it – or, from the point of view of Queen’s Park, bad fortune – the bag also contained the boots of teammate Bobby Paton and there was not a spike in sight. Undeterred, they marched on to the home of another player, John McGregor. Initially, he mistook their arrival as a show of bonhomie to welcome the New Year and uncorked a bottle as the three men toasted the arrival of 1877. However, when the true nature of their business became clear McGregor threw his unspiked boots at their feet in disgust and swore bitterly that he regretted ever proffering a dram in the first place. He was not alone in being incensed. The Vale committee pointed out that the holes on the Hampden pitch were various sizes and more consistent with marks from the tip of a shooting stick or umbrella, which had been carried by at least one umpire. One newspaper correspondent mischievously suggested the markings were made by crows, which thrived in the district, and the game was forever after known as the ‘Crows’ Feet’ match. There was no replay and Vale went on to meet Rangers following a 9–0 demolition of Ayr Thistle in the semi-final, adding to victories in the earlier rounds against Third Lanark, Vale of Leven Rovers, Helensburgh and Busby.

  The Gallant Pioneers: the Rangers team that played in the Scottish Cup Final in 1877. Back row (left to right): George Gillespie, William McNeil, James Watt, Sam Ricketts. Middle row (left to right): William Dunlop, David Hill, Tom Vallance, Peter Campbell, Moses McNeil. Front row (left to right): James Watson, Sandy Marshall. Tom Vallance wore a lion rampant on his chest to symbolise the two international appearances he made that season, against England and Wales.

  On the morning of Monday 19 March 1877 newspapers went into overdrive to describe the Final that had taken place at the West of Scotland Cricket Club in Partick 48 hours earlier. One declared the game as ‘decidedly the finest match that has ever been played since the dribbling game was introduced to Scotland.’9 The teams lined up as follows and did not change over the course of the next three games – Rangers: J. Watt, goal; G. Gillespie and T. Vallance, backs; W. McNeil and S. Ricketts, half-backs; W. Dunlop, A. Marshall, P. Campbell, D. Hill, J. Watson and M. McNeil, forwards. Vale of Leven: W.O. Wood, goal; A. Michie and A. McIntyre, backs; W. Jamieson and A. McLintock, half-backs; R. Paton, J. McGregor, J. McDougall, J. Ferguson, D. Lindsay and J.C. Baird, forwards.

  Headlines had been dominated that week by the acceptance of William Gladstone, who would soon become Prime Minister for his second of four terms, of the candidacy to become Lord Rector of Glasgow University; a New Kilpatrick farmer was fined five guineas in the Glasgow courts for selling sour milk to the public, which contained 38 per cent added water; while in Dumbarton, the council turned on local MP Sir Archibald Orr Ewing and called on him to retract or disown statements he had made alleging excessive drunkenness in the district. However, Vale of Leven players had other things on their minds than the slating of their neighbours by the man charged with representing their interests at Westminster because they knew, despite their tag as favourites, that their rivals from Kinning Park would be no pushovers. Tradition dictated that a Scottish terrier, known as the ‘Derby dog’, was brought out before kick-off at 3.30pm to parade up and down in front of the fans in the pavilion at Hamilton Crescent. Snow, rain and sleet had fallen all week, although the weather had improved slightly in time for the kick-off and a crowd estimated at 8,000 was present. In a breathless encounter, Vale took the lead when Paton nodded home from a McLintock cross early in the second half and the crowd awaited the inevitable onslaught. However, even with the wind in their faces the plucky youngsters from Kinning Park, inspired by skipper Tom Vallance, refused to be cowe
d and drew level with 20 minutes remaining when McDougall put through his own net. A draw was acceptable to neither team as the action swung from one end of the field to the next, the air punctured with cries such as: ‘Time to win the Cup yet, Rangers!’ and ‘Waken up and run through them, Vale of Leven.’ Eventually, time was called with the score still locked at 1–1 and while a replay was scheduled it was the underdog Rangers who claimed the moral victory as their players were carried off the field shoulder high by their excited fans. Both sides came together again later that evening, this time at the Athole Arms in Dundas Street, where every kick, pass and opportunity was examined over a glass of beer.

  Three weeks passed between the Final and the first replay, but time had neither dulled nor dampened the enthusiasm for the second match. If anything, a fevered excitement and anticipation hung in the air with the grey clouds above Partick that Saturday afternoon, 7 April, and even the rainfall would not keep the supporters away. Inside the ground, more than 8,000 fans huddled together against the weather, with just as many outside trying desperately to sneak a look over the fence at the action. The Glasgow News of 9 April reported that ‘an enormous crowd assembled within the well known cricket enclosure of the West of Scotland Club and outside the railings and on the high ground to the north thousands of spectators took up positions. A dozen omnibuses, numerous cabs and other conveyances collected in the roads and from the top of these vehicles a large number of people enjoyed a much better view of the game than many who had paid for admission – the crowd around the ropes standing three and four deep. An estimate of the numbers present will be gathered from the fact – officially announced afterwards – that the receipts exceeded any previous amounts collected at any match in Scotland and it may be asserted without hesitation that Saturday’s assembly was the largest ever seen on any football rendezvous in Britain.’10

  The game kicked off at 3.30pm and within seven minutes Rangers had opened the scoring after William ‘Daddy’ Dunlop struck a well-placed shot between the posts. Vale, kicking downhill and with the wind at their backs, immediately searched for an equaliser but their attacks were repelled time and again by the ever reliable Tom Vallance and ’keeper James Watt. Rangers enjoyed the advantage of the conditions as the second half kicked off but Vale scored within two minutes of the restart, although the roar of the crowd was muffled by peals of loud thunder as the heavens opened. Moses McNeil passed up a couple of opportunities late on, while Vale also went close before the game swept into an extra-time period of 30 minutes. However, it was never completed as five minutes into the second period a shot from Dunlop caused chaos and sparked fierce debate among fans that lasted for years afterwards.

  Rangers argued passionately that the ball had crossed the line from Dunlop’s shot and bounced off a spectator before landing safely back in the arms of Wood, but the referee, SFA honorary secretary William Dick, was too far from the action to make a balanced call. To add to the confusion, one of his umpires insisted the ball had crossed the line, while the other debated just as vigorously that no goal had been scored. The spectator the ball was alleged to have struck was Sir George H.B. McLeod, regius professor of surgery at Glasgow University, who later offered to swear on oath a goal had been scored, but his offer was not accepted by the football authorities. In the time it took to discuss the incident many fans, who had been craning their necks all afternoon for a closer glimpse of the action, burst on to the field and arguments broke out between them about the validity of Dunlop’s ‘goal’. It was a scene of utter bedlam and when the pitch could not be cleared the final whistle was blown 10 minutes early and another replay arranged for the following week at Hampden.

  The captain’s table: Tom Vallance invited all survivors from the 1877 Scottish Cup Final to a 21st anniversary dinner at his Metropolitan Restaurant on 13 April 1898. Each invite was intricately and individually drawn by the talented artist, with tribute paid to the four Rangers who had passed away in the previous two decades – Sandy Marshall, Peter Campbell, William Dunlop and James Watt.

  In the 21st century, football administrators are often criticised for arranging times and dates for matches that do not always suit the paying public but, as ever, the only thing new in life is the history not already known. The third and final game between Rangers and Vale of Leven in the Scottish Cup kicked-off at the unusual time of 5.30pm at Hampden on Friday 12 April (rumours of a Rangers no-show in disgust at Dunlop’s disallowed goal in the previous match proved unfounded). The attendance and gate receipt record from six days earlier was smashed again as 10,000 fans crammed into the first Hampden Park, sited at Crosshill, next to Hampden Terrace. It was estimated that a similar number again sought every height advantage outside the ground to watch the match from the tops of cabs, buses and trees. The majority of the crowd were Rangers fans, although they were hardly partisan. The Scottish Football Annual recalled: ‘In justice to the great majority of the people it is only fair to add that when a bit of brilliant play was shown on the Vale of Leven side it did not pass uncheered, and when the goals were taken on each side the scene baffled description. The hum of human voices was heard far and near and caps, hats, and sticks were waved overhead in thousands.’11

  If Rangers had the better of the first game and Vale of Leven showed their strength in the second then the third was more evenly balanced although not, according to match reports of the time, as much of a football spectacle, despite five goals being scored. Vale of Leven netted through McDougall after only 15 minutes, making amends for his own-goal in the first tie. However, Rangers equalised in the second half when a tame Peter Campbell shot was missed by Wood, who made a feeble and unsuccessful attempt to kick it clear, and the Glasgow youngsters took a grip on the game 10 minutes later when Willie McNeil slotted home the second. However, the mental strength of Vale came to the fore as John Baird snatched an equaliser only three minutes after McNeil had given Rangers hope that it might be their year. There was clearly little appetite among both groups of players for a fourth match as the game reached an exciting climax, swinging from one end to the other. Sam Ricketts and Tom Vallance went close with shots for Rangers, while Watt was a sterling performer between the sticks. However, it was Baird who had the final say when he knocked in the winner with 10 minutes remaining to give his side a 3–2 victory. Unsurprisingly, the game was more bad-tempered than the previous two fixtures and one unnamed Vale player was chastised for kicking out at Moses McNeil.

  This time, the informalities of the Athole Arms were dispensed with as Vale of Leven headed to Alexandria to celebrate with their families, friends and fans, who had waited patiently at the post office in the town for news of the result, which finally arrived at 7.30pm. The Vale of Leven players descended from the Glasgow train two hours later, by which time a crowd of 3,000 were waiting to greet them. The players were lifted shoulder high onto an open-top wagon and paraded around the town, with the Bonhill band leading the way. Amid joyous scenes at the departure of the Cup from Glasgow for the first time, ‘cannons were fired, pipers were discoursing Highland music and all the dogs of the district barked their part in the chorus of rejoicing over the famous football victory.’12

  Rangers players, who had practised so long and hard at Kinning Park under the light of the winter moon, could only howl in frustration. However, these pups would soon have their day.

  Peter McNeil

  The melody of birdsong is rarely heard beyond cemetery gates, but the excited and voluble chatter of children in the playground of a nearby primary school, which drifts over the fence to fill the air at Craigton Cemetery, is a fitting replacement that underlines the boundless energy of youth and the promise of all that lies ahead in life. Burials are rarely held at Craigton these days – modern trends, in terms of cost and convenience, favour cremation. For those who prefer an interment, the cemetery at Cardonald, a quarter of a mile away, is much less overgrown and better tended than this formerly privately owned parcel of land, which has only been in the hands of Gl
asgow City Council for the last few years.

  Nevertheless, Craigton’s location, high on the south side of the city and offering a panoramic sweep of the valley below in which over 500,000 people live, unsurprisingly once made it the favoured final resting place of Glasgow’s middle classes. Off to the left, despite its distance on the horizon, the might of Ben Lomond still muscles its way visually between the Old Kilpatrick Hills and the Campsie Fells. The Campsies frame the north of the city, throwing a protective arm around Glasgow from its shoulder at Dumgoyne to the tips of its fat fingers pointing towards Stirlingshire and beyond. In the foreground, the M8 buzzes with traffic, a hive of activity in comparison to the few remaining cranes still left on the Clyde, which seem to bow their heads in the low winter sun in respect of better times past for shipbuilding on the river.