Admin – Page 37 – Anent Scottish Running

1930 Empire Games

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Admin

The first British Empire Games were held in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada between 16th and 23rd August in 1930 with a total of 400 competitors. They were a great success and many of their innovations were adopted by the Olympic movement which watched this new competition with interest. eg there hd never been a podium for the awards to be presented while the flag was unfurled for the winner. The Olympics had the flags, but no podium and they first used a podium in 1932. Where did the British Empire Games come from? What were their origins? My main source for what follows in “the Commonwealth Games” by Brian Oliver, although other sources have also been consulted.

Bobby Robinson, above, was born in Peterborough, Ontario in 1888 and was an important figure in the newspaper business and a well connected businessman. He was known as a dynamic and aggressive campaigner who in 1929 first set out his plans for the Games. He and a fellow businessman, Howard Crocker, had been discussing ways to get their athletes more and better competition and Crocker had mentioned the Festival of Empire held in London in 1911 for King George V’s coronation; he also mentioned the ‘Pan Britannic Festival of Culture and Sport’ dreamt up by J Astley Cooper in the early 1890’s. Robinson liked what he had heard and is said to have begun planning from then for the Empire Games.

He was further spurred on by the perceived treatment of Canadian athletes at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. Mainly by the Americans and Germans. When Percy He was interviewed by the Toronto Star writer Lou Marsh who reported that “as a result of the dominance, real or imagined, by Germany and America at the Olympic meet, … Robinson finally boiled over and, after consultation with other Canadian officials, met representatives of the other British teams.” Among his complaints were the Williams incident mentioned above, the fact that the Americans were allowed to train on the Olympic track while the Canadians were not, a disputed verdict in the women’s 100m which was given to the Americans when Canadians thought it should go the other way, and a direct insult by Avery Brundage of America to a Canadian official. These comments of course only added fuel to the fire of rivalry between the two nations, and , maybe unfortunately, the official correspondence preceding the Hamilton meeting has been lost.

However, in January 1929, Robinson asked the Hamilton city fathers for $25,000 to run the Games and a further $150,000 to build the stadium and other facilities. Other countries came on board, not without difficulty and the main supporters of Australia, England and New Zealand all stated their intention to be present. In the event, there were 11 nations present.

The sports included athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing, swimming, and wrestling. The opening ceremonies and many events were held at the Civic stadium in east Hamilton. The games were opened by the Governor General of Canada, Lord Willingdon on the 16 August. As at the Olympic Games, the competitors all marched in behind their national flag but the whole parade was led in by the Union Jack as an indication that they were all part of the British Empire. the oath taken by Percy Williams, on the flag, on behalf of the athletes was “From many parts of the British Empire, we are here assembled as amateur athletes to compete in friendly competition. We pledge our best endeavours to uphold the honour of our country and the glorious traditions of British Sportsmanship.”

Once the games started, Scotland won 17 medals – 2 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze which placed them fourth behind England (61), Canada (54) and South Africa (17) but ahead of New Zealand (9) and Australia (8). Not bad. There was only one athletics medal – gold for the marathon by Dunky Wright. There was also a gold, a silver and a bronze from boxing, bronze from bowls and finally two silvers and three bronzes from swimming.

The team at departure

Events and Scottish placings John Astley Cooper

Greenock Glenpark Harriers Sports: 1914-1919

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Admin

The Greenock Glenpark Harriers crest

Everybody knows something about the sports meetings held by the big football clubs – Rangers, Celtic, Queen’s Park, etc, and there are works meetings such as the Babcock and Wilcox Sports at Renfrew and Dirrans Sports in Kilwinning but knowledge of the Greenock Glenpark Sports in the athletics community is strictly limited. Held on the last Saturday in July, it was the start of three weekends of athletics meetings that drew big crowds. Rangers Sports were on the first Saturday in August and Celtic on the second Saturday. Held at Cappielow Park, home of Greenock Morton FC, they drew crowds of up to 11,000 spectators and attracted athletes from England, Ireland and even further field at times. In the 1920’s such athletes as Eric Liddell were annual competitors at the meeting, but in the period before that the 1914-18 war made athletics difficult but the committee of the club did well and the meeting was held every year of the war. We start this section in 1914 with a report from the ‘Glasgow Herald’.

“An unusually varied programme and the presence of several well-known competitors from England and Ireland attracted fully 5000 spectators to the athletic meeting of Greenock Glenpark Harriers at Cappielow Park on Saturday. The weather was fair but cold, a strong breeze prevailing throughout the afternoon. The wind favoured the sprinters and fast times were registered in the Heats of the 100 yards handicap, while the Final was won from scratch in a shade under 10 seconds. The Irish champion, FRS Shaw, was a popular winner in this event and he also qualified for the final of the 220 yards, but to the disappointment of spectators, he was prevented by sickness from competing. HJ Christie, who won his Heat easily, secured a narrow victory in the Final in which he improved his earlier time by a second. In the three miles invitation handicap, FJ Ryder, Clonliffe Harriers, gave a fine exhibition of staying power and speed. Starting from scratch, and conceding starts up to 280 yards, he gradually overtook a large field and won by 10 yards from W Brodie, Paisley YMCA Harriers, the winner of the two miles handicap at Ayr the previous Saturday. Along with Ryder on the scratch mark, were GCL Wallach, ex-champion at four miles, and James Wilson, the ex-champion. The trio kept together for fully two miles when Wallack fell back, and a little later Wilson also lost ground. In the last lap Ryder made his effort, and with a fine burst of speed, overtook the field finishing strongly, as stated. E Glover, Hallamshire Harriers, was entered for both the mile and the three miles but he did not compete. Duncan McPhee. the Scottish half-mile and mile champion, was also an entrant for the three miles, but reserved himself for the shorter distance in which he secured third place from AG Lang, Greenock Glenpark, and WP Brown, Glasgow YMCA Harriers. Wallach also ran in the Mile, reserving 30 yards from McPhee but he was unplaced, securing however the prize for the first Glenpark man home after the three placed men. The relay race proved an easy victory for the West of Scotland Harriers. More than ordinary interest was imparted to the two miles walk by the presence of the English champion, R Bridge. With the limit man 350 yards away, Bridge walked at a very fast pace throughout and finished half a lap ahead of the Scottish champion, Alex Justice, and finished in the very fast time of 13 min 57 3-5th sec, only 2-5th sec outside the Scottish all comers record.”

Held on 25th July, the sports were a great success with more than ten events plus the usual five-a-side competition in which Rangers beat Celtic 1-0 in the final. The local club did well – in the relay they were second to the West team with Clydesdale Harriers third, the winner of the handicap mile, and finalists in almost every event.

GCL Wallach

By July 1915 hostilities had been joined and the war was well under way but a sports meeting was held organised by Glenpark on 31st July. Under the heading of Greenock Glenpark Harriers, the report read:

“An athletic meeting was held in aid of dependants of soldiers and sailors was held at Cappielow Park on Saturday afternoon. The promoters were the Glenpark Harriers, and the meeting was under the patronage of Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart, Bart; the Lady Alice Shaw Stewart, the Provost, Magistrates and Town Councils of Greenock, Gourock and Port Glasgow; the Directorate of the Morton Football Club; the military and naval officers stationed in Western Renfrewshire, and a large number of prominent people in the district. The programme embraced no fewer than eleven events, in addition to races for the Boy Scouts and the Boys Brigade, and the open and invitation events were supported by nearly all the Scottish runners and a number of well-known English and Irish competitors. The military marathon race, for teams of twelve, attracted an entry of thirteen teams. Competitors were required to cover a course of about 10 miles in miltary equipment, each team travelling and finishing as a unit. The winning team proved to be one of those representing the 8th Provisional Battalion, HLI, who also furnished the runners-up, there being less than a minute in the times of the two teams. In the two miles walking handicap, R Bridge the English champion gave a good exhibition of his unique talent, conceding starts of up to 350 yards, and winning by fully 200 yards. Two of the invitation events, the quarter and the halfmile were won by G Dallas, Maryhill Harriers, who was followed in the shorter distance by GH Gray, of Salford Harriers, the winner of the hurdle race. The latter event was over a distance of 220 yards, instead of the more usual 120, and the English champion was able to concede 16 yards to HD Soutter and won y a yard.

Fine weather prevailed and there was a crowd of 8000, the drawings at gate and stand amounting to about £300. To this is to be added the sum of £45:1:9d, being the amount of a subscription amongst the workers in the Greenock Torpedo Factory.”

It is surprising that such meetings were able to be conducted thorughout the war period, albeit that the fields were a bit restricted because of the numbers on active service, but every did their bit and the money raised was put to good use. The military marathon was a bit more of a challenge tha some of the events restricted to serving personnel – some were normal events (100 yards for soldiers only), others were more specific to the cause (‘stretcher races with a ‘body’ strapped to the stretcher), and some were simply displays. On the same day there were sports at Tynecastle in Edinburgh ehere there were 11,000 spectators and drawings were £270 which went to the Red Cross Society

R Bridge appeared on the programme as ‘London Walking Club and Glenpark Harriers’, and FJ Ryder, again from scratch, was second to a Glenpark runner to who he was conceding 295 yards.

James Wilson

The 1916 version of the Greenock Glenpark Sports was held on 29th July and instead of a report as such on the meeting, the ‘Glasgow Haerld’ commented at length in its ‘Notes on Sports’ column.

“It says much for the influence of Mr William Struthers, of Glenpark Harriers, that he is able to attract to the annual gala of his club so many visitors from England and Ireland. The presence of such notable performers as Corporal Gamble of the Irish Guards, Bridge, the champion walker of England, Lieutenant Taylor, the rival of Applegarth, Gray, the famous hurdler, and Ryder of Ireland gave distinction to a full and varied programme. Of those mentioned, only Gamble met with any great success. He ran a magnificent race in the half mile and won on the tape after finding himself rather curtailed for room at the bend into the home straight. He is a splendid specimen of athletic manhood, big of body and lithe of limb, and his pace and action are a delight to the eye. Bridge did not feel too well after a night of travelling, and had to retires owing to that vexatious athletic infliction commonly known as ‘stitch’. In any case he would have had to make a supreme effort to overtake the Scottish champion, Justice, who walked with great determination and pace and ultimately finished an easy winner. Then Gray did not seem enamoured of the line of hurdles running diagonally across the pitch and did well to finish close up to Soutter of the promoting clubin the good time of 15 sec. Wilson, the Scottish champion, a slim and graceful runner, had a splendid victory from scratch in the three miles handicap, in which he had more trouble in disposing of Lance Corporal Ross, the winner at Ayr, than in defeating such notabilities as Wallach and Ryder. The dapper little Salford Harrier, Shelmardine, shone at the shorter distances. A very nondescript Celtic five were defeated by Morton, and a team of Royal Scots Fusiliers, captained by the well-known athlete Sergeant Gutteridge, won the military marathon. In view of the enterprise displayed by the promoters, it was gratifying to find the attendance of 7000 present, so that the local war funds will substantially benefit.”

The military marathon had been cut in half from the revious year, being held over only five miles in 1916. The William Struthers mentioned was a hard working and highly respected official throughout Scottish athletics: he had been president of the SCCU in 1912-14 and would go on to be president of the SAAA in season 1922-23.

Duncan McPhee

There were three fixtures on 28th July, 1917 – Greenock Glenpark, Edinburgh and the professional meeting at Shawfield organised by Clyde FC. As the war progressed so thenumber of events was reduced – partly because so many men were being sent to the front line to fight in the bloody battles of the 1914-18 War, partly because travel to meetings was difficult and partly because time was not available for training. Nevertheless the Greenock meeting attracted a crowd of 5000 on a bright, sunny, July afternoon at Cappielow. “Despite the absence of sporting celebrities from the fields of the south, the attendance was as large as ever and this was particularly gratifying in view of the subject to which the proceeds are to be devoted – The Greenock Sailors and Soldiers Families Association. It was once more made evident that sporting interest does not so much depend on individual distinction as upon a certain equality of ability which ensures keen competition and engenders liveliness. As so often occurs, members of the organising club figured prominently in the prize list: indeed they won three of the four open events. LA Osborne was a double winner, and ran with great brightness and life in the hundred and furlong. It was pleasing to find J Wilson, the Scottish four miles champion, successful in winning the half-mile, and for a time he looked like emulating Osborne’s feat by adding the two miles to the shorter distance, but a magnificnt finishing dash by Ross, the Edinburgh runner, deprived the local man of the double distinction. Military items bulked largely in the programme, and as usual the aid of football was invoked to attract and entertain the crowd. Our experience this season has been that these football tournaments are generally tedious because of their length, and uninteresting because of the incapacity of the average player to adapt himself to changed conditions. Most programmes would gain if the entries were limited to four or five teams as was the case at Cappielow. “

The programme was reduced to five events (heats for the sprints) plus the football, and the military marathon was now limited to the 3rd Royal Scots Fusilers, and run over six miles. Winners were H Company, G Company and F Company; the five-a-sides were won by Celtic (1-0) over a Military Five, from Maryhill.

In 1918, still suffering from the exigencies of the war, the sports went ahead on 27th June. There were several small scale meetings on that day and Glenpark’s was one of them. “There was a large number of sports meetings promoted by a great variety of organisations. For reasons connected chiefly with past history, the gala of Greenock Glenpark Harriers may be given pride of place. It attracted a fine crowd, who were for the most part pleased that members of the home club figured so prominently in the prize list; for instance they monopolised all the laurels in the furlong. It must be confessed that there is a tendency to sameness about athletic programmes these days – seldom is there any novelty in regard to the personel of the competitors or the nature of the competition, so that the appearance of GCL Wallach, a “pre-war Scottish champion” at Cappielow was a welcome variation from the ordinary. He ran well in the two miles but was unable to overtake Cuthbert, who finished in dashing style. The Railwaymen’s Union had a successful gathering at Ibrox Park which should be of substantial assistance to the Orphan Fund. The sport calls for little comment.”

There were five events (with heats in the 100 and 220 yards) and a five a side in which St Mirren beat Rangers 2-0. The crowd totalled 8000 so the money raised for the families of serving members of the forces would have been considerable. At Ibrox there were five events plus a tug o’war (won by Bargeddie and a five-a-side in which Vale of Clyde beat Benburb 3-0. The Glenpark meeting with international runners taking part and lots of locals was clearly the meeting to be seen at. It should be noted though that,as had been the case all along, the professional meeting at Shawfield, organised by Clyde FC had a much bigger crowd than any of the others with 20,000 in attendance on this weekend. It also had the best five-a-side with Rangers beating Clydebank in the final by 2 – 0.

Cappielow Park, Home of Greenock Morton FC

After the war, on 26th July, 1919, matters were starting to get back to normal as was shown by the report in the ‘Glasgow Herald’. Glenpark Harriers meeeting at Greenock on Saturday recalled some great athletic meetings of former days when the most famous amateur performers from England, Ireland and abroad came to the west of Scotland. Among the competitors at Cappielow were two from New Zealand, one from Canada and several from England. The presence of the Colonials in this country is, of course, due to the war, all three being members of the fighting forces, and it was an excellent idea of the Glenpark management to persuade them to compete. Their running imparted distinction to the meeting, which otherwise could hardly have reached the standard usually associated with Greenock. The entries were not numerous, and some of the more prominent runners were engaged elsewhere but Sergeant Mason, Sergeant Lindsay, Sergeant Phillips and AM Nichols made amends for much and the meeting will stand out as one of the most interesting of the season. Mason, who won the half-mile, is a commanding personality and a runner of exceptional ability.

The first Heat had little more than started when it became apparent that none of the other runners could stay the pace he set. He won as he liked in 2 min dead, and in the Final he improved to the extent of four fifths of a second, and left the impression that he could have done much better if necessary. It is true that he was challenged in the straight by I Dobbie to whom he was conceding 35 yards, but the New Zealander found with no apparent difficulty the extra pace necessary to secure first position by a substantial margin.

No fewer than three Scottish champions were among the competitors – Sergeant Phillips, J Wilson and AH Goodwin. The Canadian, who gained championship honours at Parkhead two weeksa month ago, did not start in the half-mile handicap but he rendered useful service to Glenpark, of which club he is a member, in the relay race, and he won the invitation quarter-mile from scratch, beating Mason narrowly in the last ten yards. It was a matter for regret that the latter did not start in the invitation mile, as his running in the half-mile suggested that he would have given a good account of himself. AH Nichols of the Surrey AC, was also a non-starter but he was reserving himself for the three miles in which he out distanced the field in the early stages and ran the last lap like a quarter miler. James Wilson, the four miles champion, and GCL Wallach, an ex-champion, ran together for a time but the latter tired early, and Wilson had to go on alone most of the way. Of the home competitors the most successful was A Forrester, of the promoting club, who captured the 100 and 220 yards open handicaps. Maryhill narrowly beat Glenpark in the relay race, though but for a faulty exchange in the furlongs, the Greenock team might have had the better of the champions. The meeting was well handled and finished ahead of schedule with the final of the football tournament a win for the home five sending the crowd home in a good humour.”

Sergeant Phillips of Canada ran in the 800m in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. The initiative shown during the period of the war and in its immediate aftermath would be shown to good effect in the 1920’s and would culminate in a match between Scotland and Canada at the Glenpark Harriers Games.

Greenock Glenpark Sports, 1920 – 1929

Greenock Glenpark Harriers Sports: 1920 – 29

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Admin

The Greenock Glenpark Harriers Sports was one of Scottish athletics most respected, best supported and longest running meetings in the country. It attracted not only club runners from all over Scotland but also international athletes, including Olympians and world record holders, from many countries outside Scotland. Although a variety of clubs held sports meetings on the same day, none of them lasted for any length of time; the only meeting that lasted for any length of time on the same date as the Greenock meeting was the professional meeting organised by Clyde FC at Shawfield which began in 1913. This web page deals with the GGH sports for the years between 1920 and 1929.

Held on 31st July, 1920, the ‘Glasgow Herald’ reported on the sports as follows. “The annual English invasion began at Greenock on Saturday when the names of no fewer than nine distinguished athletes from south of the Border appeared on the programme of the Glenpark Harriers Sports. They were not all present and those of them who did compete were by no means impressive. The most successful of the visitors was CE Blewitt, the Four Miles champion, who with a start of 20 yards finished second in the one mile handicap. RA Lindsay qualified for the final of the one lap race but the winner turned up in a local man, W Wallace, who also won the 220 yards, in which the Blackheath Harrier was unplaced in his heat. Another double winner was JG McIntyre who secured the mile and the half-mile. As at Saltcoats the previous Saturday, the most interesting personality on the track was James Wilson, the Scottish distance champion, who seems to improve with each successive appearance. In the Three Miles he started from scratch with Blewitt in attendance, the Englishman following him closely for about a mile, when Wilson’s superior speed told on his companion. Wilson had another strong opponent in W Kerr, West of Scotland Harriers, but he too was eventually shaken off and the champion literally won as he liked. On May 29th, Wilson was unable to do 15 min 52.2 sec, and three weeks later he was beaten in 15 min 7.4 sec, while on Saturday he won in 14 min 49 sec with no necessity for a fast finish. These figures illustrate how Wilson has come on since the beginning of the season, and they encourage the hope that he will give a good account of himself in the Olympic Games. At Antwerp he will compete in the 6000 metres and 10000 metres races, as well as in the cross-country championships. He should be equally suited at both distances, and in the cross-country also he has a good chance of being in among the prize winners.”

The meeting was held at Cappielow Park and there were about 10000 spectators in attendance in fine weather and the times were generally good. In the almost obligatory five-a-side football tournament, Morton won 2 – 0 against Ayr United.

James Wilson

If 1920 was a good meeting, 1921 was virtually a disaster. The report on the meeting makes depressing reading about the sports held in the rain, with a ‘breeze’ and before a crowd o only 2000.

Glenpark’s Misfortune

Few places in Scotland escaped the rain on Saturday, and it is hardly necessary to say that Greenock was not one of them. The Glenpark Harriers, who have hitherto almost invariably enjoyed good weather for their sports, were badly hit financially, the attendance being less than half what it would have been had the elements permitted. They had an attractive programme and an entry list comprising all the eligible Scottish champions – that is to say, all for whom opportunities to compete were provided – and had the weather been fine it is safe to say that the capacity of the ground would have been taxed to its utmost. As it was there were only a few hundreds on the open terracing, but the stand was filled. The ground was sodden, and the combination of heavy rain, an east wind, and a holding track, seriously affected some of the competitors and accounted for the slow times returned. Duncan McPhee, for example, found the conditions so unfavourable thatin the 1000 yards invitation handicap, the only event in which he competed, he could get no nearer the tape than 20 yards in 2 min 31 sec, while JG McIntyre, the four miles champion, was actually in arrears in the two miles though he had a start of 35 yards.

Times in the sprint, which was run against the breeze, were slow, the best recorded being 10 4-5th sec, which was also the time of the final. Another feature of the meeting was the non-success of the champions. GT Stevenson, the quarter-miler, was second in the furlong. EH Liddell, the sprint champion, had nothing to show for a strenuous afternoon’s work: he was third in the 100 yards invitation handicap, but trhere were only two prizes. WA Hill won his heat in the open 100 yards handicap, but did not reach the final. Kenneth Smith, the high jump champion, was unable to concede the starts asked, and did not compete in the pole vault, at which also he won the championship in June last. RA Lindsay, the ex-Scottish champion, ran in the 300 yards invitation handicap without success. There was an entry of six teams for the relay race but in view of the depressing circumstances, the event was abandoned. As the afternoon advanced, some of the competitors became disinclined to turn out. The 300 yards invitation handicap, for example, had an entry of 16 and was intended to be run as two heats and a final. When the heats were called, only seven responded and no final was needed. Again, in the 220 yards a single runner turned out for the third heat, and in the pole vault a total of two competed for the two prizes. It would be unfair to censure those who called off, for competition in such circumstances was more heroic than pleasurable. The drawings will not cover the expenses of the meeting, and with a view to making up the deficiency the club propose to hold an evening meeting next week.”

In the five-a-side final, Morton beat Rangers by one corner to nil. There was no report in the papers the following week of a supplementary meeting the next week. That doesn’t mean that none took place – it was probably that only local athletes would take part. Such athletes as Eric Liddell, Lindsay and the rest would have found midweek travel difficult at that time. It says a lot for the Committee however that they had managed to put together such an attractive programme in the first place.

JG McIntyre

1922 was a bit better though. The weather in the morning was threatening, but it cleared up and there were just over 5000 spectators at Cappielow to see the meeting. “Greenock Glenpark Harriers scored another success with their sports meeting at Cappielow Park on Saturday. No records were made, but competition reached a high level, particularly in the 100 yards handicap, in which even time was returned in both semi-finals and then again in the final. The runners had the advantage of he wind but even so, the performances of Liddell and Gardner were very meritorious, as the breeze was, though favourable, not materially helpful. The outstanding feature of the meeting was the two miles walk in which Colin McLellan, the Scottish champion, was matched against Robert Bridge, ex-champion of England. It was understood that the latter had designs on the Scottish record. He did not come near the long-standing figures of EJ Webb, who at Ibrox Park in 1909 completed the distance in 13 min 57 1-5th sec, but he gave a fine exposition of the walking art and left the Scottish champion far behind. The absence of Duncan McPhee from the half-mile was a disappointment to many of the spectators. The champion reserved himself for the 1000 yards in which he was unable to get a place, retiring 40 yards from the tape when he realised that further effort was hopeless. EH Liddell also disappointed, standing down from the 300 yards invitation and the open furlong. He won his heat and semi-final in the 100 yards but was beaten in the final by PR Gardner who had the further distinction of winning the 220 yards.”

The relay went ahead with Glenpark finishing third behind Maryhill Harriers and West of Scotland Harriere and Morton upheld local pride with a 5-3 victory over Alloa in the five-a-sides.

28 July, 1923 was the date of the next meeting when a ‘satisfactory’ crowd of 4000+ witnessed a meeting with Liddell, McPhee, McIntyre, Smith, McLellan and Jamieson all took part. Liddell was a great favourite and competed all over Scotland every summer, always giving his best despite being probably the best sprinter in the country at the time; McPhee, on the other hand, often disappointed the crowd by entering two or three events and then only running one, on at least one occasion leaving the arena without telling anyone and even leaving the ground altogether. He was a very good athlete indeed, the top man in the country for many years, but did not always leave the spectators happy with his performance.

“The recollection of EH Liddell’s achievements on the same field a year ago, and the glamour of his running at Stoke, must have been the cause of the satisfactory crowd which patronised the Glenpark Harriers meeting at Cappielow on Saturdayfor under no other conditions could the atmospheric conditions be said to be enticing. The champion, who has been taking things easily since the International, was also probably affected by the depression, and his running ;acked much of its usual fire. He won his heat in the open hundred in 10 3-5th sec, but a bad start in the semi-final saw him a good yard behind the winner who returned a fifth faster. In the invitation 100, the winner of which, DE Duncan of Maryhill Harriers, was given as doing 10 2-5th off the four yards mark, Liddell was unplaced, although close up. No doubt however he will be properly tuned up before the arrival of our visitors next week-end. The open 100 was won by JG Scott, with nine yards, and this runner also won the furlong with greatest ease, as with a concession of 18 yards, he finished with at least five yards in hand.

The other champions present, with the exception of R Jamieson, met with as little success as Liddell. Duncan McPhee, who ran in both the open half-mile and the mile invitation, never got on terms with his men, while JG McIntyre, at scratch in the three miles event, has also been seen to better advantage. The distance events, despite the failure of the back-markers, were all interesting. ME Anderson, of Shettleston Harriers won both the half-mile and mile, and the feature of his running in each race was the reserve whch he possessed when it came to the finishing straight. It was his extra bit of pace there that secured him the verdict in each case. J McFarlane of Maryhill, now approaching the veteran stage, ran the mile in something nearer his old form than he has displayed this season, and was unfortunate to be against such a strong finisher as Anderson. The three miles race attracted a good field, and D Wright, the cross-country champion, and W Neilson, the West of Scotland Harrier, who has done so little since his breakdown in Paris, was much too hot for the rest, and the race lay between this pair. Wright, who has had the tantalising record of finishing second so frequently, got home by a yard after an exceptionally interesting race. C Freshwater, the youthful Clydesdale Harrier, took part in this event, and ran well, but it did not seem good management on the part of his mentors to allow him to compete over this distance in such company. It must have been an extremely punishing experience for such a young runner.”

There were many other sports meetings held that Saturday – apart from 10,000 spectators at the professional Clyde FC Sports, these were held at West Calder, at Strathallan (the Cadet sports), Lochmaben, Shotts and Newtongrange – but Glenpark had the best of them.

CB Mein

Glasgow Herald, July 28th, 1924: “Chief interest in athletics in Scotland on Saturday centred in the international contest at Greenock, where the Candians beat the Scottish representatives by five events to four. A new Scottish all-comers record was established in the pole vault by VW Pickard. EH Liddell ran in the 100 yards, the quarter-mile and the relay race, and had an easy win in the quarter.”

Yes, the greatest coup of the summer programme in Scotland was Greenock Glenpark Harriers getting an international match against the ever-popular Canadians incorporated into their meeting. The team was returning to Canada from the 1924 Paris Olympic Games and, although other sports meetings attracted individual athletes from the Games, Glenpark was the only one to have a team contest an international fixture where the home crowd could get behind their athletes.

“In bringing the Canadian Olympic team to Scotland the Greenock Glenpark Harriers Club showed commendable spirit of enterprise, and it is satisfactory to be able to state that the public so far appreciated it that they turned out in sufficient numbers to make the international meeting a financial success. The team chosen to represent Scotland was the best at the Scottish Association’s call, and if the range of events was somewhat limited, the test was productive of some keen racing. Of the nine events on the programme, Canada won five – the 100 yards, furlong, high jump, pole vault and two laps relay- while the home successes were gained in the quarter-mile, half-mile, mile and mile relay. Two of the victories secured by the visitors went to CR Coaffee who won the 100 yards in even time, and the 220 in 23 2-5th sec. The Canadian champion, who has been credited with equalling world’s record over the shorter distance at home, is no stylist. He runs the first half of the distance with a peculiar crouching gait that is very deceptive, for at this point he had gained an advantage that he held to the tape. In this case, the challenge came not from Liddell as expected but from Scotland’s second string, Crawford, who developed a great finishing burst to finish a yard behind the winner. Liddell’s specialising over the quarter has evidently robbed him of his pace in the sprint, as though he hung a little on his mark to beging with, he was fairly and squarely beaten by both Coaffee and Crawford.

Liddell did not oppose Coaffee in the furlong, and here the Canadian ran a much better race than the time gives him credit for. He had the heels of Hester and McLean and on a good track can do much better. In the quarter however we had a glimpse of the real Liddell and this, judging by the interest round the ropes, was the event in which the crowd most wanted to see the Olympic champion do his best. His chief opponent here was AT Christie, the Canadian, who impressed as being a good man over the distance; but when it came to the finish, Liddell passed his man as if he were standing, and had nearly 15 yards in hand at the tape. He has done better in Scotland than the 51 1-5th sec returned, but the experience which he has gained during the past month or two was manifest in the manner in which he ran his race. He moved with confidence in his power to win that left a profound impression on the crowd. Good as was his race in the quarter, his effort in the one mile relay race was better. Here bad changing over on the part of the home men left him with a leeway of 10 yards to make up, but he made light of this handicap, and wiped it off, enabling Scotland to win this event by four yards. In the relay, Liddell was clocked to have run 445 yards in 50 1-5th secand his appearance on the Ibrox track next Saturday should be a memorable one.

In the half-mile, the two Scottish representatives finished in front of the Canadian Harris. There was however a surprise here, as CB Mein defeated McRae for first place, thus reversing the championship placings. McRae however does not take kindly to running on grass, if we can judge by his appearances since the holiday meetings began. WR Seagrove, as expected, finished first in the mile although the time, 4 min 48 3-5th sec, represents an amble, but the Cantab was always running well within himself. A new all-comers Scottish record was created in the pole vault, the two Canadians, VW Pickard and JE Francis, easily outstripping the home men in this event. The first named cleared 12 feet 4 1/2 inches which is over a foot better than EL Stones’ championship effort made as long ago as 1889.

In the open events, J Crawford, running from three yards scored his second sprint success within six days and it is clear that the Board of Control made a mistake in interfering with the handicapper’s method of dealing with the Queen’s Park runner. His time on Saturday was a yard worse than evens, and as he clocked even time when running at the Police and Partick Thistle meetings, it would require something like a world record beater over the distance to to give him a concession like this. Certainly Liddell on present form cannot do it.”

The last named, Crawford of QPFC, won the open hundred by half a yard from a mark of 3 yards from Bernstein of West of Scotland who had a mark of 8 yards. The Canadian sprinter Coaffee was an interesting character – born in Edmonton in London, his family emigrated when he was eight years old to Canada. He ran in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics and in between times tied the world record of 9.6 seconds.

On 31st July 1926, there was a considerably good counter-attraction for the athletics aficionado in the form of a match between the brand new Atalanta Club, which was a team selected from the four Scottish Universities, competing against a full strength Achilles club. There were 4000 spectators at Cappielow but 5000 at Hampden for the Universities meeting. The report read:

“The annual sports meeting of Greenock Glenpark Harriers at Cappielow Park on Saturday in brilliant sunshine and before an attendance of fully 4000 spectators. The backmarkers met with little success, but in the half-mile there was a keen struggle between NJ McEachern, Clonliffe Harriers, the Irish champion, and TM Riddell, Shettleston Harriers, the Scottish mile champion for second place. Neither of them could match McHattie ,of Mauchline Harriers, who had a handicap of 30 yards, but the Irishman managed to secure second place three yards ahead of Riddell. In the quarter-mile invitation race for the Eric H Liddell Trophy, JD Hope, West of Scotland Harriers (the holder) only managed to secure third place after a splendid race.”

Glasgow Herald, 1 August, 1927:

“The heavy rain caused the sports meeting of the Greenock Glenpark Harriers to be postponed.”

If the rain in 1921 was bad, and the weather in 1927 was serious enough to have the meeting postponed, there was no such problem in 1928. There was however another problem!

“Glenpark Harriers meeting at Greenock provided capital sport, but there was perhaps too much of it, as it was close to seven o’clock before the programme was completed. Chief interest was attached to the race for the Liddell Trophy over 440 yards, and this produced a rare contest. Fraser, who won last year, was forward to defend his title, and JM Miller, the Scottish quarter mile champion, was also a starter but the winner was found in Calder of Beith Harriers, who at the meeting promoted by his own club a week ago won the quarter and half-mile championships of Ayrshire. He was off six yards and at the crucial part of the race it did not seem likely that he would win. Calder however had something in reserve and with a final effort he won by a narrow margin. Miller did not finish when he saw he had no chance of winning.

Donald McLaren also found his handicap too much for him and retired from the two races – the open half-mile and the two miles – in which he started. The first named race was won by WH Calderwood of Maryhill Harriers, who, like Calder, showed fine judgment in making his effort and won cleverly. It was a thrilling finish. R Hamilton, winner of the 100 yards; F Green in the Youths half-mile; and DF McKechnie in the two miles, were others who distinguished themselves. The Renfrewshire team race justified its inclusion for the first time, but the cycle races took up too much time, and with the football helped to prolong the meeting.”

So you can have too much of a good thing. Despite reading so much about athletics history, I still find it difficult to come to terms with the notion that, if you’re not going to win, you just drop out. It was a habit with some runners of talent and was usually noted. In the five-a-side competition, Rangers defeated Morton B by one goal to nil, and still had a team out at the Clyde FC professional meeting where they also won, defeating Celtic by three goals to nil.

The headline after the Greenock meeting in 1929 told a different story.

SPORTS AT PORT GLASGOW

The athletics season in Scotland has almost run its course. Next Saturday, when Rangers FC present their usual varied programme with many of the Scottish and English cracks competing will mark the close as far as the amateurs are concerned. Saturday was a quiet day for them, the only meeting of importance being that run at Port-Glasgow under the auspices of the Renfrewshire Cross-Country Association, including Auchmountain, Greenock Glenpark and Wellpark Harriers Clubs. At this meeting all the events, with the exception of the Eric Liddell Trophy quarter-mile handicap races, were County championships, or scratch contests open to members of county clubs.

Six events constituted the list of flat championships. Roy Hamilton, the Scottish furlong champion, was a competitor as a Glasgow Harrier in the 100 yards which he won without difficulty in a slow time, due largely to the condition of the track. Hamilton did not take part in the 220 yards championship, a race which fell to his clubmate, JM Bryans, in the slow time of 26 seconds.

Glasgow Harriers won the one mile relay race in 4 min 7 sec, but this success was due to the great running of Roy Hamilton in the second furlong. He wiped out a deficit of six yards and converted it into a lead of ten yards.

The Eric Liddell Trophy race failed to attract more than three competitors. The back-marker was TJ McAllister, Beith, off six yards. The winner was W McLaughlin, Springburn Harriers, who returned 53 1-5th sec from 14 yards – comparatively the best performance of the meeting.”

And there you have it. From hosting the international against Canada in 1924 to a purely local meeting in 1926. There was no report of a meeting at Greenock in 1930. On 25th July 1931 however the Renfrewshire Cross-Country Association held their track and field events championships at the St Mirren FC ground in Paisley and it seemed to go well. In 1932, 30th July, the 77th (Highland) Field Brigade, Royal Artillery held their annual regimental sports at Cappielow Park and among the athletes taking part were several members of Glenpark Harriers. There were no reports of athletics meetings in Greenock on the last Saturday in July after that – at least none on a regular basis which was a real loss to Scottish athletics.

Willie Carmichael

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Admin

Willie Carmichael

Willie Carmichael was very influential in Scottish athletics for several decades and yet his name is hardly known in current sporting circles. His career in the sport began in 1921 as a member of Edinburgh Northern Harriers before helping set up Canon Amateur Sporting Club in 1922. He was also a a champion wrestler who went on to manage the Scottish team at the 1934 Empire Games, and such was his involvement with that movement that he he was honoured with an OBE in 1971. He had energy in abundance, a vision equalled by few and was a great servant of Scottish athletics.

1922, Hawkhill. W Carmichael of Edinburgh Northern Harriers

In 1922 at the age of 17, Willie, who had started in athletics a year earlier in 1921 with Edinburgh Northern Harriers, was a founder member of Canon ASC . Although a runner, he was also already a committee man and, representing the club, he was the second man to hold the post of secretary of the East District Cross Country League (which was established in 1924) from 1926 . It was a post he held until 1928 when he went off to India to work. On his return two years later, he became League President from 1930 t0 1934, still as a member of Canon. 1934 was a significant year for Willie: when Canon ASC became Edinburgh Eastern Harriers he was a founder member; and in that same year he was manager of the Scottish wrestling team at the Empire Games in London. The Scottish Amateur Wrestling Association was formed in 1931. By 1938 Kenneth Whitton was President and Willie Carmichael Secretary of SAWA and they were joint team managers at the 1938 Empire Games in Sydney, Australia. (Kenneth Whitton was also an athlete and athletics historian who made several contributons to the official 50th anniversary history of the SAAA). Willie was very active in both sports simultaneously and by 1938, at the age of 36, already had experience of three Empire Games.

Final, Thomas Young Cup. W Carmichael v J Cropper (winner) 1932

As an elected member of the SAAA, he was automatically on the East District Committee of which he was Secretary from 1937 to 1951. President of the Scottish Cross-Country Union in 1937/38, he is better known for his work with the cross-country side of the sport before the War in 1939. The War started in 1939 and athletics was the least of anybody’s problems with the sport on a back burner until 1946.

Even the War couldn’t hinder his interest in the sport. Betwen 1944/45, while Director of Salvage for Northern Ireland, he was a member of the NIAAA committee and chaired the meeting of North and South which formed the Irish Amateur Athletic Board.

Medal for winning the Canon ASC v Kirkcaldy YMCA 2 Miles.

After the War Willie is better known for his work in track and field athletics. He remained on the East District and SAAA Committees and hard as he worked there, he still found time to serve the sport in a multitude of ways. For instance in August 1947 it was decided to publicise the ‘Enterprise Scotland Exhibition’ by organising an Edinburgh to London Relay. There were 26 runners involved and it was a mammoth undertaking – the logistics of providing transport, food, lodgings, etc were difficult enough but there were the added complications of ‘glad handing’ local dignitaries in every town and city they passed through and feeding information and publicity to the Press. The team manager was Willie Carmichael. He wrote about it in the ‘Scots Athlete’ magazine of October/November 1947 where, although he does not make it sound exceptional, it really was a first class piece of organisation and management.

Edinburgh Eastern Harriers, winners of Heriot Athletic Trophy

‘Braw Lads’ Challenge Shield for Mile Relay Race at Galashiels.Braw Lads Sportr

Willie Carmichael, President

That magazine made a point of covering the top athletics meetings of the day in detail – the Rangers Sports, the Glasgow Police and the Edinburgh Highland Games being the major ones. In the June 1947 issue, below the accompanying photograph, it noted:

“William Carmichael (Hon Sec, Eastern District, SAAA) is doing his utmost to make Edinburgh a great centre for amateur athletics. He is responsible for the big 14th June meeting at New Meadowbank, and Edinburgh Corporation Highland Games on Saturday 19th July at Murrayfield.”

Willie worked for the Lighting and Cleansing Department and had organised, among other things, the Edinburgh Lighting and Cleansing Department Open Meetings. When the Edinburgh Highland Games started out in 1947, who better to organise them than Willie Carmichael: I quote from the September, 1949, issue of the Scots Athlete:

A Bouquet for Edinburgh

W Carmichael who was the guiding light in this promotion once again proved his great flair for organising and it was grand to see such a resounding success. The hard-working Eastern District Secretary has the gift of imagination and believes in doing things on a big scale. For instance the appearance of Arthur Wint and Fanny Blankers-Koen would alone have drawn the crowd. But an invitation was also extended to a select British team of athletes and cyclists; and what a team Jack Crump had with him. ………….. But at the end of the day in attempting to recapture once more the highlights of the meeting, perhaps the most striking feature of all was the magnificent enthusiasm of the spectators. The warm sportsmanship of the Edinburgh audience remains a fragrant memory”.

Willie was not just an administrator either although he organised the Edinburgh Games for a total of 31 years. He was a Grade One Judge for all three disciplines of track, jumps and throws and officiated latterly as referee at meetings big and small. eg he officiated at the Rangers Sports from at least 1950 to 1962. In 1948 he worked at the London Olympics as a track judge and as a wrestling judge. He thus officiated as a Judge or official at Scottish open, District, National and International events on the track and over the country. He also officiated on the Edinburgh to Glasgow eight-man road relay. As a reward for his work with the SAAA he was elected President in 1953.

Mr Carmichael centre with Local Authority officials from the North of England

Not only was the man active on the Scottish stage, in 1952 he was a Scottish representative on the British Amateur Athletic Board – this was a three year appointment and it coincided ith his election as President of the SAAA.

So far Willie had had a good career in athletics, but the best was yet to come for Scottish athletics from Willie Carmichael. SAAA triple jump champion Graham MacDonald recalls that as a young competitor in the 1960’s, ” I remember Willie when he was competing in the East District Championships at what was then called New Meadowbank. That was the track constructed next to the Meadowbank Speedway Track used by Edinburgh Monarchs. All gone of course when the Commonwealth Games stadium was built for the 1970 Games. I didn’t know who he was but he looked very dapper and important in his Blue Blazer with a Commonwealth Games badge and wearing a soft hat. Later I realised who he was and at one meeting I overheard him saying to another official ‘we can do it you know’. I guess he was referring to the 1970 Games and I think that he was a driving force if not the main driving force behind Edinburgh’s bid.”
At that time Willie had been Chairman of the the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland from 1950 to 1955 and followed that with Secretary of the Council. He would hold that post from 1956 to 1979. Willie was General Team Manager for the Vancouver Games in 1954 when Joe McGhee won the dramatic marathon and Bannister defeated Landy in the Mile. There is a little-known story of delay of the return home flight while repairs were carried out to an engine and Willie took the whole team to the pictures. ‘Three Coins in the Fountain’ was the film. would probably inspire many and probably sharpened Willie’s desire to have the Games in Scotland. The ‘hard-working East District secretary with a gift of imagination’ and who ‘believes in doing things on a large scale‘, as Emmet Farrell had it in 1947 was about to tackle his biggest task yet.

The Commonwealth Games in 1970 was an undertaking the likes of which had never been seen in Scotland before: there had been two Olympic Games held in London in times of genuine austerity when Britain took on the Games at short notice, and the Empire Games had been held in London in 1934 and Cardiff in 1958, but they had never been held in Scotland. Willie and Lord Provost Herbert Brechin fought hard to get the Games to Edinburgh. It was not just one bid that they tendered. I quote from the ‘Official History of the IXth British Commonwealth Games’:

“Scotland’s wish to be considered as a host country was presented to the British Commonwealth Games Federation in General Assembly at Melbourne in 1956, at Cardiff in 1958, at Rome in 1960, Perth, Australia, in 1962 (when Scotland was defeated in its quest by Jamaica by a vote of 17 to 16), at Tokyo in 1964, and eventually, successfully, by 18 votes to 11, over New Zealand at Jamaica in 1966, for the 1970 or IXth Games. There the case for Scotland was presented by the Rt Hon Sir Herbert Brechin, then Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and Mr W Carmichael Honorary Secretary of the British Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland, and supported by Councillor Magnus J Williamson (Edinburgh Corporation), and Messrs P Heatly, GA Hunter and DM Wright (Council for Scotland).”

Statisticians Colin Shields and Arnold Black say in their book

“This was not at all just some happy accident. Nothing was left to chance. The meticulous planning began even before Edinburgh beat Christchurch for the right to host the Games at a vote at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, and the man responsible for so much of it was Edinburgh citizen Willie Carmichael. “More than any other single person, Carmichael brought the Games to Edinburgh,” Colin Shields and Arnold Black write in The Past Is A Foreign Country. “He was Scotland’s wrestling team manager at the inaugural Games at Hamilton in 1930 and had always had the guiding dream of bringing the Games to his native city. “Carmichael not only brought the Games to Edinburgh but organised them as well, acting as full-time director of operations. On a budget of £670,000, he produced the most thrilling and successful sporting extravaganza that Scotland had ever seen. His undoubted talent for organisation and stylish presentation resulted in the Games being judged an overwhelming success both in organisational and sporting terms. “It was by far the largest Games ever held, with 1,383 competitors and 361 officials from the record 42 countries taking part. Meadowbank Stadium, the host for the athletics events, had been constructed especially for the Games at a cost of £2.4 million, including a government grant of £750,000.”

Having learned something at all of these meetings and venues, the bid was sharper every time and by 1966 they must have had known exactly what was required. The voting had been 18 votes for Scotland against 11 for Christchurch, New Zealand. They now had the Games for Scotland. In December 1967 the Appeal Fund was set up with the aim of raising £200,00 towards the costs of organising the Games. Who better to oversee this mammoth task of previously unseen dimensions with the certainty of unexpected problems than Willie Carmichael. The first task was to set up the overall organising structure and it appeared like this:

Willie was the Director of Organisation. Oversight of everything, ex-officio on every committee and committees were set up to deal with Accommodation, Appeals, Catering, Ceremoinial, Queen’s Relay, Communications, Finance, Legal and Concessions, Main Stadium, Medical, Pool, Press and Public Relations, Sports Technical, Tickets, Traffic, Transport, Village, VIP Hospitality and Welcome. 19 sub-committees in all. All had to be staffed, all had to be accountable and all had the responsibility of ensuring that Scotland was portrayed in a good light. All of Scotland’s sports clubs were involved, all interested in sport were involved and every local authority in the land was involved to a greater or lesser degree. It was a massive undertaking. Ultimately though, Willie Carmichael was at the heart of the whole structure.

The Village Committee below was only one of those set up to oversee the various aspects of organisation.

The success of these Games is legendary – from Lachie Stewart winning the 10000m in the rain from Australia’s Ron Clarke on opening night right the way through to Ian Stewart and Rosemary Stirling on the last day of athletics it was a triumph and the competitors from all over the Commonwealth reflected the exuberance of the Scottish hosts. The same tale could be told from all sports – cycling, weight lifting, wrestling, etc all had their moment in the sunshine.

They had been the biggest Games with 42 countries taking part, and they were the first Games to be called the Commonwealth Games. Scotland was fourth on the medal table behind the big countries of Australia, England and Canada.

1970 was run by sports people for sports people and captured the imagination of the whole country, of those interested in sport and those who had never attended a sporting event in their lives. There is a piece of film at

https://scotlandonscreen.org.uk/browse-films/007-000-002-473-c

which shows various key moments of the Games. The description from Scotland on Screen says: “This film features amateur footage from the IXth Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh in 1970. In the film we see a number of key events from the ceremony, opening with pipe bands marching in front of crowds at the stadium, and the arrival and reception of Prince Philip. There is then Highland dancing, followed by the march past of the attending Commonwealth nations, before an athlete presents a scroll to Prince Philip and doves are released into the air. Various events follow, including a medal being presented to a female athlete. The first race takes place. Scottish athletes, Ian Stewart and Ian John McCafferty, take silver and gold in the 5000 metres. During the closing ceremony, we see the Queen going around stadium in horse drawn carriage before the lyrics of Auld Lang Syne are shown on the scoreboard.”

For those who wish a detailed look at the Games in print, there is a good paper under the title ‘A Spectacular Tableau’ at

https://aspectaculartableau.wordpress.com/2017/02/09/the-edinburgh-1970-british-commonwealth-games-representations-of-identities-nationalism-and-politics/ .

It is an academic publication, includes some gentle criticism and is worth at least a look.

Lachie Stewart (317) tracks Clarke and Taylor in the 10000m

For his part in the winning and organisation of the Games, Willie Carmichael was deservedly awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1971 with the citation saying simply ‘Director of Organisation, 1970 Commonwealth Games.’ Commandant of the Scottish team at the Games in New Zealand in 1974, he oversaw a very successful team performance that had clearly fed off the superb 1970 teams. The team was just ovcer 60 strong and Carmichael announced at a dinner in October 1970 that it would be at a cost of £40,000. In twenty first century terms of medals per pound sterling, it was one of the most successful ever!

Officials and administrators for the 1974 Games team

He was also in action in 1978 – his last Commonwealth Games as an official – in Edmonton, Canada and afterwards stepped down from the International Committee. By then he was Honorary Vice-President of the Federation with Prince Philip filling the President’s post.He remained Secretary of the Commonwealth Games Council Scotland until 1979. His interest in wrestling continued right into the 70’s.

But the Games was undeniably the summit of Willie Carmichael’s career in sport – everything he had done beforehand can be seen as preparation for it.

Experience of managing sports teams at the Empire Games from the very first meeting
General Team Manager at the 1954 Empire Games
Experience of m ore than one sport at international level
Administration of domestic championships
Organising big international meetings such as the Edinburgh Highland Games
Albeit on a smaller scale, the multi-faceted and complicated logistics of the Glasgow to London Relay

Although the Games of 1970 were the undoubted apogee of his career in sport, he did not do, as many would have and some did, retire at the top of his game. He stayed with the sport – was he not Secretary of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland until 1979? He officiated at many meetings thereafter simply because his love of sport was part of his character. Above all he remained involved with Scottish athletics. At the 1974 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand, he was team commandant, and he was also with the team in 1978 – the year before he stepped down as Council Secretary.

Publicity shot for 1978 Games in Canada

Scottish athletics were lucky to have had him as one of its more faithful servants. When I stepped down from the SAAA Committee, Willie Carmichael was an Honorary Life Vice President having been elected as such in 1958. Even without the 1970 Commonwealth Games he would have had a wonderful career. The work done before during and after made it a totally unique career in the sport.

Some links to extra material: Willie Carmichael’s Commonwealth Gallery : Some photographs from Willie’s career plus several Games pictures

Extract from the History of the Edinburgh Games, 1970: 1. Tasks facing the organisers once the Games were won and

2. Drawings from the various venues. As an indicator of the difference between these wonderful Games and thc current bloated affair

Finally, thanks to all those who helped with this task: Alex Jackson and Graham McDonald who helped get it started and Karl Magee and Ian Mackintosh in the Archive Department in the Stirling University Library. If you are at all interested in the Commonwealth Games of any era, they are a great source of information. Thanks, folks.

Taken at a reception organised by Lothian Regional Council on 22nd August, after the Games which lasted from 3rd to 12th August, – and they’re waiting for a team photo to be taken. Names so far:

Left in shades John Graham; Jim Turnbull wrestler standing third left; Chris Black, hammer, back row with beard is talking to Peter Hoffman, runner;

Seated (2nd row): Drew McMaster, sprinter, left, Allister Hutton, runner, 2nd left; Paul Forbes, runner, 3rd left;

Third row: Jackie Hynd, weightlifter 3rd from right, Brian Burgess, high jumper 2nd from right ; Willie Wood, bowler, in second row on the right.

Ronnie Hurst, diver,bottom far right;

1970 Willie Carmichael’s Games Gallery

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Admin

[Show slideshow]

1970 Extracts: 2. Gate Money

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Admin

Among the really big differences between the Games of 1970 and those of the 21st century, is the difference in the money involved. What I have added here is the money taken at the various venues for the Games. It was of course possible to buy tickets for particular sports and particular days so that most of those attending were either involved in active participation in the sports or former participants or supporters. Anyway, below are the pages which deal with ‘takings’ at the various venues.

1970 Extracts: 1. Tasks

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Admin

The Official History of the IXth British Commonwealth Games was compiled and edited by Willie Carmichael and M McIntyre Hood and was a very detailed account of the Games from conception to conclusion. We have here extracts from the history and begin with Sir Herbert Brechin’s intrduction. He was Lord Provost of Edinburgh at the time and had played a major part in the acquisition of the Games for Scotland. He says:

“The Games in Scotland, within the ancient capital city of Edinburgh, have taken place and the 15 years of overall preparation have concluded in a spectacle of which the British Commonwealth of nations can be justly proud. In a previous message I said ‘In all those arrangements we look forwrad to the 9th in the series of the Games being reckoned as being one of the most memorable in the series.

Many tens of thousands are now able to judge for themselves whether our hopes were fulfilled. From the record number of counmtries participating, from the record number of competitors and officials taking part and from the wave of enthusiasm which pressed over the country, I am convinced that the IXth Games will long be remembered as one of themost successful of the series.

The facilities provided, including the new modern Sports Centre at Meadowbank, and the advanced design of the new Commonwealth pool, allowed the competitors the fullest opportunity to participate and give of their best in their many skills. A great measure of the success of the Games lay in the pleasure all had in seeing HRH the Queen, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, HRH the Prince of Wales and HRH the Princess Anne so happy in their midst. The Games were honoured in addition to the presence of the Royal Family by the way in which each participated. It was the first occasion in which HRH the Queen was present in person and the first occasion when the Queen presented medals in several of the Victory Ceremonies. Their obvious plesure and enjoyment during their visits quickly created that incomparable atmosphere which goes to create ‘The Friendly Games’, so aptly named by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.

It would be impossible to detail completely all that was done to make the Games so memorable. The meticulous care and precision which went into the organisation and ceremonial of the Games, and which characterised these Games, was the result of perfect team-work by possibly the largest-ever team which operated over the four years of detailed organisation prior to the event. The British Government, the Local Authoprities of Scotland, the business houses in the commercial and industrial fields, the business people and individuals all combined in the accomplishment of this ideal.

The coming to Edinburgh and Scotland of so many thousands of people from so many countries of the world made the consummation of the final project possible by their presence. They rejoiced with us, they inspired us, and they left behind a fragrance of memory and happy association which will always stand high in the traditions of Scotland.

Sir Herbert Brechin

KBE, OL, JP, D Litt, FRICS, FRSE

As an example of the tasks that had to be addressed right at the start, extracts from pages 18 to 27 are copied below:

And so on with detailed instructions on the dates, venues and times of Royal visits to the many venues and events.

Queen’s Park Sports: 1907 – 1914

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Admin

The Queen’s Park Football Club Sports had been one of the best meetings in Scottish athletics as well as one of the first, they would also be one of the best athletic spectacles of the 20’s and 30’s, but there was a wee hiatus at the start of the twentieth century, for reasons to do with professionalism and corruption which are worthy of a separate page in their own right before the sports made their comeback in 1907. On this page we take a look at the sports after they started up again using only the Glasgow Herald coverage. Amateur athletics had been formally organised since 1883 with the founding of the SAAA and the first open athletics clubs appeared in 1885. There was continual friction between the two codes – amateurism and professionalism. There was no doubt about the corruption in professional athletics – and at times there was an overlap with prominent amateur athletes colluding with the pedestrians or even just emulating some of the worst practices.

The Glasgow Herald preview of the QPFC games in 1907 observed “Great changes have taken place in the Cathcart District since Queen’s Park last held sports. The residential population must be triple what it was in 1900, and with the amateur sentiment pre-eminent there is no reason why the Queen’s gathering on Saturday should not be as well patronised as any ordinary football match. It is no secret that there was a section of the mangement against holding sports, but on the other hand another section, perhaps the more progressive elements in committee, pointed out that the club, apart from fostering school football, did comparatively litle in promoting amateur sport, and in the long run it was agreed to revive what at one time was the most interesting function in the Scottish athletic season. The Queen’s are hopeful of having among their entrants several distinguished athletes, and JW Morton who is having a short holiday in Scotland, may take part in the two sprints.”

The sports took place on June 15th, 1907, and the report on them read as follows:

“QP SPORTS

If the revival of the Queen’s Park FC Sports failed to produce a renewal of public interest in amateur athletics the faultisnot theirs, for nothing finer in the way of competition has been seen at any city meeting this season. As a matter of fact the racing all round was exceptionally interesting, and at the same time was characterised by a keenness which must have recalled to many the earlier athletic festivals of our leading club. Amateur running has been largely cleansed of the excrescences which sullied it in the eyes of so many, and there is in the near future a beneficent career for this cult of athletics. The Hampden track was sodden, yet for all that the “times” in some instances were fast, and with careful handling and a little judicious expenditure there is no reason why the Queen’s ground should not be the home of athletic records.

Local support would be pleased when PR Grant, an old Queen’s Park back, won the 100 yards in 10 3/5th off 8 yards, the handicap mile was won by AB Hepburn with John McGough a yard behind, the schools relay was won by Allan Glen’s, the relay by Bellahouston Harriers. Judges reckoned that on a dry track with a clear run, McGough’s time would have been worth 4:20. The sports had returned and were a sporting success if not a financial one.

The QPFC Sports were held on 20th June 1908 and built upon those of the previous year, The Glasgow Herald report read as follows:

“Hampden is a fast track. This was made abundantly clear at the Queen’s Park Sports on Saturday. And were the same care and expense lavished on it that are lavished with no stinted hand on other parts of this great enclosure, it might be the fastest path in Scotland. Lieutenant Halswell placed an athletic record to the credit of Hampden on Saturday; in other words he invested new Hampden with the glory that circled old Hampden, as it was there that AR Downer rean 300 yards in 31 2/5th sec. Halswell reduced this by a fifth of a second. This looks rather mean in cold type, but its value is best measured by the fact that Downer’s time has held the field since 1895. That Halswell is a commanding personality in the athletic realm is now well known; he has given amateur pedestrianism a romanticism that it has not possessed since Downer was on the scene and it is the firm conviction of those who are versed in these matters that he will ere long gild his name with world’s record over the 300 and 440 yards distances. Last Thursday at Parkhead he won the quarter invitation handicap in the West of Scotland Harriers in 49 4/5th sec, this coupled with his all-comers record on Saturday constitutes great work.”

“Another fine performance was J Fairbairn-Crawford’s half-mile in 1 min 58 1/5th sec which is a second worse than his record in the Irish International at Ibrox two seasons ago. But in that race there was no one to interrupt his progress, whereas at Hampden he had to plough through a field of fifty. The fact is that Crawford would have run the race of his life on Saturdy had he been permitted to move freely. The race was won by Adam Turnbull (Clydesdale Harriers), 29 yards in 1 min 56 3/5th sec which is the finest display of running he has ever given

“Then the mile was the fastest – 4 min 21 4/5th sec – that has been run in Scotland this season. D Rutherford was the winner and , like Turnbull, he exhibited resources that few had credited him with. John McGough was not seen at his best; as a matter of fact it was obvious to all that he was running under physical disabilities. …. There was some very fine sprinting in the 100 yards and 220 yards. RC Duncan, a member of Queen’s Park, won the former from scratch in 10 2/5th sec, and the latter was captured by M Neilson, West of Scotland Harriers, 12 yards, in 22 4/5th secs.

The report was a bit longer and is worth reading, but these were the main results from a well organised meeting which also contained cycle racing and finished by saying

“The Queen’s Park may not have made a princely sum off their meeting on Saturday but they have the satisfaction of knowing that they have given the cause of athletics a much-needed lift in public favour.” The lack of a princely sum was maybe more significant than the report knew.

John McGough

Whatever the success of the 1908 meeting, 1909 turned out to be a disappointment – maybe for good reason. The Glasgow Herald of 7th June 1909 carried the following note: “Desirous that nothing should interfere with the success of the Australians visit to Partick Queen’s Park have abandoned their sports on June 19th. A proposal to this effect was submitted by the sub-committee entrusted with the arrangements and needless to say the General Committee cordially assented. Sports Meetings are everyday fare but cricket such as the Australians provide is a luxury.” In the cricket match on the 19th, the Australians of course won easily but the event was a great success. It is however a sign of the times that a football club would forego its athletic sports in favour of a cricket match.

Tom Jack

In contrast to the verdict in 1908, the report on the meeting of 18th June 1910 began: “Hampden Park will not be complete until the cinder path is in better order than it was on Saturday. Far too little attention has been given to this necessary and vital equipment but now that the Queen’s Park have come to recognise that it is part of their mission to foster amateur athletics it is just possible they will overhaul the track before another season comes round.”

As far as the performances were concerned: “While there was an absence of what one might term sensational performances at Hampden Park on Saturday, there was from the point of view of the student of athletics, what is perhaps more satisfactory, a pretty general excellence , exhibiting alike a highly creditable standard of efficiency and keen competitive emulation. Those features kept the spectators engrossed all the time and viewed therefore from whatever standpoint, the sports of the Queen’s Park Football Club were quite a success.”

The sports themselves had 100, 220, 880 yards races, one mile, two miles team race, schools relay race, obstacle race, highjump and several cycle races. The standard was high despite no records being broken –

eg Tom Jack, seven times Scottish 10 miles champion and cross country internationalist, won the half-mile and Mile,

Alex McPhee, SAAA four miles and cross-country champion in 1909, ran in the two miles,

RT Duncan, SAAA 100y and 220y champion and internationalist was off scratch in the sprints.

And an interesting competitor was Ralph Erskine of Allan Glen’s who was second in the high jump – he would go on to win the SAAA half mile title, become world lightweight boxing champion after winning the itle bout in New York before tragically being kille in action in January 1918.

1911 was the year of the Great Exhibition, a mammoth event encompassing all aspects of a civilised society. The Festival of Empire, or Great Exhibition, was held at the Crystal Palace in London from 12th May to celebrate the coronation of King George V. Wikipedia tells us thata pageant, organised by ‘Master of the Pageants’ Frank Lascelles, dramatising the history of London, England and the Empire was held. The first performance of the pageant was on 8 June 1911; in four parts, performed on separate days, it celebrated the ‘magnificence, glory and honour of the Empire and the Mother Country’. Music was provided for The Pageant of London by 20 composers including Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Frank Bridge, Cecil Forsyth, Henry Balfour Gardiner, Edward German and Haydn Wood. This was performed by a military band of 50 players and a chorus of 500 voices. As part of the festival, an Inter-Empire sports championship was held in which teams from Australasia (a combined team from Australia and New Zealand), Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom competed in five athletics events (100 yards, 220 yards, 880 yards, 1 mile and 120 yards hurdles), two swimming events (100 yards and 1 mile), heavyweight boxing and middleweight wrestling. This is regarded as a forerunner of the British Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games), held from 1930.

In the Glasgow Herald of 15th May, 1911, the following appeared in the ‘Sports Miscellany’ column. “Queen’s Park FC have resolved not to hold sports this season. ” The date would be given to Paisley Harriers Juniors who were trying to raise the profile of the sport in their area but a week later, in the Herald of 22nd May, the Sports Miscellany reported that “It is just possible that the Queen’s Park Sports may come off after all. A proposal has been made by the West of Scotland Harriers which has found favour in influential circles, and the matter will be considered one of these days by the committee of the Queen’s Park. There has been considerable comment of an adverse kind at the decision of the Queen’s Park to abandon their meeting because of the opposition of the Exhibition, and it is now being felt that, all things considered, there was no justification, or at all events very little for cancelling the meeting. Should the proposal being made to the Queen’s Park result in the sports taking place, there will be general satisfaction in athletic circles as, after all, the amateur traditions of the old club carry with them a significance of which few, if any, other city functions can boast.”

The Paisley Junior Harriers meeting on the third Saturday in July was successful and the forecasts by the club and the Press were that they would continue to use this date which had hitherto been the property of the Queen’s Park. From reports, it would seem that unfortunately the QP sports did not in fact take place that year.

1912 did not look too promising either when the following appeared in the Herald: “The Queen’s Park FC have intimated to the Scottish Amateur Athletic Association that the new committee have decided not to hold sports on June 22nd – a date exclusively reserved for them by the Association. This means that the recommendation, if not the reasoned decision, of the old committeee has been rejected, and it also means a regrettable departure for the time being, if not for all time, from the line of policy in regard to amateur athletics which has won for Queen’s Park the admiration of all broad-minded sportsmen.”

The following week it was announced that on 22nd June, later than usual, Allan Glen’s School would hold their school championships at Hampden. This seemed to put the kybosh on any amateur sports s for 1912 sponsored by the football club at Hampden. By July the stuation had altered slightly and it was announced that the Queen’s Park FC confined sports would be held at Hampden in August. It is an interestingconcept – would it translate to present day football??? However, the Glasgow Herald of 15th July, 1912, had the following

“Queen’s Park FC are making an interesting departure early in August in connection with their own confined sports; they will include either two or three handicaps open to all-comers. It is just possible that the meeting will be sandwiched between the Rangers and Celtic functions, with the hope, no doubt, of getting one or two of the big guns who are coming to Glasgow for these meetings to show their paces. The Queen’s Park, to the great regret of many of their warmest supporters dropped their meeting in June, and it is by way of compensation for that disappointment that they are including a few open races at their club games next month. If the American and other Olympic competitors are in Glasgow during the first ten days of Augustit will be interesting to see if they are allured by the Hampden bait.”

On July 29th – “The Queen’s Park will run two open handicaps – 100 yards and 880 yards – in connection ith their club sports on Thursday first.”

It was at least a gesture, a move that the club did not have to make, but one that was welcomed by the sports loving public. The actual event wasn’t reported in the Herald which is hardly surprising give that it was at a very busy time of the year – ir Rangers Sports on the first Saturday and Monday of August and Celtic Sports on the second Saturday and Monday, as well as several well established meetings (eg Strathallan)
The club’s interest in athletics was still in evidence in 1913 when it was anounced that the Glasgow High School spots were to be held at Hampden. “This is a step in the right direction as Scotstoun is not very well adapted for school games. Besides there are interesting associations springing up between the High School and some of the older officials of the Queens Park club, and the closer the relations the greater the benefit both to the school and to QP.” (Herald, April 28th, 1913)

The sports were previewed on June 2nd, and after looking at some of the events, particularly the relays, it ended with a comment that “Mr Charles Stewart, who does a lot more for athletics in a general sense at the High School than most people are aware of, is again responsible for the arrangements and these, with the help hewill receive from members of Queen’s Park FC, should add to the enjoyment of the proceedings.”

The meeting was held the following Saturday with several, nor many, running events, some field events and several such as the drop kick, sack race (one each for former pupils and ‘open to school’), and 300 yards in football costume (confined to Glasgow High School FP FC).

Very interesting and the note on 28th April about relations with the High School is encouraging – but there is no note in the Herald of any sports meeting – open or confined – organised by Queen’s Park that year.

1914 saw the outbreak of War but a whole season was carried through before hostilities commenced. It was however another season without a Queen’s Park FC Sports meeting. They were involved in amateur sport throughout the season – The Queen’s Park School Sports were held at Hampden free of charge on 6th June, Allan Glen’s School sports were held on 20th June and then on 29th June it was reported that as hosts to the upcoming International between Scotland, England and Ireland, – QP are lavishing a deal of care on their cinder path at Hampden in view of the triangular athletics match there on July 11th. It already has one record – Halswell’s 300 yards- and there is no reason why it should not have more.”

With war looming, the August 224th Glasgow Herald announced that Queen’s Park had donated £250 to the Glasgow War Fund with a promise that more would be contributed if required. There had been no promoted meeting, but there had been a continuing presence of Queen’s Park in amateur athletics from schools sports to international fixtures.

We know that there were sports held by the club throughout the 1920’s but the on-again/off-again nature of the event in the period from 1900 to 1914 was strange in view of the other events reported at the time. The Queen’s Park was famous for its staunch adherence to the amateur code – a fact remarked upon in 1907 and 1908 when they were started up again. But the situation in Glasgow was not quite as clear cut as the SAAA might have us believe. For instance, the Glasgow Police Sports were accused of “Profesionalising Schoolboys” by having schools relays and sprint in their meeting on July 11th, Clyde FC were said to be “whole hoggers” when it came to professional athletics, indeed pre– and post-amateur athletics, there were weekly professional meetings at Shawfield with big crowds, biggish money prizes and quality professional athletes competing and there was a prominent note on “pedestrian development at Shawfield.” Even Celtic FC put on some mid-week professional athletic meetings. In such an atmosphere it might have been thought that Queen’s Park FC would have made a point of flying the amateur flag. There were hints of disagreements within the club committee on the merits of holding athletic sports and at the time of the start o the war, there had been none for two years.

The thread will be picked up in another post.

Potted Profiles: Fred Evans

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Admin

There are always particular officials that athletes know well and know well for a variety of reasons. For instance athletes competing in handicap events in the 50’s and 60’s were familiar with handicappers McNeillie and Nangle for very obvious reasons. Fred Evans however was known to several generations of athlete as a master starter, easily recognised and much respected. Barry Craighead speaks very highly of him and his influence on his own development as he followed in Fred’s footsteps. First the facts.

Born in 1885, the year that the first open athletic clubs in Scotland were established, he did not retire as a starter until 1975 in his 90th year. Fred was a kenspeckle figure, easily recognised and beginning in 1929, was official starter at the SAAA Championships for over 40 years In addition to his officiating at meetings, Fred trained up new starters including other well-known figures such as Charlie Meldrum and Barry Craighead. When Barry started out as a starter, Fred was ‘the man’ – no one argued with him and what he said was law. There was no written component in the training of starters. It was all intensely practical; beginning starters were told where to stand to get the best view of the runners, to make sure that they could be seen by the timekeepers and how to get everything right. He carried on through the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh by which time he was 85 years old and was one of the team of starters from all over the British Isles operating. Longevity? The Gourock Highland Games website tells us that he was for instance the starter at Gourock Highland Games from 1956 to 1975, in which year the programme announced his retirement “in his ninetieth year.”

Very highly thought of, he was awarded an MBE “for services to athletics”, the only Scottish starter ever to gain such an honour.

The competition situation was very different when he was in action at tracks all over the country. With no all-weather tracks and surfaces of grass or cinders, the scene was different scene from today if only because the starter was in complete control of events. He, or whoever the official starter on the day was, decided if there had been a false start and took the responsibility for the decision whereas in the current situation the guns are wired to computers which tell us if there has been a false start. And Fred was always ready to stand by his decision. It has been said that the younger athletes were a bit frightened of him, but he was, by universal opinion, a very nice man, a man with a nice sense of humour. Neil Donachie remembers a story about taking his guns through security at the airport on the way to an Empire Games causing some problems, even then before the whole terrorism scare.

Despite a reputation for a strict, no nonsense approach to the job, and an air of authority that no one questioned, he was scrupulously fair. Barry Craighead, who took up starting under Fred’s guidance in 1959, reports that if the starter or official did not do everything they could for the benefit of the athletes under their control, he told them about it in no uncertain manner. A testament to how highly thought of he was, is the fact that he appeared at the same meetings, many in the west of Scotland, year in and year out. Although in great demand by championship organisers as we have noted, he officiated at highland gatherings, local sports and open meetings all over the country, including at the New Year Sprint where he officiated for many years.

Starters are not like most other officials – they need to pay from their own pocket for the firearms license, for the safe in which to store the gun and ammunition and for the ammunition. Here again Fred led the way in demanding, and getting, £2 per meeting towards these expenses as well as travelling expenses to the meeting with the rest of the officials. The special treatment for starters continues to this day.

The illustration below is from the programme of the 1961 SAAA Championships and he is there among many legendary names such as Willie Carmichael, DM Duncan, Dunky Wright, Ian Ross, Gordon Cain, Tom Drever, David Keddie and Fred Graham.

SAAA Championships, 1961, Officials

Fred often worked with Dick Littlejohn – and here he is again as Chief Mark Steward

1883: September

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Admin

September, 1883, started with reports of matches held on the opening day of the month with Shawfield Grounds topping the reports. The meeting there featured a 10 mile race for a £30 purse between William Smith of Paisley, and D Livingstone of Tranent. Smith had a 25 yards start. By the end of the seventh mile, Smith had almost lapped Livingstone, starting the ninth mile they were running side by side with Smith exactly one mile ahead. He won in 53 min 11.75 secs. There was also the second round of a 120 yards handicap. Barrowfield Park was the scene of another track meeting, ‘got up by Mr James McLeavy of Alexandria’ and the main race here was a One Mile Handicap. There were other races and although there were no comments on prize money, the report concluded that ‘Amateur contests were also advertised to take place but as it was contrary to the rules of the association, to compete with professionals, the events did not fill. ‘

The remaining fixture on 1st September was the Beith Annual Sports which had sprints, middle distance events, quoiting and ‘penny pitching’. It was not said what ‘penny pitching’ was – but surely not pitch and toss???

There were three fixtures on 8th September – the Shawfield started with a 200 yards dog handicap. For two-legged competitors there was a half-mile handicap with prizes of £10, £1:10:0, £1, 10/- and 5/-. The Dunfermline Cricket and Football Club’s annual amateur athletic sports took place before a crowd on 5000 spectators and included most running events, including hurdles, selected field events, shying at wickets and lawn tennis. Competitors came from Queen’s Park FC, Royal High School, Glasgow University and similar University and School FP clubs. Finally there was a small meeting in Hawick with running and cycling handicap events.

September was a slow month for the sport – athletics tended to finish at the end of August but, nevertheless, came 22nd September and the Shawfield Grounds fixture had a 120 yards sprint and a One Mile Handicap with prizes of £14, £2, £1 and 15s. The odds for the betting were also listed in the Glasgow Herald and if you were interested in running, it was a good meeting, but if you were a committed amateur, forget it. Both meetings that day were professional. At Powderhall the match was a head to head between Clark of Portobello and Albert of Edinburgh for £10 a side. Run over 880 yards with runners starting from scratch, they were evenly matched and running side by side into the final straight, Clark stumbled and fell yards from the tape and Albert won.

The summer was pretty well over and what do we know from it? Having looked at the programme for every Saturday, we see that there were many meetings for amateurs, organised by works, by individuals, by local authorities, by football clubs, by cycling clubs, by cricket clubs most weeks so that there was no shortage of access to the sport for those interested.

There were also many professional games – the weekly one at Shawfield grounds being the standout example. It was a time when the most luxurious method of travel to New York by Cunard steamer could cost only 18 guineas and the cheapest 21 guineas, Ballantyne’s whisky was 10 shillings a gallon and walnut bedroom suites were £23:10:0 so the money on offer at the professional games was really worth winning.

In addition every meeting had its own speciality – note that in this month alone there was quoiting, lawn tennis,shying at wickets and ‘penny pitching.’