Author: Admin

John McGough – The Flying Postman

By Alex Wilson

This excellent profile of one of Scotland’s best ever milers was written by Alex Wilson and must be the definitive coverage of the man’s career as an athlete.   Alex also provided all the photographs, except for the 1907 AAA’s championship and the Olympic trial which are courtesy Kevin Kelly.

It’s almost an understatement to say that Celtic athletes were prominent in international track and field athletics in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. The names of Tom Conneff, Walter Newburn, John Flanagan, Paddy Ryan, Denis Horgan, Tom Kiely, Peter O’Connor, Tim Ahearne and the brothers Con and Pat Leahy are among the early Irish T&F greats who created world records and won Olympic medals across a range of events. Many more among the Irish diaspora competed with distinction under the flags of Great Britain, USA, Canada and South Africa. The Scoto-Irish middle distance runner John McGough is a classic example, a son of Erin fostered by the Scottish harrier system.

John McGough saw the light of day on January 20 1881 in the hamlet of Annagleve, a farming community located about two miles SSW of Castleblayney in County Monaghan. He was the eldest child of Thomas and Bridget McGough, who, to escape poverty, emigrated to Scotland and settled in Glasgow when McGough was an infant. McGough grew up in the Gorbals district, the heart of Glasgow’s Irish community, and later became the town postman. Little could Thomas and Bridget McGough have known that their boy would blossom into a wonderful athlete whom John W. Keddie described in “Scottish Athletics” as the “dominating force in Scottish middle distance running in the first decade of the new century”.

In a “Scots Athlete” piece entitled “A potted history of Bellahouston Harriers” by W.R. McNeillie it is gleaned that the club “was formed in 1892 in and around Govan, having as their earlier headquarters, Govan Baths, the nucleus of the club being postmen to whom it must have been just a quick step from walking to running.” As a postman, McGough had an important duty to discharge, letters being the principal means of long distance communication in the early 1900’s, as ordinary families couldn’t afford telephones. People expecting news would wait for the postman, who was easily recognisable by his navy blue uniform and peaked hat. A town postman had a lot of walking to do, covering at least ten miles a day and sometimes even double that, carrying a heavy mailbag slung over his shoulder or pushing a cart laden with parcels. The volume of mail in those days was such that a postman did several rounds a day, serving each household only once, and worked six days a week. “There is nothing like delivering letters on a long round for developing the leg muscles and producing real champions,“ said a Post Office official. “People sometimes claim that postmen are slow, but our list of record holders shows that in reality they are about the the speediest class of worker in the country. Postmen often claim that they walk thousands and thousands of miles in the course of their duties, and our list proves that they have speed as well as stamina. Healthy recreation was always encouraged in the Civil Service.” The list of famous G.P.O. athletes is a long one and, apart from John McGough, includes such names George Dunning, London G.P.O., the national cross country champion of 1881 and 1882 and long-time holder of the world 25 mile record; Bobby Bridge, the Chorley postman who broke every walking world record from eleven to sixteen miles in 1914; and Alf Shrubb, who was the postman at Horsham from 1901 to 1904 and broke every world record from 2000 yards to the hour.

In the early years the Bellahouston Harriers were solely a cross country club. Training was done work permitting and typically limited to a couple of runs a week through the Pollok estate from the Govan Baths in Summerton Road. The harriers did not hold their first summer championship until 1900, when the winner, according to McNeillie, was one J. McGough. A novice at the time, McGough won his first open race in July of the following year at the Clydesdale Harriers sports at the Exhibition Exhibition Sports Grounds in Gilmorehill. The Glasgow Herald reported that “a comparatively unknown man in J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers, 40 yards, won the half mile”. The race brought out a big field and in the final heat McGough won by six yards from A. Grant, Edinburgh University, in 2:00.2. The following month, he was once again in the frame at the Celtic FC sports, where he finished second in the mile handicap off 60 yards. That season he won seven prizes, chiefly firsts. It was already clear that Bellahouston Harriers had an emerging star in their ranks.

McGough came out late in the season and was immediately successful, winning a two mile team race at the West of Scotland Harriers’ sports at Ibrox Park on 14^th June in 9:54.6. A week later he caused a sensation by lifting both the one and four mile titles at the S.A.A.A. championships at Hampden Park on June 21^st. The report in The Scotsman: “One mile – 1, J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers; 2, W.H. Mill, West of Scotland Harriers. Three ran and W.R. McCreath made all the running. At the bell, however, McGough went to the front, and running away from his opponents, ultimately won by twenty yards. McCreath stopped 200 yards from the tape. Time, 4 mins 33 3-5 secs. Four miles – 1, J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers; 2, A. Wright, Wellpark and Maryhill Harriers; 3, J. Ranken, Watson’s College A.C. Six turned out, and Ranken, McGough and Wright were left to finish. When the bell rang it was seen that the first-named had no chance of winning, and the other two went ahead together. A great race was ran between this pair. Wright, who was second to Mill last year, challenged the leader, but McGough stuck gamely to his advantage, and was a popular winner. Time, 20 mins. 51 3-5 secs.”

After claiming double gold in the Scottish championships McGough suddenly found himself running off scratch and heavily handicapped. That, however, did not deter him from winning the two miles flat handicap at the Clydesdale Harriers sports at Hampden Park on Thursday 26^th June in 9:43.4, a time just two seconds shy of the Scottish native record.

As Scottish champion he was automatically selected by the S.A.A.A. General Committee to represent Scotland in both the mile and four miles in the annual international contest between Scotland and Ireland at Ballsbridge, Dublin, on July 19^th. The contest, then in its eighth year, was the world’s first regular series of international matches and, at the time, the season highlight for both Irish and Scottish athletes alike. Scotland, the holders, were without several of their stars, notably Jack Paterson and Duncan Mill, winners respectively of the one mile and four miles in 1901, and found themselves on the receiving end of a 9-2 drubbing by the Irish. The running of McGough, beaten into second in both the mile and four miles by J.J. Daly, was symptomatic of the Scots’ overall showing. The Edinburgh Evening News: “Both these events were regarded as certainties for our youthful champion, J. McGough, and the defeat carried consternation into the Scottish camp. Daly’s sprinting of the last lap of the shorter distance took McGough completely by surprise. When Daly darted ahead at the bell, and prematurely took McGough’s ground, the latter made no effort to hold him, under the impression that the big Irishman would come back to him, but amidst wild “hurrors” from the spectators, Daly ran in a strong winner by twenty-five yards in 4 min. 27 4-5 sec., a time which nobody deemed him capable of. He is one of the ugliest runners we ever saw, lurching along with giant strides, but “handsome is as handsome does” all the world over, and Daly must rank as one of the best milers Ireland has yet produced. In the four miles McGough was looked upon as likely to turn the tables, and excitement rose to a high pitch when the pair alone remained on the track with half a mile to go. In the back straight of the second last lap McGough on the inside made an attempt to draw away, whereupon Daly swooped down upon him, and fouled him so badly as to cause him to reel. Before McGough recovered Daly was 20 yards in front, but with a great effort McGough began to close up the gap 300 yards from home. At the foot of the straight Daly was palpably in extremis, but try as McGough liked he was still three yards to the bad when the Irishman broke the worsted in 20 min. 42 3-5 secs. McGough was distinctly unlucky to lose, and on a cinder track we are confident that he would beat the Irish champion. The last mile was run in 5 min. 0 2-5 secs., and the intermediate mile times were: one mile, 5 min. 3 1-5 secs., two 10 min. 24 2-5 secs., three 15 min. 42 1-5 secs.”

A fortnight later, in a meeting at Barrhead, one of many that had to be postponed that summer due to the Coronation of King Edward, McGough delivered one of the best performances of the day in the half mile handicap off 8 yards. “He ran as he always does, with rare judgement, and it goes without saying that his triumph was well received,“ the report read.

At the Celtic FC sports the following Saturday he produced another excellent performance in the mile handicap in front of a bumper crowd of 25,000 spectators. The race fell to A. Duncan, of the Olympic Harriers, 120 yards, in 4:21. McGough just failed to get up to win the race, but managed to get the better of his Irish rival Daly, both men running from 40 yards, the one getting second and the other third.

Thus concluded a season in which McGough had gone from being a relative unknown to the new face of Scottish athletics. In all, he added 19 prizes to his trophy cabinet. More importantly, from a broader perspective, he was the only Scottish middle distance runner then who was capable of filling the big boots left by Jack Paterson and Duncan Mill. Even though still in the early stages of his athletic career, he was, it seemed, carrying not only the mail but also the hopes of a nation on his shoulders.

At Celtic Sports, 1902: McGough 12, Joe Binks 7, Rimmer 9, Daly 5

A winter of stamina-building pack runs and inter-club runs saw McGough emerge from the winter of 1902/3 an improved athlete. He kicked off his track season at Parkhead on May 11^th at the annual sports of the North Cycling and Motoring Club, where he won the half mile handicap off 8 yards. “In the half mile flat handicap,” reported the Glasgow Herald, “J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers, ran splendidly getting through about 40 runners, and winning easily. Time: 2 min. 2 3-5 sec.“

A few days later he was matched against fellow Scoto-Irishman Pat McCafferty over four miles in the West of Scotland Harriers sports held at Ibrox Park on Thursday 14 May. It wasn’t much of a contest, though, because McCafferty retired at two miles and McGough finished alone. His time of 20:21.8 was another personal best and brought him to within 11 seconds of the Scottish native record.

Four days after that, McGough tested himself against English cracks Sid Robinson, Northampton, and Jack Rimmer, Southport, in a two miles handicap at the Glasgow Merchants Cycling Club sports at Parkhead. In view of his good early season form, it’s maybe a little surprising that he was given an 80 yard start on his English rivals, who were the backmarkers. Not surprisingly, neither Robinson nor Rimmer figured prominently, while McGough cut through the field like a hot knife through butter and came home the winner by 15 yards in 9:26.4. As was a common practice in those days, it had been arranged that the Bellahouston Harrier would run on for another 80 yards to complete the full distance. His time of 9:37.0 was a new Scottish native record, four seconds inside the old figures that had been held by Andrew Hannah, Clydesdale Harriers, since 1894. “Record breaking,” wrote a Herald columnist, was an “infallible test of athletic excellence”

His appetite for record-breaking whetted after making his first incursion into the record books, McGough then set his sights on the three miles native record – 14:57.2 by William Robertson, of Clydesdale Harriers – in a handicap race at the Edinburgh Harriers sports at Powderhall Grounds on June 6^th. The report read: “This was one of the tit bits which the promoters of the sports had arranged. Additional interest was added to it by the appearance of Daly and McGough at scratch. The entries numbered twenty-seven, and twenty-one competed. The absence of P.J. McCafferty, W.S.H. (125 yards) and W. Robertson, C.H. (140 yards) was regrettable, as between them and the scratch men a good race was expected. For some time neither of the scratch men made much ground, but as some of the competitors with the large starts dropped off and the field was thinned, they began to draw in the remaining men. With five laps to go, after having covered seven, Daly dropped off, but McGough held on his course. It was unfortunate that he got no assistance in the way of pacing. Many of the runners dropped off, leaving him to cover the large gap between him and those with the big starts. If he had had a strong runner in front of him he certainly would have made a great show, as he finished only 4-5th secs. outside record time. The winner finished apparently fresh after a sprint for the tape. McGough on coming into the straight was loudly cheered for his sprint home. His time was 14 mins. 58 secs.” Clearly the record was at McGough’s mercy, given good conditions and a good race.

Next on the agenda was the S.A.A.A. championships at Ibrox Park on June 20^th, when the main feature was McGough’s bold attempt to pull off an unprecedented triple in the half mile, mile and four miles. The Edinburgh Evening News takes up the story: “Hugh Welsh was the first man to win both the half mile and the mile, a feat he accomplished in 1896, ’97 and ’99. His ambition, unfortunately, did not turn in the direction of triple honours. J. Paterson, who began as the four miles champion, and worked down to the lesser distances, in 1900 won the half mile and mile, and he might have forestalled McGough had he possessed the stamina of the Bellahouston man. Paterson was actually a three distance champion in 1900, he having won the ten miles championship in April, but it has been reserved for McGough to be the first to win three distance races in one day. He was fortunate in the respect that he had his easiest undertaking first; had Cowe met him at four miles after a gruelling mile, the chances are that the Berwick man would have been champion instead of runner-up. But McGough well deserved his laurels. He beat a prettier runner in Roxburgh over half a mile in the capital time of 2 min. 1 3-5 sec., in the mile he pulled out Ranken and made the Watsonian do the best time of his career – as a matter of fact, Ranken’s 4 min. 30 1-5 sec. has only two or three times been beaten in the championship – and in the last race of the day he wore down a strong and plucky runner in J.B. Cowe, winning in 20 min. 30 1-5 sec., the fastest time on record in an S.A.A.A. championship, and not 20 sec. outside Duffus’ Scottish “native” record time for the distance in the S.A.A.U. championships of 1896. The times alone stamp McGough as one of the greatest runners we have ever had in Scotland. He was in distress in one portion of of his race with Cowe, who has a lot to learn in the matter of tactics, but in each case his strong sprint pulled him through, and his capabilities were not bottomed at any distance on Saturday.”

The feat of winning all the distance events at a single one-day championship is one of such singular difficulty, it has never been repeated since. McGough being postman, it was of course a red letter day in the annals of S.A.A.A. history. Here is the account of all three races as published in The Scotsman:

Half mile: 1, John McGough (Bellahouston Harriers); 2, William Roxburgh (Hamilton Harriers). The winner went to the front from the crack of the pistol and was never overtaken. Roxburgh made his effort coming round the last bend, by which time Smith had dropped well out of the race, but McGough shook off the challenger, and, finishing strongly, won by about eight yards. Time 2 mins. 1 3-5 secs. One Mile: 1, John McGough (Bellahouston Harriers); 2, John Ranken (Watson’s College A.C. and Edinburgh Harriers). McGough won the second championship in easy fashion by about a dozen yards in the good time of 4 mins. 27 3-5 secs. The lap times were 66 1-5 secs., 2 mins. 15 ½ secs., 3 mins 24 1-5 secs. Four Miles: 1, John McGough (Bellahouston Harriers); 2, James B. Cowe (Berwick Harriers). J. Ranken dropped out with a mile gone in 4 mins 55 4-5 secs., and Robertson retired at two miles, which took 10 mins. 5 3-5 secs. McGough was leading when three miles had been covered in 15 mins. 23 secs. With two and a half laps to go, Cowe went away with a spurt, and it looked for a minute or two as if the champion was going to give in, but he soon pulled up and took the lead again. With the ringing of the bell McGough forced the pace, and it was at once seen that Cowe could not finish like a champion, and continuing to go strongly round the last lap, amid enthusiastic cheering, McGough won his third championship of the day by about twenty yards. Time 20 mins 30 15 secs.

The S.A.A.A. entered McGough for the A.A.A. championships at Northampton on Saturday 4^th July. In his first event, the half mile, he made the mistake of trying to win from gun to tape, for despite his best efforts, he was unable to get away from experienced campaigners Bert Blunden and Albert Barker, and ultimately ran himself to a standstill, giving up 200 yards from the finish. He was also entered for the mile, which the peerless Alf Shrubb won easily in 4:24.0, but heeded the advice of his friends to “stand down”.

He was selected for both the half mile and the mile in the Scoto-Irish contest at Powderhall on July 18^th. The half mile was one of the doubtful events, for he was up against Irish speed merchant James Finnegan, winner of the half mile in the previous two encounters. However, McGough left very little hope for the Irishman by going away at a cracking pace and, leading from start to finish, won by ten yards in 2:03.4, a good time considering the sodden track and bleak and miserable weather. The mile was a more tactical affair, in which McGough avenged his previous year’s defeat at the hands of J.J. Daly, powering through a 61 sec. last quarter to win by 12 yards from the burly Irishman. Overall, though, Scotland lacked the strength in depth, and again Irish eyes were smiling when they retained the team contest.

On Wednesday 22^nd July McGough made another appearance in Edinburgh, in the Leith Shamrock Cycling Club sports at the Hawkhill Ground. Alongside the American sprint ace, Arthur Duffey, he was the main attraction of the evening. Running from scratch in the mile handicap, he threaded his way through a big field, and was cheered home the winner by eight yards in a new personal best of 4:26.6.

In Rangers F.C. sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday 1^st August he ran in the mile handicap. A big crowd of 12,000 spectators cheered as worked his way up through the field and got up to second, six yards short of catching W. Watson, Edinburgh Southern (80 y), in 4:28.4. When the meeting continued on a wet and cold Monday evening the Scottish champion started from the scratch mark in the two miles handicap, and, taking the lead after 1 ¼ miles, breasted the tape in a new Scottish native record of 9:36.4, three-fifths of a second inside his own figures.

He concluded his track season a week later at the Celtic F.C. sports, but did not have the freshness in his legs needed to make up some big starts in a field of 53 runners and retired before the finish. “McGough,” wrote the Glasgow Herald, ”made a plucky effort to get through the labyrinth of competitors, but did not succeed, and he, along with J. Daly, the Irish crack, gave up on entering the finishing straight.“ Handicaps with large fields, were great crowd entertainment, but had their obvious drawbacks for the backmarkers, who were additionally handicapped by the sheer weight of numbers, being forced to constantly dodge and weave through slower runners and run wide on the bends and in the straights.

Thus ended a memorable season during which he had amassed 24 prizes and created S.A.A.A. championship history by winning all three distance titles in one day, not to mention scoring a “double” in the Scoto-Irish contest and setting a couple of native records.

1904 season

McGough was no cross country runner and derived little pleasure from heavy going or ploughed fields. Bearing this in mind, he showed loyalty beyond the call of duty by turning out for his club in the 1904 Scottish Cross Country Championships at the Agricultural Grounds, Scotstoun. After leading in the early stages, said the report, he slipped down the field upon entering the open country and, though we don’t know his finishing position, he presumably finished well down the order. However, the work he put in during the winter showed when he opened his track 1904 campaign with a bang in the West of Scotland Harriers sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday 21^st May. The meeting was actually a team competition for the Connell Cup, and four teams took part, including the ultimate winners, South London Harriers. One of the highlights of the meeting was the appearance in the one and three miles of English champion Alfred Shrubb, who had only just recently smashed the world five mile record. The neatly moustached Englishman had swept all before him since 1902, but had yet to make acquaintance with the Glasgow postman, who, after finishing runner-up to E.H. Montague (SLH) in the half mile, faced Shrubb in the mile. “The mile was a specially interesting race, in which the respective champions of Scotland and England fought out the issue. Going off at a fast pace – the first quarter was covered in 58 sec. – Shrubb speedily scattered the field, and at mid distance only the Scotch champion remained seriously to consider. Drawing slowly on the South Londoner, the Scot closed up the gap, and the pair ran stride for stride till 300 yards from home. Then a ding-dong finish was witnessed, lasting round the final bend and into the straight, where McGough gained an advantage, which attended him to the tape. Shrubb ten yards from the tape easing up, seeing pursuit hopeless. Shrubb was beaten by two yards in 4 min. 26 sec., and the merit of McGough’s win all the greater because prior to the mile McGough had run a close second in a scratch half mile to E.H. Montague, a club-mate of Shrubb’s.” McGough’s victory over the indomitable Shrubb was, of course, something of a novelty and, wrote The Scotsman, caused “a scene of excitement which is seldom witnessed at an athletic meeting in Glasgow.” The Glasgow Herald: “Some have it that the Scottish champion does not always show sound judgement, but, be that as it may, he gave a flawless display on Saturday.”

When the meeting continued on the Monday, McGough turned out in the three mile handicap against Shrubb,  amongst others, and served up the highlight of the evening by knocking more than 13 seconds off the Scottish native record. In spite of running such an impressive time, bad handicapping saw him finish unplaced, the winner being J.R. Moffatt, of Larkhall Harriers, who with the benefit of a liberal 450 yards start broke the tape in the then fanciful time of 14:12.4. The Scotsman reported: “A. Shrubb, English champion, was at scratch, and the handicap was framed with a view to record-breaking. The Englishman, however, gained nothing on McGough after the first half mile, and retired after running two miles. McGough, who ran in rare style, maintained a steady pace throughout, and although only fourth in the handicap, completed the full distance in 14 mins. 44 3-5 secs.” Shrubb, who had also run the three miles at the Saturday meeting in 14:59.4, was clearly not at his best and stale from his heavy racing schedule, but this does not in any way diminish the quality of McGough’s performance, particularly when it is considered that the three miles was a distance he rarely attempted.

McGough was among the entries for the 1000 yards handicap at the Clydesdale Harriers sports on Saturday 28 May, but was called upon to give 57 yards to S. Carson, and this task was five yards too much for him. He ran fairly well, but could do no better than 2:21.4. The following week, at the annual athletic gathering of the Edinburgh Harriers at Powderhall Grounds, he was in better fettle, breaking the two minute barrier in the half mile for the first time with a time of 1:59.6. Being rather heavily handicapped, however, he was unable to get among the first three, William D. Anderson, of Olympic Harriers, winning off 20 yards in 1:58.0. Later in the same afternoon, he turned out in the two mile handicap where, despite a sterling 9:41.4 performance, he was unable to get anywhere near the leaders, Sam Stevenson, Clydesdale Harriers, taking advantage of a 180 yard allowance to win comfortably in 9:22.0.

On June 11^th he again confronted Alf Shrubb in a mile handicap at the West of Scotland Harriers meeting at Ibrox Park, where earlier in the afternoon the Londoner had electrified the crowd by smashing the world two mile record to win in 9:09.6. In spite of his exertions, the Englishman conceded McGough 15 yards in the mile. It proved to be a great race, McGough and Shrubb running neck and neck on the last lap. Then the Englishman edged ahead in the home straight and won by a yard amid tumultuous scenes with the clock stopping at 4:23.8.

McGough was conspicuous by his absence when the meeting resumed on the Monday evening, when, once again, the undisputed star of the show was Alf Shrubb, who served up a world four mile record of 19:23.4. In spite of the record-breaking exploits of Alf Shrubb and his face-off with John McGough at the Saturday function, the overall attendance at both meetings was disappointing (a mere 6,000).

A fortnight later McGough had no difficulty in retaining his half mile and mile titles in the S.A.A.A. championships at Powderhall Ground, the former by a couple of yards from William Anderson in 2:01.8 and the latter by 30 yards from Sam Kennedy, Garscube Harriers, in 4:36.4. By winning the mile for the third time McGough made the 25 guinea silver challenge cup his to keep. To be allowed to keep an S.A.A.A. challenge cup in any event, you had to win the title either three times in succession or four times in total.

On July 2^nd McGough renewed his rivalry with Alf Shrubb in the mile flat race at the A.A.A. championships at Rochdale. Shrubb, as expected, took the lead early on and, setting a fast pace considering the stormy weather, held it until 300 yard from home, when Joe Binks, the British record holder, went ahead. Shrubb, however, came again, and won a desperately close race by a yard, just managing to hold off McGough, whose late charge carried him past Binks and into the silver medal position. McGough’s time of 4:22.2 was faster than he had ever previously run in public and some consolation for narrowly failing to win this, the blue riband event. Among Scots (amateurs), only Hugh Welsh had run faster. In 1906 Shrubb would describe this race as the hardest battle he had ever had.

Fresh from his medal-winning run in the A.A.A. championships, McGough took full advantage of favourable weather and track conditions at the Bellahouston Harriers sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday 9 July to erase not one, but two, Scottish native bests from the record books. Running from scratch, he finished fourth in the 1000 yards handicap, recording a personal best of in 2:18.8 – a 1.2 sec. improvement on the previous figures for the distance which had stood to the credit of James Rodger, of Maybole, since 1895. Later in the afternoon he turned out in the two miles handicap, and, taking the lead with a lap to go, stretched away to win comfortably in a time of 9:36.0, four tenths of a second inside his own figures. The setting of two native records in two separate distance races in the space of a single afternoon was a Shrubb-esque feat and, accordingly, the Glasgow Herald’s editorial reads like a laudatio: “It is not too much to say that John McGough has made the Bellahouston Harriers. For years he has taken a great pride in the club, and in turn the members have taken a great pride in him. By his brilliant achievements he has given Bellahouston Harriers a name which is now a household word in athletic circles everywhere, and that name he enhanced on Saturday , on the occasion of their first open sports, by creating two fresh records in the 1000 yards and the two miles, taking 1 1-5 off the former and 2-5 sec. off the latter. He was the winner of the longer distance, but in the 1000 yards he was unplaced , which is to be regretted, as his running was worthy of being crowned with first honours. McGough is an extraordinarily fine runner ; as a matter of fact, he comes next to Hugh Welsh, of the Watsonians, whose running must still be fresh in the minds of many.”

The record-breaking double at Ibrox obviously augured well for the annual Scoto-Irish contest, held a week later at Ulster Cricket Club, Belfast, where, as Scottish champion, McGough was nominated for the half mile and the mile. The weather was fine and there was a large attendance, but the playing field was anything but level, literally, and so not conducive to fast running. In the half mile McGough looked to have the trace sewn up, but was denied when Ireland’s James McKenzie came with a storming late run to win by four yards in 2:03.6. However, he made amends in the mile, which he won easily from Ireland’s Michael Hynan in 4:27.6. Once again, though, Scotland lost the contest with only four wins to Ireland’s seven.

After the international match McGough continued to show good form throughout the remainder of July and August, when the big sports meetings of Glasgow Rangers FC and Celtic FC traditionally rounded off the season, even if the handicappers were not on his side. In the Edinburgh Northern Harriers’ sports at Powderhall Ground on July 30^th he was too heavily handicapped to have any hope of winning the half mile from scratch, and first prize went to John Clelland, of Edinburgh Harriers, 50 yards, in 1:57.0. Despite running two minutes dead, fifth place was the best he could do. His next engagement was in the Rangers sports on Saturday 6 August, when 12,000 spectators turned out in uninviting weather and were rewarded with some excellent T&F fare including a record hammer throw of 51.71 metres by Tom Nicholson and a popular evens win for James P. Stark, of the West of Scotland Harriers, in the 100 yards handicap off 2 ½ yards. McGough was running in the mile, the final event on the programme, and again conceded some formidable starts to his fellow competitors including 15 yards to Darlington’s George Butterfield, whom he had only just managed to beat in the A.A.A. mile. He got into frame by finishing third, but was unable to do anything about Butterfield, who gleefully sprinted to victory in 4:24.2, more than making up for his 15 yard start in the process. McGough returned to Ibrox on the Monday evening, when he again he faced Butterfield in the two miles handicap, both men running from scratch on this occasion, and the 6,000 spectators witnessed a terrific race. Butterfield ran magnificently, sprinting away from McGough a furlong from home to win by fully ten yards from A. Wright, of the Wellpark Harriers, in 9:28.4. There was a separate watch on McGough, who in finishing third was timed at 9:32.4, an improvement of 2.6 seconds on his own native record.

McGough ran his last race of the season five days later at the last important athletic meeting of the Scottish season, the annual sports of the Celtic Football Club at Parkhead. The sky was overcast, and during the progress of the sports there was occasional showers. Notwithstanding the weather there were 20,000 spectators present, which was the biggest attendance of all the fixtures held that season. In the one mile handicap, Wright of Wellpark Harriers took full advantage of a 55 yard allowance to win a close contest in 4:23.4. However, the interest in this race centred chiefly around the scratch men McGough and Butterfield. Towards the end of the race McGough left the Englishman several yards behind and it looked like he was going to avenge his earlier defeats. With an astonishing sprint, however, Butterfield overtook McGough ten yards from the line and finished a yard in front, both men clocking 4:25.

Thus ended another fine season in which there had been little to fault, save for a tactical error that cost him victory in the A.A.A. mile championship. Earlier in the season he had run his best race to date when he showed English distance-running maestro Alf Shrubb a clear pair of heels in the mile at the West of Scotland Harriers sports. He had defended his Scottish half mile and mile titles, and, by winning the latter for the third time in a row, had claimed the valuable silver challenge cup. He had also defended his mile crown in the Scoto-Irish contest. And, most importantly, he had shown continued improvement by setting a string of personal bests and Scottish native records over distances from 1000 yards to three miles. He had gained 26 prizes in all, this being made of 10 firsts, 12 seconds and 4 thirds. It was all good stuff, but the best was yet to come.

McGough kicked off his 1905 campaign with a four miles match against Hugh Muldoon in a sports gathering at Belfast on May 20^th, winning by 20 yards in 21:12.4. This he followed a fortnight later with a double start in the Edinburgh Harriers sports at Powderhall, where he took second in the 1000 yards handicap in 2:23.4 before carving up the field to win the two miles in 9:37.0. A 4:30.4 handicap mile victory at the Edinburgh Pharmacy AC sports on June 7^th and a 9:43.0 win in the two miles team race at the West of Scotland Harriers meeting at Ibrox Park on June 10^th set him up nicely for an attack on the Scottish 1000 yards record at Ibrox on the Monday evening. The weather was good, but a strong wind prevailed. He set off in good style and, running strongly, made up all the handicaps and broke the tape first in a time of 2:18.2, which bettered his own Scottish native record by six tenths of a second. McGough‘s “fine running was the feature of the meeting”, said the Herald.

The following weekend, he scored the easiest of wins in the one mile handicap at the Bellahouston Harriers sports at Ibrox Park in 4:24.2. This was a perfect tune-up for the twenty-third S.A.A.A. championships held at the same venue on June 24^th in fine weather. The attendance at the national championships, however, was disappointing, and not more than 2000 people were present. But if the number of spectators was small, the sport was of the highest order. One native record was broken, this being in the half mile. It was also one of the best races of the day. In addition to McGough himself, it featured that peerless Army runner Wyndham Halswelle and William D. Anderson, now a fellow Bellahouston Harrier having switched his allegiances from Olympic Harriers. The pace was fast as W. Roxburgh (W.S.H.) led the field through the quarter in 58.8 sec., and the finish culmimated in a “magnificent struggle” with Anderson just getting home ahead of McGough in a new native record time of 1:58.8. By so doing Anderson was eligible for a second, special gold medal, in addition to the winner’s gold medal. McGough finished a mere yard adrift, recording a personal best of 1:59.0, and Wyndham Halswelle was two yards behind McGough with 1:59.4. It was the first time in championship history that the first three men had finished inside 2 mins. Sadly, the mile championship took place in the absence of Charles Henderson-Hamilton. The Edinburgh-born Oxford University student, who had won the mile in the varsity match on 31^st March in a sensational 4:17.8, was unavailable as he was reading for his Army exams. John Ranken, Watson’s College AC, took on the pace-making duties and led until a furlong from home, when McGough accelerated away to win title No. 4 by fourteen yards in 4:24.2. In his wake, fast times were returned by A.M. Matthews, Edinburgh University AC, second in 4:27.4; and Ranken, third in 4:28.0.

July was just around the corner again, and that traditionally began with the A.A.A. championships. On Friday week McGough travelled south to Stamford Bridge in hopes of making amends for his narrow defeat at the hands of Alf Shrubb in the mile a year earlier. He was still smarting over the tactical blunder that, he believed, had cost him the title. This year, at least, there was no Shrubb to contend with; he had pulled out of the mile rather than confront McGough and Butterfield. “It is no use killing myself,” was his eloquent argument. Nevertheless, a strong field of eleven runners lined up in sunny weather. First George Butterfield and then Joe Deakin, of Herne Hill Harriers, set the pace. James Roberts, of Sefton Harriers, went ahead in the third lap, and at the bell it was Roberts leading, followed by Butterfield and McGough. So it remained until halfway round the final bend, when Butterfield showed what a brilliant tactician he was by suddenly hustling past Roberts and streaking to victory by four yards in 4:25.2. McGough immediately gave chase, but he could not close the gap, and for the second year in a row he finished runner-up in the British championship.

A week later, McGough put in an appearance at the St. Bernard’s F.C. sports at the Gymnasium Grounds, Edinburgh, where he was the main attraction alongside Wyndam Halswelle, who stirred up the 2,000 strong crowd with a 32.6 sec. victory in the 300 yards handicap off 2 yards. McGough turned out in the mile, in which 26 ran, conceding starts up to 125 yards. He also gave spectators something to cheer about as he gradually reeled in all his opponents, producing a grandstand finish to get home first by a yard in 4:25.2. Earlier in the day, there had been skullduggery afoot in the heats of the 120 yards handicap, where one of the competitors, looking to set himself up for a big win in the final, was disqualified for running with lead weights sewn into the soles of his spikes.

After collecting his silverware, he hurried back to Glasgow to catch the mail steamer from Greenock to Belfast, where he competed next day in the one mile handicap and in the three miles championship of the Gaelic Athletic Association, the G.A.A. being the older of Ireland’s two rival governing bodies. In the latter event, he defeated Hugh Muldoon by 20 yards to win his first Irish title, albeit in a slow time of 16:18.8.

The Emerald Isle clearly had a special place in McGough’s heart as witnessed by his affiliation to the G.A.A., and the fact that he aspired to winning titles not only in Scotland and England, but now, also, in his country of birth. There was, however, never any question of him switching his allegiance to Ireland at this time, and he dutifully turned out in the colours of Scotland in its encounter against Ireland at Powderhall Grounds on July 15^th.

The meeting took place in the presence of 5,000 spectators and ended in a very decisive victory for the Scots, by eight points to three. “A feature of the day’s sport,” wrote The Scotsman, “was the running of the new quarter mile champion, Lieutenant Halswell, and J. McGough, who won the quarter and the mile respectively very comfortably from their Irish opponents.” As to the actual race, “A.M. Matthews, Edinburgh University, paced the champion for the first two laps, with the Irishmen in very close company, and at the third round McGough assumed the lead. On the last lap, G.N. Morphy, Dublin, challenged McGough, and led him five yards at the bend. McGough, however, came up the straight in great style, and won by a yard and a half, J. Fairbairn-Crawford, M.C.C., and Matthews being half a dozen yards behind.” The weather was fair, but the presence of a fairly stiff breeze showed its effect on the time sheets, which credited McGough with 4:30.2.

A fortnight later McGough was once again headed south where he would be representing his employer in the inaugural British Postal Service championships. The event was promoted by the St. Martin’s (G.P.O.) Harriers and held at Putney Velodrome and attended by athletes from postal services throughout the United Kingdom. McGough was the class act in an otherwise modestly contested meeting where the showcase event was the mile championship for a gold medal and the Dewar Challenge Shield presented by Sir Thomas Robert Dewar, M.P., the name behind the world-famous Scottish whisky and a leading sporting patron. After comfortably winning this in 4:36.6, McGough ran the last leg for his team (Glasgow P.O.) in the inter-office relay race and left his opponents standing, winning by 80 yards.

“Alfred Shrubb doubly defeated”     “run off his legs”

Racing in London on the Saturday might not have been the ideal preparation for his next engagement, the West of Scotland Harriers’ sports at Ibrox Park on Monday 31^st July, but McGough possessed surprising recuperative powers. The preview in that day’s edition of the Glasgow Herald read: “J. McGough may not be at his best, as he has travelled from London overnight, but he is a runner of great resource, and rarely fails to give a good account of himself on the Rangers ground.” This assessment was to prove dead on. The principal event of the evening was a three-way mile and a half scratch race between Alf Shrubb, the English ex-champion in the mile, George Butterfield, the present mile champion of England, and McGough, the Scottish mile champion. F.J. Spencer, South London Harriers, also took part, presumably as a pacemaker, and led for the first quarter of a mile, which he covered in 59 sec. He then retired leaving Shrubb first, Butterfield second, and McGough third. In this order they passed the half mile post (2:09.0), three-quarters of a mile (3:22.6), mile (4:37.0) and mile and a quarter (5:49.6). Then the real racing began. “When the bell rang for the last lap”, reported the Herald, “half a yard covered the three competitors. Three hundred yards from home McGough got up on Shrubb, and then Butterfield came away. A hundred yards from the post the three men were abreast of each other. Butterfield was the first to show in front, but McGough made a splendid effort, and a magnificent race took place between the two men, the Scottish champion winning by inches, with Shrubb fully two yards behind. McGough had a flattering reception on retiring to the pavilion. Time: 6 min. 52 3-5 sec.” It was a brilliant piece of tactical running against two of the world’s pre-eminent runners, and possibly his single best race to date. The Herald: “McGough…came out as a tactician in this race, which is rather a new role for him.” Another paper described the race as “one of the finest seen in Scotland for some time”. The time constituted a Scottish amateur record, but it was inferior to the best mark on record by a Scot. That stood to the credit of professional Bob McKinstray, Maybole, who set a then world record of 6:50.0 at Manchester on February 23, 1867.

McGough’s compatriots did well, too. William Anderson qualified for the 400 metres final after winning the repechage race in 53.0, the equal fastest time of the Games, but was out of sorts in the final two days later and wound up eighth and last. Wyndham Halswelle was decorated with silver in the 400 metres and bronze in the 800 metres, being the only British double medallist if you exclude Irish jumpers Con Leahy and Peter O’Connor, who were forced to compete under the British flag. Though eclipsed by Halswelle, McGough has the distinction of being the first Scottish athlete to win an Olympic medal. The first Scot to win an Olympic medal in any sport was, incidentally, golfer Walter Rutherford, who won silver at Paris in 1900.

1912 AAA’a Half Mile: James Soutter

James Soutter (22) in the 1912 AAA’s half-mile

Leading runner may be the German, Hans Braun

Picture from Alex Wilson

James Tindal Soutter was born in the Church of Scotland Manse in Echt, Aberdeen, on 1st January, 1885.    He was a pupil at Aberdeen Grammar School who went on to become an apprentice engineer.    Deciding after four years that he wanted to become a minister he went to Aberdeen University where he enrolled in 1897 and graduated MA in 1910.   It was at this point that he decided to take his athletics seriously – and with tremendous effect.

Although he had done some running before 1910, that was his first  year of taking the sport seriously.  He was 25 years old at the time and he won the Scottish Universities 880 yards championship on 18th June in 2:02.4.    Exactly a week later, on 25th June, he was second to Robert Burton, also born in Aberdeen, in the SAAA Championship in half-mile.   His early season running had won Soutter a selection for the International match against Ireland on 9th July at Ibrox, Burton and Soutter were first and second in the 880y Burton in 1:58.8 and Soutter in 1:59.4 with Scots winning by 9 events to 2.   This was notable for Soutter because it was his first run under the magic 2 minutes.   On 5th August, again at Ibrox, this time in the Rangers Sports he equalled Burton’s Scottish record with 1:58.4

Soutter’s second year in the sport (1911),  was spent partly in London running for Blackheath Harriers in order to develop his athletics.  There are not many records of Soutter running in the Mile or 1500 metres but Alex Wilson has provided a cutting from the Scotsman of 19th June, 1911, with a report of the annual Scottish Universities championship.    It was held ay Anniesland and on a rainy day Soutter won both half and mile events: the half in 2:00.2 after leading all the way, and the Mile in 4:36 after making all the running.   He had a very good day at the AAA championships that year which was reported in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ as follows.   “JT Soutter, of Aberdeen University AC, went South after the Scottish championships, and had a week’s training in London.   He ran a punishing heat in the quarter, which he did not win; in the half-mile he ran the race of his life so far,  was hard luck that he was not the winner of his heat.   Soutter erred in not confining himself to one event.   The quarter mile effort must have prejudiced his chances  in the half mile to some extent, and in view of the fact that he was only beaten by a foot in 1:57, one regrets that he did not leave the quarter-mile alone.   While the half-mile final was a memorable race in some respects, it was a little disappointing in others.    It did not produce great time, although possibly that would have materialised had Braun, the German, been subjected to a keener finish.”   Soutter however, ran 1:57.4 in Heat – second to Canadian Mel Brook after coming through 440 yards in 54.2 seconds.    He was a member of the Blackheath team that won the AAA’s medley relay in 1911 and was second in 1912.   Running the lead off leg, he is credited with a 1:56.4 split in 1911.   The week before the AAA’s, he had won the SAAA championship ahead of Burton in 2:00.2 and was ahead of him again in the Irish International at Hampden in 1:59.4.    He was also part of another Scottish 1-2 in the international when he was second to DF McNicol in the Mile.

In 1912 on  18th May in the Scottish Olympic Trials at Celtic Park, he won the 400 metres in 52.0.   The Olympic Trials were held at various venues to assist the selectors in choosing the team for Stockholm.   The trouble with that notion is that weather conditions vary from one venue to the other.   Trials were held on this particular date in Glasgow, at a meeting organised by the West of Scotland club, and at Stamford Bridge.    The weather at Parkhead was described as being very windy to the point of making the meeting a farce as far as fast times were concerned.   There were Olympic trials for 100m,  200m,  400, 800m and marathon.   Soutter was entered in both 400m and 800m and won the 400 from George Dallas of Maryhill – “Though Soutter was on the outside, he early got into position, and maintaining the lead, won by three yards.”   In the 800m he was second to Burton who won in 1:59.6 – “There were only two out of six who finished, and the race in consequence was a little disappointing.   George Dallas who was running well at the time, had the misfortune to get badly spiked, thus ruining any chance he had, whilst WM Crathie and KE MacDougall could not stand up against the breeze.   Soutter made the pace at the end of the first quarter, Unkles leading up to that point.   Burton was close behind the Aberdonian, and on entering the finishing stretch both made their effort, the Berwick man excelling every step and winning hands down in 1:59.6.”     The equivalent times at Stamford Bridge were 49.2 and 1:57.6.

In June, at St Andrews in the Inter-Varsity sports he won the 220 yards (22.8), 440 yards (53.6) and 880 yards (2:03.6) – a remarkable treble which showed some of the form he was in at the time.  Later in June, on the 15th, at the SAAA Championships he won the 440 yards (51.8) and 880 yards (2:01.8).   “Another double winner in the flat events was Soutter of Aberdeen University AAA.    He had the better of R Burton for once in tactics in the half-mile, while in the quarter-mile he ran the most “brainy” race that stands to his credit.   Burton it appears had been off-colour all week, and it is just possible on that account Soutter had an easier task than he would otherwise have had.   All the same, the Aberdonian had two very popular victories.”   That “brainy” quarter-mile?   Lindsay and Soutter, although occupying outer positions, soon got to the front at at halfway it was obvious that the fight would be confined to the two of them.   Lindsay in the straight made a brave effort to retain the championship, but Soutter who displayed excellent judgment all the way, drew to the front and won by a yard and a half, Dallas being three yards behind Lindsay.”   

 On 22nd June at the AAA’s he was running in the third heat of the 880 yards and the report read: “The Scottish champion ran very nicely and won by a couple of yards, easing up, in 1 min 59 1-5th.”   It was maybe a bit ominous that the first heat was won by Hans Braun – “The German merely toyed with the others and running with perfect movement won easily in 1 min 58 4-5th sec.”   The second heat was won by FE Mann of Polytechnic Harriers in 1 min 58 2-5th sec.   Into the final and “at half -way Braun was in the front, from which position he was never deposed.   He won by a couple of yards and Soutter beat Mann by a foot.   Time: 1 min 58 2-5th sec.    The Scotsman must have been doing equal to 1 min 58 and a half seconds, which is excellent travelling, and is just short of his best effort by a fraction.”   

Selection for the Olympics was well-deserved on his running but the actual events selected for was a mixed blessing – 400m, 800m and 4 x 400m.   These involved at least six races between July 6th and July 15th, at times with two races on the same day.   There were 28 nations competing and with no Olympic village (that idea was born with the Commonwealth Games and appropriated by the Olympic movement in the 1930’s), the British team stayed in a 2 star hotel on the outskirts of the city.   Soutter was first in action on 6th July in the 800m.   He was in the seventh of ten heats and won from a man that Glasgow crowds would know well – Mel Sheppard – in 2:00.4.   That was on the Saturday and the second round was the following day with the result that James Soutter refused to run – a stand similar to that taken twelve years later by Eric Liddell.   The Presbyterian divinity student still had two events to contest and in the morning of 12th July he stepped on to the track for the tenth of fifteen heats.   He was second to Edward Lindberg of America who won in 50.6 seconds.   The semi-finals were the same afternoon and the Scot could do no better than third in the fifth and last semi-final which was not good enough to see him through to the final.   There were five in the final – 4 Americans and Braun – Braun was second to Charles Reidpath who set a new Olympic record of 48.2 for the event.

Came the 4 x  400m on 14th July and the GB team won the first heat with a team of George Nicol, Ernest Henley, Soutter and Cyril Seedhouse in a new Olympic record of 3:19.0.   Things looked good for the final but unfortunately he had injured his ankle in the heat and could only limp pain fully round on the third stage in the final.   The GB team finished third in 3:23 while the winning American team set a new world record of 3:16.6.   Nevertheless Soutter, after only three years of concentrating on his athletics had won an Olympic medal. 

In 1913 he forsook the track for missionary work in Africa after an athletics career that won him three SAAA championships, one English championship, an Olympic medal and two Scottish records.   All in three years in the sport.

Immediately after the 1912 Olympics he had a short spell as assistant minister at St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen before going to Africa where he was the first minister in the Church of St Andrew in Nairobi.   In 1914 he was appointed chaplain to the British East African Expeditionary Force, which post he held until he returned to Scotland in 1916.   From 1917 he was serving as chaplain to the Royal Scots Greys in France  where his activities earned him the accolade of being Mentioned in Dispatches.     He was also involved in the Second War when he was part of a network intended to be Britain’s last line of defence  in the event of a German invasion.   They were based in underground bunkers – Soutter’s was in Smeaton House – they had been organised on the instructions of Winston Churchill no less.   His role was that of a ‘runner’ – making ‘dead letter drops’ leaving messages for other members of the network, for instance.

After the War he returned to Aberdeenshire where he was the minister at Advie until he retired to Edinburgh in 1956.   In 1940 he had married – for a second time – to Freda Pattinson.   Back in Edinburgh, however, his wife’s health began to deteriorate and by 1959 she was admitted to a nursing home.   Then a strange thing happened.   On 7 August 1959, Soutter left his home at 17 Howe Street to visit his wife. He had his passport in his jacket pocket.  He did not arrive at the nursing home, nor was he ever seen again.

An article in ‘The Scotsman’ in July 2012 reported that his photo and description were widely circulated.    A few days later, a lady in Cowie, Stonehaven, thought she had seen someone resembling him outside her house eating sandwiches but the sighting was never confirmed.   For some time previous to his disappearance Soutter had apparently been learning German. It was thought he may have been suffering from depression because of his wife’s condition. Despite extensive enquiries throughout the United Kingdom and Europe no light has since been shone on the mystery.   In 1967 after a statutory application to the Court of Session in Edinburgh James Soutter was formally declared dead, having been missing for over seven years.

James Soutter’s athletics career had been good enough to earn him a place in any Scottish athletics Hall of Fame – but how he ended his life is a mystery – and a tragedy.

[One of the sources for this profile was one in the excellent “The Past is a Foreign Country” by Arnold Black & Colin Shields – it’s an interesting article in a fascinating book.]

Donald McLean in 1938

Donald McLean, also known as Don McLean, was a Greenock Policeman who was also a distinguished member of Maryhill Harriers   When the photograph above was taken, after the National Cross-Country Championship in 1948, he was 46 years old.   The race was won that day by his team mate John Emmett Farrell, and one of the counting runners was Gordon Porteous, both of who were still running and racing in their 90’s.  Maryhill did have a lot of older athletes – Alex Wilson reminds me of George Barber (who ran in the 1912 Olympic marathon trial also ran in the Polytechnic Marathon in 1939 when he was 48) and Jimmy McNamara who was still active after the war (McNamara had a rousing reception when finishing the Drymen to Firhill road race at the age of 60).   Had the veteran athletics scene existed then, no doubt Donald would also have been an enthusiastic veteran.   Emmet Farrell in his autobiography speaks quite often about Donald and his respect and admiration shine through.   He tells one story about the policeman who had to ask the way though –

“THE POLICEMAN WHO LOST HIS WAY

Although I have indicated how modest our training methods were in those far-off days compared with the moderns we did by our own standards have some really hard sessions on occasion.   Our club Maryhill Harriers trained from the public-baths wash-house at Gairbraid Avenue and often on a Tuesday there were perhaps twenty runners all ready to start a real hard 7 or 8 miles run.   Champions of the class of Dunky Wright, Donald Robertson, Tom Blakely, the 3 mile Scottish champion and Greenock policeman Donald McLean whose versatility ranged from half-mile to two miles on the track and even in the veteran stage provided a strong tail on cross-country team events.

When Donald made the special journey from Greenock we knew that there were going to be firworks and when pace-man Willie Nelson shouted in stentorian tones “Right lads” and left like a greyhound in the slips it was easy to lose contact with the pack if one was dilatory.   It was a clear moonlight evening crisp and exhilarating, and so was the pace.   Donald was in rampant form and none of us could hold him.   Unfortunately he wasn’t too familiar with the trail and failed to take a left turn and arrived at Charing Cross over two miles away and had to ask his way home to the Baths.   The red-faced policeman eventually arrived but it was a long time before we let him forget about this incident.   It’s not every day that a policeman has to ask the way home.   Donald blamed Dunky for not shouting left turn as the latter was well-known as a jokester but the latter countered by saying that he was too far ahead to hear instructions.”

Donald McLean first appears in the results columns in 1924 as a member of Greenock Wellpark Harriers who ran mainly in mile races.   On 7th June he was second in the open mile handicap at Queens Park FC Sports, a week later he ran in the SAAA Championships but was merely noted as ‘also competed’, in the Glasgow Police Sports on 28th June he won the confined 880 yards in 2:07.6 and in the Greenock Glenpark Harriers Sports  on 26th July he won the half-mile very easily in 1:58 off a mark of 42 yards.   He was clearly already a very good runner although he does not appear in any results for the principal meetings in 1923.   An interesting aside is the prize winning habits of his Wellpark Harrier team mate, Duncan McSwein, who was picking up several prizes a year, albeit from big handicaps, at grounds around the West of Scotland.   Duncan went on to become a very long-serving Treasurer of the SCCU.  

In 1925 he started his season at the Kilmarnock Sports on 23rd May in the Mile where he was third behind James Mitchell of Kilmarnock Harriers and P Nichol also Kilmarnock Harriers – two very able athletes who started well behind his 140 yard handicap.   The next outing was on 6 June in the Queen’s Park FC Sports at Hampden, where he was timed at 9:42.0 to be a close second in 2 miles team race against Tom Riddell.   This was his first run in a Maryhill Harriers vest, and the race report read: “From the spectacular point of view the tit-bit of the meeting was the finish of the Two Miles race.   Not since Johnston and McIntyre fought out their memorable duel in the championship last June has there been so thrilling a struggle as as that which took place between T Riddell and D McLean, the Greenock policeman, who runs with Maryhill Harriers.   The resemblance between the two races was further accentuated by the fact that Riddell, the winner of Saturday’s race, collapsed, like Johnston, after passing the tape.   There was nothing between the pair from the moment the bell sounded until the finishing post was reached , and as an exhibition of splendid courage on the party of both runners it could scarcely be surpassed.”    He might have been running well, but at this point he could not get into his club’s Mile relay team – WH Calderwood was running too well for that – nor did the 23 year old McLean pick up any medals at the SAAA Championships that year.   He did compete in the latter but was not among the first three who were Riddell, Mackie and Johnston.    He remedied the latter the following summer.

 Donald started the 1926 season as he did on the last Saturday in May when he turned out on 25th May at Hampden and won the Mile in 4:366.4.   In the Glasgow Police Sports on 19th June he won the confined in 2:04, described in the ‘Herald’ as ‘won easily’.   This led nicely into the SAAA Championships the following week when he was entered in the Mile.   This turned into a race between himself and Tom Riddell which Riddell won by 7 yards with McLean being timed at 4:27.4.    This gained him selection for the Triangular International at Hampden Park on the Second Saturday in July.   The Mile was won by Tom Riddell  but McLean was not in the first three in the race.  It was back to the domestic round after this and the Mile Relay which had been traditionally run in Scotland with the 880 yards first, then the two furlongs and ending with the quarter-mile had been changed to one where the race began with the two furlongs, then there came the quarter and finally the half-mile which made it a totally different race.   McLean’s next place was in the Celtic FC Sports, held on Tuesday, 10th August.   Nor was it in the half-mile or Mile that he appeared – it was the Three Miles flat handicap which he won with  a handicap allowance of 145 yards from WH Calderwood (125) and FL Stevenson (145).   This finished the domestic athletic season as the football started the very next Saturday.

McLean is not reported as running in too many cross-country races but at the end of the winter of 1926-27 he was sixth in the National Cross-Country Championship and second scoring runner for Maryhill behind Dunky Wright who won it.   The Maryhill team won the gold medals.

He started 1927 on  23rd May, in the Maryhill Harriers Sports at Ibrox Park.   He was timed at 9.31.8, in second place to Walter Beavers in 2 miles.   The ‘Glasgow Herald’ report read:   “The Two Miles Team Race proved an interesting struggle with a surprise caused by the prominent running of Donald McLean, Maryhill Harriers, who in finishing second to W Beavers, of York, created a new Native record for the distance.   His time of 9:31 is 1 2-5th sec better than the previous figures set up by J McGough in 1904.”   Beavers’s winning time was 9:29 3-5th.   Two weeks later on 4th June, at Hampden in the Queen’s Park FC Sports, Donald won the Three Miles Team Race in 15.30.0, with the Maryhill squad of McLean, T Blakely 4, D Wright 6) winning from Monkland Harriers.   On 11th June on a meeting organised jointly by West of Scotland Harriers and Shettleston Harriers at Celtic Park, McLean ran in the Mile Relay for his club which finished second to West of Scotland.

The traditional prelude to the SAAA Championships was the Glasgow Police Sports held one week before the big day.  They fell on 18 June this year (1927) and were held at Ibrox.    McLean was first in the mile (first class) handicap in 4.27.8, where he was virtual backmarker off 25 yards.   He followed up with first in the half mile handicap, which was a race confined to policemen, off scratch, in 2.03.6.   It had often the case in the past that there were two mile races – a first class race with the faster me running, and the second class race with those off bigger handicaps contesting it, and it was revived as ‘an experiment’.   He was also the half-miler in the relay team which won the day.  The ‘Sunday Post’ commented that “Donald McLean of Maryhill made the meeting memorable by scoring a double win, and also by finishing first in the relay race”   The ‘Glasgow Herald’s take on it was “The experiment of dividing the mile handicap into two classes was a success, and this reduced size of field gave D McLean an opportunity of registering a success from his virtual scratch mark of 35 yards in good time.   It was rather curious that in both first class and second class the winners’ times should have only shown a difference of one-fifth of a second which indicates how little chance the back-marker has of getting through the huge fields which are usually found in these events.   McLean had a successful afternoon as, in addition to his victory in the mile, he won the confined half-mile and laid the foundation of his club’s victory in the relay race.”  

Clearly in very good form, he headed for the SAAA Championships on the 25th.   He contested the mile and won his first SAAA gold.   The report read: “In the mile the Greenock man had little or no serious opposition and was forced to make all of his own running in the last lap.   The impression grows that the best has not been seen of McLean yet, and certainly this season the better the opposition, the better he has been, witness his appearances in the team races with Birchfield Harriers and York Harriers at his own club meeting in May.   He has entered for the AAA Championships and it will be interesting to see how he fares.   A natural easy style, he only wants opportunity to be a real top-notcher.”   His winning time in a day of heavy rain throughout the meeting was 4:28.8.   He also ran the half mile leg of the relay and was first at the change-over for the winning team to receive his second gold medal of the afternoon.

Whatever the ‘Herald’ said about entering the AAA’s, McLean avoided the London meeting, preferring to attempt a Two Miles record at the Celtic Sports (2 July).   The report was that he had run a badly judged race and after taking the lead a lap from the finish ‘ran himself out’ and placed third in the event.    He did redeem himself somewhat in the Triangular international at Manchester on 16th July.   The Scots were soundly thrashed.   England won with 23.5 points, Ireland had 8.5 points and Scotland had only 1 point which was won for them by McLean.   He was the solitary points winner when he was second in the Mile in 4:25.8, three yards behind JW Moore of England.   Continuing the representative matches on Friday, 4th August he turned out at Craiglockhart, in a  Scotland v Achilles match.   There was some pre-race haggling over events.   Achilles had competed against Atalanta at Hampden the previous evening and they turned up in Edinburgh wanting to alter the programme.   “The Mile and Four Mile were deleted to suit the Englishmen and a Two Miles race substituted.   It was unfortunate that J Suttie Smith, the Four Miles champion, was unable to compete.    But Donald McLean filled the gap in the revised distance events, and WH Calderwood took McLean’s place in the half-mile.   McLean ran a well-judged race, and, after being content to run third behind FL Stevenson and VE Morgan went in the lead at the bell and resisted the stout challenge by the Englishman to get home by about 20 yards.”      His winning time was  9.35.0.

Not content with that, he was out the very next afternoon at Ibrox in the Rangers Sports where he ran in the Open Mile and finished third in the first class event which was won by C Ellis from scratch, with WH Calderwood second(125), and McLean was racing from 25 yards.   The winner was clocked at 4:18.8.   And that was the finish of his 1927 season

*

In the St Peter’s Sports at the beginning of June, 1928, Maryhill Harriers were tied with Plebeian Harriers at the start of the last race of the afternoon, the Three Miles but McLean came to the rescue with a final burst to the tape that won the race and the match for his club.  At the Glasgow Police Sports on 16th June, McLean won the confined half-mile from Scratch in 2:03.2 and ran the half-mile leg of the mile relay “The Maryhill man handed over with fully four yards in advance of the current half-mile champion and it may be with weak opposition promised at his own distance, the mile, that McLean will have a cut at the half-mile also.   With HC Maingay added to the field this will be an event worth seeing.”   He also ran in the Mile but, as the report said, having run two fast half miles already, he contented himself with having a view of the leaders at the finish.   The reporter was correct – McLean did ‘have a cut at the half-mile’ and cut it well enough to finish second to Maingay who won in 2:01.4.  He also won his speciality, the Mile, in 4:34.8 before running the half-mile leg of the relay for the winning Maryhill team.    There were mixed reports of the two races – “The half-mile found HC Maingay justify all the good things that have been expected of him by his performances at the University meetings.   His time – 2 min 1 3-5th sec – was much below his best, but his defeat of Donald McLean was emphatic.   The conditions suited the Maryhill man, but his judgment in allowing Maingay to get too far ahead in the earlier stages of the race was not of the best.   McLean had a very easy task in the mile against a moderate field.”    One week later he was at Tynecastle, on a six-laps-to-the-mile track, in a meeting organised by Hearts FC, Edinburgh Harriers and Edinburgh Northern Harriers for a two miles race.   Suffering from a cold he was no match for JF Wood of Heriot’s to whom he was conceding 80 yards.   He withdrew from the relay with Calderwood unsuccessfully taking on Maingay in the half-mile leg.

On 11th August there was what was billed as the first athletic festival of the police of the United Kingdom and which took place at Liverpool.   All the athletic events were contested and Donald McLean was second in the half-mile which had 21 entries, and won the mile title in 4 min  35 sec to bring the 1928 season to a successful close.       It had been a fairly good season.   There had been no triangular international since it was an Olympic year but he had three medals from the Scottish championships and run some good races.   Doubts were however expressed about his judgment and tactics – not for the first time either.   But unlike the previous year, with no cross-country form to show how he was progressing over the winter it was into 1929.

*

His first real race that year was at Hampden.   The Queen’s Park sports were on 1st June in 1929, and and Suttie Smith attempted to break McLean’s Two Miles record there but failed to do so in a race won by WJ Gunn of Plebeian who, running from 85 yards, won in 9:32.2.   McLean himself ran in the Mile but’ran indifferently’ and failed to finish in the first three.    At the St Peter’s AAC  Meeting at Scotstoun on 8th June 1929, McLean ran a Mile – this meeting was well known as ‘the unofficial club championship of Scotland’ as it involved relays over 440 yards, 880 yards, One, Two and Four Miles relays plus a 440 yards hurdles relay as well as a Three Mile team race.  The Four Miles relay was later removed from the programme and the ThreeMiles Team Race became a Two Miles.    He was timed, unofficially at 4:41.6 fr his stretch of the Four Miles Relay and the comment was that he moved more freely than at any time that season so far.   It is interesting that there have been some attempts to organise purely relay meetings at other times in Britain – notably the Bracknell Relays in the 60’s – but they have never taken off,  although there are many such meetings in the USA which are perennial favourites.   Certainly the St Peter’s meeting which moved around the various grounds in Glasgow were popular with the athletes and spectators.

 At the Glasgow Police Sports the week before the SAAA Championships, McLean won the confined half-mile but according to the ‘Herald’ journalist, ‘in the opinion of many McLean was favoured in getting the decision of the judges.’   The Championships on 22nd June at Hampden saw McLean second in the Mile to his team mate WH Calderwood who won in 4:29.8.  The Glasgow Herald report: “His previous performances this season had shown that McLean had lost much of his form, but it is questionable that if at his best, he could have given anything to WH Calderwood, the victor in Saturday’s mile.   Calderwood not only ran with better judgment, but carried the stronger finish and his time, 4 min 29 4-5th sec, represented good running.”   

After the championships, McLean missed the Partick Thistle  Sports but ran at Lochwinnoch on 6th July where he finished second in the invitation half-mile on the same day that Cyril Ellis won both half-mile and mile at the AAA Championships in London.   Two weeks later on July 20th, the Beith Games were held and Maryhill Harriers won the relay “thanks to the early superiority of Donald McLean and AD Turner.”   On 3 August at the Rangers Sports McLean ran in and won the  3/4 mile handicap in 3.08.6 off 30 yards.   (He ran out full distance in 3.13.4 which was only 1.2 secs. outside Duncan McPhee’s Scottish record.   The journalist was enthusiastic: “McLEAN’S REVIVAL.   The feature of the three-quarter mile was the form shown by Donald McLean .   Prior to the Championships he was running indifferently without an ounce of reserve for his finishes.   He is stated to have altered his training methods since losing his title, and if that is the reason for the decided improvement that was reflected in his work on Saturday it has been a wise move.   Not only did he run with more judgment than usual, but he carried a powerful finish to the tape – too powerful for Ellis who looked a winner coming down the back straight, but could get no better than fourth place.   It was a fast run race in the earlier stages, and McLean’s winning time from 30 yards was 3 mins 8 3-5th sec, and and for the full distance 3 min 13 2-5th sec.   This was the first defeat sustained by Ellis in Scotland this season.”    It was a good way to end the season after a disappointing start and he must have gone into the winter training in good heart.

*

His first race in 1930 was not a track race at all, nor was it cross-country.   It was as part of the Maryhill team in the first ever Edinburgh-Glasgow relay.   McLean was to run in three of them and get a medal in each one. This one was run on 26th April, and he was on the seventh stage.   Taking over from Tom Blakely and handing over to Dunky Wright it was a remarkably strong finish for the team.   On the stage from Airdrie-Barrachnie, 5 ½ miles 31.11, he was fifth quickest on the leg but held thrid place which was their finishing position.

On the track he ran in the Tynecastle meeting on 31st May in the Two Miles Team race, won by Suttie Smith, as part of the winning Maryhill Harriers team in which WH Calderwood was fourth, McLean fifth and DT Muir seventh.   At the Queen’s Park meeting the following week, he again ran in the Two Miles team race which he won in 9:39.6, and with Calderwood third and Blakely seventh, Maryhill won the team event from Plebeian Harriers.    The following week, 14th June 1930, was the St Peter’s AAC meeting with all the relays.   McLean was part of the Two Miles (4 x 880 yards) Relay team and the Mile Team Race.   “The finest race of the afternoon was the Two Miles Relay , and it was brought about by the fact that here Donald McLean and HC Maingay were in opposition over the last half-mile of the race.   In the earlier stages of the race it looked as if the Edinburgh University team would not be concerned with the finish but CM Wells put up an excellent race in the third section and made up a lot of ground.   In the burst for the line however he could not hold Calderwood and as a result Donald McLean set out on the final half-mile with a lead over Maingay of about 30 yards.   The Scottish champion, however, was not dismayed.   He went after McLean in fine style, caught him in the back straight of the concluding lap, and entered the straight a yard or two ahead.   The effort, however, had taken too much out of him, while McLean had something in reserve, and Maingay was beaten in the final burst by about three yards.    

Maingay  was timed as doing 57 1-5th for the quarter, and 1 min 58 1-5th for the full distance.   The reserve which McLean has found since the Tynecastle meeting a fortnight ago was again in evidence in the mile team race in which he resisted a stout challenge from Neil Morison of Glasgow University.   McLean’s time in winning this race was 4 min 37 4-5th sec.”   
In the Glasgow Police Sports on 21st June. McLean again won the confined 880 yards from scratch in 2:01.6 and then headed for the SAAA Championships at Hampden on 28th June where he tackled the mile and Tom Riddell, who had been living and working in Ireland for the previous two years.   At the championships ‘heavy rain and blustery showers made the conditions none too favourable’.   In the race itself, McLean ran a good time of 4:29 to be second to Riddell and defeated by fully 20 yards.  “AS GOOD AS EVER.   Tom Riddell’s victory in the mile was decisive, and the form he exhibited indicated clearly that, despite his comparative inaction during the past two seasons, he is just as good a runner as when he lived amongst us.    He cut out the pace himself from the start, and only on one occasion did Donald McLean get on terms with him.”
After missing the Partick Thistle meeting on the following Saturday he travelled to Luton on 12th June for the third annual Police Championships and won the Mile by 60 yards in 4:30.4.   Some members of Maryhill Harriers – including WH Calderwood – had travelled to the Birchfield Harriers Sports and the English team was expected to send some of their top men, including Scotsman RR Sutherland, to the Largs Sports on Monday, 21st July.  The sports were to celebrate the opening of the new Barrfield Park.  However it worked out, there was not a single Burchfield runner in the first three at any event and it is maybe fair to assume that they just did not turn up.   On a sunny afternoon in front of 3000 spectators McLean ran in the one and a half mile scratch race where he finished second to WH Calderwood and in front of Frank Stevenson (Monkland Harriers).   The winning time was 7:05.4.

Celtic FC had been having problems with the date of their annual sports.   They had traditionally used the second Saturday in August, the week after the Rangers Sports, and it was the traditional end to the big summer athletics meetings.   Then the SFA decided to start their new season on that date, the club had nowhere to go.   At this point they were trying to get a good turn out on the Tuesday after the Rangers Sports and they would go on to attempt to hold the event on the second Saturday in July, but after one year, the SAAA, AAA and NIAAA switched the triangular international – to the second weekend in July.   It was a continuing problem.   In 1930 the event was held on Tuesday 5th August and attracted 5000 spectators on a fine evening.   McLean’s event was the Two Miles Team Race.   Not only did McLean win the race from Calderwood but DT Muir was sixth and they won the team race.   This ended the track season for him and a mixed kind of season it had been: starting fairly well there had been no real highlights for him but at least that season there were no complaints from the writers about his judgment!

On 9th March in the National Cross-Country Championship, Maryhill won the team race with McLean seventeenth.   The second Edinburgh to Glasgow eight stage relay was on 25th April and Maryhill was second.   The same men ran on the last three stages but in different order – Dunky Wright on the long sixth stage, Tom Blakely on the seventh and Don McLean on the eighth.  That the selection was the right one was shown by the fact that each of them ran the fastest time on his stage.   Track rival and team mate WH Calderwood was second on the first stage.

When it came to the track season in 1931, the first meeting was at Coatbridge on 23rd May and McLean was third in the Two Miles team race behind Gunn of Plebeian and Calderwood of Maryhill: the race report gave Gunn great credit for the way in which he ran the race – at the bell he was leading but McLean shot into the lead and when he eased slightly Gunn made his move which was decisive.   The race was almost exactly repeated the following Monday at Firhill in the Maryhill Harriers meeting, Gunn again won the Two Miles team race, and again Calderwood was second and McLean was third.

All three would meet up again on 30th May, at Hampden.   It was part of a big weekend in the city – called the Glasgow Civic and Empire week with two ships-of-war  –  HMS Basilisk and HMS Beagle  –  being visited by 25,000 people and special events all around the city and a parade of massed bands in George Square.   The Queen’s Park FC Sports was on that weekend before a crowd of 5000 and Gunn, Calderwood and McLean ran in the Two Miles Team Race for the third time in eight days.   The report is quite interesting, dealing as it does of the rivalry of the two teams.  “The keen rivalry that exists at the moment between the two evenly matched teams of the Maryhill and Plebeian clubs is tending to elevate the two mile scratch races for Harrier clubs into the chief events of the meetings in which they appear.  At the Monkland Harriers meeting last Saturday, at Firhill Park on Monday, and again at Hampden Park on Saturday, the racing in this event transcended anything else in the programme.

This was due as much to the personal duel between WJ Gunn of Plebeian on the one hand, and WH Calderwood and Donald McLean of Maryhill on the other, as to the struggle for supremacy between the clubs.   In all three runs during the past ten days Gunn has had the measure of the ex-Scottish champions, and as each has been run through in different fashion, the Plebeian Harrier can claim that, both in the matter of tactics and in the matter of pace, that he is the best man in the district at the moment over the distance.”   Gunn’s winning time was 9:38.8  and McLean’s was 9:41.   Just over 2 seconds between first and third!

The St Peter’s AAC meeting was held on 13th June at Celtic Park.   With club reputation on the line, all hands were on deck.    McLean ran in two events – he was in the winning team in the two mile (4 x 880y) relay with Calderwood, J Wilson and A McNiven,  and Calderwood and McLean ran on the last two stages; he was also in the winning team in the mile team race where he was second in 4:33.6 with Calderwood (4) and Blakely (6)  –   and the race winner was Walter Gunn of Plebeian in 4:33.2.    The winning margin was only two yards.    In the Glasgow Police Sports on 20th June, McLean again won the confined 880 yards, this time in 2:02.2.    McLean did turn out in the mile at the SAAA Championships at the end of June but was simply noted as ‘also ran’.   His season had effectively ended at this point and he was maybe suffering ant from the rather hectic start with three races in eight days and then almost a race a week thereafter.

*

There was no record of him running in District or National Championships over the country, and there was no Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay in 1932, so it was straight into the Track season.   There was no record of him in the Monkland Sports, at the Maryhill Harriers Meeting (where the team race was won by Salford Harriers) or at the Queen’s Park Sports on 28th May.    His first outing was at the St Peter’s meeting on 4th June where, running on the third stage, he just held his place and left Calderwood too much to do on the last stage, and he was fourth in the Mile team race which was won by Calderwood and wth Muir in fifth, Maryhill Harriers won the team race.   On the 18th June, 1932, at Ibrox in the  Glasgow Police Sports, although out of the medals, and consequently out of the report, McLean finished fourth in the handicap half mile off scratch, although he was only third in the confined half-mile this year.   The two events were probably very close together on the programme and that may have accounted for the poor run in the latter.    Regardless of the reason for that, he did run in the Mile at the SAAA again but was listed this time as ‘also competed.’      McLean was now 30 years old and was maybe feeling the pace a bit because he either did not run fr the rest of the summer or did run but fail to make the prize lists.   Whatever the reason, his 1932 season was over.

*

Although he was not a counting runner in the 1933 National and he may not have raced at all, on 8th April,McLean ran the last leg of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay for the Maryhill team that finished third behind  Plebeian and Dundee Thistle.   He had run the second fastest time of the day on that final stage.   He started the summer at the Monkland Sports on 20th May when he was eighth finisher and third counter for the Maryhill Harriers team in the Two Miles team race where they were second to Edinburgh Southern Harriers.   Missing the Queen’s Park Sports, he was out again at the St Peter’s meeting at Celtic Park on 3rd June where he ran in the 2 miles relay for the team that finished third, and then won the One Mile Team Race in 4:33.8 by 15 yards from W Sutherland of Shettleston Harriers.   At the Glasgow Police Sports on 17th June, McLean passed up on the confined half mile and the open events to run in the invitation where, running from 35 yards, he finished fourth in a race won by Tom Riddell in 4:26.   The first three in that race – Riddell, Laidlaw and Gifford – were also the first three in a thrilling SAAA Mile seven days later with McLean also in the final field.   The British Police Championships were held at Rugby on 15th July and Donald McLean was noted in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ as being runner-up in the Mile.   The trio mentioned above dominated the mile at virtually all the major sports meetings for the rest of the season and it had been a disappointing season for Donald McLean.

*

McLean was not a member of the Maryhill team that was third in the Edinburgh to Glasgow at the start of 1934,  nor was he in the National Cross-Country Championship squad.   When the Glasgow Police Sports were held on the first Saturday in June, earlier than usual, Donald McLean was there and running well.   Held at Ibrox on 2nd June, the sports featured the usual confined events and the report on McLean’s race read, “The performance which Donald McLean set up in the Police half-mile was in a way the best at the meeting for the Greenock man has been running for a long time and he was fresh from night duty.   At Helenvale last month he gave some indication that he had recaptured some of the form that gained him his championship, and that was fully borne out in Saturday’s race as, from the five yards mark, he won in the easiest fashion in 1 min 58 3-5th sec.   All the way he was timed at doing a shade inside 1:59, not bad time for a veteran.”   The St Peter’s AAC meeting was held at Celtic Park on 16th June and McLean ran in the Two Miles relay which Maryhill won by three yards from Glasgow University and finished second in the One Mile team race behind his old rival, Walter Gunn of Plebeian Harriers.   Well though he seemed to be running, he did not go in the SAAA Championships where Gunn won the Two Miles Steeplechase.   However, at the Partick Thistle Sports on 30th June he ran in the Invitation Half-Mile and finished third off 12 yards behind Graham of Maryhill (3 yards) and Deas of Motherwell (30 yards).   The seventh annual championship of the Police Assciation was held at Hampden Park on 7th July 1934 and a great occasion it was.   Twenty four police forces from all over the UK took part but, it was sadly remarked, only four out of forty Scottish forces were represented.   “A new record was created by Donald McLean in the Mile where he returned 4 min 29 1-5th sec in defeating the holder, RD Clapp.    McLean’s time was also 3-5th sec better than the previous record set by WC Houseman three years ago.   So long has McLean been competing that we have come to regard him as approaching the veteran stage.   There was no suggestion of the veteran in Saturday’s running.   With his experience of his West Sussex opponent he made the pace from the bell a hot one and left Clapp with no reserve at the finish.   McLean’s victory was enhanced by the fact that he came off duty only at six o’clock on Saturday morning.”

Approaching the veteran stage?   The man was only 32, although I suppose that by the standards of the day he was a bit long in the tooth.   Veteran or no, that was effectively the end of his 1934 summer season.

After another winter when he was not a counting runner in any major cross-country championship, there was the 1935 summer season to look forward to.   The summer started for him on the 1st June in the Queen’s Park Sports when he lined up again with Tom Riddell in the invitation mile race.   It was a fairly comfortable win for Riddell as the report indicates.   “Tom Riddell made his first appearance of the season on a Scottish track in the special mile and, while there was one period in the final lap when he did not look too happy, his winning time of 4 min 18 2-5th sec was distinctly good with the wind conditions which prevailed.   Riddell must be the most consistent distance champion Scotland has ever hadfor not once in the past 10 years has he served up a bad race in public.

It is a coincidence that it was 10 years ago at the same meeting that Riddell and Donald McLean served up a thrilling duel in the two mile team race.   McLean ran in Saturday’s race also, but was not concerned in the finish.”       It should also be noted that 10 years earlier McLean was a bit older than Riddell.   Age was really starting to be noted by journalists if not by other runners.   Nevertheless he was still getting the invitations to the best races.

The second Saturday in June, the 8th this year, was when athletes in the West of Scotland in particular prepared for the inter-club contest at the St Peter’s AAC Sports at Celtic Park.   McLean again ran in two events.   He ran the first stage of the Two Miles Relay Race with Calderwood on the final leg, and Maryhill won the event.   He then turned out in the Mile team race where he was first in 4:39.8 and with L Osborne 7th and Calderwood 8th, they won that one too.   In the Glasgow Police Sports on 17th June, he won the confined half-mile in 2 min 03 4-5th sec.    Those who thought that McLean’s days of winning SAAA medals were over, were forced to think again on 22nd June at the SAAA Championships at Hampden where he finished third behind Riddell and Gifford.   The British Police Championships were held at New Brighton on 6th July but this time there was no Donald McLean of Greenock Police taking part – there was a Donald McLean of Glasgow Police competing but since he won the Hammer Throw with 143 feet, I don’t think it was the same fellow!    Thereafter, despite several very interesting meetings being on the programme, Donald McLean was not among the prize winners.   One particularly interesting meeting was held at Shawfield where Clyde FC reverted to the amateur code of athletics.   Their meeting had, in the beginning been amateur but switched to being a professional meeting probably in an attempt to be ‘different’ and attract their own crowd.   On 27th July 1935, they reverted to the amateur ranks with a star-studded meeting featuring Americans from Harvard and Yale as well as several home-grown champions.

McLean receiving the trophy in 1936

McLean finished 18th in the National Cross-Country Championship of 1936 and third scoring runner for the Maryhill team that finished second, so he was in good shape f0r the start of the summer season.   The first run of note was at Queen’s Park Sports at Hampden on 6th June where McLean was third in the Three Miles Team Race behind J Gifford (Bellahouston Harriers) and JC Flockhart (Shettleston Harriers) the winning time being 14:49.6.   Withe Emmet Farrell fourth and W Nelson eighth Maryhill won the team race.   On 13th June, Babcock and Wilcox held their sports meeting at the opening of a new pavilion at Moorcroft Park in Renfrew and McLean was third in the open half-mile running off 24 yards.   On 20th June, in the Glasgow Police Sports, McLean won the confined 880 yards off 9 yards in 1:58.6 to set a quite daunting record.   “Donald McLean (Greenock Police) the well-known Maryhill Harrier, was the hero in the confined police half-mile, which he won from nine yards in 1 min 58 6-10th sec.   Incidentally, this proved to be the eleventh win for McLean, surely a record never likely to be equalled, far less excelled.”    

As ever, the SAAA Championships took place the following week.   Held in excellent weather with many fast times recorded, Donald McLean moved up another distance and competed in the three miles.   He finished second behind Jack Gifford of Bellahouston Harriers and one place ahead of his young club mate Emmet Farrell.   Standard medals were won by JC Flockhart and A Dow among others.   Several notable scalps taken there by the ‘near veteran’  in a good race described as follows:   “A fine spectacular race was the Three Miles won by J Gifford (Victoria Park).   It was the veteran Donald McLean (Maryhill Harriers) who made it a great race by compelling the favourite of Victoria Park to pull out all he knew to head the big smiling Greenock policeman in the good time of 14 min 54 sec.”   McLean’s time was 14:55.

Helenvale Track on the south east of Glasgow, was a good track in a nice compact arena which was the traditional home of the Glasgow Transport Sports which continued right through to the 1960’s and were a popular event.   Perhaps the fact that they were held on a mid-week evening contributed to their lack of notice in the press generally but times were usually very good there.   It was there on 30th June, 1936, that Donald McLean won a two miles invitation race in 9:34.8 from his club mate Emmet Farrell.  “Donald McLean’s two-miles win was the finest individual effort. The stalwart Greenock policeman – he is thirty-four years of age and held the S.A.A.A. mile championship in 1927 and 1928 – ran with any amount of fire, and after being seemingly beaten by clubmate Farrell he staged a great finish to get home by a yard“

McLean did not compete in the British Police Championships at Bradford on 4th July, but at Dunoon on 18th July he gave his cluib a two yard lead at the first hand-over on the relay – a lead they kept until the finish.   An unusual event was at the Clyde FC Sports on 25th July at Shawfield.   Some of the English Olympic team had come up to Glasgow for the event and one of them was the quarter-miler Roberts who took to the track first of all in the 440 special handicap where, despite running his hardest, he finished second to CF Campbell of Springburn Harriers who ran from the 22 yard mark.   Campbell was timed at 48.9 and Roberts, from scratch, at 50.3 seconds.   Then came the mile medley relay where McLean had a role to play:   “The other event in which Roberts played a part was the invitation relay race, and if his task in the handicap was severe, he had only to canter round the last lap of the relay after his colleagues had given him an overwhelming lead.   It was FR Handley who finished second to JV Powell in the AAA half-mile who set Salford on the way to success in this race.   Running against Donald McLean, Maryhill Harriers, Handley cut out a fast pace, and handed over the baton to Rangeley 20 yards ahead of the Scot.   Rangeley and Dignam increased this advantage and Roberts had an easy task in the final quarter-mile to beat Maryhill Harriers by 30 yards with Shettleston Harriers only a yard behind the runner-up.    It was a pity that Bellahouston Harriers, Scottish champions and record holders could not field a team.”    With the football season starting just two weeks later, there was only the Rangers Sports left and McLean does not seem to have run there and it was into the winter cross-country programme before the 1937 track season.  

His first race in June, 1937,  was on the 5th at the Queen’s Park FC Sports in the three mile team race which Maryhill Harriers won with Emmet Farrell in second place as their first counter with McLean in sixth and Nelson tenth.   The race was won by J Laidlaw in 14:50.4: he had followed Farrell until 60 yards from the tape when he moved away to win by five yards.   He was next seen in the results on 29th June when he was back at the Transport Sports at Helenvale running in the two miles.   The race was won fairly comfortably by F Close, an English internationalist from Emmet Farrell with McLean third.    The winning time was 9:30 and McLean was clocked at 9:36.2.   The British Police Sports had been a happy hunting ground for Donald McLean and he travelled down to Molesey in Surrey on 3rd July in 1937 to contest the Mile which he had won four times before.    The report read: “Donald McLean (Greenock Burgh), four times holder of the one mile title – he also achieved the best time in the championship in 1934 – was rather disappointing on Saturday.   It may have been that the strong cross breeze which prevailed unsettled him, but he never really found his stride.   KJN Neagle (London Metropolitan) not only won the race as he liked, but set up a new police record of 4 min 27.5 sec.” 

Cowal Six Miles Road Race, 24th July, 1938: JE Farrell leading the pack and D McLean in the rear behind what looks like Gordon Porteous

1938 was Maryhill Harriers Jubilee year and they celebrated twice in the National Cross-Country Championships: Emmet Farrell won the individual title and the club won the team race.   The sixth counter for the winning team was none other than Donald McLean, 13 years after he had joined the club.    He followed this on 11th April in the Edinburgh-Glasgow relay where he ran on the undulating and exposed 5th stage from Armadale-Forrestfield, 5 ½ miles in distance, in 28:28 (2nd fastest time on stage ), and the club finished second overall.   Two winter team medals, gold and silver, plus the six miles road race at Cowal seem to indicate that at 36 he felt his days of fast track running were behind him.   

There are very few appearances on record for McLean in 1938 – possibly because of his employment becoming more demanding, possibly because his keenness was slightly diminished after 14 years in the sport where he had won so much and represented his country – but he did compete in the British Police Championships on 2nd July at Meadowbank Grounds in Edinburgh.    He competed in the half-mile where he was unplaced.   “Donald McLean, Greenock Police, who finished a good fourth in this race, ran at the initial meeting in 1928, running second to T Hoyland, Bradford Police.”  

He ran in neither National Cross-Country nor Edinburgh to Glasgow in 1939, nor does his name appear at any of the major meetings of the summer, not even at the British Police Sports in Brighton on 1st July.    The intervention of the war in 1939 probably put paid to his racing career – there is no note of him competing any of the championships or major meetings after 1945 – but it had been a remarkable career with SAAA medals at half-mile, mile and three miles, police championships, really good victories over quality athletes in mile, two mile and three mile races, Scottish international and representative matches on the track, team medals over the country and on the road in all three colours, and a longer career than most of his contemporaries.    He should be better known.