The Thistle Archive

It really was, 31 is no age at all. Glad to hear you like the virtual medals idea. In the fullness of time, we're hoping to roll out virtual gold / silver and maybe bronze virtual medals for all tournaments / all squad contributors. And it's a much bigger tally than the jokers would suggest!

In part 7 we meet Willie Hamilton & Bob McFarlane, and take in match day three, as Jags take a third crack at Hibernian. The prize of a winnable tie at East Stirlingshire in 4 days time lay in store for the victors on this stormy Tuesday afternoon at Celtic Park. Saturday's surprise 4-0 win over Morton demonstrated that the 'fringe' Jags were hungry and ready. For Jimmy McMenemy, it was a return to Parkhead, the place he had called home for almost the entirety of the century. Could this give Thistle the edge? Jags were on a history-making run of 6 consecutive clean-sheets but, in an incredible pre-match scenario, Hibs themselves were 5 games without conceding a goal. What gives? The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 7 →

History was made 100 years ago today, when three Jags were capped for Scotland at Pittodrie; Scotland 2 Wales 1 got our Home Championship campaign off to a winning start, and we never looked back.

On this night, 100 years ago, the SFA met in Glasgow, the main purpose of which was to conduct the draws for the latest rounds of the Scottish Cup. This draw was a real ifs, buts or maybes affair, covering as it did the rounds of both the last 16 and the last 8 in one fell swoop. Yes, Partick Thistle were in the hat for the Scottish Cup Quarter Finals, despite sitting on a club-record run of 6 games without a goal. It strikes me that Partick Thistle are the only club in world football capable of such utterly mad statistics! In part 6, we take in the draw and look back on a very memorable day for the two Thistle goalies... The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 6 →

Definitely our Davie. He was capped for Scotland school boys whilst at Our Lady's High in Motherwell. The family moved to Tullibody shortly thereafter, where he played with Tullibody YC. Inside or outside left was his either/or preference at this time. He signed for Larkhall Thistle from Tullibody in time for the start of the 1953-54, and was hardly there at all until he got in the door at Firhill within a few months.

100 years ago today... Thistle v Hibs And so, on a cold and wet Tuesday afternoon, we've got Hibs back at Firhill. As fate would have it, these sides had actually been scheduled to meet at Easter Road tomorrow afternoon, but that League fixture was postponed, the Scottish Cup taking priority. This was the first of only two games that Thistle would play at Firhill in this eleven-game campaign, both of which were replays. Lately, a paucity of goals at either end meant that contrasting club-records were building. A fifth consecutive clean-sheet would be unprecedented in the club's history, as would a sixth consecutive game without a goal. Beyond that, a fifth consecutive repeat scoreline (0-0) would be another freakish first; they couldn't possibly, could they? Read the story of the game, and meet Jimmy McMenemy and Andrew Kerr... The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 5 →

Cheers EKJ, 3 changes to the site today... John Inglis to plain old John Inglis: http://www.thethistlearchive.net/john-inglis John Inglis [ii] to Jock Inglis: http://www.thethistlearchive.net/jock-inglis Great Lever added to the club connections section: http://www.thethistlearchive.net/connections-great-lever

100 years ago today... Hibs v Thistle And so, Thistle's 36th Scottish Cup campaign was all set to get underway in Leith. Until now, we had only ever got as far as the Quarter Finals; could we take it a step further this year, in line with our improving League status? Despite the table positions, the Dundee Courier fancied Hibs, but it was always going to be a tight one to call, especially with Thistle on the back of three consecutive 0-0 draws and stuffy Hibs having taken 4½ hours to get through round one. Read the story of the game, find out which club-records were broken on this day, and meet Joe Harris... The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 4 →

Good digging EKJ, had a look around elsewhere, enough justification to rename our John Inglis [ii] as Jock Inglis, thereby making a clearer distinction between the two, will do that soon. There's also the case of J. E. Inglis, which may well be Jock. Wonder if that family member has his full name and birth details? http://thethistlearchive.wikidot.com/j-e-inglis Yes, that excellent piece was absorbed several years back, IIRC we found one of the two-legged Mid-Annandale games as a result. PT Early Years put a short piece up in response: http://ptearlyyears.net/partick-thistle-lockerbie-1888

Wouldn't let it put you off the trail. Press couldn't make up their mind with Hibernian or Hibernians for a great many decades, not to mention Hamilton Academical(s)! NEWS 1913-14 is now in place at TTA, 47 match hubs with line-ups, reports and stats. Poor away form continues. Raisbeck bows out. Jock McTavish (pictured) top of the appearances chart. Debuts for Joe Harris (Strathclyde) and Jimmy McMullan (Denny Hibernian). That George Easton feller knew what he was doing. Season 1913-14 →

On the Matt Wilson quest THREE HELD UP IN CANADA Bob Millar, manager of Indiana Flooring Team (now known as New York Nationals) is having difficulty in getting the players he fixed up on this side across the Canadian border. One player held up by the immigration authorities is Joe Slavin, late of Hearts. Millar is confident, however, that he will be able to get the status of Slavin, and of Matt Wilson and Jimmy Warden adjusted at an early date. Wilson is the ex Clyde and Thistle player, and Warden was with Dumbarton. Meantime, they are kicking their heels in Canada. ~ The Traveler, Sunday Post, 9th October, 1927 Matt did play with the New York Nationals, games found late in 1927 and early in 1928, even once came on a sub goalie for the first time in his career. Went on to play with Toronto Ulster United, games found in 1929 and 1930. Here he is pictured with the 'Red Handers' in 1930:

Very pleased to uncover David Johnstone's D.O.B. this week, 10/11 of the '21 winners now aged. 1 to go: Matt Wilson, born Glasgow, died in October, 1974, in Canada. Club-list: Queen's Park, Partick Thistle, East Fife and Clyde. Crack genealogist required!

7 days ahead of our trip to Easter Road, pt 3 sets the 20-21 scene... ● Harris departs; near world record transfer fee ● Club-record fee paid for Campbell ● Napoleon is a Jag ● Meet George Easton & Sandy Lister ● Thistle's international pedigree The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 3 →

NEWS UPDATE Season 1911-12 → - 49 match hubs loaded with line-ups, reports and stats. Easton's troops 4th in the League for the second season in a row. Chart-toppers: 40 apps Archie McKenzie; 10 goals Jim Marshall Season 1912-13 → - 45 match hubs loaded with line-ups, reports and stats. Away form slump. Spared re-election via League expansion. Double record tallies for Branscombe. Chart-toppers: 41 apps Frank Branscombe; 23 goals Frank Branscombe Gathering of the Clans 1979-80 table → - At long last, we had a bit of a breakthrough with the Gathering of the Clans tournament '79 in Nova Scotia. As suspected it was a round-robin tourney and the final table link is above. 26 points in 3 games, way to go Patrick offence! Lee Massey → - Brian Massey got in touch with some details about his Grandad Lee Massey, who kept goal for the Jags on 58 occasions back in the early 1900s. The page has been updated and we can also now put a face to the name, which is just fantastic! Any more of this kind of thing is very welcome.

Pioneering research EKJ, ye cannae whack it. You just never know what you might find. Since I was digging a little for Valetta and Valencia (who, as we now know both existed at the same time in 1876) I started poking around for any earlier references to Thistle, as I do periodically. Lo and behold, found one in the North British Daily Mail of Saturday, 12th February, 1876. As far as I currently know, this is the earliest instance of Partick Thistle FC in print. It's basically an advance notice of our forthcoming game one week later on the 19th. There we are, 5th from the bottom.

More power to your elbow EKJ! There was a similarly romantically named senior side, Valetta, who played at Alexandra Park in Dennistoun between 1874 and 1875. Speculative, but they could well have 'rebranded' as Valencia. If you're interested, send an e-mail to [email protected] and I'll send you an invaluable and comprehensive list of all these historical clubs. In recent years, we've been quite excited to discover the existence of Partick Thistle Cricket Club, who played at a ground in Partickhill in 1875, and the Partick Thistle flute band, which also existed in 1875. Keep your eyes peeled for any notices for these as we continue to strive for better knowledge of our own club's formation.

The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill part 2 → The 1921 Scottish Cup got underway OTD 100 years ago. Hi-Hi or Hibees? We look back to the First Round action, keep an eye on Thistle's League progress and stumble into a new and bizarre Jaggy Factoid... which two clubs saw more 1921 Cup action at Firhill than Thistle?

Season 1910-11 → now live @ TTA, 49 match hubs loaded with line-ups, reports and stats. Massive improvement, unbeaten at home in the top-flight all season. Fortress Firhill! Now Scotland's 4th club, above Celtic.

I thank my right honourable friend and will now proceed... So, today we begin the 100th anniversary celebration of our 1921 Scottish Cup success. 17 parts are scheduled between now and April, but don't be surprised if this changes. “Not so much a cup campaign as an odyssey” ~ David Ross (Gaffers, 2011) The introduction page → is published today, along with part 1 of the story → I hope you'll be able to join the journey over the next few months; some very entertaining pages are lined up for us all to enjoy. 'mon the Jags!

Great stuff, love a wee anecdote! 'Sally' was another of George Easton's shrewd acquisitions from the juniors (St Anthony's). The wee man played a key role in our Cup success as the story will tell. Thanks all for taking the time to add your vote and deciding the story title; between WAT & Twitter, the A's have by 18 to 11, the A's have it!

Don't want to start another thread on this, but would like to poll the forum on naming this story. Two choices are in the running, so Thistle fans can decide (poll also running on Twitter). One forumite, one vote! You simply need to reply with A or B (but add comments if you like!) A] The Day The Scottish Cup Came Up To Maryhill or B] 1921: A Scottish Cup Odyssey Voting closes tomorrow night, 19-Jan-2021 21:00 Thanks!

^ Think you're right, perhaps Stuart could remind us? Seconded! We added season 1909-10 to The Archive today, all 46 match hubs loaded with line-ups, reports and stats. ● New strip. ● First game at Firhill. ● Introduction of Captain Raisbeck. ● First Welsh flag in the teamlines. ● Marginal improvement.

Quite right! Either those were false rumours in 1897 or they baulked at the cost, the latter I suspect, our directors were famously tight canny in those days. I think it'll happen for Willie one of these anniversaries. Stuart Deans identified his resting place which was a bit of a job in itself. Would need a crowd funder to make it happen, possibly around 2K for a decent marble effort to do Willie proud.

Funny you should say that, this excerpt from 'Willie Paul – The First Partick Thistle Giant': Thistle reach the summit of Scottish football amidst talk of a Willie Paul statue Sat-04-Sep-1897 Heart of Midlothian [h] W3-2 Scorers: Robert Gray, Willie Paul, Willie Paul Att: 7,000 Venue: Meadowside, Partick. Surely, one of thee most momentous occasions in all of Partick Thistle’s history? If I could hitch a ride in the Tardis I would, with a heavy heart, skip past 1971 and 1921 and set the co-ordinates as per the above. What a starter we had been given; Heart of Midlothian were the visitors – and they were the current Scottish Champions! The Second Division flag (unveiled in a friendly match with Rangers the week before) was flying high above the new main stand, and Meadowside hosted a huge crowd for the second week in a row. Big gate receipts were very welcome – there was a new ground to pay for after all. “The reaction in Partick to the victory was unbelievable. Residents who had hung out of tenement windows watching the large crowd throng the streets before the game now watched them leave Meadowside singing and dancing. The newspapers were full of the story of a well-known Thistle follower who announced he was going to start at the nearest close and insisted he was going to visit every tenant in the entire burgh to shake their hands. There were rumours that the Thistle committee had commissioned a statue of Willie Paul to commemorate his goal.” And so it came to be that Thistle prevailed in a famous battle of the Champions. Top-Flight Victory # 1 was secured on day one of our entry into the arena. With no goal-average system in place, Thistle fast-forwarded straight to the joint-top place in Scottish Football. The SFA called this one right; foolishness from West Calder I think. Every chance they could have beaten us if they'd played the game.

Not allowed any official laugh replies so have one of these: p.s. We still scored more goals per game in 1908-09