The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Willie Paul – The First Partick Thistle Giant Season 1894-95 Willie had a really settled season this time out - with no injury worries he maintained a regular place and continued to show the great consistency which had been in evidence over the last couple of campaigns. Results were steady but nothing to get excited about – until some last minute panic in May that is… Church bells for Willie – alarm bells for Thistle On 28th March 1895, having just turned 29, Willie was married to a lass from Dumbarton Road by the name of Jane Thomson – but he called her Jeanie. The prospect of setting up a home of his own must have been a bit of a relief – at the last count there were eleven in his household at 6, Church Street! The club members were generous to the newlyweds with gifts, and it was announced that the amateur player would receive a testimonial from the club, all of which was just grand and perfectly proper. Whether co-incidental or not, after Willie had been granted marital leave, Thistle proceeded to fall apart, losing 9-0 at Broomfield (the club’s record League loss which stands today), 3-0 at Dalziel Park against Motherwell, and 4-0 at home to the champions-in-waiting Hibernian (Willie’s first game back). All of a sudden, with just two League games to play, Thistle had slumped into the bottom three, i.e. “the re-election zone”, a precarious place to be. Losing our hard-won Scottish League status was not in the committee’s master-plan. Willie lifts us out of the mire We were chasing down Abercorn and it looked like only two victories in the last two games would give us a chance. Was he spurred on by guilt or was he just a cartoon hero in the making? Whatever the answer, Willie and Thistle came good in the end. Against Renton, Willie opened the scoring in the 3-1 victory at Tontine Park on Saturday 18th May 1895. One week later, Thistle entertained Port Glasgow Athletic. Abercorn had completed their programme already, so we knew what was required. Defeat – we’d be up for re-election. Draw – at the whim of the SFL we’d either be in a play-off with Abercorn or be included together with them in the re-election ballot. Win – we’d be above Abercorn and out of danger. 3,500 souls crowded in to Inchview, anxious to know the club’s fate. In the end, we needn’t have worried, Willie scored, Jags won 5-0. We were safe. After eleven years of sterling service, Willie Paul was duly rewarded with a post-season benefit match against a Glasgow Select, and was further presented with a purse of sovereigns. The recognition was exceedingly well deserved. Partick Thistle scorers 1894-95 25 - John Proudfoot 16 - Willie Paul 11 - John Campbell 10 - Willie Freebairn 8 - John Wilkie 2 - o.g. 2 - Robert Murray 2 - William McDonald (i) 1 - David Bruce note: There are 14 goals unaccredited in this season Tomorrow… A happy hunting ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Willie Paul – The First Partick Thistle Giant Season 1895-96 For Willie personally, his goal scoring ratio is at its’ peak in this season. With 20 known goals in 21 known appearances he’s clearly in the mood. For the team, it’s another so-so League season – neither challenging at the top nor struggling at the bottom. Despite finishing joint 5th, Thistle had the worst defence in the League – we seemed just as likely to score 6 goals and win as concede 7 goals and lose. As for the Scottish Cup? Ouch. We didn’t even qualify – for the one and only time in our history. The structure had been altered again by the SFA. Back in 1891 they had introduced Preliminary Rounds to shield the big boys from the minnows. Now, in 1895, it was decided to introduce an actual Cup competition, namely the Scottish Qualifying Cup, into which Thistle were unceremoniously shepherded. To qualify for the Scottish Cup proper, we needed to get through 3 ties. Scottish Qualifying Cup – another hat trick for Willie, but all to no avail In August, Thistle started well in the new competition with a 6-2 victory over Burnbank Swifts at Victoria Park, Hamilton. It’s known that Willie played centre forward that day but unfortunately, no scorers can be found at the moment. I’m certainly not giving up hope that these goal scorers can yet be uncovered. This was followed up in September with an excellent 5-1 victory over Airdrieonians at Inchview – a game which saw Willie Paul bag his 8th (known) hat-trick for the club. Having won the most difficult tie on paper, Thistle slipped on a banana skin in the crucial 3rd Round in October, crashing out to a 5-4 defeat to Alloa at Recreation Park. Willie’s goal that day would have been scant consolation to him or anybody else Thistle minded. Our Scottish Cup dreams were over before they had even begun. Hat trick # 9 for Willie at a happy hunting ground When Willie looked back at his career he would undoubtedly have very fond memories of playing at Underwood Park in Paisley. On Saturday 15th February 1896 he once again completed the splendid hat-trick feat – made even better by the fact that i) it was in the League and that ii) every goal mattered; Abercorn 3, Partick Thistle 4. It was his third hat-trick in the SFL – and a repeat performance of his supreme effort in the same competition at the same ground almost exactly 2 years ago; Abercorn 2, Partick Thistle 3. Underwood Park was, of course, the venue for Willie’s record-making 4 goal haul against the Welsh back in 1890 when Scotland triumphed by 5 goals to 0. If Underwood Park wasn’t Willie’s favourite away day then it must have been right up there! Partick Thistle scorers 1895-96 22 - John Proudfoot 20 - Willie Paul 12 - John Campbell 11 - Robert Currie 5 - William Lawson 3 - John Wilkie 3 - R. Lamont 2 - James Lamont 1 - David Proudfoot 1 - Herbert Morrison 1 - James Bryce 1 - Sloan 1 - Thomas Paterson (ii) 1 - Thomson (i) 1 - William McDonald (i) note: There are 49 goals unaccredited in this season Tomorrow… Who’s the Daddy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 (edited) Brilliant stuff. An observation and question: 1893-94: William Proudfoot, 4 goals 1894-65: John Proudfoot, 25 goals 1895-96: John Proudfoot, 22 goals, David Proudfoot, 1 goal. The official history book also lists a Lawrence Proudfoot (1890-91). All brothers? Edited February 13, 2016 by Jaggernaut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partickthedog Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Brilliant stuff. An observation and question: 1893-94: William Proudfoot, 4 goals 1894-65: John Proudfoot, 25 goals 1895-96: John Proudfoot, 22 goals, David Proudfoot, 1 goal. The official history book also lists a Lawrence Proudfoot (1890-91). All brothers? Proudfoots or Proudfeet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Brilliant stuff. An observation and question: 1893-94: William Proudfoot, 4 goals 1894-65: John Proudfoot, 25 goals 1895-96: John Proudfoot, 22 goals, David Proudfoot, 1 goal. The official history book also lists a Lawrence Proudfoot (1890-91). All brothers? I knew I'd written something about the Proudfoots - found it! http://www.wearethistle.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/10451-from-our-founders-to-this-day-we-stand-together/page__view__findpost__p__215399 p.s. I dunno what's happened with the pen-pics for the front row - I could swear I done 'em. Must be losing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Willie Paul – The First Partick Thistle Giant Season 1896-97 Who’s the Daddy? These were great days for Willie. Goals were raining in every week from every angle and in 1896 he and Jeanie were blessed with a child, christened Jessie. Was it better than scoring 4 for Scotland I wonder? After 3 mid-table finishes in the Second Division, the Jags finally kicked on with a serious title challenge. Willie scored more League goals this season than any other (15), and finished as our top League scorer for the third season in a row. Accounting for all first team games, this was the sixth time that Willie has finished out in front as our overall top scorer –an amazing feat. As per 1892-93, this season’s achievement could be seen as exceptional, given that Willie was side-lined through injury for seven matches at the tail end of the season (and probably wasn’t getting a good night’s sleep!) Willie registers his TENTH known hat trick In October, our 1st Round Glasgow Cup tie was nice ‘n’ easy, as the army boys, Cameronians, were dismissed in an orderly fashion by 4 goals to 1, with Willie Paul getting his tenth (known) hat trick. Thistle, having annihilated the same team by a Glasgow Cup record score of 15-0 the previous season, took the opportunity to give a run out to some of the reserve players. This completed a splendid start to the season all around – Thistle were unbeaten in seven matches, and Willie Paul had seven goals credited to his account already. Inchview – the days are numbered Our rented home in Whiteinch, now in its twelfth season of our tenancy, was coming in for a bit of criticism for all sorts of reasons, including the state of the pitch, and the lack of decent facilities for spectators and players alike. Wisely, in my opinion, the men in control of the purse strings were unwilling to spend money on a rented space that they could be forced out of at a month’s notice. In the nineteenth century, we were blessed with a series of progressive committees who seemed most able in getting things done. The committee at this time included the wily George Easton, yet a young man in his early twenties, who would give virtually his entire working life to the club, literally ‘til the day he died in 1929. I recall a later Weekly News article praising Mr. Easton which stated: “the advancement and welfare of the club was his chief aim and ambition in life”. In response to the members concerns, a specially commissioned “ground committee”, headed by Mr. R. W. Mitchell, swung into action, and worked wonders by securing land in Partick, adjacent to the Meadowside Ferry. Ambitious plans were revealed to build a ground which would have a capacity of over 20,000 with a grandstand and pavilion. To help fund the new ground, the committee had generated several hundred pounds in transfer fees in the recent past, with David Proudfoot (Leicester) and Pat Smith (Bolton Wanderers) being the latest two that we needed to replace. With all that was going on at this time it’s really a wonder that the committee were able to field such a successful team in this season. It was a great balancing act. The long run-in Glasgow and Scottish Cup exits to Linthouse and Rangers meant that Thistle could concentrate solely on the Second Division championship (which consisted of 18 games per club). By mid-January, the table had a strange old look, with some clubs having as many as 10 games in hand to others. Despite the fact that Thistle had only tasted defeat once (a 3-1 loss away to the League leaders in December) they had only been as high as 3rd place so far. 8 points behind with 5 games in hand and 8 to play – it was a mental struggle more than anything else. SFL Second Division Table @ 18th January 1897: Leith Athletic; Pld.15 Pts.23 Airdrieonians; Pld.16, Pts.19 Morton; Pld.14, Pts.16 Partick Thistle; Pld.10, Pts.15 Renton; Pld.13, Pts.14 Port Glasgow Athletic; Pld.11, Pts.9 Kilmarnock; Pld.6, Pts.8 Motherwell; Pld.6, Pts.3 Dumbarton; Pld.13, Pts.2 Linthouse; Pld.10, Pts.1 Thistle go about their business in a professional manner 23.01.1897 Renton [a] W2-1 (Sam Donaldson, William McDonald) A crucial two points were won at Tontine Park. Thistle ran rings round Renton in the first half and led 2-0 – things were looking good. However, in his last game for the club before moving south to Blackburn Rovers, John Proudfoot went off injured, leaving Thistle up against it for the second half. The ten-men held on to secure two vital points. 13.02.1897 Motherwell [a] W6-0 (Willie Paul [2], William Lawson, James Lamont, William Ward, John Ferguson) Motherwell were this season’s whipping boys and two points from Fir Park were seen as a given. After their recent ground move, they were struggling to attract a crowd and money was especially tight for them. Willie loved it here and scored on all three of his visits in 1896, 1897 and 1899 – 5 goals in total. 20.02.1897 Motherwell [h] W6-2 (Willie Paul [2], William Lawson [2], John Ferguson [2]) Even playing the second half with ten men couldn’t prevent Thistle from comfortably overcoming Motherwell for the second time in 8 days. Thistle hit the joint Top of the League – with a whip round for Willie! 27.02.1897 Linthouse [a] W5-3 (John Ferguson [2], William Lawson, Andrew Mailer, Willie Paul) Our bitter rivals from Govan were looking to dent our title aspirations and were actually leading 3-2 at half-time. Thistle rallied in the second half and when Willie Paul scored a brilliant match-winning fifth, there was an immediate and spontaneous collection amongst Thistle supporters to commemorate the goal! Thistle were on a roll with this fourth straight League victory – every one of them would be a dagger blow in the hearts of Leith as we hunted them down. When they came to Inchview, they were two points in front again, but Thistle were in the somewhat luxurious position of still having two games in hand. 20.03.1897 Leith Athletic [h] W5-0 (William Lawson, Andrew Mailer, Willie Paul [2], John Ferguson) This 5-0 victory in Whiteinch was seen by many as the title decider. Despite the counter-attractions of the Scottish Cup Final and Scotland’s international against Wales, the “decider” was watched by over 4,000. In Monday’s papers, the table was looking good: SFL Second Division Table @ 22nd March 1897 Leith Athletic; Pld.17, Pts.25 Partick Thistle; Pld. 15, Pts.25 Airdrieonians; Pld.17, Pts.19 Once again, Thistle had joined Leith at the top, but with two games in hand, three points from our last three games would now be enough to clinch our first ever title. Thistle finally go Top – it’s a bittersweet moment for Willie 27.03.1897 Kilmarnock [a] W3-1 (Andrew Mailer, Willie Paul [2]) 1,000 members of the dark blue army travelled from Partick to cheer on the Jags – a massive away support in those days. Excitement was high, and another brace from Willie ensured that Thistle hit the very top spot with just two games to play. Like a finely run marathon, the winning line was now firmly in sight – and we were still going strong. Only a single point was now needed from the 4 available. As you can see, Willie was on red hot form, having shot 9 goals in the last 5 League games. Somewhat tragically, Willie picked up a nasty ankle injury in this battle and, after playing such a crucial role in the title challenge, he would have to sit out the final two League games as well as a further five friendly matches in April and May. Thistle clinch first Title 17.04.1897 Kilmarnock [h] W2-0 (James Lamont, Robert Currie) 5,000 packed into Inchview to see Thistle over the line – no doubt Willie was in amongst them, cheering his team mates on. We needed a point, but got two, although Thistle had been far from clinical in the game. Half-backs James Lamont and Robert Currie scored the goals which eased the nerves – Willie’s team mates had done him proud and the whole club could celebrate a major success. Having missed out completely in the victorious Greenock Charity Cup campaign of 1893, this was Willie’s first real taste of silverware as a Partick Thistle player. I’m guessing he never felt his ankle much this Saturday night! Thistle formally concluded their League campaign the following week, as two Football Specials made the trip to Greenock. 24.04.1897 Morton [a] W4-3 (James Lamont, John Ferguson, Andrew Mailer, James Lamb) We had finished our League campaign with 8 straight victories and, clearly, were deserving champions. Also, despite the players concerns about Inchview, we finished our League season unbeaten at home for the very first time. Our twelfth and final season at Inchview was an extremely successful one. Thistle lobby for Premier status – with a risky strategy With the title won, and a new ground secured at Meadowside, the club were desperate to play in next season’s Top League – and to do so would need to be favoured by vote in the forthcoming First Division election ballot. As part of their tacit campaign, Thistle deployed a somewhat risky strategy by challenging existing First Division outfits in the closing weeks of the season. In all, four premier sides were challenged: Third Lanark [h] D2-2; Clyde [h] L3-4; St Bernard’s [h] W2-0 and Dundee [a] W2-1. Results went well – the victory at Dundee (who had finished 5th in the First Division) was particularly excellent. As it turned out, the strategy had served to strengthen our bid. Willie for the committee? Niall Kennedy: “At the end of season AGM it was announced that a balance of £260 pounds was at the bank. R.W.Mitchell, who had been a prime mover in getting the new ground organised, replaced Andrew Smith as President. Willie Paul was offered a place on the committee, as an acknowledgement of his wonderful contribution to Partick Thistle, but he graciously declined, preferring to continue playing.” Thistle attain First Class status Of the seven sides vying for the three places, Thistle had made a solid case. The only cause for concern was the worry that the other clubs may not wish to see five clubs from Glasgow in a ten club League set up. There were two important AGM’s held on the evening of the 1st June 1897. Both went swimmingly for the Partick Thistle Football Club. First of all, at the AGM of the SFA, Thistle were voted in as one of the sixteen clubs who would automatically enter the Scottish Cup (proper) 1st Round for the forthcoming season. This was the first time since any form of preliminaries had been introduced in 1891 that the Jags had been afforded this status. The meeting that mattered most was reported in the Scotsman of June 2nd 1897 as follows: “The annual meeting of the Scottish Football League was held last night in Glasgow. Mr. J. H. McLaughlin (Celtic) presided over a full attendance of representatives. The reports of the secretary and the treasurer were adopted. The latter showed an income of £1589 14s 3d, and an expenditure of £1189 7s 5d, leaving a balance of £409 6s 10d, the largest in the history of the League. The report of Mr. T. Marr, secretary of the Second Division, pointed out that both the clubs in the final tie for the Qualifying Cup and three of the four clubs last surviving in the Scottish Cup competition belonged to the Division [Applause]. The treasurer’s statement showed a credit balance of 1s 8d [Laughter]. The meeting then proceeded to the consideration of the constitution of the Divisions. For the first time, the three clubs at the bottom of the list – Third Lanark, Clyde and Abercorn – were nominated as were also Partick Thistle, Kilmarnock, Leith Athletic and Airdrieonians. After several votes had been taken, the final resulted as follows:– Third Lanark, 14; Partick Thistle, 13; Clyde, 8; Abercorn; 7. The first three were accordingly elected. The three retiring clubs in the Second Division – Motherwell, Port Glasgow and Dumbarton – were proposed for re-election, and applications for admission had been received from Victoria United (Aberdeen), Ayr, Falkirk, East Stirlingshire, Hamilton Academicals and Dundee Wanderers. The final vote resulted:– Motherwell, 34; Port Glasgow, 27; Ayr, 24; Dumbarton, 17. The last-named accordingly retired from the League.” Yahoo! The champagne corks could finally be popped down and around Partick way! This was the reaction in the Scottish Sport on the 4th June 1897: “Partick Thistle may consider themselves highly honoured in securing such a decided distinction, and the best way they can exhibit their gratitude is by resolving, and taking adequate measures to support their resolve, that they shall not be in the last three a twelvemonth hence. The coming season will be a most momentous one in the history of the club, perhaps the most momentous they have ever faced, for in addition to their elevation to first-class rank as a club they will enter upon the possession of their new and better equipped grounds at Meadowside.” Partick Thistle scorers 1896-97 23 - Willie Paul 18 - John Ferguson 15 - William Lawson 11 - James Lamb 9 - John Proudfoot 6 - Andrew Mailer 5 - James Lamont 5 - John Logan 5 - Robert Currie 5 - Sam Donaldson 1 - David Gilfillan 1 - James Auchincloss 1 - Jim McKenzie 1 - Patrick Gray 1 - William McDonald (i) 1 - William Ward note: There are 14 goals unaccredited in this season Tomorrow… Willie Paul’s finest hour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 I knew I'd written something about the Proudfoots - found it! http://www.wearethis...post__p__215399 p.s. I dunno what's happened with the pen-pics for the front row - I could swear I done 'em. Must be losing it. Great stuff, TJR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partickthedog Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) Fantastic research and information, TJR. Loved the way we hunted down promotion to the top flight with all these games in hand. Took me back to the days when we had so many away fixtures at Dunfermline, Raith and Cowdenbeath that I was thinking of applying for a postal vote in Fife. Just glancing at quite a few of the old cross-tables I have noticed that virtually every team's home record is vastly superior to the away equivalent. For the past few seasons under Archie (ie post-Jackie), Thistle's home and away records have been fairly evenly matched. In general in Scotland it would seem that home is slightly favoured, but not spectacularly so. Is there any reason why our forefathers found it so much easier to play at home but away points were difficult to come by? Was it different pitches or footballs, travel exhaustion, poorer facilities for away teams, the fear factor generated by an aggressively vocal home support, or have teams got better at defending and/or counter-attacking, or what? Edited February 14, 2016 by partickthedog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Away day culture in the nineteenth century – now there’s a great idea for an article. Ha, another time maybe. Re the home and away form, it sounds like a case study is required ptd, don’t think I’m qualified for that. No harm speculating though – and I think you’ve made some valid points there. Journeys themselves weren’t so straightforward. Games outside of our Glasgow catchment area would entail a train ride followed either by a long walk to the ground or a bone-shaking ride in a horse-drawn charabanc. I’ve read numerous reports where partisans have become turbulent due to some on-field grievance. It certainly wasn’t unheard of for players to be assaulted; that must have been at the back of their minds especially in the rough houses of the mining and industrial towns. Many successful appeals were upheld in Cup ties due to encroachment of the lines by supporters; matches would be voided and replays ordered. Did you read Niall’s recent dramatization of an away day at Port Glasgow? Stones and rivets whizzing past your ear would certainly affect your game I reckon! The Port Glasgow lot were particularly notorious, and looking at those tables their home and away “form” is right suspicious... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Willie Paul – The First Partick Thistle Giant Season 1897-98 31 year-old Willie Paul was now at the veteran stage for these times. The big feller was now in his 14th season with the Thistle – he probably thought he had seen it all by now - but perhaps his very finest hour was about to come. An impression (c/o ChewinGumMacaroonBaaaz) of the first-known Partick Thistle Brake Club banner. Excitement levels were sky high around Partick. Season tickets (or “memberships” as they were known) were up to their highest level yet. Thistle were in the big time and there were plenty of fans in our new catchment area who were keen to be involved in the journey. Where there had been none previously, there were suddenly a whole host of brake clubs formed – 12 of them in all – ready to follow the Jags around the country. One of them had a banner in the likeness of Willie Paul. This season, Brake club patrons would watch Willie in action against a certain Alec Raisbeck (Hibernian) – little did they know the latter would also find his way onto their banners, some 12 years later. Thistle found the going tough – but not impossibly so – in their first ever Top Flight season. Since the advent of professionalism in 1893-94, Scotland’s top clubs had went from strength to strength. Money went to money and the gap between the likes of Rangers, Celtic, Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian and the rest was now really evident. Thistle would have no joy at all from any of these sides this season – with the exception of match day one… 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, John Ferguson, Willie Paul Att: 7,000 Played at: Meadowside, Partick. Surely, one of thee most momentous occasions in all of Partick Thistle 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. No-one tells this story better than Niall Kennedy: “Thistle were able to field their strongest eleven but it was still an enormous task. Thistle, up against a strong wind, played an early form of route one football with backs and halfs sending the ball quickly to their forwards. Robert Gray scored the first Thistle goal, followed by a goal from wee John Ferguson a minute after half time. However, it was the third goal, just one minute later again, that drew a huge ovation from the crowd of 7,000. Willie Paul, the oldest man on the pitch, took a shot from long range that beat the keeper. Thistle held on after a late rally from Hearts to take both points. It was an amazing win brought about more by hard work than by skill and ability, but amazing all the same. 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. 1st= Celtic; Pld.1, Pts.2 1st= Dundee; Pld.1, Pts.2 1st= Partick Thistle; Pld.1, Pts.2 1st= Rangers; Pld.1, Pts.2 1st= Third Lanark; Pld.1, Pts.2 6th= Clyde; Pld.1, Pts.0 6th= Heart of Midlothian; Pld.1, Pts.0 6th= Hibernian; Pld.1, Pts.0 6th= St Bernard's; Pld.1, Pts.0 6th= St Mirren; Pld.1, Pts.0 Thistle were soon brought back down to earth with consecutive defeats – vs. St Mirren [a] L0-1 (League) and vs. Rangers [h] L0-6 (Glasgow Cup). One consolation was the successful start, financially. Niall Kennedy: “In the first three home games 28,000 had paid into Meadowside compared to an average of 2,929 a game the previous season. On the strength of the attendances the Thistle committee decided to press on with their plans for building the grandstand on the south side of the ground.” An anti-climactic season – with a nervous ending After the initial excitement had died down, the faithful were tested with League defeats outnumbering victories by almost 2 to 1. There was no joy in either Cup either, with a 1st Round Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Dundee adding to the disappointment of the Glasgow Cup defeat against Rangers. In terms of the League, the Scottish Sport’s rallying call from 12 months earlier came back to haunt us, although we very nearly escaped the dreaded “re-election zone” – just another solitary point would have ensured an outright 7th place finish. Somewhat miraculously, Dundee pulled off an unlikely victory against title chasing Rangers on the last day of the season to catch Thistle. With Dundee and Thistle therefore locked in joint 7th, the SFL committee deemed a play-off necessary, to decide which of the two would be put forward for re-election. Dundee agreed to play the game at Meadowside, where a bigger gate was expected. Way back in September, Thistle, with a Willie Paul goal, had defeated Dundee 3-1 at Meadowside. Alas, there was to be no repeat performance, and Thistle failed to take home advantage, losing by 2 goals to 0, our third competitive defeat at the hands of the Dundonians this season. For the second season running, our status as a Top Flight club was dependent on the votes of our fellow Scottish League member clubs. Our destination was settled on Monday 30th May 1898 at the Scottish Football League’s AGM held in the chambers at West Regent Street. Much to the disappointment of Kilmarnock, the Second Division champions, the status quo in the First Division was maintained – all at Meadowside could breathe a sigh of relief. Interestingly, a motion from Celtic that, in future, the bottom two in the First Division should retire in favour of the first two in the Second Division was carried unanimously. At some point in the forthcoming 12 months this was clearly rescinded as automatic promotion / relegation was only first introduced in season 1921/22 – a whole quarter century later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 season 1897-98 b-fwd (due to image posting limitations) Partick Thistle scorers 1897-98 9 - John Ferguson 8 - Fred McDiarmid 8 - Willie Paul 7 - Robert Gray (i) 6 - George H. Allan 6 - Walter Lindsay 2 - James Cleland 2 - James Lamont 1 - Donald McNeil 1 - James Auchincloss 1 - William Johnstone 1 - William Massie note: There are 4 goals unaccredited in this season Tomorrow… Flattened by Fattie Foulkes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 A special thanks... ...to ChewinGumMacaroonBaaaz who, armed with nothing more than an amateur's sense of adventure and a set of caveman's tools, managed to recreate a superb impression of one of our first brake club banners, as above. I can tell you, no stone was left unturned in locating just the right fonts! He's done Willie Paul proud I reckon. Cheers pal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Willie Paul – The First Partick Thistle Giant Season 1898-99 Now aged 32, Willie decided to answer the long-standing calls for him to join the 13-man committee, and he now had a dual role to play for the good of the club. Whilst it’s not clear if he served on the actual match committee, his timing was not good. Poor results meant that this season’s committee were set to get a roasting from the ever-demanding faithful, and only two of them were left standing at the end of it all. By season’s end, I rather suspect that Willie may have jumped rather than be pushed from his new role. In their pre-season preview the Scottish Sport noted: “Willie Paul will play centre forward again, if for no other reason than his generalship.” This back-handed compliment was perhaps slightly uncharitable. As disappointing as the season was for the club, Willie himself fared reasonably well in the goal scoring department, managing a personal total of 9 – bettered by no other in this campaign. As known totals stand, this was the seventh time that Willie finished at the top of our all-game scoring chart – a record which has proved to be untouchable for a long line of Thistle greats, with the closest challengers being Sam Kennedy, Neil Harris, Willie Sharp, Jimmy Bone and Dougie Somner all of whom managed to do so four times each. To be fair to the Sport, in a later pre-season report they commented: “The evergreen Willie Paul seems to renew his youth as every season comes round.” Energised or not, some brutal treatment in a pre-season friendly at Linthouse meant that Willie had to sit out the next pre-season friendly against Celtic. The Scottish Sport reported: “The present feeling at Meadowside is that the Thistle have played their last friendly match at Govandale. Partickonians are under the impression that an infirmary instead of a theatre behind Linthouse’s field would be more suitable” Willie quickly recovered in time for the opening League match – and he went on to record a total of 34 first team appearances this season – more than any other in his time at Thistle. A nightmare League campaign Goals were hard to come by though – not just for Willie, but for the team in general. It was obvious that we were miles behind Scotland’s top sides – mainly due to the financial gaps which had been building over the last 5 or 6 years. The season goes down as our all-time worst start to a League campaign, with 8 straight defeats being registered. Willie scored only once in this period – in a 5-1 defeat vs. Dundee at Carolina Port. Within the first month, Willie was honest enough to state that he didn’t feel able to play the centre forward position as it should be – after 14 years in the position he felt a younger man was needed, and for the last few months of the year he shifted out to the right wing. Results barely improved. Fog-gate ‘98 Some comic relief was obtained in mid-November – although by seasons’ end Willie Paul may not have seen it that way. Willie had another two potential career goals in the bag – but abandonment in the home game against Hearts put paid to them. However, the phrase “taking one for the team” springs to mind – Thistle were losing 4-2 at the time, and no-one at Meadowside was complaining. Hearts only had themselves to blame – if their kit hamper had turned up as timeously as the players themselves, the game would have been concluded without a problem. The referee, a Mr. McIntyre of Clydebank, was taking pelters from the vociferous Meadowside crowd, paradoxically considered as one of the cheeriest but rowdiest in Scotland. How fickle we are though. Reports vary from only three to six minutes being left on the clock when the whistler abandoned the game due to a lack of visibility, caused by both a lack of light and a rapidly descending winter fog. The Sport reported how the mood changed in the ground: “When Mr McIntyre prematurely stopped the game, and visions of a replay were manifest, the mind of the crowd took a wonderful turn, and cries of ‘Good old McIntyre’ were heard all around the field.” A final representative honour for the veteran Willie Paul Willie only missed his first League game of the season on the 10th December 1898 – and it was for good reason. Although playing in a struggling Thistle team, his abilities were still obviously being recognised and, with his 3 season stint as a full Scottish internationalist now almost a decade behind him, it must have been extremely gratifying for Willie, and for the club, when he was once again called up to the Glasgow team to face Sheffield down at Bramall Lane. Unfortunately, Willie came off second best in a clash with the renowned Fattie Foulkes (William Foulke, GK, weight varied at this time from 20st to 24st) and, whilst Willie was off the field receiving treatment for his injury, Sheffield sealed the winner in a 2-1 victory. Willie’s injury saw him miss out the following week’s League game vs. Third Lanark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UkVZZnrC4E ▪ The scene of the crime: Bramall Lane. The assailant: Fattie Foulkes @ 2:05 Willie was considerably taller than your average Victorian footballer but, as you can see, William Foulke was not your average Victorian footballer. He wasn’t going to be lightly charged into the net, that’s for sure! It’s worth noting that Willie (who played in 16 out of the 18 League games) would probably have registered a 100% League appearance record this season had it not been for the Glasgow call-up – in those days that was great going for a man pushing 33. Summarising Willie’s final scoring record for Glasgow & Scotland makes for impressive reading: 28.01.1888 Sheffield 2 Glasgow 3 (@ Bramall Lane, Sheffield) 25.02.1888 Glasgow 1 Edinburgh 1 (@ Ibrox, Glasgow) 10.03.1888 Scotland 5 Wales 1 (@ Hibernian Park, Edinburgh) 1 goal for Willie 23.02.1889 Edinburgh 3 Glasgow 5 (@ Powderhall, Edinburgh) 1 goal for Willie 23.03.1889 Glasgow 5 London 1 (@ 2nd Hampden Park, Glasgow) 1 goal for Willie 15.04.1889 Wales 0 Scotland 0 (@ Racecourse Ground, Wrexham) 22.03.1890 Scotland 5 Wales 0 (@ Underwood Park, Paisley) 4 goals for Willie 31.05.1890 Aberdeenshire 2 Glasgow 6 (@ Aberdeen) scorers unknown 11.11.1893 Sheffield 7 Glasgow 2 (@ Olive Grove) 1 goal for Willie 07.12.1895 Glasgow 3 Sheffield 1 (@ Old Cathkin Park, Glasgow) 1 goal for Willie 06.11.1897 Glasgow 0 Sheffield 0 (@ Old Cathkin Park, Glasgow) 10.12.1898 Sheffield 2 Glasgow 1 (@ Bramall Lane, Sheffield) The battle for the wooden spoon There were no home wins in any game, League or otherwise, until Hogmanay, when a 2-0 victory over Dundee – a bedraggled lot on the verge of bankruptcy – was recorded. The result lifted us off the bottom of the table with just one game left to play in the short 18 game campaign. That, coupled with the seemingly worse state of our wooden spoon rivals, gave us some hope that we may yet be spared relegation. Had we not won that game, it would have been the one and only time that we’d have finished a season with no home wins in the League. The League campaign had been scheduled for completion before the year had turned but, on account of fog-gate ’98, Thistle still had one game left to play. In early January, Jags lost the replayed game too, by 1 goal to 0. The only consolation was some extra cash to boost the on-going Meadowside building fund. In short, this was a season of nightmare proportions and all the enthusiasm of the last two seasons had been thoroughly dampened. The LAST reported hat-trick and the Paul brothers Scottish Cup double act Unusually, and for the only time in our history, the Scottish Cup campaign began after the main League season was over. The faithful could lay aside re-election worries for a few months – could we regain some pride in the Cup? Well, yes and no… Non-League Irvine had done well to reach the Scottish Cup 1st Round proper, and were “rewarded” with a trip to Meadowside. In mid-January, Thistle saw off the challenge in a professional manner, easing to a 5-0 win, and could even afford the luxury of two missed penalties. A second half hat-trick for Willie is commonly reported across the British press (although the History book suggests there may be at least one report that says he only got 2), easing the Jags home. It’s his first in over 2 years and, given that his very first was in the English Cup, it seems typical of the man and fitting that his last should come in the Scottish Cup! Another brace from Willie followed in the 2nd Round a month later, but Thistle could only draw 2-2 at home with a fairly poor Morton side from the Second Division, both sets of fans having to suffer a disallowed goal each. Morton twice equalised, with a second half penalty earning them a replay. Despite the dreadful League campaigns (for both sides) there were between 5,000-6,000 at Cappielow for the second game a week later – the Cup then, as now, had a magical attraction all of its’ own. At Cappielow, Willie played up front alongside his brother James, who was making his first team debut, aged 19. Willie was probably like a father figure to his younger sibling, and must have been a great help in passing on his vast experience. This family partnership would be repeated on 3 further occasions between now and the end of the season. It was another eventful game, in which both sides missed a penalty – quite a common occurrence in those days, with goalkeepers being free to position themselves anywhere within their 6 yard arcs. Willie gave Thistle the lead on 30 minutes, but his goal was cancelled out by Orr at the start of the second half. Walter Collier grabbed a late winner with only a few minutes remaining, bringing some much needed cheer to the travelling support, several hundred strong. Thistle were in the Scottish Cup Quarter Finals for only the second time in their history – and for the first time during Willie Paul’s playing career. On 25th February, Port Glasgow was the next destination for Thistle’s third Scottish Cup Saturday in a row. The Paul brothers played alongside each other up front once again in the Quarter Final at Clune Park, but the defensive weaknesses in the side were exposed big time. Despite young James Paul giving Thistle an early lead, Thistle were completely outclassed by the Second Division side, and the horrific reversal by 7 goals to 3 left our Scottish Cup dreams in tatters. The poor season continues – Thistle relegated for the first time Thistle did their re-election prospects no favours whatsoever by continuing their atrocious SFL form in the all-new late-season Glasgow League, losing 8 of the 10 matches, quite heavily on more than one occasion. For the third season in a row, the entire Partick Thistle community was on tenterhooks, awaiting the outcome of the re-election vote at the Scottish League AGM. The business was conducted at 17a St Vincent Street on the 30th May 1899 – by then we had endured almost five months on the First Division’s equivalent of “Death Row”. This time, only the bottom two from the First (Thistle and Dundee) and the top two from the Second (champions Kilmarnock and runners-up Leith Athletic) were involved in the ballot. The votes were cast as follows: Kilmarnock, 15; Dundee, 10; Partick Thistle, 5; Leith Athletic, 2. Kilmarnock were therefore promoted, and Partick Thistle were relegated. Leith’s motion that, from next season, two clubs should automatically be promoted, and two automatically relegated was rejected unanimously. And so, Thistle experienced that character-building feeling of relegation for the first time in their history. Being voted down below the hapless and destitute Dundonians was perhaps the ultimate humiliation in a hugely disappointing season. Partick Thistle scorers 1898-99 10 - Willie Paul 8 - Robert Gray (i) 7 - Fred McDiarmid 7 - James Kirkland 2 - Bob Duncan 2 - James Lamb 2 - Robert Currie 1 - George Allan (i) 1 - Dick Richmond 1 – George McNicol 1 - James Bryce 1 - James Paul 1 - James Watson 1 - John Ferguson 1 - Joseph Baker 1 - Waddell 1 - Walter Collier 1 - Walter Lindsay note: All goals are allocated in this season Tomorrow… Willie marshalls the troops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Willie Paul – The First Partick Thistle Giant Season 1899-00 The 33 year-old Willie Paul was now into his 16th season with Partick Thistle. “Veteran” had been the press adjective of choice for the last couple of seasons – but Willie continued to defy the implications of this tag, in terms of both his appearance and goal totals. Could he continue to do so? And how would Thistle respond to the feeling of having been relegated? Yes. And brilliantly. Willie marshalls the troops They came, they went, they continued to come, they continued to go – but Willie Paul remained a constant fixture, and he was a real pillar of the club. This was in evidence again as the century came to a close – Willie was almost like a figure from a bygone era, in amongst the new breed. At the age of 33 he may have lost a yard of pace – but he had gained a yard through brain. A pre-season friendly with Clyde was played at Meadowside. Jags lost 3-4 to the First Division side, but Willie got his first goal of the season and, more importantly, inspired and encouraged those around him. The Scottish Sport reported: “Paul led his new comrades with judgement, divided the work with wisdom, and gave everyone the chance to distinguish himself.” Four days later, the League campaign got off to a great start, with a second half counter from Willie guiding the Jags to a fine 3-1 victory at Fir Park against an ever-improving Motherwell team. “From the determined play of Partick Thistle they mean to win the league” commented the Sport. The tone for the season was set. The following Saturday, Willie was on target again, as the Jags won their first home League game of the season, defeating Morton by 2 goals to 1. Morton were seen as contenders and this was a very encouraging result. After just two League wins the Sport observed: “Every man in the burgh is convinced that the championship flag will find its way to Meadowside.” The woes of season 1898-99 meant nothing to this year’s class. By the end of September, the Scottish Sport had Thistle installed as probable champions, even going so far as to predict that they’d be likely to replace Clyde in the First Division come the end of the season. Uncanny. Thistle on a great run – the goals keep coming from Willie Against Airdrie in October, Willie Paul opened the scoring with one of the easiest goals he had ever scored. Both full backs and the goalkeeper left the ball to one another, leaving the veteran Thistle forward to roll the ball over the line. The 3-2 victory kept Thistle out in front at the Top of the League. In December there was another brace for Willie in a fantastic 8-1 victory vs. Linthouse, a result which maintained a 100% home League win record thus far. The Linthouse players didn’t look interested and the visiting goalkeeper didn’t look fit – this was a clear case of two clubs going in different directions. Thistle were proving to be born survivors in this tumultuous period – back then club lifespans were extremely low compared to today. The butchers of Govandale would soon demonstrate this to be true. The end of the nineteenth century What’s that? “A landmark?” I hear you say. “A milestone?” I hear you say. “Must be another goal for Willie Paul!” I hear you say. Correct! The nineteenth century ended with a visit to Ralston Park, Paisley on League business. On the 30th December 1899, a 2-2 draw was achieved against Abercorn. Willie Paul scored. Obviously. The result put Thistle 5 points ahead at the top of the League, but Morton still had 2 games in hand and were potentially only a single point behind. They were putting up a good challenge and the picture was now clear – it was a two horse race for the title. The start of the twentieth century What’s that? “A landmark?” I hear you say. “A milestone?” I hear you say. “Must be another goal for Willie Paul!” I hear you say. Correct! The twentieth century started with a 2-game tour up North. At Grant Street, Inverness on the 1st January 1900 we popped in to first foot Clachnacuddin. Thistle won 5-0. Willie Paul scored. Obviously. Long before there was Roy of the Rovers there was Willie of the Thistle. Another wee run to the Scottish Cup Quarter Finals Friendlies, Western League matches, and Scottish Cup ties made up 12 of the 13 fixtures for the first ten weeks of the twentieth century, as the games rulers continued to experiment with the make-up of Scottish football’s match card. For only the second time in his playing career, Willie saw Thistle through to the Scottish Cup Quarter Finals, playing in both the 2-1 victories away to non-League Galston and at home to First Division St Bernard’s. He never featured in the Quarter Final itself, a home tie with Rangers, which drew an enormous crowd of 12,000 to Meadowside – the second highest reported gate of Willie’s time at the club. Thistle held Rangers until the second half but the modern “wage gap” problem was evident as they ran out easy 6-1 winners in the end. “Hats, handkerchiefs, umbrellas and what-not were being waved in a fashion worthy of an international” Thistle’s results had been solid – especially at Meadowside where we still had a 100% home League record for the season. Straight from match day one we had maintained our place as League leaders. However, there was no let-up in the challenge from Greenock – they had won their games in hand and were on a great run of 5 straight League wins. They were breathing down our necks in the run in, and four points out of four would probably be required. SFL Second Division Table @ 23rd March 1900 Partick Thistle; Pld.16, Pts.25 Morton; Pld.16, Pts.24 Port Glasgow Ath; Pld.18, Pts.20 Leith Athletic; Pld.17, Pts.19 Motherwell; Pld.16, Pts.19 Hamilton Academical; Pld.17, Pts.15 Abercorn; Pld.16, Pts.14 Ayr FC; Pld.18, Pts.14 Airdrieonians; Pld.18, Pts.11 Linthouse; Pld.18, Pts.9 Thistle to play: 24.03.1900 Abercorn [h] 31.03.1900 Hamilton Academical [a] Morton to play: 24.03.1900 Leith Athletic [a] 07.04.1900 Motherwell [h] In what could have theoretically have been a title clincher, Thistle took an early lead in the crucial home game vs. Abercorn. Inexplicably, the players took their foot off the gas, and Meadowside was stunned when the players retired at half-time with the score standing; Partick Thistle 1, Abercorn 3. Such a result was unforeseen – nerves were jangling. The second half was really the stuff of legend. Willie’s old striking buddy, Willie Freebairn, had returned to Thistle several months earlier after spells with Abercorn, Leicester Fosse and East Stirlingshire. He was only in his mid-20s, but he was already a seasoned campaigner – and he too was a big favourite with the fans. In Thistle’s hour of need, the two forwards stole the show. The second half started in sensational style, Freebairn scoring in the first minute. Thistle had the bit between their teeth and attacked with invention and conviction. Willie Paul soon equalised the game. 3-3! Thistle were a completely different team in this period – this was the proverbial game of two halves. Strenuous efforts were made to gain the lead and, finally, it came, Freebairn scoring amidst “intense excitement” according to the Herald. “Hats, handkerchiefs, umbrellas and what-not were being waved in a fashion worthy of an international” said the Sport. Willie Paul extended the lead, and 3,000 Partickonians heaved a collective sigh of relief. Final score; Partick Thistle 5, Abercorn 3. The Sport reported that Paul and Freebairn were carried off the field “amid hilarious merriment. There was great reason for the demonstration, as the game has been pulled out of the fire, and at a time, too, when all seemed lost. The timeous fright will make the Thistle go all the way in future, and stimulate them to do what should have been done long ago.” The importance of Thistle’s win was underlined by events in Leith. In a tough battle, a solitary second half goal was enough to give Morton their sixth consecutive League win. This race was going to the wire. Another business-end wobble The following Saturday, on the 31st March 1900, 1500 members of the dark blue army travelled on special trains to Hamilton, hoping to see Thistle win the title. Morton’s final game was scheduled for the following Saturday. No doubt, many from Greenock would be on tenterhooks, awaiting the wire from Douglas Park. The Jags fans were stunned when the home team scored, with barely a few minutes on the clock. For the second week in a row we were throwing a wobbler – just at the wrong moment. Why do they do that to us? Who could save us this time? Now this whole article may be slanted towards Partick Thistle’s first double centurion, but, at this exact moment in this particular campaign, it would be completely remiss of me to skip over the contribution made by a young American-born lad by the name of John Blackwood who probably made the greatest ever 6-month impact of any short-stint players in all of Partick Thistle’s long and industrious history. The amazing young centre forward had arrived on loan from Celtic at the end of October and was immediately thrust into the no.9 role, with Willie Paul moving to his inside. He was a revelation – and a natural-born goal scoring machine. In his short time at Thistle he really “put himself in the shop window” with an amazing 29 goals in his 6 months, and by seasons’ end he would be a Woolwich Arsenal player. It would be John Blackwood who would save us on this most important of days, cementing himself in eternal glory at this excellent moment in the club’s history. He grabbed an equaliser without too much fuss, and settled everyone’s nerves. He then added two further goals in the last ten minutes of the half to grab himself an ultra-rare “45 hat-trick”. Partick Thistle were now within touching distance of their second League title in four seasons. On the old (unspoken) in-club striker rivalry front, he may have been outgunned on the day, but the man, the legend, made sure that the name “WILLIE PAUL” was also typed and recorded forever on the score-sheet of yet another huge milestone game. Hamilton were the better team for a great period but Willie’s second half goal finally put the outcome of the game beyond doubt, giving Thistle a 3 goal cushion. It was reported as the best goal of the game and was delivered in his classic trademark fashion as he “dribbled down the left, past half backs and full backs before scoring with a good shot”. Final score; Hamilton 2, Partick Thistle 4. The title was ours – it mattered not a jot what Morton did next week for they were now 3 points behind. Promoted by the drawing of lots By virtue of having finished in the Top Two, Thistle were cordially invited to apply for election to the First Division. There were calls from the 1900 equivalents of James Traynor and Chick Young that we should stay put rather than become “the wagless tail” of the First Division. Thankfully, this nonsense was dismissed by the ever-progressive Partick Thistle committee who proceeded with the application. Thank heavens for driven men like George Easton within our ranks. Unbelievably, this was the fourth season in a row that Partick Thistle would be involved in the nail-biting election process, with the club’s destination once again in the hands of its’ fellow member clubs. The meeting was held on Wednesday May 16th, in the office of the secretary at 227 West George Street, with Mr J. McFarlane (St Bernard’s) presiding. In the ballot were St Bernards (9th in D1), Clyde (10th in D1), Partick Thistle (1st in D2) and Morton (2nd in D2). Drama ensued in the voting which was counter-intuitive to the League placing, with Morton gathering the most votes and St Bernard’s the least. Clyde and Partick Thistle were tied for the all-important second place. The promotion / relegation destiny of these two clubs now fell to President McFarlane who had the casting vote in such circumstances. He deemed this to be too much pressure for one man to bear, and opted instead for the drawing of lots. Luck was with Partick Thistle, who duly became the only side in the SFL ever to have been promoted in such a way. This was a real blow for the newly formed Clyde Football and Athletic Club Ltd. who have the equally dubious distinction of being the only club in the SFL ever to be relegated in such an un-satisfactory manner. “Now that the Meadowside club have once more got their head in front, I certainly look to their judicious management making a longer stay in the upper ten” said the Scottish Sport. Partick Thistle scorers 1899-00 29 - John Blackwood 28 - Willie Freebairn 17 - Willie Paul 15 - David McDougall 12 - David Fairbairn 7 - George McNicol 4 - David Proudfoot 2 - William Goudie 1 - James Brydson 1 - Robert Campbell 1 - Walter Collier 1 - William McDonald (i) note: There are 4 goals unaccredited in this season Tomorrow… Willie in the rid, black an’ yella’ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Willie Paul – The First Partick Thistle Giant Season 1900-01 There’s a very good chance that Willie Paul, now entering his seventeenth unbroken season at Thistle, was in possession of some sort of Scottish record for the feat – almost unheard of at a time when career spans were shorter and inter-club movements extremely fluid. As a first-team player, he was now winding down for sure. Thistle were back for another crack at the Top Flight, hoping to finally establish themselves in this class and had invested a larger sum than ever before in the hope of doing so. Willie’s role would be to serve as back-up, as and when required. Just before seasons’ start, the League structure was exceptionally gerrymandered to accommodate Queen’s Park, who, up until this point, had been staunchly non-League. They were placed straight into the First Division, completely bypassing not only the Second Division, but the standard post-season election ballot too. As it turned out, this unprecedented move, which resulted in an uneven 11 club Top League, would have dire consequences for Thistle at re-election time, ten months hence. Willie played in the rid, black an’ yella’ As we all know by now, Willie Paul had seen it all during his time at Thistle. Here in his final first-team season, he witnessed Thistle’s traditional dark blue strip being shelved, and was part of the squad re-christened “The Wasps” by the press. The new strip, introducing a shade o’ yella’ for the first time, can be seen at historicalkits.co.uk. Being a bit of an old romantic at heart, it pleases me to know that, at various stages, Willie sported flashes of red in the shorts and socks, black in the socks and yellow in the top (even if it was a bit of a mustard shade!) A buzzing September for Willie As a Waspsman (it’ll never catch on) his first call to duty was against Rangers in the League on the 8th September 1900. Willie played at outside right and forced at least one good save out of Matthew Dickie in the Rangers goal. There were almost 10,000 at Meadowside to see it and Rangers were “extremely lucky” to escape with both points, winning by 2 goals to 1. The 34 year-old opened his scoring account the following week, as Thistle got their Glasgow Cup campaign off to a winning start, with a 2-0 victory at home to the short-lived student side, Normal Athletic. In a season where Thistle experimented with many in the centre forward position, Willie was called back into the role for consecutive League games against Hibernian [h] L0-1 and Third Lanark [h] W3-1. The victory over the Hi-Hi was the first League win of the season and lifted “The Wasps” off the bottom of the table for the first time. This proved to be Willie’s last game in the Scottish Football League and, looking back at it now, this win is all the more pleasing for that. In October, further Glasgow Cup wins were achieved against Clyde [h] W3-1 (without Willie) and Cameronians [a] W3-0. In the game at Maxwell Park, Dennistoun, Willie played up front alongside his old striking pal, Willie Freebairn. Freebairn scored his 9th goal of the season that day, consolidating his place as our top scorer at the time. However, it proved to be the last game that he played – a kick to the chest side-lining him immediately. The initial consequences were that he missed the Final (as did Willie) two weeks later when Thistle, once again, were thwarted by Rangers, who won by 3 goals to 1 at Celtic Park. Thistle stunned by the death of Willie Freebairn The long-term consequences proved to be much more severe than that, however. After a few weeks of being “not quite right”, Willie, who was due to be married on the 28th December, was admitted to the Western Infirmary. He underwent a chest-operation on Sunday 18th November and he never rallied from it, resulting in his death on the following day. Falkirk-born Willie was only 26 when he died but he packed a lot of living in to his short time. He was in second spell at Thistle, having tried his hand down South for a spell at Leicester, before returning to fulfil his boyhood dreams with a short-spell at East Stirlingshire. Cut down in his prime, his death came as an almighty shock – his return to the first team had been expected shortly as a matter of routine. The 27 year-old Willie Paul had nurtured the 19 year-old Willie Freebairn into the Thistle strike force several years previously at Inchview. The two men had a great in-team rivalry going on during Thistle’s first two seasons in the SFL back in 1893-94 and 1894-95. Freebairn was top scorer in the first season, Paul the second, each vying to outdo the other in a ding-dong battle that was fruitful for Partick Thistle. On 22nd November 1900, the funeral was held, the party walking from the Freebairn home in Dumbarton Road near Whiteinch Cross to Byres Road, before being driven to Western Necropolis. Local shops were closed as a mark of respect. Willie might have thought back to some great and famous days for the two. Perhaps he thought back to the time when both men scored a hat-trick against Glasgow Thistle in the League in the crazy 13-1 game back in 1894. Even fresher in the mind would be the game just last March when Thistle, going for the flag, were 3-1 down at HT, at home to Abercorn. The two forwards stole the show with four second half goals between them. Perhaps Paul would have smiled at the memory of Freebairn and he being carried off the field by supporters “amid hilarious merriment”. Another of their fellow strikers, John Proudfoot, until his own death in 1934, kept a copy of an excellent poem that was written for Willie Freebairn at the time of his death: A Parting Tribute to the Late William Freebairn - The famous forward of the Partick Thistle Football Club. The game is ended; too soon he has reached the goal; In the surging tide of contest no more 'tween pole and pole; Kinsmen and comrades are plunged in grief and gloom; For yesterday they followed Willie Freebairn to the tomb. Read the full poem… The game is ended; too soon he has reached the goal; In the surging tide of contest no more 'tween pole and pole; Kinsmen and comrades are plunged in grief and gloom; For yesterday they followed Willie Freebairn to the tomb. Impressive funeral, respect and regard to pay; How many fond words were spoken as they followed him yesterday; See the flowers of friendship - brotherhood in many a bloom, Bright wreaths of "In Memoriam" to lay on dear Willie's tomb. "The race not for the swift, nor the battle for the strong;" These words of Holy Writ were remembered in the throng. As they followed in the cortege their grief and respect to tell, And as one by one they went away, sighing "Willie dear, farewell!" I wonder will there be a wreath of Thistles all entwinded With the Rose of dear Old England to bring other days to mind? As gloom gathers o'er the game, and the goal grows dim and dark, So gloomed the news of Willie's death o'er Partick and Meadowside Park. Willie was a favourite in the land of the bright red Rose, But fortune brought him back again to the land where the Thistle grows; He has helped to make the name and fame of more than the Thistle team, But his brave young life so bright with hope has perished like a dream! A famous forward - his fame both north and south, The crest and spirit of the game, like the billow bounding forth! Brave to the last! Hope struggling with manly strife; But he never rallied again; so passed his bright young life. Long will the Thistle miss their Willie in the game; No more for his delighted ears the cheering crowd's acclaim! The surging sea of victory, the tempest of deafening cheers! Now he sleeps where Memory weeps her sad and silent tears. He was bred in the land of the brave, in grand old Stirlingshire, Where the thrill of noble memories set his dauntless will on fire To do gallant deeds of daring upon the football field, And the token sweet o' auld langsyne and sorrow see revealed. See there among the blossoms one from Falkirk of renown; Fond Memory sends a wreath - oh lay it gently down! From the shrine of Scotland's glory, East Stirlingshire - his team, Sweet Memory, like the setting sun, sends Willie its parting beam. His sport had the stamp of character, for all his play was fair; Honour bright upon the ball that went bounding through the air; Behold his portrait - the straightforward look of man! Strength, decision, character throughout his manhood ran. Yes, Freebairn was a sportsman whose fame was always fair; His play was an example to football everywhere; In that fame there was no foul - the belov'd of many a band; His example remains a force for good, emulation to command. And so this Tribute will not be written in vain If you emulate Willie's manly ways and his character live again; The true attributes of man on the football field are seen When he scorns to do an action foul, deceitful, cruel, or mean. One of Willie's dearest comrades urged me to write this rhyme, To give a voice unto the grief that moved so many at the time; For his heart was very sorrowful for his comrade dear and kind; His voice was the voice of woe, but its words he could not find. Gone from all he loved, - from the lone-left and forlorn; Another moon, no more, would have seen his marriage morn; The hope of happy days crushed like a rose in bloom, To droop and wither like the flowers as they die o'er her Willie's tomb. Life is a football field; its accidents we never know, In the hurry-burry of the game, in the contact to and fro; But our Father's will be done; He takes but what He gave; Life is a football field, and its goal here is the grave. But there is the life immortal - the eternity of the soul; May we wrestle for heaven and happiness, the beliver's sacred goal! Yonder may we meet again in our Father's Home above, Where the flowers of affection never fade, where all is peace and love. JOHN FORBES 19 Taylor Street, Townhead, Glasgow. Scottish Cup Final brings more misery for Willie Willie Paul finally got to play in a Scottish Cup Final – but it wasn’t an experience he’d care to remember. He was playing games in the second team at this stage, and played at centre forward in the Second XI Scottish Cup Final on 15th December 1900. In a storm of wind and rain at Powderhall, a weakly represented Thistle side were humiliated by Heart of Midlothian, and crashed to defeat by 8 goals to 2. A wretched season In the League, Thistle had sunk back to the bottom spot just before Willie Freebairn’s death. They never recovered from there, and were mathematically confirmed as the bottom dogs as early as January 5th 1901 when they lost 2-1 at home to Morton. Another long wait on First Division Death Row would now ensue – it would be 5 whole months until our judgement day at the annual AGM election. Talk of the eleven team set up possibly being increased to twelve or even fourteen clubs gave a glimmer of hope, but this was not shared by the Scottish Sport: “The glory hath departed from Meadowside. They now hold the lowly position of wooden spoonist of the league and are almost certainly to be regaled to the more suitable fare of the Second league.” Thistle’s SFL / Scottish Cup season was over by 9th February, and the fixture list now consisted of games in the Western League and friendlies. Willie scores in his last game for the first-team As a first-team player, Willie’s “farewell bow” came in front of 2,000 fans at Clune Park on the 23rd February 1901, although I doubt anyone knew of its’ significance at the time. It was in the Western League and, in typical Willie Paul fashion, he made sure that he was on the score sheet for the milestone game! Alas, it was only a consolation goal; Port Glasgow Athletic 2, Partick Thistle 1. Thistle relegated for the second time Never, in the history of the Scottish Football League, has a team been involved in so many consecutive post-season elections. Thistle would set the record at six seasons in a row – this was the fifth of them. When it came to the League AGM on the 30th May 1901, press talks of League expansion proved to have at least some foundation, which was good news for Thistle. Dundee did propose that the First Division be extended to twelve clubs but, alas, the motion was rejected. Worse still, the clubs voted to reduce the League back to just ten clubs and, from that moment, Thistle’s hopes had all but evaporated. The controversial pre-season admittance of Queen’s Park had come back to haunt us. Five clubs were now in the election ballot for just two First Division places – St Mirren (9th in D1), Heart of Midlothian (10th in D1), Partick Thistle (11th in D1), St Bernard’s (1st in D2) and Airdrieonians (2nd in D2). Heart of Midlothian and St Mirren, almost inevitably, secured the two available places and Thistle were duly relegated for the second time. Never mind the Wasps, the Yo-Yos would have been a much more appropriate nickname for this lot! Cue the mass exodus from Meadowside. Not Willie Paul though – he soldiered on with the Thistle, as always. Partick Thistle scorers 1900-01 10 - Tom Hyslop 9 - Willie Freebairn 7 - Tom Atherton 6 - John Spence 5 - John Muirhead 3 - George McNicol 3 - Tom Gibbons 2 - Richard Crawford 2 - o.g. 2 - Willie Paul 1 - David Campbell 1 - Donald Cameron 1 - James Henderson 1 - James Lamont 1 - Murray (i) 1 - Robert Campbell 1 - Walter Fairgrieve note: There are 8 goals unaccredited in this season Tomorrow… A giant legacy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted February 18, 2016 Report Share Posted February 18, 2016 Just imagine if there had been online forums back then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Willie Paul – The First Partick Thistle Giant Season 1901-02 onwards The 35 year-old was now in his 18th season with Partick Thistle. It wasn’t expected that he would have a big part to play but the intention was that he’d make himself available for selection, and keep himself in shape by turning out for the reserves. As an amateur, Willie was no burden to the cash-strapped treasurer – George Easton could have done with a few more in the mould of Willie Paul. Willie honoured with a second testimonial Willie had previously been honoured away back in 1895 – perhaps they thought his career was coming to an end back then. If so, they underestimated him! There can be very few footballers whose services have been recognised by two testimonials at the same club – but Willie Paul was an exceedingly rare breed. For Thistle, he gave so much of himself for so little for so long, that there wouldn’t be a man in all of Scotland who would have begrudged him this pay day. Willie had also given a small degree of favour to Queen’s Park over the last couple of decades, turning out for them on many occasions. It was fitting therefore, that the leading amateur club sent a team to accommodate Willie for a benefit match. It was played at Meadowside on the evening of Tuesday 20th August 1901, First Division QP emerging victors by 2 goals to 0. A large crowd is commented upon in various press reports, with a firm attendance figure of 2,000 being quoted in the official history book. Willie Paul and Partick Thistle – stuck like glue Willie’s devotion to the cause was never doubted but it was emphasised in a reserve game just a few weeks after his second testimonial when he lined up in goals in a match against Third Lanark. Andrew Duff, eat your heart out! Willie’s testimonial year was capped on the evening of 5th November 1901, when both he and Jeanie were acknowledged with a presentation from the club. The Dundee Courier reported: “VETERAN PLAYER HONOURED. In recognition of the long and brilliant services rendered to the Partick Thistle Football Club, William Paul, the well-known player, was presented with a handsome gold watch last night by the members of the Partick club. Mrs Paul was presented with a beautiful gold chain.” Willie’s name continued in the registered players lists all the way up to 1904/05 – either he just couldn’t let go or we just couldn’t bear to let him go. A bit of both most likely! He was around, but is not thought to have played for the reserves at all in any of those last few seasons. However, I shall keep my eyes peeled for even the smallest snippet of information that might say otherwise. Willie went on to serve on the board of directors at the new Partick Thistle Football Club Limited, at the very dawn of Thistle’s long unbroken run as a top-flight club. On Saturday 7th October 1911, Willie was one of the 58,000 who were at Celtic Park to cheer on Alec Raisbeck and the boys as they attempted to win their first ever Glasgow Cup in the final against Rangers. What a crowd – how the game had grown exponentially since he retired! He himself had played for Thistle in the final of 1888. He had also played his part in getting Thistle to the final of 1900. He’d have loved to see them win it – third time lucky? Alas, it wasn’t to be. Rangers won 1-0, their first-half winner coming against the run of the play. But for poor finishing, Thistle would have surely have won the Cup. Willie was probably heading and kicking every ball from his vantage point. A premature death Just 12 days later, Willie was suddenly taken ill, following problems with his appendix. He died at home, 20 Carmichael Street, Govan, on the morning of Friday 23rd October 1911, after 4 days of sufferation. He was aged just 45. “Followers of football will learn with regret of the death of William Paul, one of the great centre forwards of his day.” ~ Dundee Courier “He was a close and stylish dribbler and played with a keenness and excellence never bettered by any Partick centre… Although never capped against England, Paul played in three Internationals against Wales in successive years, beginning in 1888, and, thanks to his leadership, the Scots only lost one goal in all three games and scored ten times.” ~ The Evening Telegraph Sadly, both Mum and Dad would, in all likelihood, have attended their son’s funeral. David lived on until 1918, aged 78. Margaret lived until 1924, when she was 79. She suffered from bronchitis and had a cardiac arrest. She died at the family home at 55, Byres Road, where she had lived for some 25 years. Willie was buried at The Western Necropolis, just to the East of St Mungo’s Cathedral, laid in spirit with his old buddy, Willie Freebairn. He was survived by his wife, Jeanie (41), and three children; Jessie (15), Margaret (13) and William (7). A giant legacy Willie’s career time span gave him an interesting time of it. It’s possible that the teenager watched Thistle play at Jordanvale in the early 1880s. For sure, the man played for Thistle in 3 different grounds – at Muir Park, at Inchview and at Meadowside. In his 40s he watched them play at Firhill. He saw the game progress from amateur to professional level, and he witnessed at first hand the evolution of fundamental law changes within the game itself. Most importantly of all, Willie Paul played a huge part in transforming the stature of Partick Thistle, helping to change the outsiders’ perception of the club. On his watch, the club deemed not good enough to be invited to participate in the Glasgow Charity Cup rose all the way to the very summit of Scottish football. It was a struggle – and there were ups and downs along the way – but Thistle got there. Following Willie Paul’s second testimonial season in 1901-02, Partick Thistle began a run which lasted almost 70 years, competing in every possible top-flight campaign in Scottish football. His astonishing plethora of club-records, milestones and tallies was quite something – but the rise and rise of the club, his one club, is the abiding, real and tangible legacy of Willie Paul. Truly, the man stands forever as the first Partick Thistle giant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowenBoys Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Thank you TJR. A terrific read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jukebox Rebel Posted February 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Credits: Top Of The Heap, A Number One, is Niall Kennedy; without his co-operation this mini-bio would not have been possible. I think the story benefitted enormously from the informed editorial of the period from the Scottish Sport, all of which was possible only as a result of Niall's dedicated excavation. I've been greatly inspired by Niall's original research into Thistle's 19th century history – as you can probably tell by this rip-off cover version! As always, the originals are the best and you really should check out the full album of works at PT Early Years if you haven’t already done so! My thanks also to Stuart Deans for his ever-magnificent treasure trove at the Partick Thistle History Archive. Almost without fail, whenever I'm researching something or other, Stu's archive has some invaluable original reference source that helps no end. It's as deep and wide as the Clyde itself. From Brake Club banners to extra Willie Paul games for Glasgow to testimonial snips, the Archive came up trumps once again. I reckon these gents are bona-fide Jaggy History heroes, so cheers to both of them. Sources: Aberdeen Evening Express; Aberdeen Journal; Arbroath Herald and Advertiser for the Montrose Burghs; Association Of Football Statisticians 1891-92 Annual; Association Of Football Statisticians 1892-93 Annual; Athletic News; Belfast Newsletter; Birmingham Daily Post; Blackburn Standard; britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk; Daily Record; Daily Telegraph; Derby Daily Telegraph; Dundee Courier and Argus; Dundee Evening Telegraph; Edinburgh Evening News; Evening Post; Evening Telegraph; Falkirk Herald; findmypast.co.uk; Glasgow Herald; Lancashire Evening Post; Liverpool Mercury; londonhearts.com; Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser; Morning Post; Motherwell Times; Partick Thistle Football Club 1876-2002 The Official History (Robert Reid, Niall Kennedy, Billy Thomson & Stuart Deans); Partick Thistle Legends (Niall Kennedy & Tom Hosie); partickthistleahistory.wikifoundry.com; Pre-War Scottish League Players, Version 2, November 2012 (John Litster); Pre-War Scottish League Results & Scorers 1890-91 to 1939-40, Version 1.0, September 2013 (John Litster); ptearlyyears.net (inc. Scottish Referee, Scottish Umpire & Scottish Sport); scotlandspeople.gov.uk; Scotsman; Scottish Football Historian; scottish-football-historical-archive.com; scottishleague.net; SFL Tables 1890-2013, Version 1.1, September 2013 (John Litster); Sheffield Daily Telegraph; Sheffield Evening Telegraph; Sheffield Independent; Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette; Weekly News; Yorkshire Post So there we go, consider the Willie Paul story now duly published; in the month that Willie turns 150 and on the very day that Thistle can legitimately claim 140 years in Scottish Fitba’. I learned loads by writing this. It was a great pleasure to do, and I'm delighted to have been able to share it with you via WAT. Thanks very much for reading! We are Thistle. A happy “birthday” to us all! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a f kincaid Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Truly, the man stands forever as a giant Partick Thistle historian. :worship: TJR that is! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Earl of Hathaway Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Brilliant read. Any talented animators out there want to turn this into a wee fillum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delurker Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Fantastic, TJR, thanks very much for this impressive and illuminating series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 We learned loads by reading it, TJR. A brilliant serialisation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willjag Posted February 19, 2016 Members Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 And great to see you praise & credit Niall and Stu for all their original work. So when are you guys collaborating and publishing, The Great Jaggy Histories Book then? That was a great read, thanks for bringing it to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter of '63 Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Great research TJR...I suspect it was a real Labour of Love. It helps make this Forum like our Club just a bit different...and a bit special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.