The Thistle Archive Posted July 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 Breaking new ground in Partick Thistle history is what we do... shaving more than 5 years off John Holm's date, John Marshall today takes the distinction of having the earliest-known birth date of any Partick Thistle player. His is a story with a sad ending though... John Marshall → Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denismcquadeno.eleven Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, The Thistle Archive said: Breaking new ground in Partick Thistle history is what we do... shaving more than 5 years off John Holm's date, John Marshall today takes the distinction of having the earliest-known birth date of any Partick Thistle player. His is a story with a sad ending though... John Marshall → Context of the times: John Marshall was born in 1850 when Whig Lord John Russell was Prime Minister. He was seven PMs before Disraeli and Gladstone. It would be another 78 years before all women got the vote. Most men didn’t have it. In 1870 only two out of every five men had the vote in the UK. In America they were on their 13th President and the ‘The Fugitive Slave Act’ was passed there, that year, to put it into law that slaves should be sent back to their original state. It was eleven years before the outbreak of the American Civil War. In 1850, it would be a further 21 years before Germany became a unified country. Edited July 19, 2022 by denismcquadeno.eleven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 16 hours ago, The Thistle Archive said: 30 minutes extra time if necessary always makes me smile... thank you, but that won't be necessary! We're on the hunt for a big fish here... Hendo! We just love him, an early club legend. Was there as a teenager when Thistle won their first-ever Cup in 1879, went to the last 16 of the FA Cup with the Jags in 1887, played the big QP game the day after his wedding. We're tantalisingly close to his exact date of birth, but not quite there as it stands. Turns out he wasn't Scottish either... John Hendry → A great read, thank you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 19 hours ago, East Kent Jag II said: Press on the underlined link "which Jag won a cup winner's medal at Firhill aged only 14" and you can read all about his Australian adventure in his profile bio!! Thanks for that. Glad I took your advice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East Kent Jag II Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 7 minutes ago, Jaggernaut said: Thanks for that. Glad I took your advice! Hugh took a big risk with a young family in emigrating to Australia, and he said it was the best move he ever made. He didn't think that on arrival! There is a lot happening on the Archive, with some wonderful finds recently. Historian Joe Kelly has been having some fun, and has been wonderfully productive. In the words of the old saying, we learn something new every day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted July 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 1 hour ago, denismcquadeno.eleven said: Context of the times: John Marshall was born in 1850 when Whig Lord John Russell was Prime Minister. He was seven PMs before Disraeli and Gladstone. It would be another 78 years before all women got the vote. Most men didn’t have it. In 1870 only two out of every five men had the vote in the UK. In America they were on their 13th President and the ‘The Fugitive Slave Act’ was passed there, that year, to put it into law that slaves should be sent back to their original state. It was eleven years before the outbreak of the American Civil War. In 1850, it would be a further 21 years before Germany became a unified country. And how about this... Abraham Lincolns' third son was also born in 1850. Alas, we've no photies of our John Marshall, so we'll have to make do with... wait for it... William Wallace Lincoln! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denismcquadeno.eleven Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 (edited) 28 minutes ago, The Thistle Archive said: And how about this... Abraham Lincolns' third son was also born in 1850. Alas, we've no photies of our John Marshall, so we'll have to make do with... wait for it... William Wallace Lincoln! ‘They can take our fashionable walking canes…but there’ll NEVER take…our top hats!’ Edited July 19, 2022 by denismcquadeno.eleven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 I always carry around in my head the fact that the year in which (it seems likely) that Partick Thistle were formed, General Custer and his troops got wiped out and scalped at the Little Bighorn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denismcquadeno.eleven Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Jaggernaut said: I always carry around in my head the fact that the year in which (it seems likely) that Partick Thistle were formed, General Custer and his troops got wiped out and scalped at the Little Bighorn. There is a statue (which I am sure you know) of ‘Buffalo Bill’ William Cody on his bucking (bronco) horse in Dennistoun, because Cody brought his Wild West Show to Dennistoun, Glasgow. (October 1891) Thistle would have been 25 years old. Edited July 19, 2022 by denismcquadeno.eleven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 11 minutes ago, denismcquadeno.eleven said: There is a statue (which I am sure you know) of ‘Buffalo Bill’ William Cody on his bucking (bronco) horse in Dennistoun, because Cody brought his Wild West Show to Dennistoun, Glasgow. (October 1891) Thistle would have been 25 years old. Yep, and my great-grandmother went to one of the shows (BB came to Glasgow a couple of times). On one of the tours one of the "native Americans" found his way into a Glaswegian hostelry where he "accidentally" got served whisky instead of a soft drink. Ended up in Barlinnie for drunk and disorderly behaviour including hitting somebody with a club. Not much has changed, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denismcquadeno.eleven Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 2 minutes ago, Jaggernaut said: Yep, and my great-grandmother went to one of the shows (BB came to Glasgow a couple of times). On one of the tours one of the "native Americans" found his way into a Glaswegian hostelry where he "accidentally" got served whisky instead of a soft drink. Ended up in Barlinnie for drunk and disorderly behaviour including hitting somebody with a club. Not much has changed, I guess. Well, I know on a later visit the tour ended up at Ibrox so….. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 8 minutes ago, denismcquadeno.eleven said: Well, I know on a later visit the tour ended up at Ibrox so….. That's right. Not so much the tour itself, but Mr Cody himself went there on a publicity visit. He knew and had hee-haw interest in football, but a big crowd, mostly simpletons, so, a good marketing opportunity for his show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 21 hours ago, denismcquadeno.eleven said: There is a statue (which I am sure you know) of ‘Buffalo Bill’ William Cody on his bucking (bronco) horse in Dennistoun, because Cody brought his Wild West Show to Dennistoun, Glasgow. (October 1891) Thistle would have been 25 years old. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denismcquadeno.eleven Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 (edited) One former Thistle player who has interested me, since I discovered some things about him, is Willie Hamilton. Willie was a centre half, whose career had some highs but a number of lows and in the end he died a tragic death at a young age. Willie made many appearances for the Thistle first team (approx. 300 I think). He was born in 1889, (a year after my Gran) so that gives me a little bit of context about those times, because I used to ask her many, many questions about her life, before she died in the 1970s. Willie sadly played in (I think it was) five Glasgow based cup finals, and was on the losing side in every one. He played in every round and every game incl. replays on Thistle’s journey to winning the Scottish Cup in 1921. But, again, frustratingly and cruelly, he had to miss the final because of an ankle injury. Worse was to follow, only a few months later. He was to contract tuberculosis. (TB) which my late dad once told me was a big health problem in Glasgow many decades ago. (My dad was part of a later generation but his youngest brother got TB, but luckily he survived to have a decent quality and length of life.) Willie Hamilton died in August 1921, at the age of 32, just four months after that first national trophy was added to the PTFC boardroom display cabinet. When the official Thistle video came out about Thistle winning the Scottish Cup 100 years ago, April last year, I watched it a few times, but I don’t recall there was any particular mention of Willie Hamilton and what happened to him, beyond his surname appearing in Thistle team line ups in all the games leading to the Semi Final. I found that a bit sad. Of course, things get overlooked, mistakes made, details missed, with the best will in the world, but Willie Hamilton’s ‘story’ is one, of which (I think) Thistle fans should be aware. I would suggest he is a worthy ‘candidate’ for any future new entrants to the PTFC Hall of Fame. He deserves to have a special memory with PTFC fans. Edited July 20, 2022 by denismcquadeno.eleven 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted July 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 ^ Well said Denis. The full squad are individually honoured and pictured on The Thistle Archive... The Class Of '21 → Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted July 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 Historian Joe Kelly has been making great contributions for the best part of a year now, finding all-sorts of genealogy snips and first-time player images and we're delighted that he's now officially the latest signing to the Thistle Archive team. Joe has a soft spot for the Bankies, but he's an honorary Jag now, such is his passion for the cause: “the thrill of the chase and some of your boys stories are just amazing. I never tire of looking and uncovering and there is so much to dig up, just wonderful.” Joe's latest gift to Thistle history was to discover yet another new game for our records, a holiday Thursday game found lurking in the obscurity of the Edinburgh Daily Review, remarkable in a number of ways. Our first-ever game with St Bernard's, more than 3 years earlier than first thought. Our first-ever game in Edinburgh, several months earlier than first thought. Our first visit to "the Gymmie" before there was even a ground there. The first known instance of brothers - Edward & Jerry Suter - turning out in the same game for Thistle. Thu-06-Apr-1882 St Bernard's 5 Partick Thistle 2 → 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted July 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2022 In what's probably one of the most exciting breakthroughs of all at the Thistle Archive, today we're pleased to identify HUGH McCOLL, a strong contender to be one of Partick Thistle's founder members. At a general meeting on the 3rd September 1877, the first ever committee of the club was elected, and Hugh, just turned 19, took his place as the secretary. In the player's chronology, only John Inglis comes before Hugh in Thistle's story. Hugh McColl → 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted July 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2022 A youthful enthusiasm drove the burgeoning game forwards in the 1870s, and we'd expect that our founders - were we able to find them - would all turn to be very young, with most, if not all, being teenagers. This would be in line with other clubs of the day, with the four Rangers founders being a good example; Moses McNeil (16), Peter McNeil (17), Peter Campbell (15) & William McBeath (15). As well as the aforementioned Hugh McColl, we're thrilled to reveal the identity of a second member of the first-ever Partick Thistle committee, also a player. It transpires that GEORGE LECKIE was the treasurer at the age of just 17. 'mon the young team! George Leckie → And, as if all this excitement wasn't enough, George had a brother who also played and served on the committee. George and ANDY LECKIE only missed out on being first playing brothers by two days to Jerry & Edward Suter although who knows, new discoveries might turn the current intelligence. Andy Leckie → 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 22, 2022 Report Share Posted July 22, 2022 5 hours ago, The Thistle Archive said: In what's probably one of the most exciting breakthroughs of all at the Thistle Archive, today we're pleased to identify HUGH McCOLL, a strong contender to be one of Partick Thistle's founder members. At a general meeting on the 3rd September 1877, the first ever committee of the club was elected, and Hugh, just turned 19, took his place as the secretary. In the player's chronology, only John Inglis comes before Hugh in Thistle's story. Hugh McColl → Brilliant stuff, again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 22, 2022 Report Share Posted July 22, 2022 3 hours ago, The Thistle Archive said: A youthful enthusiasm drove the burgeoning game forwards in the 1870s, and we'd expect that our founders - were we able to find them - would all turn to be very young, with most, if not all, being teenagers. This would be in line with other clubs of the day, with the four Rangers founders being a good example; Moses McNeil (16), Peter McNeil (17), Peter Campbell (15) & William McBeath (15). As well as the aforementioned Hugh McColl, we're thrilled to reveal the identity of a second member of the first-ever Partick Thistle committee, also a player. It transpires that GEORGE LECKIE was the treasurer at the age of just 17. 'mon the young team! George Leckie → And, as if all this excitement wasn't enough, George had a brother who also played and served on the committee. George and ANDY LECKIE only missed out on being first playing brothers by two days to Jerry & Edward Suter although who knows, new discoveries might turn the current intelligence. Andy Leckie → Wow, Andy died at just 35 years of age...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted July 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2022 (edited) From 'The History of St Mirren Football Club' (R. M. Connell, 1924) we've been able to get a first-time look at Hugh McHardy, another off our internationalist's list. In 1888, Hugh is 4th along in the middle row. Hugh McHardy → Edited July 23, 2022 by The Thistle Archive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted July 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2022 (edited) From 'The Story Of The Rangers (William Allan, 1923)' comes our first-time look at Bob Marshall. Over 100 appearances for the Jags and the last of our internationalists to be found. How pleased are we on a scale of 1-10? 11! Bob might well be the only man in history whose new club (in 1885) moved to him! Bob Marshall → Edited July 23, 2022 by The Thistle Archive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted July 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2022 Evolving story... turns out the bold George Leckie - candidate for PTFC founder member - set sail for the United States in 1884... George Leckie → Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 24, 2022 Report Share Posted July 24, 2022 So, his daughter Elsie was born exactly 75 years to the day before the Jags won the League Cup in 1971! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted July 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2022 5 hours ago, Jaggernaut said: So, his daughter Elsie was born exactly 75 years to the day before the Jags won the League Cup in 1971! Well, just when we thought we couldn't be any more amazed! We're all caught up with the facts & figures for the season so far. Jack McMillan the man-of-the-moment, already the last-man standing on 100% game time and top of the assists chart... Season 2022-23 → Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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