The Gallant Pioneers: Rangers 1872 (9 page)

The Gallant Pioneers: the Rangers team that played in the Scottish Cup Final in 1877. Back row (left to right): George Gillespie, William McNeil, James Watt, Sam Ricketts. Middle row (left to right): William Dunlop, David Hill, Tom Vallance, Peter Campbell, Moses McNeil. Front row (left to right): James Watson, Sandy Marshall. Tom Vallance wore a lion rampant on his chest to symbolise the two international appearances he made that season, against England and Wales.

On the morning of Monday 19 March 1877 newspapers went into overdrive to describe the Final that had taken place at the West of Scotland Cricket Club in Partick 48 hours earlier. One declared the game as ‘decidedly the finest match that has ever been played since the dribbling game was introduced to Scotland.’9 The teams lined up as follows and did not change over the course of the next three games – Rangers: J. Watt, goal; G. Gillespie and T. Vallance, backs; W. McNeil and S. Ricketts, half-backs; W. Dunlop, A. Marshall, P. Campbell, D. Hill, J. Watson and M. McNeil, forwards. Vale of Leven: W.O. Wood, goal; A. Michie and A. McIntyre, backs; W. Jamieson and A. McLintock, half-backs; R. Paton, J. McGregor, J. McDougall, J. Ferguson, D. Lindsay and J.C. Baird, forwards.
  Headlines had been dominated that week by the acceptance of William Gladstone, who would soon become Prime Minister for his second of four terms, of the candidacy to become Lord Rector of Glasgow University; a New Kilpatrick farmer was fined five guineas in the Glasgow courts for selling sour milk to the public, which contained 38 per cent added water; while in Dumbarton, the council turned on local MP Sir Archibald Orr Ewing and called on him to retract or disown statements he had made alleging excessive drunkenness in the district. However, Vale of Leven players had other things on their minds than the slating of their neighbours by the man charged with representing their interests at Westminster because they knew, despite their tag as favourites, that their rivals from Kinning Park would be no pushovers. Tradition dictated that a Scottish terrier, known as the ‘Derby dog’, was brought out before kick-off at 3.30pm to parade up and down in front of the fans in the pavilion at Hamilton Crescent. Snow, rain and sleet had fallen all week, although the weather had improved slightly in time for the kick-off and a crowd estimated at 8,000 was present. In a breathless encounter, Vale took the lead when Paton nodded home from a McLintock cross early in the second half and the crowd awaited the inevitable onslaught. However, even with the wind in their faces the plucky youngsters from Kinning Park, inspired by skipper Tom Vallance, refused to be cowed and drew level with 20 minutes remaining when McDougall put through his own net. A draw was acceptable to neither team as the action swung from one end of the field to the next, the air punctured with cries such as: ‘Time to win the Cup yet, Rangers!’ and ‘Waken up and run through them, Vale of Leven.’ Eventually, time was called with the score still locked at 1–1 and while a replay was scheduled it was the underdog Rangers who claimed the moral victory as their players were carried off the field shoulder high by their excited fans. Both sides came together again later that evening, this time at the Athole Arms in Dundas Street, where every kick, pass and opportunity was examined over a glass of beer.
  Three weeks passed between the Final and the first replay, but time had neither dulled nor dampened the enthusiasm for the second match. If anything, a fevered excitement and anticipation hung in the air with the grey clouds above Partick that Saturday afternoon, 7 April, and even the rainfall would not keep the supporters away. Inside the ground, more than 8,000 fans huddled together against the weather, with just as many outside trying desperately to sneak a look over the fence at the action. The Glasgow News of 9 April reported that ‘an enormous crowd assembled within the well known cricket enclosure of the West of Scotland Club and outside the railings and on the high ground to the north thousands of spectators took up positions. A dozen omnibuses, numerous cabs and other conveyances collected in the roads and from the top of these vehicles a large number of people enjoyed a much better view of the game than many who had paid for admission – the crowd around the ropes standing three and four deep. An estimate of the numbers present will be gathered from the fact – officially announced afterwards – that the receipts exceeded any previous amounts collected at any match in Scotland and it may be asserted without hesitation that Saturday’s assembly was the largest ever seen on any football rendezvous in Britain.’10
  The game kicked off at 3.30pm and within seven minutes Rangers had opened the scoring after William ‘Daddy’ Dunlop struck a well-placed shot between the posts. Vale, kicking downhill and with the wind at their backs, immediately searched for an equaliser but their attacks were repelled time and again by the ever reliable Tom Vallance and ’keeper James Watt. Rangers enjoyed the advantage of the conditions as the second half kicked off but Vale scored within two minutes of the restart, although the roar of the crowd was muffled by peals of loud thunder as the heavens opened. Moses McNeil passed up a couple of opportunities late on, while Vale also went close before the game swept into an extra-time period of 30 minutes. However, it was never completed as five minutes into the second period a shot from Dunlop caused chaos and sparked fierce debate among fans that lasted for years afterwards.
  Rangers argued passionately that the ball had crossed the line from Dunlop’s shot and bounced off a spectator before landing safely back in the arms of Wood, but the referee, SFA honorary secretary William Dick, was too far from the action to make a balanced call. To add to the confusion, one of his umpires insisted the ball had crossed the line, while the other debated just as vigorously that no goal had been scored. The spectator the ball was alleged to have struck was Sir George H.B. McLeod, regius professor of surgery at Glasgow University, who later offered to swear on oath a goal had been scored, but his offer was not accepted by the football authorities. In the time it took to discuss the incident many fans, who had been craning their necks all afternoon for a closer glimpse of the action, burst on to the field and arguments broke out between them about the validity of Dunlop’s ‘goal’. It was a scene of utter bedlam and when the pitch could not be cleared the final whistle was blown 10 minutes early and another replay arranged for the following week at Hampden.

The captain’s table: Tom Vallance invited all survivors from the 1877 Scottish Cup Final to a 21st anniversary dinner at his Metropolitan Restaurant on 13 April 1898. Each invite was intricately and individually drawn by the talented artist, with tribute paid to the four Rangers who had passed away in the previous two decades – Sandy Marshall, Peter Campbell, William Dunlop and James Watt.

In the 21st century, football administrators are often criticised for arranging times and dates for matches that do not always suit the paying public but, as ever, the only thing new in life is the history not already known. The third and final game between Rangers and Vale of Leven in the Scottish Cup kicked-off at the unusual time of 5.30pm at Hampden on Friday 12 April (rumours of a Rangers no-show in disgust at Dunlop’s disallowed goal in the previous match proved unfounded). The attendance and gate receipt record from six days earlier was smashed again as 10,000 fans crammed into the first Hampden Park, sited at Crosshill, next to Hampden Terrace. It was estimated that a similar number again sought every height advantage outside the ground to watch the match from the tops of cabs, buses and trees. The majority of the crowd were Rangers fans, although they were hardly partisan. The Scottish Football Annual recalled: ‘In justice to the great majority of the people it is only fair to add that when a bit of brilliant play was shown on the Vale of Leven side it did not pass uncheered, and when the goals were taken on each side the scene baffled description. The hum of human voices was heard far and near and caps, hats, and sticks were waved overhead in thousands.’11
  If Rangers had the better of the first game and Vale of Leven showed their strength in the second then the third was more evenly balanced although not, according to match reports of the time, as much of a football spectacle, despite five goals being scored. Vale of Leven netted through McDougall after only 15 minutes, making amends for his own-goal in the first tie. However, Rangers equalised in the second half when a tame Peter Campbell shot was missed by Wood, who made a feeble and unsuccessful attempt to kick it clear, and the Glasgow youngsters took a grip on the game 10 minutes later when Willie McNeil slotted home the second. However, the mental strength of Vale came to the fore as John Baird snatched an equaliser only three minutes after McNeil had given Rangers hope that it might be their year. There was clearly little appetite among both groups of players for a fourth match as the game reached an exciting climax, swinging from one end to the other. Sam Ricketts and Tom Vallance went close with shots for Rangers, while Watt was a sterling performer between the sticks. However, it was Baird who had the final say when he knocked in the winner with 10 minutes remaining to give his side a 3–2 victory. Unsurprisingly, the game was more bad-tempered than the previous two fixtures and one unnamed Vale player was chastised for kicking out at Moses McNeil.
  This time, the informalities of the Athole Arms were dispensed with as Vale of Leven headed to Alexandria to celebrate with their families, friends and fans, who had waited patiently at the post office in the town for news of the result, which finally arrived at 7.30pm. The Vale of Leven players descended from the Glasgow train two hours later, by which time a crowd of 3,000 were waiting to greet them. The players were lifted shoulder high onto an open-top wagon and paraded around the town, with the Bonhill band leading the way. Amid joyous scenes at the departure of the Cup from Glasgow for the first time, ‘cannons were fired, pipers were discoursing Highland music and all the dogs of the district barked their part in the chorus of rejoicing over the famous football victory.’12
  Rangers players, who had practised so long and hard at Kinning Park under the light of the winter moon, could only howl in frustration. However, these pups would soon have their day.

Peter McNeil

The melody of birdsong is rarely heard beyond cemetery gates, but the excited and voluble chatter of children in the playground of a nearby primary school, which drifts over the fence to fill the air at Craigton Cemetery, is a fitting replacement that underlines the boundless energy of youth and the promise of all that lies ahead in life. Burials are rarely held at Craigton these days – modern trends, in terms of cost and convenience, favour cremation. For those who prefer an interment, the cemetery at Cardonald, a quarter of a mile away, is much less overgrown and better tended than this formerly privately owned parcel of land, which has only been in the hands of Glasgow City Council for the last few years.
  Nevertheless, Craigton’s location, high on the south side of the city and offering a panoramic sweep of the valley below in which over 500,000 people live, unsurprisingly once made it the favoured final resting place of Glasgow’s middle classes. Off to the left, despite its distance on the horizon, the might of Ben Lomond still muscles its way visually between the Old Kilpatrick Hills and the Campsie Fells. The Campsies frame the north of the city, throwing a protective arm around Glasgow from its shoulder at Dumgoyne to the tips of its fat fingers pointing towards Stirlingshire and beyond. In the foreground, the M8 buzzes with traffic, a hive of activity in comparison to the few remaining cranes still left on the Clyde, which seem to bow their heads in the low winter sun in respect of better times past for shipbuilding on the river.
  Fittingly, a fine view is afforded from Craigton Cemetery towards Ibrox Stadium; its famous red-brick façade glowing ruby rich in the brilliant bright light after days of grey skies and torrential rain. The clouds have finally cleared, but at Craigton they have long been depositing their tears on a clump of sodden earth that sits unloved, untended and unmarked, weeping openly for the sad plight of founding father Peter McNeil as mental illness took a harrowing toll on a life lived far too short. He lies here now with many of his closest relatives, including his mother Jean, father John and brothers William, James and Alexander, never knowing that the club he formed in boyhood would command such a prominent position on the Glasgow cityscape and in the lives of supporters drawn from every corner of the globe.