Partick Thistle - The Early Years
This advert from the Daily Record of 1906 seems to suggest that a fly puff could be part of the modern day footballer’s training regime, as long as the trainer doesn’t catch you.
Partick FC and two local footballers revolutionised English football by becoming the first players to be paid by their club for playing (four years before the English FA outlawed the practice) in the days of hardcore amateurism.
In October 1904 Andrew Smith was interviewed by the Scottish Weekly Record. Smith joined Thistle in 1880 and served as secretary and president before becoming a Thistle director.
The 1904-05 season saw Thistle consolidate their place in the top division in Scotland. After a poor start they went on an 8 match winning run, and had several players selected for the Scotland team.
In a friendly match in November 1884 against Our Boys of Dundee the Thistle players and their opponents discussed some offside decisions made by the referee which resulted in the ref leaving the pitch.
The Scottish Sport History website has researched the birth of Partick Football Club. Of particular interest to Thistle fans is the mention of Partick Thistle Cricket Club who were playing matches in 1875.
John Boag was one of the pioneers of football in Partick, having been a player and secretary with the Partick FC club who played at Inchview in the late 1870s and early 1880s until they folded at the end of the 1884-85 season.
On 13 August 1904 the Evening Times previewed the forthcoming football season and shared thoughts on Partick Thistle’s chances.
In 1903 Thistle goalkeeper Tom Wilkie was just one of two top class goalkeepers on the Partick Thistle books – the other being Willie Howden. Tom met with a Weekly Record reporter in 1903 to talk about his career.
