Author: The Author

Although most of us head for the road and cross-country section of any book of sports photographs, we have had many great track runners in the country and throughout the 80’s Graham was there taking the photographs – Liz, Yvonne, Karen, Adrian, Alistair, Tom, Tommy et al.   The Commonwealth Games were in 1986 and there was intense competition all through 1985 to impress the selectors.   There were many more contentious selections in ’86 than there had been in ’70 with Adrian Callan, George Braidwood and Neil Tennant all being very unfortunate to miss out.   

SAAA 5000m, 1984: Nat Muir (Shettleston) leading Chris Robison (Spango Valley)

Open meeting, Meadowbank, 1985: Steve Begen leads lots of well known faces with Alex McIndoe of Springburn (Mole) leading the second wee group

SAAA 1500m, 1985: Alistair Currie (Dumbarton 37), Adrian Callan (Springburn 1), John Robson (ESH 17) 

SAAA Championships, 1985: Alistair Currie (37), John Robson (17)

SWAAA 1500m, 1985: Susan Crawford (5)

Meadowbank, July 1985: Lots of well known names – Hutton, Spence, Charleson, Braidwood …   And Below

SAAA 5000m, 1985: Bobby Quinn, Steve Parr, George Braidwood

SWAAA 1985: Liz Lynch

SWAAA, 1985, 5000m: Christine Haskett Price

Elspeth Turner, 1985

SAAA 10000m, 1985: Neil Tennant (ESH), Peter Fleming (Bellahouston)

Same Race: Tennant, Fleming, Spence

SAAA 10,000m, 1985: Fraser Clyne

SAAA 1500m Championships, 1986: Tony Coyne (Bellahouston) leading Adrian Callan (Springburn – the eventual winner – see below)

Geroge Braidwood leads the field at Meadowbank, 1986 … among the less well known are Dougie Frame and Willie Nelson (both Law & District) with Brian Goodwin on the infield having words with ?Geoff Parsons??

SAAA 5000m: Braidwood, Gilmour ..

Paul Forbes leading Adrian Weatherhead

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London Marathon, 1986: Allister Hutton

London, 1986, Kevin Forster, Fraser Clyne, Lindsay Robertson

Edinburgh Marathon 1986: Don Ritchie

Edinburgh Marathon 1986

Commonwealth Games, 1986: Fraser Clyne

Glasgow Marathon 1986: All the medallists

Glasgow Marathon, 1986: Kenny Stuart and coach Dave Cannon

Lochaver Marathon 1985: start

Lochaber marathon, 1986: Group Colin Martin, Allan Adams, George Carlin

Lochaber 1985: Brian Carty asking for another top.

Lochaber, 1985: Carty a bit happier with the new top

Edinburgh Marathon 1987: Brian Carty

Edinburgh Marathon: Evan Cameron (5) and Mike Carroll (12)

Most photographs that adorn the sports pages of our newspapers, and many in the athletics journals too, are taken by very good photographers who do not specialise in athletics pictures.   There is nothing wrong with what they produce but when you get a photograph by a man or woman who knows about the sport, then the difference shows.   Graham MacIndoe is one of the finest sports photographers that the country has produced: he knows what pictures to take, where to take them, what angle might work best, which subjects make for good clear dramatic artwork.   In these few galleries of his work we will have photographs of some of the sports dramatic moments and many which are just very, very good pictures.   We start with some of his marathon work.

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Edinburgh Marathon 1984: Evan Cameron

Edinburgh Marathon 1984: Evan Cameron, Lindsay Robertson

Scottish Marathon Championship 1985: Colin Youngson, Evan Cameron, Graham Getty

SAAA Marathon 1985: Leading group after 5 miles

SAAA Marathon 1985: Colin Youngson leads Evan Cameron

SAAA Marathon, 1985: Evan Cameron wins, having lapped Graham Getty

Edinburgh Marathon 1984: Martin Craven leading

Edinburgh Marathon start, 1985

Edinburgh Marathon 1985: Evan Cameron leads Murray McNaught and Mike Carroll

Glasgow Marathon, 1985: Mike Carroll leading

Glasgow Marathon 1985: Murray McNaught, Jim Brown, Andy Daly, Don Macgregor, Evan Cameron, Charlie Haskett

Glasgow Marathon 1985: Allan Adams leads, John Cowan 166

Glasgow Marathon 1985: Angie Payne, 1st Woman

Glasgow Marathon, 1985: Mike Carroll 1st Scot

Glasgow Marathon, 1985: David Lowes

Loch Rannoch Marathon, 1985: Terry Mitchell

Lochaber Marathon, 1985:  Colin Martin

Lochaber 1985: Alex Robertson

Lochaber 1985: Colin Martin

London Marathon, 1985: Allister Hutton

London 1985: Scots

Lawrie Spence, London, 1986

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The photographs on this page are mainly road runners from several of the races held across the country every year, the classics if you like.

Starting with the great Edinburgh to Glasgow eight stage relay: Jamie Hendry to James Austin (Clydesdale)

Ewan Calvert to Derek Halpin (Clydesdale)

Doug Runcieman to Graeme Croll (Cambuslang)

The Shettleston team that won the 6 stage road relay in 1996.

Nigel Barge Road Race, 1994

McAndrew Relay starting line-up, 1994

Dunky Wright Road Race: Kheredine Idessane, Allan Adams and Tommy Murray

The first  pictures here are of Springburn Harriers – Willie lived fairy close to their training ground and was a good club member.   Then comes a whole series of the West District Championships at Stepps in 1996.

Euan McNair in the Springburn Club Championships in 1996

Springburn team at National Relays: Adrian Callan, Graham Crawford, George Braidwood and David Donnet

West Districts 1995: Alistair Douglas, Stuart Barnett (both VPAAC)

Same race, same corner, Alan Puckrin and Ian Murphy

Same race, the finishing line

Douglas Gemmell, 113, at the finish

Bobby Rosborough, 116, at the finish

Winning Clydesdale Harriers team at the West District Relays, 1995: Ewan Calvert, James Austin, Grant Graham and Des Roache.

Grant Graham to James Austin at the start of the last leg of the 1995 West District Relay at Lenzie

Cumnock Races, 1996

Adrian Callan, West District Cross Country, 1996, Cumnock, 2nd

Barney Gough, Cambuslang, 60

George Braidwood, Springburn, Kilbarchan Relays, 1991

Springburn runners, Robert Burns Relays

Johnny Walker Open Cross-Country Race 1996: Richardson (2nd), Gallacher (1st), Goldie (3rd) 

Cambuslang winning youth team in Lanarkshire Relays, 1994: Grant, McRae and Lyle

and, without whom none of them would have been possible – two of the best and longest working officials, Danny and Molly Wilmoth at the Scottish Vets championships at Bannockburn, 1995

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Willie McGregor was first of all a runner, then a photographer of talent.   He went to all the races and track meetings that he could and took lots of photographs.   Not random photographs, but at significant parts of the race – the line up and at the finish obviously but at other points like the top of a hill, at a difficult turn or when two hard racers were battling it out.  I bought a box of his photographs from him and some others have come from Graham MacIndoe’s facebook page of Scottish Runners in the 1980’s and Beyond.   The pictures are what matter – there are several pages of them, all good – maybe all excellent would be more accurate.   This page is a mix of track, road and cross-country, page two is cross-country and page three is of road runners.

Before the start of the Lochaber Marathon in 1993

The start

After the finish

Vets at Coatbridge

The start of the Jimmy Flockhart cross-country race in Coatbridge in 1995

Start  of West Districts, 1995

Des Roache wins the West District 1500m at Crown Point, 1995

Willie liked portraits of the winners of races after the race was over – this is of Des after winning the West District 1500m what follows is a series of groups getting bigger and bigger.

To make the point, this is Allan Adams and Carl Heaven after finishing first and second in the Tom Scott 10 miles in 1996

Another group of winners – Ian Murphy, Tommy Murray and Graeme Croll after finishing 3-1-2 in the Polaroid 10K in Helensburgh, 1996

Three more – Tommy Murray, Glen Stewart and Allan Adams after the Dunky Wright race in 1996.

 Willie McGregor’s photographs – 2   Willie McGregor’s Photographs – 3   Willie McGregor’s Photographs – 4  .

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Unlike football, cricket and rugby the Harriers did not own their own grounds but used public facilities where possible.  The first two open athletic clubs in Scotland had their opening runs from hotels: Edinburgh AC from the Harp in Corstorphine in September 1885 and Clydesdale Harriers from the Black Bull in Milngavie in October 1885.   

Indeed, they were known to turn down the opportunity to lay their own track or build their own stripping accommodation on occasion.   Note the following from the Clydesdale Harriers annual handbook for 1888/89:   Grounds with Cinder track have repeatedly been spoken of but so longs as the present friendly relations are maintained with Rangers FC, the Committee consider that there is no necessity for moving in this matter.”   The questions then became where shall we go to do our training, organise races and hold social evenings such as prize givings and money raising entertainments?   Training, particularly in the West of the country, as often done twice or three times a week from local Public Baths where there was ample stripping space and hot showers, baths and swimming baths.   Also used were Colliery Pit Baths for the same reasons – they usually had ready access to open country too for the winter season, at times Army Barracks were used but, almost as often as Public Baths, HQ for Harriers clubs was the local pub, inn or hostelry.   They were used as club headquarters with committee meetings being held therefrom, they acted as race facilities with stripping accommodation, entries being taken and often as the presentation venue after the race.   

The pub, hotel or hostelry as a training venue was distinct from the premises being used for social purposes although no doubt some informal fraternising did take place due to the nature of the establishment and the gregarious nature of the harriers.   The Clydesdale Harriers annual handbook for 1890/91 had the following:   “Club rooms were engaged last season and were the means of bringing together a great number of members.   The Committee have again secured these rooms at 33 Dundas Street; it is hoped that members will take due advantage of them,   The rooms are open daily from 10 am to 10.30 pm with the exception of Mondays when they will be closed at 7:30 pm”   The rooms had many of the daily newspapers and sports journals, served food and refreshments and were used for prize-givings, presentations to members and so on.   One member of the West Of Scotland Harriers wrote a letter on club premises which you can read  here.   This is distinct from the use of the pubs for training or racing.   

What follows is a a note of premises used by the various clubs indicating how widespread the practice was and how many were used by some clubs.

The picture above is of the Black Bull in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire from which Clydesdale Harriers had their first ever cross-country run in October 1885.   One month earlier Edinburgh Harriers had their first run from The Harp in Corstorphine.   Scotland’s two first cross-country runs by organised, dedicated athletic clubs were held from Hotels.   Subsequently hotels, inns and humble pubs were to play a part in the development of the sport in Scotland.    

Athletics historian Hamish Telfer has come up with most of the following list of such venues and the clubs that used them.

Clydesdale Harriers

Black Bull, Milngavie; Cathcart Arms Inn, Cathcart; County Hotel, Hamilton; Stewart’s, Whiteinch, Glasgow; The Drum, Shettleston and Wilson’s.

Clydesdale Harriers (Falkirk Section)

Railway Inn, Parkfoot, Falkirk; Queen’s Hotel, Grangemouth; Plough Hotel, Stenhousemuir; Carmichael Inn, Barnsford; Rpyal Hotel, Falkirk.

Clydesdale Harriers (Renfrewshire Section)

Miss Taylor’s Inn, Greenock Road

Clydesdale Harriers (South Lanark and Coatbridge)

Rawyards Hotel; Waggon Inn, Airdrie; Coatbridge Royal Hotel

 The photograph below of Edinburgh Southern Harriers at the Sheep Heid Inn at Duddingston and was published in the ‘Scots Athlete’ article on the club’s history; the club also used the Barnton Hotel in the west of the city.

 The photograph above of Edinburgh Southern Harriers at the Sheep Heid Inn at Duddingston was published in the ‘Scots Athlete’ article on the club’s history; the club also used the Barnton Hotel, below, in the west of the city which was a landmark on the first stage of the Edinburgh – Glasgow relay.  

The work done by Hamish Telfer in gathering many, if not most, of the watering holes above has to be acknowledged and due thanks given.

The ninth collection of photographs and cuttings from Hugh Barrow is attached.  Previous selections of his from many sources have proved popular and this group should prove no less welcome.  They come from across the generations and mix first class photographs with important historical documents – this first one is from 1904 and is the Edinburgh University team at Anniesland which is followed by a real cracker – Jim Ryun waiting to congratulate Peter Snell when he had finished signing autographs.  Super photo for which credit goes to Mike Faneli.

Ryun waiting to congratulate Snell who is busy signing autographs

Stewart and McCafferty cooling their feet after a hot race

Ibrox Track Construction

Junior Men’s Mile, Floodlit meeting, Ibrox 1962, Result below

This is the original telegram ALF SHRUBB sent on November 5th 1904, less than two hours after breaking 8 “World’s Records” in one race on the track at Ibrox Park, Glasgow! The telegram was sent to his fiancee Miss Ada Brown in North London  (Perhaps Hugh Barrow can identify the Glasgow post office?).  Shrubb thrilled the crowd by running 10 miles in 50mins 40.6secs, which stood as a world best for 24 years and GB best for 31 years!    (This one came from Rob Hadgraft)

Policeman’s Race at Ibrox Sports

Cycle Race

Zatopek in Scotland

Mike Ryan and Willie Fleming at Hamilton

Fleming and Ryan at Hamilton

From ‘World Sports’

1897

Notice of a football match

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