Graeme (1) in the SAAA Championships in 1991.   He won in 9:05.5

I first met Graeme in the late 80’s when he was a member of John Radigan’s East Kilbride AAC training group along with several other very good young athletes.   He ran with several good East Kilbride Senior Men’s teams in the Edinburgh to Glasgow and switched clubs to Cambuslang Harriers in 1991 after John left to go to England for business reasons.   Graeme went on to become a very good all-round distance runner but particularly in the steeplechase where his talent stood out and he won several Scottish championships.    Before we go to his story in detail, we can look at Graeme’s replies to the questionnaire.

Name:   Graeme Croll

Club/s:   East Kilbride AAC, Cambuslang Harriers, Wolverhampton and Bilston AAC, Thames Valley Harriers and Giffnock North AAC.

Date of Birth:   1st February, 1966

Occupation:   Firefighter

Personal Bests:

How did you get involved in the sport?   I played football but could always run and run, so at 19 I thought I’d join a club and that was it!   That was in 1985 and I had run my first marathon when I was 18 in 3:16:00.   My best two years  were 1995 and 1996.   I soon found that I had a flair for the steeplechase and my times came down quite quickly winning my first Scottish title in 1988.

Has any individual or group had a marked effect on either your attitude to the sport or to individual performances?   No one in particular: I just liked to watch the top athletes and get inspired.

What exactly did you get out of the sport?   Apart from a fit and healthy lifestyle, I got to international standard and the opportunity to see a lot of countries around the world, and a bity of recognition within the athletics world.

Can you describe your general attitude to the sport?   Very positive and competitive, especially when I was at a high level.   I loved having the feeling that you were flying.   You knew you had to be selfish at times to train and achieve this.   I didn’t drink for 10 years when I was training hard.

What do you consider to be your best ever performance/performances?   I had a lot of great runs in my career and I remember them all.  The one that meant most to me has to be my first ever Scottish steeplechase title in 1988 at Crownpoint.   I had had my first Scottish vest two weeks before that where I came second taking 12 seconds from my pb.   I knew this race was it and I ran it perfectly, not hearing the spectators as I was so focused and, hitting the front with 300m to go, I took another 10 seconds from my pb to 8:51 – the first time under 9 minutes.   My other great one was the Scottish Half Marathon where I came ninth and first Scot in 64:50.   Again another perfect race.

And your worst?   My worst has to be my first London Marathon: having run  25 miles in training in 2:30, I went off too fast and hit the wall.   I still have to master the distance.

What ambitions do you have that are still unfulfilled?   There are a few regrets that I never got to the Commonwealth Games and I wish I had found athletics at an earlier age as I think I could have knocked on the Olympic Door???   Ambitions have changed now with age as I have taken up the triathlon and want to get the pb’s down for that as I’m still competitive.

What did you do apart from running to relax?   Just the usual: out for good food, DIY, sunbathing (when we had sun!)

What did running bring you that you would have wanted not to miss?   A fit and healthy lifestyle, the competition between your club mates and rivals and seeing the world.

Can you give some details of your training?   I was never a high mileage athlete but focused on quality.   During the summer, I would be 35 0 40 miles per week max and would up that to around 50 in the winter months.   When I did marathon training I would go up to 70, any more I found too hard.   I have kept a diary of all my training since 1986 and it is nice to look back over the good and bad times.

Graeme Croll was a first class endurance runner with six Scottish steeplechase championships and one at 10000m to his credit, he was also very good on the road and over the country with many gold medals to prove the point.   He also picked up Scottish representative honours in all three disciplines.    He was unfortunate to be running at the same time as Scotland’s best ever steeplechaser (Tom Hanlon who is still twelve second plus ahead of the second on the all-time list) but Graeme is above Alistair Blamire, John Linaker, Lachie Stewart and Bill Mullett.   With several places in the top ten at the National Cross-Country Championships, he would ten years earlier have run in the World Championships: unfortunately all his best running over the country was done after the four home countries had been merged into a single British team.   His quality is undeniable.

He started his athletics with East Kilbride AAC on the outskirts of Glasgow and quickly proved his worth.   While there he ran in four Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay teams between 1985 and 1988 and there was no East Kilbride team in the 1989 race.   He was selected to run on the very difficult second stage against all the top runners from the top twenty clubs in the country.   At barely twenty years old and totally inexperienced, the first race was a very big task but he ran well enough to maintain fourteenth place for his club.   A year later in 1986 he dropped two places but 1987 was really difficult.   The very good Ian Archibald led the field on the first stage leaving the young Graeme totally exposed just ten seconds clear of runners such as Calum Murray, Ian Hamer, Peter McColgan and Chris Robison.   He dropped to ninth but actually did well in limiting the damage to that extent.   The following year he was bold enough to tackle the second leg for the fourth time and actually improved his club position from thirteenth to eleventh with eighth fastest time of the day and one of the two men he caught was Ian Hamer.   The club was not in the event the following year and his next appearance in the event was to be for Cambuslang Harriers in 1990.   His progress over the country was just as marked.   In February 1987 he ran into thirty sixth place to be third East Kilbride runner (Ian Archibald was fourteenth) in a team which finished nineteenth.   The year later he did not run but in 1989 on that dreadful day at Wilton Lodge in Hawick with snow everywhere and no firm footing anywhere he was sixty ninth but very few ran to their ability that year!   His last run for EKAAC in the National was in 1990 when he was twenty first over the Beach Park Course in Irvine.   His track running also showed signs of improvement and he won his first SAAA steeplechase title in 1988.  He had been asked soon after he joined the club if he would like to run the steeplechase for East Kilbride in the Scottish Men’s League, he did and ran at Wishaw finishing with a time outside 10 minutes but he had enjoyed it.  He moved to Cambuslang Harriers in March 1990 and although he competed for several other clubs (two in England and currently he is running for Giffnock North) that is the club to whom he gave his best years and with which he will always be associated.

*

1990 was a good year for Graeme.   He set a Division Two of the Men’s League record for the steeplechase of 8:52.8 and a week later he won the West District Championships steeplechase with 8:56.7.  He set his personal best for the 800m of 1:56 in June – that remained his personal best despite it being clear to all that he could have been much quicker.   He just did not run mny at all. There were two representative outings in July: on the 24th he was in Vienna where he did not run too well and was seventh in 8:52 but one week later on a trip to Iceland for the match against Iceland and Ireland he won the steeplechase in 9:09.   The [poor time is down to a poor flight over, poor accommodation in a dormitory where some athletes used sleeping bags and not a nice day for the meet itself.   Still, a win is a win.   He was running a series of Sri Chinmoy races on Glasgow Green with Adrian Callan and it was suggested that he turn out for Wolverhampton and Bilston AAC in England in the British League as several other Scots were doing at the time.   He did and turned out for them in August in the GRE Gold Cup Final where he was third in the steeplechase in a new pb of 8:48.9.   That was cut down to 8:48.0 in August at the Inter District match at Grangemouth.   On 29th August he took part in a quite extraordinary paced 3000m at Crown Point where the first eight were between 8:05 and 8:09 with Graeme fifth in 8:07.   Placed runners were David Donnet (1), John MacKay (2), Robert Fitzsimmons (3), Adrian Callan (4), Graeme Croll (5), Peter Fleming (6), Billy Coyle (7), Bobby Quinn (8).   Graeme travelled to Ayr for the half marathon in September where he ran a very good pb of 66:57 for fifth place.   In November 1990 he ran the fourth stage of the Edinburgh to Glasgow and taking over in fifth which was his highest ever position in the event, he held the position.      The club, having won the Scottish Championship was invited to the European Clubs Championship in France and finished a quite outstanding sixth.   Graeme was the top Cambuslang man home when he crossed the line in 30th place to be followed by Charlie Thomson (34th), Eddie Stewart (35th), Jim Orr (43rd), Doug Runciman (47th) and Stephen Wyllie (54th).   The race was won by one of the Castro twins in 31:38 with Graeme not far behind in 33:34.    On 23rd March 1991 he ran in the Six Stage Road Relay and running on the fifth stage he moved up from third to second but the team fell back again to fourth and out of the medals.   .In February 1991 he finished in ninth position in the National in a tight finish: it was his first time in the top ten and he was timed at 40:06, Chris Hall (DHH) was 40:07, George Braidwood was 40:08 and Charlie Thomson 40:09!   The team was first and he had a gold team medal for the first time in a National championship.

In summer 1991 Graeme won his second SAAA Steeplechase title in 9:05.50

In the first of the major winter events in 1991 – 1992, the National Cross Country Relay in October, he was not in the A Team but he was clearly the fastest in the B Team and seventh fastest of all the teams in the event that day.  Came  the E-G and Graeme ran the sixth stage on which he again maintained his position: this time he was third at both change-overs and the team picked up to second and he got his second major team medal.   He improved his position in the National yet again and this time he was sixth finisher and the team was first.    Then on 28th March 1992 in the Six Stage Relay, Graeme was fourth fastest long stage of the day and the team finished third.

The national rankings for summer 1992 had Graeme fourth in the 3000m list with a time of 8:00.1 and second in the 3000m steeplechase behind Tom Hanlon with 8:44.4 run at Grangemouth on 30th August.   he also ran 8:51.88 at Meadowbank on 2nd August, 8:52.07 at Meadowbank on 4th July and 9:06.04 at Sheffield on 6th June.   In the SAAA Steeplechase in 1992 he was second to the Englishman Wayne Aylesbury which gave him a silver to add to his two gold medals already won.   His finishing time was 8:52.07 with George Matheson (ESH) third in 8:57.58

In the National Relay in October, 1992, Cambuslang were once again first team with new man Tommy Murray turning in the fastest time of the day on the first stage and Graeme being fourth fastest overall.   In the E-G, it was back to his old favourite from his East Kilbride days – the second stage in the 1992 Edinburgh to Glasgow but this time he moved the club up from third to second but there were to be no medals that year.   He missed the National in 1993 but in the Six Stage Road Relay he ran the third (short) stage and ran the fourth fastest of the day moving the club up to third from sixth and helping it to second place and silver this time.

1993 saw Graeme win the SAAA steeplechase in 8:53.1 and it would be the first of four consecutive championship wins.  The ‘Glasgow Herald’ said  “It was a runaway steeplechase win”  and runaway it was with the second man (Billy Jenkins of Glenpark) finishing in 9:07.07.

Graeme ran on the last stage of the National four-man cross-country relay in October, 1993, and he was asked to run the sixth stage in the E-G when he held on to eighth place and saw the club move up to bronze medal winning position by the finish.  At the end of January 1994 he was second to Tommy Murray in the West Disstrict Championships at Linwood with his club winning the team race.   The National Cross-Country Championships in 1994 saw what might well have been his best ever race when he placed third in 33:13 (behind Chris Robison in 32:45 and Tommy Murray in 33:06) with Cambuslang winning the team race again and adding to his gold collection. Graeme appeared in both British and Scottish ranking lists at the end of another good summer on road and especially track.   His flat 3000m time of 8:10.32i (second in the Scottish Indoor Championship to Chris Robison) ranked him seventh in Scotland and sixteenth in Britain, his best steeplechase was 8:49.00 finishing ninth at Sheffield on 12th June  which ranked him second in Scotland and thirteenth in the UK.    He also had runs at 8:50.30 at at Sheffield when he was second in the second Heat of the AAA’s Championships,8:53.26 when he won his second consecutive steeplechase at Meadowbank 8:54.50 in May when finishing second in the Small Nations international at Istanbul, 8:56.5 when finishing first at Grangemouth and 8:59.10 at Meadowbank on 8th July.   The Statistical Year book said, after commenting n Tom Hanlon’s really excellent steeplechasing,”Graeme Croll was one of the others under 9 minutes but failed to dip under 8:40 as expected.”

In the National Cross Country Championship Relay in 1995, the team finished second but Graeme was still well up the field with fourth fastest time.   It was bronze for Cambuslang in the Edinburgh to Glasgow with Graeme again holding his position – this time he took over in third and handed over in third.   In the National in February 1995 he was again third in the National Cross-Country Championships – this time behind Keith Anderson (an Anglo only recently signed by Cambuslang) and Chris Robison but ahead of Adrian Callan, Tommy Murray and John Robson.   The team was again first to close in.   In the Six Stage in March he ran the second (long) stage and had fourth fastest time of the day moving the team from fourth to first.   Graeme was never a big mileage runner and for the eight weeks from the start of February in 1995 he covered60, 70, 73, 68, 51, 79, 67 and 70 miles.

 On the 26th March he went to Alloa where he was second to Stephen Wyllie in 67:37 – just one week before the London Marathon.   “I was a bit naive!” he said and the result was a 2:46 London Marathon.   He had been going well and had sponsorship from Asics who had put him up in the Tower Hotel in London and he could almost certainly have run better than he did.  Later in the year, Graeme had possibly the best competitive week end of his life at the SAAA Championships in late June..   On the Friday night he ran in and won the SAAA 10000m in 29:50.69, and then he went out in the steeplechase the following afternoon – and won that as well, this time in 9:00.98.    The Statistical Yearbook said of the 10000m victory, “The National Championship race emphasised its position as the most important race of the season when six of the seven fastest times of the season were achieved with with the three medallists all under 29:56.   However when 29 year old steeplechaser Graeme Croll, out on a Friday night warm-up for his speciality the following day, wins the Scottish title from long distance specialists the lack of achievement in this lack-lustre event is cruelly emphasised.”   The truth was probably that the other steeplechasers, knowing how good he was at that point, just showed him too much respect.  One of the men who finished behind him in the Glasgow race said, “We all knew that he had run the night before and we all knew that he couldn’t have fully recovered. But we all sat back and no one would push it out.   We were all waiting for a medal and when Graeme took off we weren’t able to do anything about it.   Someone should have pushed it early on.”   However it worked, he had his third championship in a row!   Doug Gillon wrote it up in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ on 26th June, as follows: “Graeme Croll won the steeplechase for the third successive year, completing a unique championship double and laying claim to the title of the iron man of Scottish athletics.   Less than 19 hours earlier the Cambuslang man had won the 10000m title.   He now plans to run in the ‘chase at the AAA championships so long as he can get time off work.”   For the record he won the 10000m by six seconds from S Wright of Gateshead.    In 23rd July at Sheffield he ran his fastest time of the summer – 8::40.49 when finishing second and that time was enough to make him number seven in the British Rankings.  He also featured in the British rankings for 3000m (8:23.4 for 71st), 5000m (14:17.3 for 43rd) and his winning time in the SAAA event placed him 21st in the 10000m rankings.   At the end of summer of 1995, Graeme was ranked at 21st in the 1500m with a time of 3:52.5 run at Crown Point in August: it was the first time for many a year that he was rated at the shorter (for him) distance.   The 3000m time was again a noteworthy performance – a paced race had been set up at Crown Point with Adrian Callan and himself the intended beneficiaries of the pace to be carried by John MacKay and Billy Coyle of Shettleston.   Adrian, unusually for him, dropped out and Graeme carried on for a time of 8:05 with four-lap splits of 4:26, 4:32 and 4:32 plus that last 200.    Although he had no coach as such, he had been advised that year by Scottish Staff Coach Gordon Crawford.   At ten miles he was ranked eighth with 49:45when winning at Millport on 10th September – not many have broken 50 minutes at Millport and the race at that time was billed as just over 10 miles, so it was a very good mark, with the 5 mile time being 25:35.   As if to emphasise his good form that year, he was second in the Glasgow University Road Race on 12th November when he was second in 22:30.  Glen Stewart equalled the course record with a time of 22:18 and Tommy Murray was third in 22:50.   His best half-marathon was 67:37 when finishing second in the Alloa race in March.   Also in the 1995 Road Race Rankings, he was eighth in the 10K with 29:51 which he ran at Cumbernauld in May.

 Into the winter of 1995-96 and  the good vein of form continued.  Cambuslang was third in the National Relays with Graeme the seventh fastest time overall .   Then on the long sixth stage of the Edinburgh to Glasgow he moved up a place from third to second where he had equal fastest time with Phil Mowbray and the team took silver.   In the National there was a slight drop in his finishing position when he was ninth and saw his club finish second to Leslie Deans.  In March 1996 he did not run in the Six Stage Road Relay and the team finished fourth and out of the medals. he did run in the BAF Cross-Country Championships and World Trials at Ashington County Durham on 3rd March where he finished a creditable forty seventh.

 In summer 1996 Graeme was not ranked at 3000m, 5000m or 10000m and his steeplechase time was considerably slower than the year before.   He had the top two times in the rankings ahead of Tom Hanlon (9:00.03) with 8:51.34 at Meadowbank in June and 8:52.2 when winning at Crown Point in August.   In May 1996, Graeme was second in the Polaroid Helensburgh 10K in a pb for the distance of 29:35 which by the end of the season had ranked him fifth fastest in the country: a good start to the year.   He won his fourth SAAA steeplechase title, this time in 9:04.4.   Having won it in 1991, then again in ’93, ’94, ’95 and ’96 and having been second to the Englishman in 1992, he had come very close to six wins in succession.   The statisticians had this to say:Graeme Croll’s best was almost 11 seconds slower than in 1995 but he was the only Scot to better 9:00 for this event.   Croll won his sixth national title, equalling Linaker’s record for the event, with his nearest challenger over 20 seconds behind”   In August he turned in a time of  9:08 for a Sri Chinmoy Two Miles at Glasgow Green when finishing second to Adrian Callan and had good 5Kwith a time of 14:30 when winning at East Kilbride. On August 18th he travelled down to Leyland with Chris Robison for the ten miles and ran 49:38.  He went further up the rankings as the distances increased and he was second fastest half-marathon runner with 64:51 run in the Glasgow event where he was eighth.

This Half Marathon was possibly his best ever run.  Run on 25th August with a huge field he finished first of all the talented Scots who ran and the pictures below show how relaxed he was at the finish – no strain or fatigue obvious from the way he was running.   His father, Hugh, who had run for Victoria Park at one time, was there at the ten miles point and cheered Graeme on, following him down the road to give as much encouragement as he could.

Graeme’s Glasgow Half Marathon, 1996 – almost finished

Picture by Ian Watson

In November 1996 he was out on the long, exposed sixth stage of the relay and pulled the club up from fourth to third and the team was out of the medals in fourth.  At the end of the season in the National he was again in the first ten when he crossed the line in fourth place behind Robison, John Downes (an Irishman from Salford) and Bobby Quinn and immediately ahead of Tommy Murray and Keith Anderson whom he beat in the National for the first time.   The fact that Downes was an Irishman living in the North of England was roundly criticised by the cognoscenti but he was allowed to run.    The following summer (1997) started with the half-marathon at Reading where he was ninth in a time of 66:00 on March 16th and two weeks later on 30th March he won the Alloa Half-Marathon in 66:35.   In April he turned out for Thames Valley Harriers in the 12 Stage Relay, running the fourth stage in 23:05 which was the same time as Olympian and London Marathon winner Eamonn Martin.   Also in April he ran half of the London Marathon in 67:30 and stayed at the front of the race for the first five miles.   Graeme appeared in none of the track ranking lists for the year, not even the steeplechase, and with Tom Hanlon basically out of the event (he only ran one and that was in 9:02), no Scot was under 9 minutes for the event.

Winter 1997/98 saw the National Four Stage Relay in Dundee won by Mizuno with a weakened Cambuslang, minus Graeme Croll, finish down at twelfth.   The Edinburgh – Glasgow in November was also without Graeme and the team was down in fourth place.   Graeme was down in forty sixth place in the National in 1998 – by far his lowest for many years.   He continued to run well again and was anchor man for the team which was third in the Six Stage in March.   In summer 1998, Graeme was again missing from the steeplechase rankings but was at number twenty one in the 5000m with a time of 14:37.5when winning at Grangemouth in May.   He also had a 14:50.2 at Crown Point in Glasgow in June in a BMC Regional Race where he was second.   On the roads he appeared again in the ten limes where he was third with a time of 49:31 at Newry, Ireland in late September, and the half-marathon, ninth with 68:08 at Glasgow in August.

Graeme missed the Four Stage in October, 1998, and the Edinburgh to Glasgow in November, the National in February 1999 and the Six Stage Relay.   That summer he again failed to run in the steeplechase and it was obvious that he had run his lest in the event that he had graced for so long.   He was not even ranked in road races in summer 1999 and the Power of 10 website, which is notoriously incomplete but usually manages to get most of the big things right, does not have a race recorded for him between 1998 and 2004.   That doesn’t tell the whole truth though

Back in cross-country action he ran the fourth stage in the Four Stage National Relays in October 1999 in a team which, although crossing the line in fifth place, was promoted to fourth after Inverclyde was disqualified.   In the Edinburgh to Glasgow, the team finished fourth with Graeme on the fourth stage where he held third place with equal third fastest time.   At the National Championship in February he was placed seventeenth and was a member of the Cambuslang winning team.   In the Six Stage he ran the last leg for the club’s winning team with fifth fastest time on the last stage and in summer 2000 he was ranked twenty fifth for the 10K with a time of 31:26 run at Glasgow on 3rd September and twenty first for the half marathon when he turned in a time of 71:56 for the Alloa race in March..

In the Winter 2000 – 2001, Four Stage Relay, Graeme ran on the fourth stage for the first team which finished fifth at Falkirk; he ran a time of 13:31 which was the fastest for the club but could only lift it up one place.   In the E-G in November he was out on the sixth stage for the second placed Cambuslang, having taken over in second, he held the position with the fifth fastest time on the stage.      In 2001 the Cambuslang team was second in the National Cross-Country Championship behind Hunters Bog Trotters but Graeme was not a member of the winning team.   On the roads in 2001, Graeme was nineteenth in the 10K with 31:35 which he ran at Alexandria in the final Polaroid race, he  ran in the 10 miles at Lytham and was placed sixth with his time of 51:54 and twelfth in the half marathon with 69:21at East Kilbride in June.   The next few years were lean years and Graeme missed more National Championship team races than he started.   The following season started with Graeme absent from both the four-stage cross-country relay and the Edinburgh-Glasgow and into 2002 where he was again missing at the time of the National and also the Six-Stage Road Relay.   Nor is there any record of him running during the summer of 2002.   Graeme was also posted missing at the start of season 2002-2003, being absent from the four-stage national cc relays and from the last ever Edinburgh to Glasgow over a new course that wended its way through country parks and back alleys as well as the occasional piece of road when no better surface could be found.   and after Christmas, he again missed both Championships.    In the winter of 2003 – 2004 he did not run in any of Cambuslang’s five teams in the National Relay Championships in October and of course there was no Edinburgh to Glasgow any more; in February 2004 he missed the National but in April he was out on the first stage of the Six Stage Road Relays where he finished fourth with a time in the first six on the afternoon for the short stage.   The team was third and Graeme had his first National medal for several years.

Summer 2004 saw the return to racing of Graeme Croll.   On 7th March he travelled to St Anne’s for the Firefighters 10 where clocked 55:39 and on 8th May he turned out in the Dick Wedlock Firefighters 10K in Pollock Park with second place in 32:53.   On 17th June in the Greaves Sports Running Festival 10K in Rouken Glen Park in Glasgow he was fifth in 34:46.   IN the World Firefighter Games International Half Marathon in Worksop on 31st August he was third in 72:49.   None of these were great times but he was back and as a V35.

Winter 2004 – 2005 he was not in any of Cambuslang’s five teams in the National Four Stage Cross-Country Relay.   At Christmas he won the Strathclyde Police and Fire Service Christmas Handicap over a 5 mile trail at Lochinch in 25:20.   Again missing the National in February, 2005,    Back in the first team for the Six Stage Relay in March, Graeme was fifth on the first stage but close enough up for the team to be in front by the third stage and eventually win the race. giving him another gold team medal for his collection.   That summer he was again racing on the roads with better times than the previous year.   On 6th March he was again at St Annes for the 10 miler and timed this year at 54:47 (almost a minute up on last year), On 15th May he was in the Firefighters 10K International at Lochinch and won in 32:26 (almost half a minute up).   On 16th June he was in the Greaves Sports 10K in Rouken Glen again and this time he ran 34:13 (half a minute faster).   And on 4th September he tackled the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon in Glasgow where he clocked 76:32.   He came into the 2005 – 2006 cross-country season in better fettle than the previous winter but he seems to have sworn off cross-country, probably as an injury prevention measure.   He was, however, out in the Six Stage, this time running the long stage two and held on to fifth place in the team that finished third giving him another national team medal.   In his final summer as a V35, Graeme was again back on the road.   In March it was the St Annes 10 Miles where he was fifth in 55:25, then in May at The Dick Wedlock International Firefighters 10K he won in 33:08, a month later it was the Greaves Sports 10K in Rouken Glen where he was fourth in 33:48 and in August he ran a Track 5000m in the Scottish Men’s League 16:06.9 .   Although he clearly still had a lot to give, he transferred allegiance to Giffnock North AC in his first year as a V40.

Graeme’s first year as a V40 and as a member of Giffnock North, was his most active on the track for some time, but his first run for his new team was the six-stage road relay in March when he ran on the final (long) stage and pulled them fron ninth to seventh place.   On the 22nd April, 2007, he ran at Grangemouth in the Scottish Men’s League Division One match at Grangemouth in the 5000m where he was first in the B string race in 15:44.2 before going back on to the roads on 12th May for the International Firefighters Dick Wedlock 10K race at Lochinch which he won in 33:29.   Into June and at the Greaves Sports 10K in Rouken Glen he an into second place in 33:34.   On the track there were two more races that summer – both in the Scottish men’s League: on 24th June at Grangemouth he was third in the 5000m in 16:00.26 and on 5th August at East Kilbride in the Central & Southern League he was second in the 3000m in 9:30.04.    In 2008 however his best runs were all on the road he started the year with twelfth (and third vet) in the Jack Crawford Open 10K at Springburn in 34:53 and that set him up for the National Championships a month later where he was seventy fifth finisher over the Falkirk course.   On 12th June it was again the Rouken Glen 10K where he was sixth finisher and first vet in 34:43.   Two weeks later he was back in East Kilbride for the Calderglen Harriers 10K Trail Race where he was third in 36:46.   His summer season ended with the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon in which he was third veteran to finish in the very good time of 76:40.

2009 was his busiest year for a long time with ten races being included in the Power of Ten lists.   He turned out in the Renfrewshire County Five Mile Championships in February where he was fifth and first vet in 26:13.   On 22nd March he ran in a race that he seemed to like, the Alloa Half Marathon, and finished eighth and first vet in 74:11.   On 12th April in the Tom Scott memorial Road Race over ten miles he was fourteenth and, again, first vet in 54:18.   Then there were two races in four days in May – on the sixth he he ran the Troon Tortoises 10K (seventh and first vet) in 33:30 and on the ninth in the International Firefighters Dick Wedlock 10K race he was first in 31:19, and at the end of the month he tackled the Edinburgh Marathon (not known for fast times) where he ran 2:59:29.   On 26th June he returned to the Calderglen Harriers 10K Trail Race where he was third and first vet in 36:56.On 6th September he again raced the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon where he was third vet in 74:16..    Then right at the end of the year he turned out in his club’s Christmas 4.8 miles which he won in 26:23.   Ten races, six first vet prizes, one first outright victory and a third vet’s award.   Seven out of ten isn’t too bad!

There were only two ranked races in 2010 – the Alloa Half marathon where he was eleventh and second vet in 75:15.   That was in March and then the Greaces Sports 10K where he was third and first vet in 34:30.   In 2011 Graeme ran in the Polaroid 10K in Clydebank where he was timed at 44:27 (???) in May and the Polaroid 10K at the Vale of Leven in June where he was timed at 38:51.   In November he ran in the Bellahouston 10K where he was fourth vet with a time of 36:18 and then at the end of November in the Renfrewshire Cross Country Championships he was third vet and fourteenth overall.

UK Championships at Crystal Palace, 1997

Where too now for Graeme Croll?   He’s looking fit and clearly enjoying his sport – which is just turning out to be triathlon.   He just kept getting wee niggly injuries but he could swim (at one point he worked in a swimming pool) and had always been a leisurely cyclist so he looked at the triathlon and did a sprint one in 1911 at Tighnabruaich and found that there were several other runners involved in this event and has decided to carry on with it.   He now has a better running base than he had last year and intends doing three sprint triathlons and two Olympic triathlons this year with the final one being in the World Firefighters Games in Australia.   Watch for the results.   I asked about hill running as an option but he had just run one – at Conic Hill, Balmaha – and hadn’t enjoyed the experience and has no intention of taking it up regularly.

That’s Graeme career so far and when you look at the various times that he ran – well sub-50 minutes for the 10 miles plus at Millport, 66 for the half-marathon and maybe especially the 8:05 for the 3000m – then his times for the steeplechase might have been a bit quicker.   After the enthusiastic John Radigan left East Kilbride and moved to England, Graeme never had a coach although he did some sessions with Alex Naylor’s squad and in 1996 he was mentored or advised by Gordon Crawford, a very good coach and a steeplechaser himself who after a spell as Scottish Staff Coach for the Steeplechase,  moved to other forms of sport including training and fitness work with professional rugby teams including the Scottish National squad.   Friendly, well-liked by those in the sport, Graeme has written himself into the record books and history of the sport.

Alistair Blamire , Number 30, leads with Fergus Murray directly behind

Alistair Blamire was a superbly talented all-round distance runner who is seriously under-rated.   Whether it were on the roads or the track, over the country or the hills, he ran well.   He ran well in individual races and also in team events such as the Edinburgh to Glasgow.   Had he been running in the twenty first century he would have been a real stand out.   As an athlete he came from good stock.   His father, JR Blamire,  had won the Inter-Scholastic Under 14 100 yards in 11.6 seconds and 300 yards in 41.2 in 1928  and his uncle, G Blamire, won the 300 yards in 1930 in 41.6.   For times by 13 year olds these are still very good times.   The following profile has been written by his good friend and rival, Colin Youngson.   Colin writes:

“Athletics Weekly” on January 17^th 1970 included “Who’s Who in British Athletics” featuring a successful steeplechaser. The questionnaire was answered as follows.

Full name: James Robert Alistair Blamire.

Born in Edinburgh on 13^th of July 1946.

Height: 5 feet 10 inches; Weight 130 lbs.

Pulse at rest: 52-55.

Student of architecture.

Clubs: Edinburgh University AC; Shettleston Harriers.

No coach: (advised by Frank Horwill as a junior).

Lives at Kirkconnel (Dumfriesshire).

‘Always had a great interest in athletics as a boy and began training seriously in April 1963.’

tarted at 880 yards and mile; favourite event now is cross-country.

Best marks:

440 yards – 54.1 (1964)

880 yards – 1.57.0 (1965)

1500m – 3.51.1 (1969)

Mile – 4.14.6 (1965)

3000m – 8.10 (1969)

2 miles – 8.53.4 (1969)

3 miles – 13.37.0 (1968)

5000m – 14.07.2 (1969)

6 miles – 29.26 (1968)

marathon – 2.29.47 (1967)

3000m steeplechase – 8.41.4 (1969)

Annual progress at mile, 3 miles and steeplechase:

1962 – 4.50.2

1963 – 4.30.1

1964 – 4.20.9, 15.10.0, 4.23.2 (1500m SC)

1965 – 4.14.6, 14.34, 9.31 (3000m steeplechase)

1966 – 4.14.7, 14.16.8, 9.27.4

1967 – 4.22.7, 14.16.8, 9.32.6

1968 – 4.18.4, 13.37.0, 9.08.6

1969 – 3.51.1 (1500m), 14.07.2 (5000m), 8.41.4

GB International (3000m steeplechase) 1969

A modest looking Scottish Schools champion

Most pleasing performance: “breaking the Scottish Schools 1500m steeplechase record by 12 seconds in 1964”. Most likes: “winning and setting personal bests and also that it is an individual’s sport in which performance is dependent to a large extent on oneself”. Dislikes: “injuries and the mental staleness which seems to affect me every track season”.

Alistair (1) and Ian Gilmour (3)

John Keddie had some more to add in his centenary history of the SAAA. He makes clear that, on 28^th June 1969 at Grangemouth, Alistair Blamire’s SAAA silver medal-winning 8.46.2, (which was the same time recorded by the gold medallist, British champion Gareth Bryan-Jones), was a Scottish Native Record (which lasted for 9 years), since Gareth was Welsh by birth (but Scottish by residence). Earlier in the year Alistair had beaten Gareth’s championship best in the British Universities Championships at Motspur Park, with a time of 8.50.6, which stood for 32 years. In addition, Alistair’s best-ever mark of 8.41.4 on 2^nd August 1969, when fourth in the AAA Championships at the White City, was a Scottish National Record. (Although Blamire defeated Bill Mullett (Brighton and Hove / Shettleston H) on that occasion, and at the SAAA, it was the Anglo-Scot who gained revenge by setting the season’s final Scottish National Record with 8.40.8 on 1st September, when they both competed for GB against France at the White City) Keddie wrote: “In many respects these were palmy days for Scottish steeplechasing, since between 1966 and 1969 Scotland could point to no less than five steeplechasers – Lachie Stewart, John Linaker, Gareth Bryan-Jones, Alistair Blamire and Bill Mullett – who attained full British representation.” In that peak track running year of 1969, Alistair Blamire also raced well in Brno, Czechoslovakia and Verona, Italy; and averaged an impressive 8.46.4 for his eight steeplechases.

Competition for the Scottish team to take part in the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh must have been intense. Sadly, illness affected Alistair Blamire (he was diagnosed with a chronic stomach illness in late 1969, which affected his training and led to inconsistency in his performances for the remainder of his running career) – in the end only Gareth Bryan-Jones was selected. In fact Blamire does not appear in the Scottish Athletics Yearbooks for seasons 1970 and 1971.

However Alistair made a steeplechase comeback in 1972. Despite representing Shettleston Harriers, he became East District champion; and then Scottish Champion (at Meadowbank on 24^th June in 8.58.4); before adding a season’s best by winning at the same venue on 29^th July of 8.56.8. In 1973, Alistair Blamire ran consistently well all season, although he narrowly lost his SAAA title to Bill Mullett. Nevertheless, Alistair’s 8.43.8, achieved at Crystal Palace on 13^th July, was top of the Scottish rankings for the season. Unfortunately, this was not enough to secure selection for the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games.

Subsequently, Alistair’s track form tailed off. Representing ESH, he was third in the 1974 SAAA. In 1975 he tried the Scottish Marathon instead, finishing a distant sixth,  in 2.26.20. This was a considerable disappointment as he had had some success at the half marathon distance, finishing fourth, third and second in three successive attempts at the Morpeth to Newcastle road  race. He seems to have retired after 1978.

Now this section of the website is devoted to Scottish steeplechasers. My opinion is that the key statement in the AW questionnaire above is: “favourite event – cross-country”. Although there is no doubt that Alistair Blamire was a very good steeplechaser, his athletic career was much more varied.

By the time I made his acquaintance, this apparently fragile athlete with steely determination was part of the all-conquering Edinburgh University cross-country squad who annihilated all opposition at Scottish University, British University and Scottish National levels. On the track, I remember watching him engaging in very close 3 mile battles with his EU rival Ian Young (Springburn H); and winning both the 5000m and the steeplechase at the1969 Rowland Shield, which involved runners from 14 Scottish and English Universities at Maiden Castle Sports Centre in Durham.

Alistair Blamire’s cross-country progress had been very impressive. The record book shows that he finished ninth in his first attempt at the Scottish Junior National CC Championships in 1965, third counter in a winning Edinburgh University Hare and Hounds Club. His team-mates were Roger Young, Ian Young and Jim Wight. In 1966 EU could only managed third team, but this time Alistair won individual bronze, behind Ian McCafferty (Motherwell YMCA) and Eddie Knox (Springburn). Finally in 1967 he finished a close second to the brilliant Eddie Knox, who shortly afterwards won gold at the ICCU Junior CC in Barry, Wales. In his centenary history of the SCCU, Colin Shields wrote of the Scottish Junior National race: “This was the closest of the day, with Eddie Knox and Alistair Blamire locked together throughout the five mile race. Neither would give way, whatever the pressure applied by the other until, in the final 100 yards, Knox forced his way ahead for a narrow 1 second victory over Blamire. The Edinburgh student, however, had the satisfaction of leading his team-mates to a win over Shettleston and Springburn, giving Edinburgh University a double triumph (they had also won the Senior team title) only ever achieved in modern times by Victoria Park.” Edinburgh had already won the BUSF team championship that year, when they defeated Oxford, Cambridge and London Universities at Parliament Hill Fields, London, emulating the victory of the 1950 Edinburgh team. Alistair ran for the Scottish Senior team in the ICCU race in Barry.

In 1968, Alistair Blamire produced perhaps his most memorable race – in the Scottish National Senior CC, which was the last to be held at Hamilton Racecourse. Colin Shields summed it up in this way. “With Ian McCafferty’s wedding being held on the same day as the National Championship, Lachie Stewart (Vale of Leven AAC) started favourite to score a repeat victory in the Senior race. But he did not have it all his own way, for Alistair Blamire, runner-up in the 1967 Junior championship and one of the most improved runners of the year, gave him a determined challenge throughout the race. The pair were neck and neck throughout the entire seven and a half mile race, with Stewart gaining his expected win only in the last few strides to finish one second clear of the gallant Blamire……..Edinburgh University won their third team championship in a row by the narrowest possible margin of one point from Aberdeen AAC. The places of the two teams were as follows: 1) EUH&H (Alistair Blamire 2, Gareth Bryan-Jones 10, Dave Logue 13, Ian Hathorn 19, Alex Wight 24, Jim Wight 25) Total 93 points. 2) Aberdeen AAC (Mel Edwards 9, Bill Ewing 14, Peter Stewart 16, Alastair Wood 17, Steve Taylor 18, Joe Clare 20) Total 94 points.” Once again, Alistair Blamire won a Scottish vest for the ICCU Championships, this time in Tunis.

Alistair seemed to peak for the Scottish National CC most years. Recovering from a collapsed lung, he could only manage 18^th in 1969; but was back near his best in 1970, to finish fourth, not long after becoming the East District CC champion. Then in 1971 at Bellahouston he was a close second to the formidable defending champion Jim Alder (EAC) after a race-long battle, with the 1969 winner, Dick Wedlock (of the all-conquering Shettleston Harriers) a distant third.

Although Alistair Blamire had run for EUH&H in the National, having previously won the 1971 Scottish Universities CC individual title, he represented his club, Shettleston Harriers, on one of the greatest days of their long history. A newspaper report from March 1971 has the headline: BLAMIRE LEADS SCOTS TO CROSS-COUNTRY WIN. “Shettleston Harriers won the English National Cross-Country title at Norwich yesterday – the first Scottish club to win the championship since Victoria Park in 1952. The Scottish champions were led home by Alistair Blamire in 11^th place, and had a total of 282 points. Lachie Stewart, the Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres gold medallist finished 19^th. The other Shettleston placings were: Dick Wedlock (24), Norman Morrison (32), Henry Summerhill (65) and Tom Grubb (131). The race was won by David Bedford, a 21 year-old London sales clerk, with a time of 47 minutes 4 seconds for the 9-mile course.”

At the 1971 ICCU event at San Sebastian, rain, hailstones and gales produced heavy mud. Alastair Blamire was fifth Scottish counter in 58^th, ahead of Jim Alder.

Shettleston Harriers retained the National CC team award easily, with Alistair Blamire 3^rd (surging away from Andy McKean towards the end) and Lachie Stewart fifth. Unfortunately their attempt to retain their English title was spoiled by the atrocious weather at Sutton Coldfield. Colin Shields reported: “A freak snow blizzard, which raged throughout the championship, was of such severity that one of the race officials collapsed and died on arrival at the hospital. The conditions ruined the race as a contest, with runners collapsing form exposure and exhaustion. In dreadful conditions of snow, hail and extreme cold, Lachie Stewart and other Shettleston runners dropped out, requiring medical attention, and Shettleston did not finish a team of six runners.” Alistair himself had fought into sixth place, when he was forced to give up. (I remember the event well, since I struggled home in 112^th place, which was never recorded since I refused to risk hypothermia by queuing to hand in my finish number.)

Colin Shields again: “Conditions were totally different at the International Championships at Coldham’s Common, Cambridge. Bright sunshine and dry, firm underfoot conditions made it ideal terrain for Scotland’s team. Unfortunately, Ian McCafferty ran very poorly and did not score. Ian Stewart (3^rd), Jim Alder (20^th), Lachie Stewart (27^th), Alistair Blamire (36^th), Andy McKean (44^th) and Dick Wedlock (71^st) contributed to fourth place in the team contest.

Having missed the 1973 National and moved back east, Alistair ran for Edinburgh Southern Harriers from 1974 onwards – which meant that I became a team-mate at last! ESH finished second team in the National five times in a row from 1974 to 1978, but sadly Alastair had retired before the team victories of 1979 and 1980. Alistair was first team counter in 1974 (fourth), when he went on to gain a Scottish vest for the inaugural World CC Championships at Ghent, Belgium, finishing a team counter in 66^th place. In the 1975 National, Alistair was again first home for ESH, in sixth place. His final three performances in his favourite race were 12^th (1976), 7^th (1977) and 26^th (1978). Overall, Alistair Blamire had an admirably consistent record in the most prestigious Scottish race. He also ran in ESH’s bronze medal team in the very first Scottish CC (4-Man) Relay championship; and was on the anchor leg in the 1975 gold medal triumph (Martin Craven, Ian Elliot, Allister Hutton, Alistair Blamire).

However on the road the most renowned competition was the Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay. Edinburgh University Hare & Hounds won silver in 1964, with new student Alistair Blamire finishing fourth on the first stage, before handing over to the redoubtable Fergus Murray who promptly put his team in the lead with the fastest time on the second leg. 1965 was when, defeating previous winners Motherwell YMCA, EU smashed the record in the time of 3 hours 36 minutes 32 seconds, with a much fitter Alistair breaking the first stage record in 27.01, only a second in front of that outspoken old champion, Ian Binnie (Victoria Park AAC). Fergus ran an outstanding new record of 31.07 on the long sixth stage, taking 38 seconds off Ian McCafferty.

Even without Fergus Murray, the Edinburgh students easily retained their title in 1966, with Alistair equalling his stage one record. They won again in 1967, after a harder tussle with Shettleston, with Alistair only ten seconds slower than Mel Edward’s fastest time on stage two. Another medal-winning EU performance was in 1969, when they finished third, with Alistair third-fastest on stage six.

Then in 1972 Alistair Blamire played his part in Shettleston Harriers’ victory, by handing over second, only three seconds slower than Alex Wight’s fastest time on stage four.

In 1974, Alistair was fastest-equal with fellow-steeplechaser Ian Gilmour (Clyde Valley AC) on stage four, keeping the ESH lead which was maintained all the way to George Square. In 1975, when ESH broke EU’s ten year-old course record with 3.33.52, Alistair was handed the unenviable task of holding off the charging Andy McKean on the second stage. Blamire made it by three seconds, which meant that his ESH team led from start to finish. Alistair was the only one of the 1965 record-holders to play his part in setting the new 1975 mark.

Latterly, Alistair dabbled in fell running, breaking the record for the Carnethy Hill Race by one and a half minutes in 1975, and finishing fourth in the Three Peaks classic in Yorkshire the following year, after leading on the final summit.

Throughout his career, Alistair Blamire was plagued with shin splints or knee injuries. He never managed to maintain 100 miles per week despite the influence of the residents of ‘The Zoo’ (see Fergus Murray’s profile in Marathon Stars) but he recalls: “Generally the mileage that suited me best was about 70 miles per week, including a mix of 5 to 15 mile runs and two or three fartleks (total of around 10 sessions a week). I used to run on grass a lot, due to shin soreness, and hated training on the track (except for the odd occasion).

Sessions which I recall include the following.

-12x300m with 100 m jog – this was the suicide session that we did at Westerlands and almost always on grass. I like to think that at our best we (Albie Smith, Dave Logue, Innis Mitchell etc) did it in 15 minutes, although the distances weren’t exact).

– 18 laps (ten miles) on grass at Craiglockhart – bare feet of course!

– Fartleks on the road with Fergus (‘The Beast’) – ten miles usually and also suicidal. Fergus once invited me for a run and dinner at his place – it consisted of eating the tinned potatoes and stew first and then doing a ten mile fartlek on the Braid Hills!”

Ian Binnie once answered the question “Who were the three greatest runners?” He replied, “Emil Zatopek, Filbert Bayi and Alistair Blamire”. His explanation was that Zatopek was an obvious choice; Bayi was a true front runner, like Binnie himself; and Blamire had beaten him on the first stage of the E to G in 1965, when Ian was making a brief comeback! Don Macgregor wrote: “Alistair was 19; Ian Binnie was 38. Binnie accused Alistair of going round the Maybury roundabout (just before the finish) the wrong way!”

You may think that Ian Binnie was being satirical, which was not unusual for him. However there is no doubt that Alistair Blamire, a quiet, modest man, was an outstanding runner on track, road and especially country.

Back to Front Page

Welsh v Tysoe at Powderhall.

It is natural to feel that the best race we have ever seen was the best ever seen.   This feeling is more common now when we have televised races and ‘pundits’ emphasising how good a race has been and the talent of a particular athlete, often a person friend or acquaintance.   It is therefore appropriate that some of the great races of the past are described both as a corrective to this tendency and to give some credit where it is due.   It is in this spirit that the following article from ‘The Scots Athlete’ of August 1947 is reprinted here.

THE STORY OF A FAMOUS RACE

HUGH WELSH V ALF E TYSOE

By DA Jamieson

It affords a certain measure of relief to find a momentary relaxation in the quiet contemplation of the achievements of amateur athletes of past generations , especially in the present age when the increasing tempo of life permeates even the atmosphere of amateur athletes.   It is then with this definite purpose in view that the following narrative of the great race between Hugh Welsh, the famous Scottish athlete of the 1890’s, and his equally celebrated contemporary Alfred E Tysoe, over a distance of one mile, seeks to find a place within the pages of ‘The Scots Athlete’.   Probably a brief detail of both men – by way of introduction – will assist a younger generation to assess more accurately the merits of the contestants, and also appreciate more fully the intense interest which their meeting aroused among the sports-loving public of fifty years ago.

Hugh Welsh was an athlete from his childhood days, being, as it were, to the manner born.   Even in his preparatory school days, as a pupil of |George Watson’s Boys’ College, he was recognised by his companions as a formidable opponent in all their games, and his later achievements on the running track, indeed, at this distance of time are still recalled with pride by all Watsonians.   He really began his brilliant though short athletic career as a lad of 15 years amidst the beauties of the Pentland Hills, on the occasion of Sunday-School picnic by Habbies Howe, a hamlet situated south of Edinburgh.   On this occasion, the suggestion of a teacher, that a foot-race to the top ofa nearby hill (Carnethy) and back be organised for the older scholars, was immediately agreed upon.   Among the starters was Hugh Welsh, and his arrival at the winning post several minutes before his nearest rival was the first visible evidence to his friends of the wonderful gift of stamina and speed which Nature had bestowed upon him.

Whilst yet in his early teens, Welsh was soon competing against more experienced opponents, and by his successes gaining high praise from the athletic pundits of the time.   His many honours upon the track included SAAA, IAAA and AAA titles, International selections, and triumphs in the less exalted sphere of handicap events, adding his name, incidentally, to that dubious category of athletic distinction as a record holder.   It was as a lad of 16 years that he took part in the SAAA One Mile Championship of 1894.   This was an event that has no parallel in the history of Scottish athletics.   There were only two competitors, and it recorded the slowest time of all one mile championship races, either before or since (5 min 36 sec).   Yet in contrast it produced the fastest last quarter-mile time that has ever been clocked in this event.   J Rodgers, of Maybole, Welsh’s solitary opponent, took the youth at a crawl for three-quarters of a mile, and at the bell burst away at a tremendous gait from his youthful opponent.   It is a matter of recorded history, verified by the late DS Duncan, then Hon Secretary of the SAAA and one of the official  timekeepers on that occasion, that the time for the last quarter-mile was 54 sec, and the verdict – an inches decision for Rodgers.

It was in the AAA’s Championships of 1897, whilst competing in the One Mile race at Fallowfield, Manchester, that the incident of the spiking of Welsh occurred, which resulted in his defeat.   Tysoe won the title; but be it laid to his credit, that so dissatisfied was he with the honour he had gained against a disabled opponent, that he indicated his willingness to contest the distance again at a time and place which would be mutually suitable.   Later a match was arranged, and, accordingly, on May 29th, 1898, on the occasion of the Watsonian Athletic Club sports at Powderhall, this memorable one mile race was decided, for which a handsome trophy, weighing 74 ounces and a beautiful specimen of the silversmith’s art, was subscribed for by members of the promoting club.

In his Lancastrian rival – Alfred E Tysoe – Welsh was tackling a worthy opponent – one, moreover, who had had a much wider experience of competitive foot-racing.   Tysoe had graduated quickly from handicap ranks to a national eminence in athletics.   He was a runner of extraordinary versatility, winning races from 220 yards up to 10miles.   His AAA titles included the  880 yards (1899, 1900), 1 Mile (1897), and 10 Miles (1897); and he was also one of the winning six which carried the Salford Harriers colours to victory in the National CC Championships of 1898.   It is related of Tysoe that his appearance in the 10 Miles Flat Championships was merely in the nature of a training run and simply to be regarded as a prelude to his efforts for the season just beginning.   Clad in sweater and a scarf he jogged along for over 5 miles, and only in the latter stages of the race did he become conscious that he had distinct prospects of success.   Doffing his top-sheets en route Tysoe set about confirming his belief, and thanks to the slowish pace of the race throughout, he was able to utilise his turn of speed to run home a comfortable winner.

A frequent visitor to Scotland – and an exceedingly popular one – Tysoe ran some splendid races at Powderhall, on one occasion establishing a Scottish all-comers record for the 880 yards, when winning a handicap event over that distance at the annual sports of the St Bernards FC at Powderhall Grounds in 1 min 57 4/5th sec from scratch.

So much then concerning the principals in this athletic drama.   The following description of the race is from the pen of the late David S Duncan and here acknowledgement is now gratefully made for permisson to print the extract and accompanying illustrations, from the pages of the school publication “The Watsonian” to I Graham Andrew, Esq, Headmaster of George Watson’s Boys’ College.

THE RACE

Welsh was the first to emerge from the stripping-box, and received a tremendous ovation from the assembled thousands, and when Tysoe appeared a few seconds later, his reception was none the less enthusiastic.  Both men looked the picture of health and fitness.   Welsh, who is 5’8″, weighs 10 st 2lb, whilst Tysoe stands 5’7″, scaling at 10st 7lb.   There was a low buzz of excitement as the men toed their mark at the north-west corner of the grounds, the race being run left-hand in at Tysoe’s request.   The Englishman drew the inside position but when Mr John Davidson, the well-known Powderhall handicapper, sent the men on their journey Welsh was the first to forge in front, with Tysoe at his elbow both running free and easy within themselves.   A brisk pace was maintained and when the first lap had been covered, the enemy recorded  62 2/5th sec.  

The second lap was a repetition of the first, except that Tysoe had fallen behind Welsh and given himself more elbow-room; the time returned for this quarter was given as 68 sec.   Excitement was gradually rising as the runners entered into the third lap, and every stride seemed to be followed with eager intensity.    Tysoe seemed to be running well within himself, and there seemed to arise an uneasy suspicion that the Scot had at last found his master.   At the end of the third lap, covered in 71 1/5th sec, Tysoe bounded into the lead, and entered the ‘stand’ straight with a clear margin.   As he passed down that straight he was encouraged with a loud cheer from his Prestonian friends, who were present in large numbers to support their man, not only vocally but financially.   He sustained his burst of speed and entered the home straight with a 10 yards lead, and it seemed, for the moment, that Welsh was outclassed.   Here it was, however, that Welsh made that wonderful effort which can never be forgotten by those who witnessed it.   He came away at sprinting speed – and remember, Tysoe was running at top speed – caught Tysoe some 50 yards from the tape and simply left the Englishman standing.  

Never have I seen such an effort equalled.   As he leaped at the tape, hands held high in the air, yards in front of Tysoe – the crowd was electrified, and the ensuing scene of enthusiasm was a truly remarkable tribute to the runners.   The suspense and pent-up feeling during the four-odd minutes of the race; the agony of a possible defeat; and then the glorious victory!   The time was 4 min 23 3/5th sec, which is a new Scottish record.”

Both athletes have passed from the scenes of their athletic triumphs, but they have left behind them a stirring memory to those who witnessed their gallant efforts, and – let us hope – an inspiration to succeeding generations of youth.

Back to The Milers

Bert McKay running in the Coatbridge 5 in 1973

Bert McKay says that he never considers himself a long distance runner, seeing himself more as a half-miler/miler.   The cross-country was to get fit for the track and also, having Andy Brown as a team-mate there was no way he could escape representing the club in the Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay, the National Cross-Country, etc.   Another reason for competing in road and cross-country was that there was no track in Motherwell so the roads and country were their only training facilities.   He does go to say that he grew to love road and cross-country and the rivalry between the various clubs.   I’m including him the ‘Milers’ section because I agree that that is where he should be.   His range was wide from 880 yards to 10 Miles and he competed seriously almost every year in team races at Two and Three miles on the track and in all the cross-country relays and championships.   Nevertheless he did have some very good races against top milers such as Graham Everett and Jim McLatchie – he even paced Graham through the first mile of an attempt on the Scottish Two Miles record in 1965.   Motherwell had a lot of very good middle and long distance runners – men like Alex Brown, Ian McCafferty, John Linaker and others – but like many another, I regarded Bert as the most senior in the club probably with the exception of the legendary Andy Brown.

Bert was among the best respected men in the endurance running world – appearing in the Scottish track ranking lists 26 times between 1961 and 1972, winning four SAAA Championship medals in addition to his honours on other surfaces, he collected the scalps and beat the times of most of the more celebrated runners of the day including Lachie Stewart and Fergus Murray at one time or another as we will see below.   Bert is a runner who must be included n any collection of endurance running profiles.    His personal best track times are in the table below.

Bert McKay (Date of Birth 13/12/35) first appears in the results in 1957 as a Senior athlete.    In the Scottish National Championships at the start of the year he was fifty seventh and the team was tenth.  Although he almost certainly raced during the summer, we next meet him in the winter of 1957.   At the start of the winter, Motherwell were not in the first six at the McAndrew but we note that the following week when Motherwell wn the Scottish YMCA relay title, the team included J Poulton, W Marshall, R McKay and T Scott with McKay being third fastest of the team.   A week later in the Lanarkshire County Championships, the team was third with the same runners but this time Scott and McKay shifted positions and Bert was second fastest of the quartet.   Unfortunately the team was unplaced in the District Championships.   In November that year he ran in his first Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay on the very challenging second stage and, like many excellent runners thrown out cold on to that stage, failed to do himself justice and dropped from second to fifth, but the team was not able to hold that position and finished tenth.   There were few results available after this but after a full winter’s work, Bert was forty ninth in the National of 1958 and this time the team was up to sixth.   On 24th May he won the YMCA half mile championship in 2:01, Andy Brown won the Mile in 4:39.4 and JH Linaker (Kirkcaldy YMCA) won the Junior Mile in 4:40.1.   He then appeared at the West District Championships where the Mile was won by Graham Everett who had been racing all over England as part of his quest to become the first Scot under four minutes for the mile.   The report in the ‘Herald’ said RW McKay (Motherwell YMCA) held Everett for fully three quarters of the distance and recorded 4 minutes 12.2 seconds.”   At the Lanarkshire Police Meeting on 7th June at Shawfield he won the Mile off 30 yards from clubmate AH Brown (25 yards) in 4:18.5.   It is fair to assume that he ran in the SAAA Champiionships and was unplaced and he eventually ended a fairly good summer with second behind Graham Everett in the Invitation Mile at Cowal in late August after Donnie McDonald had towed the field round to half-distance in 2:01.4 before Everett took over to get to three-quarters in 3:04.6.   The wind slowed him thereafter and his time was 4:07.5 with no time being reported for Bert.

The team was sixth in the E-G in November 1959 but unfortunately the records, even on Ron Morrison’s excellent statistical archive on his website, do not give the Motherwell runners but we can safely assume that Bert would have been a key man..  Bert started 1959 with a run in an Invitation Track Race over Two Miles.   Won by Graham Everett with Des Dickson of Bellahouston third, Bert was third to finish and Motherwell finished second team with Andy Brown fourth and John Poulton fourteenth.   When it came to the Nigel Barge four and a half mile road race two days later, the Motherwell team was beaten by Bellahouston and Bert was third counting runner in sixteenth position.   Despite Andy Brown’s second place, the team was unplaced in the District Championships two weeks later at Renton outside Dumbarton.    By the National in 1959, having been out of the results for several weeks, both Bert and the team had improved on 1958’s results – he finished twenty eighth and the club was fifth.   The summer season started in May with lots of triangular matches – Victoria Park v Bellahouston v Shettleston, Shettleston v Garscube v Teviotdale, for example and various permutations of University fixtures.   Then came wee out of the way meetings to warm the runners up and the actual racing started at the end of May with the District Championships.   In 1958 Bert had been second to Graham Everett in the Mile at the Districts and in 1959 his first outing was in the YMCA Championships at Larkhall a week beforehand – he won the 880 yards in 1:58.7.   At the Districts, with Everett racing abroad, he took the lead early on but Bill Kerr of Victoria Park had a real go at catching him.  Didn’t quite manage it and Bert won in a slow 4:22.7 – more than ten seconds slower than the previous year.      One of the frustrating things about looking back at newspaper reports is that they often don’t tell you more than the bare minimum of information about athletics events and although it is certain that Bert raced frequently, the next appearance is in connection with the West v East at the end of June.   I quote from the “Glasgow Herald:   The mile developed into a duel between RW McKay and G Stark.   Stark closely followed McKay for most of the race and showed superior speed down the finishing straight, winning by less than two yards.”   No time was given for Bert in the report and the results only gave the winner’s name.   Nevertheless it was clear by now that Bert was considerably good.   Stark was the National Mile record holder and to lead him for most of the race and then be beaten by only a yard and a half is good running by anyone’s standard.   He met up with Stark again at the start of August and the race report reads as follows: “The principal event at Carluke Rovers open sports meeting was the invitation one mile short limit handicap in which the Scottish record holder G Stark (Edinburgh Southern Harriers) was running from scratch.   At the end of the first lap, Stark was just behind R McKay (Motherwell YMCA) and J More (Kilmarnock) who started from 10 and 15 yards respectively.   In the meantime however, the Scottish steeplechase champion, T O’Reilly, off 35 yards, was setting a good pace over the seven lap course and by half distance it did not look like Stark would catch the leaders.   Soon afterwards, McKay and More left Stark and he had to be content with sixth place – 6.2 seconds behind O’Reilly the winner.”   Unfortunately the report does not say who were second, third, fourth or fifth!    So we don’t know from that where Bert finished or what his time was.   The winner was 4:19.2, and by simple arithmetic we get 4:25.4 for sixth place.

 Bert turned out on the straight head-to-head race that is the first stage and was eleventh in a team that placed fifth.   In the National in 1960 he had dropped from the past year’s position to seventy third but the team had by now moved up to fourth.   Summer 1960 started according to the reports later than usual.   It was not until 11th June at the Glasgow Police Sports at Ibrox that he appeared running in the Mile where he was second, one place ahead of Mike Ryan from St Modan’s.   He did not feature in the National Championships or the District Championships as far as the Press reports were concerned.   A summer best described as quiet.  So it was into the 1960/61 season in October.

On 1st October 1960, Motherwell was third behind the Shettleston winning team with Bert McKay on the first leg running a time of 15:35.    A week later he ran the first stage in the Lanarkshire County Relays and handed over a lead that the club held while turning in the third fastest time of the day.   On 29th October, after David Simpson had a good run on the first stage of the Scottish YMCA Relays Bert ran on the second stage for the club team which won by almost three minutes.   Came the big one, the Edinburgh to Glasgow,, he was again on stage one and this time was eighth with the club again finishing fifth.   In the National at the start of 1961 he did not run and the team did not finish a full six scoring runners.  That summer Bert was almost an ever present in the club team at all the two mile team races and turned out in in the championships without winning a medal.  There were, however, several notable performances in summer, 1961, and the first of these came at the start of May when in what was called a ‘Grading Meeting’ at Seedhill Track in Paisley the result of the Mile was a win for Graham Everett from Bert McKay and Mike Ryan – then later at the same meeting the steeplechase resulted in a win for Bert McKay in 10:48.8.   This was followed by the West District Championships on May 7th where he won the Mile and lifted the scalps of  Jim McLatchie and Mike Ryan when winning in 4:17.3   On 8th July at Pitreavie, running for the SAAA against an Atalanta team, the report for the Mile read R McKay (Motherwell) and KD Ballantyne (Edinburgh Southern Harriers) covered the last 20 yards of the mile almost together and finished in the same time, 4:17.3, but McKay was judged to have won.”  Having shown his strength by the double at Seedhill, he went even further in June.  In the Glasgow Police Sports, Graham Everett set a new Scottish record for the Two Miles on the good cinder track at Ibrox.   I’ll just quote the ‘Glasgow Herald’.   “Everett was taken along at a merry pace by R McKay (Motherwell) and both were well ahead of the field at halfway in in the fast time of 4:14.5, too fast as Everett admitted afterwards.   It was clear that if this pace were to continue the all-comers record would be broken.   Unfortunately McKay was unable to carry on  having fallen out more or less exhausted after one of his best mile times.   Everett was alone thereafter, but his time of 6:31.4 for a mile and a half beat T Riddell’s native record and JJ Barry’s all-comers record.   He slowed over the last half mile and lost his chance of beating the all-comer’s record of 8:45.6 but the time of 8:48.6 beat his own best Scottish record by 1.8 sec.   ……………………  McKay made a fine recovery after his exhaustive effort in the Two Miles and won the mile in 4:08.3 from 40 yards.”    Bert said that it was a deliberate attempt at pace-making for Graham, because he thought he could get the two miles record.   After he dropped out he could hear Andy Brown cursing him as he passed because they could have won the team race.  It had been a quite remarkable season at the end of which he was in the ranking lists for five events:

The McAndrew Relay race on 7th October 1961 had Bert McKay hand over a lead to David Simpson that tea mates John Linaker and Andy Brown saw translated into a good victory.   The same quarter ran in all the short realys that year and Bert handed a lead to the team at the end of the first stage in the Lanarkshire Championshps (won by 600 yards), the Scottish YMCA Championships, the Midlands Championships (won by more than two minutes and then in the Motherwell club time trial for the Edinburgh – Glasgow selection, he tied with Andy Brown and David Simpson for second behind John Linaker.   Five races in the five weeks before the E-G itself on 18th November.    The team in the E-G in November 1961 made up for the poor showing in the National when they finished third to pick up their first medals in the race.   Bert ran on Stage seven for the first time and pulled the team from third to second with the third fastest time of the day.   There was a bit of a hiatus after that until the Lanarkshire Championships where Bert was fourth behind Linaker, Brown and Everett.   Into the New Year and the McAndrew Road Race was run in very tricky conditions – several football matches had been cancelled because of snow.   The ‘Glasgow Herald’ said, “AH Brown mastered the rather precarious footing on certain stretches of the road and won the Nigel Barge four and a half mile road race on Saturday at Maryhill by 20 yards from J McLatchie in 23:20 – 30 seconds outside the record for the course.   McLatchie was less than a yard ahead of R McKay who finished very strongly and J Linaker, another Motherwell runner, who finished fourth.”    A hard fought race but Jim McLatchie’s story about it sounds good to me.   “Dunky Wright approached me about running in the Nigel Barge Road Race in 1962 since I did a few training runs from Milngavie to Maryhill and back – he said that was part of the course.   I never ran in road races – so I showed up anyway and was up with the leaders – the Motherwell boys – Andy Brown turned to Bert and said, “What’s McLatchie doing up here? ”   Bert’s reply, “I think he’s going to kick our arses.”   Andy: “He’s not a road runner.”    Bert: Today he is.”    On 3rd February, 1962,   Bert had what the ‘Herald’ writer described as ‘the best cross-country performance of his career.’   It was in an invitation eight mile race at Cleland Estate, Motherwell.  “The invitation eight-mile cross country race within the Cleland Estate on Saturday ended, as expected with AH Brown beating a club-mate, R McKay by 80 yards in 42 min 42 sec.   McKay put up about the best cross-country performance of his career and this win by Brown enhanced his reputation for consistency over the past 12 years.   At the end of the first lap of two miles Brown led the field of 42 runners from J McLaren (Victoria Park, McKay and Everett (Shettleston) and JH Linaker.   Over the next circuit McKay moved into second place, 40 yards behind Brown and at regular intervals came McLaren, Linaker and Everett.   At the end of the third lap, McKay had closed slightly on Brown with McLaren 120 yards behind him, and Everett and Linaker 40 and 50 yards farther behind respectively.   This was the order at the finish but Brown had drawn away from McKay.      Bert did not turn out in the Scottish YMCA championships two weeks later and they were won by Andy Brown from David Simpson.   The winter ended with another fifth place in the National for the team but Bert was not running on the day.

We know Bert ran in the West District Championships in May 1962 because Jim McLatchie tells us so but he didn’t feature in the results or the reports.  Let Jim tell the story: 1962, West Districts Mile race.   I was in pretty good shape and told Bert I was going to run hard and he could hang on.   I came through the first 880 around 2:03 – all I could hear from Bert ‘For ‘goodness’ sake, this is too fast for a beginning of the season race.’   After the race I asked him why he didn’t hang on and he said he was peaking for the Nationals later that year when we both went on to record personal bests.”   He  turned out in the Police Sports at Shawfield on the first Saturday in June where he was off scratch in the invitation three-quarter mile along with Willie Morrison of Larkhall.but they were both beaten by Jim McLatchie running off 5 yards.   A week later and at Ibrox, he was second again, this time to clubmate Andy Brown in the Invitation Two Miles with Calum Laing (Glasgow University) in third.   Another seven days and he was at New Meadowbank for the SAAA Championships where he was third in the Mile behind Mike Berisford of Sale and Jim McLatchie.   Other than team awards, his first individual place after that was at Shotts Highland Games where he was third behind JP Anderson and J Hillen (both Saltwell AC) in the Two Miles.   By the end of the summer (1962) he was ranked in four events the six miles having been dropped from the schedule,  Best times for the year were 1:56.3 (17th), 4:08.7 (3rd), 8:58.6 (1st) and 14:03.2 (5th).

Motherwell won the McAndrew Relay at the start of October, 1962, with Bert again doing sterling service on the first stage.   With one exception it was the team from the previous two years – Alex Brown taking the place of John Linaker – with David Simpson on two and Andy Brown on four.   Andy had the fastest time of the day with Fergus Murray second and Alex Brown third and Bert himself had sixth fastest time.   In the County Relays the following week, Andy Brown relegated himself to the second team, and running the first stage beat team mate David Simpson by 15 seconds.   Nevertheless the team of Simpson, Marshall, McKay and Alex Brown won with Motherwell having the four fastest times of the day with Andy Brown, David Simpson and then McKay and Alex Brown being third equal.   The B team was third behind Shettleston.   Then on 20th October it was the YMCA Relays that they won with Bert McKay, David Simpson and Alex Brown building up a useful lead only to see Andy Brown going off the course because he was mis-directed.   The B team of John Poulton, Willie Marshall, W McKnight and D Young won with the A team being third behind Larkhall.   Bert had the fastest time of the day on that occasion, with Willie Marshall being second fastest and David Simpson third.      On November 3rd the team retained their district title, this time Alex Brown ran the first stage, followed by John Poulton, Bert MacKay and Andy Brown.   They really were an all-conquering squad at this time.   Whatever the permutation, they were winners.   The next week were club trials for almost all clubs involved in the Edinburgh to Glasgow and in the E-G, Bert showed what he had hinted at the previous year when he was third quickest on the seventh stage -this time he ran the fastest time on the stage and also equalled the course record.   The team won with four of the fastest times of the day on stages four (AH Brown), five (AP Brown), six (J Linaker) and seven.  As Colin Shields says in the official history of the Scottish Cross Country Union,“Whatever the Weather” the perils of a November race date were clear in 1962 when there was deep snow and cars were abandoned in Airdrie Main Street.   It was on this occasion that Tom O’Reilly of Springburn said that it was not so much dedication as pure bloody stupidity!  Colin’s comments were maybe more measured but no more accurate when he said “Moving up on sixth from Stage Three, Motherwell improved from then on.   AH Brown improved 23 seconds on the 1957 stage record to finish third, and his young brother Alec and then John Linaker gained further places to to bring Motherwell into a 40 second lead by the end of the sixth stage.   Bert McKay equalled the stage record to open a gap of two minutes over Edinburgh Southern Harriers and it was left to John Poulton to bring Motherwell home to their first ever victory.”   In February Bert did well enough in the National in 1963 to win his first and only cross-country vest for Scotland.  The result of the race was a win for John Linaker of Motherwell in 35:53, followed by Alastair Wood of Aberdeen in second, Andy Brown in third in 35:57 and Bert McKay fourth in 36:33.

That summer, 1963, there is no mention of him in the Western District Championships which was where he normally started the season.   It was perfectly possible that he ran in the team race at Shawfield in the Lanarkshire Police Sports for the first three were Andy Brown, John Linaker and Ian McCafferty!   The Motherwell team competed regularly at venues as far south as Lockerbie as well as all over the Central belt but Bert’s next win was at Babcock’s Sports in Renfrew on 17th June when he won the Two Miles in 9:08.9 with Andy Brown second and Alex Brown third to take the team title – to add to the club’s joy, John Linaker won the Mile and David Simpson won the 14 mile road race!   Bert then won  his second SAAA medal when he was third in the Three Miles behind Fergus Murray and clubmate Andy Brown.   By the end of  ’63 he was ranked in the Mile, Two Miles and Three Miles lists and was third in the SAAA Three Miles championship at Westerlands in a time of 14:26.4 behind Fergus Murray (14:01.6) and clubmate Andy Brown (14:12.8).   His best times for the three events were 4:16.0 for tenth place in the Mile, 9:08.2 when finishing fourth in Glasgow in June which placed him seventh in the ratings, and 13:58.0 for the Three Miles, recorded at Pitreavie in in July.   He went in to the winter running extremely well.

In the McAndrew Relay, Motherwell started off with Alex Brown who ran into third position but Bert McKay running on the second stage, not only gave the club a lead but set a new record for the course with a time four seconds faster than Lachie Stewart..   Ian McCafferty and Andy Brown made sure of the victory and the team had four of the six fastest times!  A week later in the Lanarkshire Relays Motherwell had the first two teams with Bert running for the second team which finished 500 yards behind the first.   Even more amazing was the club’s taking first and second places at the District Relay Championships on 26th October with Bert having second fastest time of the day, only four seconds slower than Ian McCafferty with Alex Brown in third fastest slot another eight seconds back.   The winning quartet was  AP Brown, W Marshall, I McCafferty and R McKay.   Andy was in the second team which consisted of George Henderson, D Young, David Simpson and AH Brown.   Quite remarkable when you consider the standard of the remaining clubs in the race.    In the YMCA Championships a week later they were gallus enough to put Andy Brown and Bert into the second team and still get the first two places.  The ‘Glasgow Herald’ for the result of the E-G said ” Motherwell Again Win Road Relay Race”.   Bert was on the seventh stage of the E-G where he not only set the fastest time of the day but broke his own record for the stage set the previous year.    Again Motherwell won by virtue of the fact that the middle of the relay had fastest times by their members on stages four, five, six and seven with AP Brown, D Simpson, J Linaker and Bert McKay bringing them from sixth to first over the four stages. It is difficult to argue with Colin Shields who said that they won it the hard way – it was not until the end of the sixth stage that they were in front, and he says of Bert’s contribution: “Bert McKay, having equalled the stage record the year before, bettered it by 24 seconds to establish a two minute lead and G Henderson brought them home easy winners.”     In the National in 1964 he finished twenty ninth and the club closed in as third team.

That summer (1964)  Bert started with a good run in the West District Championships at Westerlands, where he lead for much of the race before Lachie Stewart moved off leaving Bert in second with Andy Brown in third.   Not placed in the SAAA Championships, he went on to a comfortable win in the Mile at the Strathallan Gathering in August.    The scene was very different from that of the twenty first century.   Local meetings played a big part of the athletics scene then – local highland gatherings (Dunblane, Strathallan, Shotts, etc), works gala meetings (Dirrans Sports, Babcock’s and Wilcox Sports, Singer’s Sports), community sports meetings, Braw Lads Gatherings, etc, etc.    They were held on a variety of surfaces – good well-tended grass, poor cow-field grass, cinder and sticky-oot brick, ash, etc but these differences were over come by the men and women who ran in them.   The best men raced each other week, week out.   The Two or Three Mile Team race was always well supported – Shettleston Harriers, Victoria Park AAC, Motherwell YMCA, etc all turned out teams in the races and the teams were always the best that they could field.   Lachie Stewart raced Ian McCafferty, Hugh Barrow, Andy Brown, Dick Wedlock, etc all summer.  At the end of May, 1964, the ‘Glasgow Herald’ had the headline “R McKay’s record in the Three Miles” and read “R McKay (Motherwell) was one of the outstanding competitors at the Lanarkshire Championships at Larkhall on Saturday, winning the Three Miles in a new best time of 14 Min 11 Sec from his clubmate AH Brown.   Brown was the previous record holder with a time of 14 min 37 sec, set two years ago over a heavy, wet grass track at Laigh Bent.”   One week later on the last Saturday in May, he defeated Andy again for second place in the Three Miles at the West District Championships at Westerlands in Glasgow with Lachie Stewart first..  Two weeks later in the Lanarkshire Constabulary Sports at Shawfield he was again second to Lachie in the Three Miles and only one week later, he was second to Lachie again at Babcock’s Sports in Renfrew in a Two Mile Team race where he led Motherwell to a team victory.   Next was the National Championships where he was unplaced and it is frustrating that only the first three are published for our reference.   Omitting the whole of July, Bert’s next appearance that year was at Strathallan Highland Gathering where, as backmarker in the half mile, he came through to win.   August finished off with Edinburgh Highland Games, Bute Highland Games (longest event One Mile) and Cowal Highland where he did not figure in the results.  As can be seen, the races were not well spaced either, tending to come one on top of the other all summer.   It may be of course that we have lost a lot in terms of the competitiveness of our runners because of the official demands that runners space their programme.   The Scots who are doing really well just now are largely those who compete on all surfaces, all year against good opposition in the American College circuit.    The surfaces were less good, but the unremitting high level competition maybe gave the runners a hardness that is missing today. He only appeared in the rankings for the Two Miles and Three Miles with times of 9:12.2 and 13:56.6 for ranking places of eighteenth and sixth.    The absence from the rankings should not be taken to mean that he was running badly.

At the start of the winter, 1964,  Motherwell again won the McAndrew Relay at Whiteinch  with Andy Brown finishing second to Hugh Barrow of Victoria Park (fastest time of the afternoon) before Bert brought them into first place which was held by Ian McCafferty and Alex Brown.   On 10th October, the club retained the Lanarkshire title with Bert running the final lap.   In the Districts the club won the title for the fifth consecutive year with Bert on the third stage.  He lined up at the second stage of the E-G  where he dropped from first to third in the team that won thanks to four fastest times on stages four to seven (Brown, Simpson, McCafferty and Wedlock).   The club was undoubtedly the strongest in Scotland and when they won the Nigel Barge team race in January 1965, Bert was not in the counting team who had three in the first six finishers.   In the National in 1965 he was fourteenth with the team in fifth.

In summer 1965 Bert started as usual with the West District Championships, this time at Ayr, and finished third in the Mile behind Hugh Barrow and Ian McCafferty.   Bert did not appear in the results for any of the other competitions in May or June, not even the Scottish Championships in Edinburgh – at least not in the published lists with only the winner being noted in some.  His summer seemed to finish with the Shotts Highland Games at the start of September where he was second to Ian McCafferty in the Two Miles.    However at the end of the summer he again ranked in three events – the Mile, Two Miles and Three Miles with times of 4:11.4, 9:00.6 and 14:13.0 to be ninth, eighth and twenty second respectively.

Season 1965-66, they won the McAndrew (Brown, Brown, McKay, McCafferty), the Lanarkshire (with Andy Brown and Bert McKay in the B team which finished second), the Scottish YMCA Championship relay st Motherwell with their ‘older members’ in the A Team (McKay on the second stage turned a two second deficit into a 500 yard lead!) and the Midland Relay Championship.   The report in the Glasgow Herald is worth repeating here: “Motherwell can never make their lead big enough.   Not content to win, they seem to want to blast the opposition off the course.  They had a better start than usual when AP Brown handed over in second place – two or three places higher than was expected – behind J Brennan (Maryhill) who surprised most by being third fastest throughout the day.   R McKay was not long in going ahead for Motherwell on the second lap, and from that point on interest in Motherwell became academic.   What is worth writing is the magnificent running by I McCafferty through the three fields heavy with mud on the east side of Home Steads Farm.   While all around were floundering, he gave the impression of of skating freely on the surface with his short business-like stride.”   They won from Shettleston by two minutes and nine seconds.   In November he was back on the seventh stage for the fourth time and held his second place in the squad that finished second.     In the National in 1966, he is clearly well placed in a picture in ‘Athletics Weekly’ but does not appear in the results.

Opening his season with a win in the YMCA 880 yards championships in 1:59.5, and in the West District Championships at Ayr Bert finished third behind Hugh Barrow (winner) and Ian McCafferty.   The Motherwell runners took part in most events but the next sighting of Bert McKay in the results columns was at the Lanarkshire Constabulary sports where he was second in the open half mile, no doubt after taking part in the Two Miles invitation.   By the end of the summer of 1966 he was ranked fourteenth in the Mile with 4:11.0 in Glasgow in June but this was his only appearance in the rankings for the year.

The ‘Glasgow Herald’ reported consternation on the faces of Motherwell officials at the McAndrew Relays, in 1966, when Ian McCafferty failed to turn up.   The reshuffle meant Willie Marshall was pulled into the team and sent out on the first stage.   He handed the baton  over to Bert  in twenty first position and the reporter felt all hope of a win evaporated.   Bert pulled the team up to ninth and sent off Alex Brown who picked up to fifth and Andy Brown came home in third place.   A week later and again McCafferty failed to show up while Bert McKay was not able to run either in the Lanarkshire Relays.   The team finished third.   Two weeks later, and still without McCafferty,  but with Bert McKay back in the team they won the YMCA Championships at Irvine with Willie Marshall, Alex Brown, Bert McKay and Andy Brown.  The first paragraph of the ‘Herald’s report on 31st October said it all: “Smiles were back on the faces of Motherwell YMCA camp followers at Stirling on Saturday Their outstanding 4 x 2.5 miles relay team carried out a brutal demolition job of demolishing all who dared take away their Midland District relay title after six years custody.”   McCafferty was back – the team of Alex Brown, Bert McKay, Andy Brown and Ian McCafferty was never headed.   In November 1966 Bert again ran on the seventh stage of the E-G but this time dropped from second to fourth in the team that finished third.

In summer 1967 he recorded a fastest mile of 4:13.3 when finishing fourth  at Ibrox in mid-August which ranked him twenty second, 9:02.6 for the Two Miles at Barrachnie in May to be nineteenth, 14:13.2 at Shawfield in June, finishing one tenth in front of Hugh Barrow, to be ranked twenty second in the Three Miles.  These times and venues tell a story of running in the 1960’s: Ibrox was probably in an invitation race, Barrachnie was the Shettleston Harriers home track and was known to be almost circular and the chances are that it was a league or county match.  The race at Shawfield was in a Lanarkshire Constabulary meeting and run on a softish track inside the dog track for greyhound racing was often held there in midweek. The report in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ said   “AP Brown (Motherwell) at halfway never looked like catching his club mate R McKay but his recovery over the final half-mile was so remarkable that he beat McKay by 30 yards in the good time of 14 minutes 08.6 seconds.”  Incidentally, the previous year he had been second in the open Handicap half mile to Gordon Sinclair of Glasgow University.   He had started the season with second to McCafferty in the YMCA Championships on 20th May at Grangemouth but was unplaced in the very strong West District Championships a week later.   On June 3rd however, he came out on top in a Two Miles race at Airdrie when he beat Alex Brown by 15 yards in 9:23.   Seven days later the positions were reversed when Alex, well behind at halfway, won from Bert in the Lanarkshire Constabulary Sports Three Miles Individual and Team Race at Shawfield in 14:08.6 with Motherwell winning the team event.   .The SAAA Championships at the end of June were of a very high standard and bert’s name did not figure in the first three in any event.   No doubt he was part of the Motherwell team that won Two Miles team races at meetings in Strathallan, Bute, Cowal, and Shotts where the counting men were usually three in the first four or five.

But the big event at the end of summer 1967 was the formation of the new club of Law and District AAC.   Both Brown brothers, David Simpson, Ian McCafferty and some others left Motherwell leaving them seriously bereft.   From a club challenging for, and often winning, high honours, they became a struggling club which had to rebuild.   Bert McKay and Willie Marshall were two who stayed with Motherwell and did more than their bit for the old club.   Willie won the club trial for the McAndrew team from Bert but that was insignificant. With only one team success in October (the YMCA championships at Kirkcaldy where Andy Brown ran for the B team that finished third), Bert ran possibly one of his best ever Edinburgh to Glasgow stages in 1967 where on the very hard second stage he pulled the club from 18th to fourteenth with one of the best runs of the day,   On 17th January Shettleston Harriers had an open meeting at Barrachnie and Bert ran in and won the Mile in 4:23 – not bad on that track and in January!    There was no sign of him in the National Cross Country Championship and the first Motherwell runner was Peter Duffy – a useful new addition to the club.

In 1968 he was second in the West District Mile with a time of 4:20.6 and his season’s best of 4:20.2 when finishing third at Pitreavie in June ranked him only thirty first and  that was his only ranked distance.  The lack of Two and Three Miles times was probably largely down to not having significant teams entered in almost every meeting throughout the summer.   In the West Championships he split Ian McCafferty and Lachie Stewart with the times being 4:17.4, 4:20.7 and 4:21.9.

 With the Motherwell team weakened as it had been, they were not in the top ten in the McAndrew but Bert was clearly in good form judging by subsequent races. On 19th October they won the YMCA Championship Relay with a team that included Andy Brown but Bert had the fastest time with his 11:53 trumping Brown’s 12:15.      The big one of course was the Edinburgh to Glasgow and again Bert was on the second stage.   Taking over from Willie Marshall in fourteenth place, he ran another good race on this stage to move from that position to tenth.   Unfortunately the club could not hold that and finished nineteenth – and they were out of the race.   Bert’s next run in the event would be in 1975 as a member of the Clyde Valley team formed by five clubs, including Motherwell, linking up.   His form in the 1968/69 season continued into the Nigel Barge Road Race on 4th January 1969 when he was fourth in what the ‘Herald’ correspondent described as “McKay moved ahead of Alec Wight on the run-in and his fourth place must be his best run of the season.”    The first four were Lachie Stewart (Shettleston, 22:01), Dick Wedlock (Shettleston, 22:16), Andy Brown (Law) 22:41 and Bert McKay (Motherwell, 22:52)  – only 300 yards behind the winner!   He did not seem to have run in the various races for the remainder of the winter – not the Springburn Cup, the Districts, the YMCA championships or the National.

He must have kept in shape though because summer 1969 was a much better one for him with no fewer than four championship medals.   Bert not only won the West District championship 5000m in 14:40.2, but was third in the Inter-Counties in 15:04.6 behind John Linaker (14:58.2) and Colin Martin (15:00.8) and third in the SAAA with 14:30.4 behind Lachie Stewart ( 14:09.6) and Dick Wedlock (14:24,4).   His best time of the year was 14:24.4 which ranked him fifteenth.   Then in the longest track race that he had run so far, he was third in the SAAA 10 Miles track championship in 51:23.0 behind Jim Brennan of Maryhill (50:41.2) and Bill Stoddart (Wellpark) in 50:55.0.

Summer 1970 was Commonwealth Games year in Scotland and everything was subordinated to that.   Bert was thirty four and not in contention for a place at that point, and there was no Edinburgh to Glasgow in winter to look forward to but he kept training and reappeared in the rankings in 1972 when he was ranked twenty sixth in the 10 miles with a time of 51:23.0.   He had of course run the distance on the road – third in the first ever Tom Scott 10 Miles road race in 51:41 and fourth two years later in 50:50 for example.

Bert did not appear in the ranking lists for any event in 1970 or 1971 but made his final appearance in 1972 when he was ranked at twenty sixth in the 10,000 metres race with a time of 31:30.  The picture above shows a clearly fit Bert McKay racing in 1973.   He was running in 1981 at the age of forty five and was first veteran to finish in the Tom Scott 10 Miles Road Race.    This ten year period will not be covered in the same sort of detail as his running career up to 1971: apart from anything else, the archives for this are sadly lacking in detail.   When it seemed to outsiders that his participation in athletics was starting to decline, it received a boost from an unlikely direction.

It was clear that Motherwell YMCA was not the force it had been, and nor was Monkland Harriers.   There were several other Lanarkshire clubs with fairly small memberships and they came together to form a new club.   So it was that in 1974 Bert appeared in a new vest – it wasn’t that he had left Motherwell, but a new club had been formed from five local Lanarkshire clubs.   Monkland Harriers, Motherwell YMCA, L&L from Lesmahagow, Airdrie Harriers and Bellshill YMCA.   The club was to be called Clyde Valley;  the clubs all trained separately as before and kept club identities within their own area, coming together for racing purposes:  but it meant that many very good runners came together to make a very good team.   Bert was competing seriously again and incidentally passing on his hard-earned wisdom to many talented and ambitious youngsters.   His own training had been reputed to be very hard and the young pretenders such as Jim Brown and John Graham came to be of a similar cast.   If you use the link below, you can see what an influence Bert had on the young John Graham.   The new club also had a beneficial effect on his own running as well.   He had probably thought that his days of running in, and winning medals in, the Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay were over – they weren’t!   The club was formed n 1974 and in November 1975 he was back on the seventh stage of the relay, holding the team’s position in third which is where they finished.   Better than that, he even ran the third fastest time on the stage.   In 1966 he had also run the seventh stage and had won a bronze medal with Motherwell.   Missing 1976, he ran in his last E-G in 1977 at the age of forty one, this time on the third stage and saw the team drop from second to third but it finished out of the medals in seventh.   Other than the E-G results it is almost impossible to find where and when he raced as a member of Clyde Valley – with a first team pool of young talented runners such as Ron McDonald, Jim Brown, John Graham, Roy Baillie and others it is not surprising that he was not in the four man teams.   It is highly probable that he was racing in the B or even at times, the C team but this is not reflected in published results.   The National results, almost always published in full on Ron Morrison’s website atwww.salroadrunningandcrosscountrymedalists.co.uk do not show Bert as having run there either.   In addition, the newspapers stopped reporting on most of the Highland Games meetings other than Edinburgh, many of the Sports (Police, Transport, etc)had been abandoned as well.   He is highly spoken of as a motivator, mentor and coach for the Motherwell group of Clyde Valley athletes and his contribution to the success of the new club owes him a debt on that side too.

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As was said in the opening paragraph, Bert was well-liked by the other athletes and highly respected by all.   For instance, Hugh Barrow who had many a race with him says “Bert was one of the really good runners of that generation, not a star but bloody good when there were a lot of good ones about!  “       Jim McLatchie said, “Bert was a tough competitor, more so when the Motherwell boys were all in the same race.   I enjoyed the tussles and I knew I would have to run hard if Bert was in the race.   It would have been great to have sat down with him after a race and sup a pint and discuss running – but I didn’t drink back then and not sure if Bert did either.”    And of course John Graham elsewhere on this website pays tribute to the training that he did under Bert’s guidance when he was a young athlete.   Look it up.

Finally, although Andy Brown was indisputably Mr Motherwell YMCA, Bert was not far behind in the opinion of many.   Had Bert gone to Law and District AAC, it might have been really formidable, but he didn’t, choosing to stay where he was.   Be that as it may, he has had a good career in the sport and has the respect of all who knew him, raced against him or watched him in action.

Hugh was undoubtedly a top class athlete and like all of the best athletes travelled to get the competition he needed.   What we have here are four extracts from the Victoria Park magazine – the first two from 1962 and the second two from 1971.   They were sent to me by his club mate Colin Young and I found them very interesting indeed.   The comments above about needing to travel for the right competition is sometimes disputed by those who say that with better organisation Scotland could provide for all the athletes’ needs.   Not always true and the first item speaks of his need for better competition than he as a 16 year old at the time could get at home.   Remember that Under 17’s were not allowed to race Seniors – Graham Everett at home for one could have given him a good competition!    The second one indicates where he stood in the VPAAC rankings for the year but if you let your eyes stray to some of the other events and look at the standards there, you might be surprised at the club’s strength.    Where do you see these guys finishing in the Scottish Men’s League competition in 2013?    The 1971 article recaps his career from 1958 to 1970.   The times were outstanding.    The places were all good.    Frank Horwill, the eminent coach and founder of the BMC who died last year always reckoned that Hugh was special – nit just because he was Member Number One of the British Milers Club, but because of his attitude to racing.   Where many are reluctant to race too often (how often is too often?) or run from the front, Hugh was never one to hang back.   Enough!   Just read the following.

David Bowman (Clydesdale Harriers, 20) leads the field in the marathon from Edinburgh Highland Games  in 1951

There have probably always been big sports meetings in Scotland’s capital city but they have been under a number of different banners.   Where in Glasgow there were the Rangers Sports and the Glasgow Police Sports at Ibrox and the Lanarkshire Constabulary Sports at Shawfield or the Glasgow Transport Sports at Helenvale which were all distinct events with large crowds, there have been the Edinburgh Highland Games, the British Airways Games and, my favourite title, the Edinburgh Corporation Lighting and Cleansing Department Open Meeting.   The Highland Games however was run on a five laps to the mile grass track at Murrayfield which could be treacherous when rain fell, even when there was a good track at New Meadowbank, and athletes really did come from far and wide.  One of the things different from other similar meetings, was the fact that, according to Neil Donnachie who ran in several of the Edinburgh Games, athletes in the open events changed in the same dressing room as all the ‘stars’ from around the world.  The list of famous names for almost 30 years who cam to the meetings is too long to list but if you read through what follows you will get Olympic champions (well into double figures), European Champions, Empire champions, not to mention national champions from over a dozen countries.   The New World (USA, Canada, Jamaica), the Old World (almost every European country), Africa (Nigeria, Rhodesia, Kenya, South Africa and others) were all represented.   The Games were organised by the wonderful Willie Carmichael whose story is told here and who was responsible for bringing the 1970 Commonwealth and Empire Games to the city.

Looking through ‘The Scotsman’, the first Highland Games were held at Murrayfield on 19 July 1947 in front of an estimated crowd of 20,000.   The report was brief and is worth repeating since it was the start of a meting destined to be significant in Scottish athletics for several decades.   It reads:

“Spectacle, thrills and spills contributed to make the Highland Games sponsored by the Edinburgh Corporation at the Rugby Union ground at Murrayfield a big success, and a crowd estimated at 20,000 were kept interested right to the end.   With pipers, Highland dancers, competitors in the heavy events wearing kilts, there was an atmosphere of a Highland Gathering, and the speed at which the large programme was carried through reflected well on the promoters.   

GE Mitchell, reinstated again as an amateur, was a winner of four field events, and when making a preliminary swing in the hammer throw there was a gasp when the head came off the hammer.   Happily however no one was injured.   Another “incident” was when a photographer, lying on the track in the face of the oncoming cyclists, was blamed for a collision between two competitors.

The athletic thrill of the afternoon was provided by the inter-city relay race.   CJ Hall, the Scottish half-mile champion, found one of his shoes coming off and, in stopping to replace it, lost fully 50 yards when he had been leading.   Withe a great burst of speed he chased RJ Sharp and was only beaten by about three yards – a most gallant effort.

DRB Grubb, one of Scotland’s most prominent milers,   won the youth race over that distance; EQA Colie won the 220 and RJ Watt, Boroughmuir FP, had a double when winning both the high and long jumps.”

It sounds like quite a meeting.   The Triangular International in 1947 was held in Murrayfield too. 

The report in the ‘Scots Athlete’ tells us:

“Since JE Farrell in “Running Commentary” has touched on the highlights of athletic performances at the England – Ireland – Scotland athletic contest, held in conjunction with the Scottish Marathon Championship (Falkirk to Edinburgh) on 5th July at New Meadowbank, we only wish to make a few general comments whilst presenting the details for study and reference.   The meeting was freely criticised for being too dragged out and finishing very much behind the scheduled finishing time.   It is only fair to point out that this was partly caused by the officials in not allowing other events to take place while the marathon leaders were approaching, which was wise and courteous, but it seems there could have been better planning of the scheduling of events.  

The meeting did not enthuse the crowd as it ought to have done.   Sports’ promoters must make it their definite intention to cater for the public.   Such an approach was lacking at this contest.   The announcement of the results were disgraceful, the announcement of an event being given possibly after one or two other events had taken place.   Surely a hold up such as this is not necessary, and surely, very annoying to the public.   Then again it has been reported that the irish officials objected to the Senior Five-a-Side Tournament, and we would uphold this objection.    The tournament was not in keeping with the meeting and anyway, the SAAA should aim at fostering pure athleticism – in the end it would gain more dividends for the sport, through a greater athletic-minded public.   Such football tournaments cannot compare with the thrills of athletic contests.   There was a large attendance, and the bumper ‘gate’ will help the SAAA Treasury, since out of the income England and Ireland only received a guarantee of £50 each.  

Though Ireland gained most individual successes, England won the contest with 85 points to Ireland’s 64 points and Scotland’s 37 points.   The meeting was summed up quite aptly in the Irish Press thus:- “To Ireland the honours, to England the victory.   To Scotland the money.”

100 yds:  1.   E McDonald Bailey (England)   2.  A Watt (Scotland);   3.   J Fairgrieve (England);   4.   JA Gregory (Ireland).   5 yds, 2 yds, 1 yd     10.1 sec

220 yds:   1.   J Fairgrieve (England);   2.   AJ Gregory (Ireland);   3.   A Watt (Scotland);   4.   WD McKee (Ireland);   5.   R Toone (England)   2 yds, 1 yd   23 seconds

440yds:   1.   JP Reardon (Ireland);   2.   B Elliott (England);   3.   C O’Clelrigh (Ireland);   4.   DC Pugh (England);   5.   WDH Connacher (Scotland)     3 yds, 4 yds   49.7 seconds

880 yds:   1.   CT White (England);   2.   RL Sarbutt (England);   3.  CJ Hall (Scotland);   4.   JR Nelson (Ireland);   5.   WN Ritchie (Scotland)   3 yds, 6 yds   1:57.9   

Mile:   1.   JJ Barry (Ireland) ;   2.   AH Pettet (England);   3.   WT Hawkley (England);   4.   F Sinclair (Scotland);   5.   RTS Macpherson (Scotland)     10 yds, 5 yds   4:25.2

Three Miles:   1.   HA Olney (England);   2.   A Forbes (Scotland);   3.   SH McCooke (Ireland);   4.   DM Haw (England);   5.   J Owens (Ireland)     14:32.0   A new Scottish native record of 4:32.2 by A Forbes.

120 yds Hurdles:   1.   Prince Adedoyin (Ireland);   2.   DO Finley (England);   3.   JGM Hart (Scotland);   4.   F Sharpley (Ireland);   5.   RA Powell (England)   2 yds, 4 yds   16.0 seconds

High Jump:   1.   Prince Adedoyin (Ireland)   6’2″;   2.   RC Pavitt and AW Selwyn (England), tied, second, 6’0″;   4.   GA Garrick (Scotland)   5’8″

Long Jump:   1.   Prince Adedoyin (Ireland)   23′ 5.75″;   2.   DC Watts (England)   23′ 5.25″;   3.   J Morris (England)   21′ 9.75″;   4.   RM Smith (Scotland)   21′ 9.75″;   5.   GH Caithness (Scotland)   20′ 3″

Javelin:   1.   MY Chote (England)   185′ 9.5″;   2.   MJ Dalrymple (England)   184′;   3.   PG Skea (Scotland)   164’11”;   4.   M Gleeson (Ireland)   158′ 2″;   5.   D Kernohan (Ireland)   154’5″

Shot:   1.   D Guiney (Ireland)   48′ 11″;   2.   HE Moody (England)  46′ 5″;   3.   C Glancy (Ireland)   41′ 11.5″;   4.   DMcD Clark (Scotland)   30′ 10″;   5.   JD Brewer (England)   30′ 7.75″

Discus:   1.   E Nesbitt (Ireland)   142′ 3.75″;   2.   EJ Brewer (England)   139′ 9″;   3.   A Fields (England)   138′ 2.5″;   4.   D Young (Scotland)   129′ 9.5″;   JD Brewer (England)   121′ 2.5″

Mile Relay (440, 220, 220, 880):   1.   England (R Toone, McDonald Bailey, DC Pugh, CT White);   2.   Ireland;   3.   Scotland   20 yds, 70 yds3 min 36.5 secs  

There was no mention of an ‘Edinburgh Highland Games’ in 1947 but in ‘The Scots Athlete’ of August 1948 there was a whole page advertisement for the ‘City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh  HIGHLAND GAMES’ to be held at Murrayfield Rugby Ground on Saturday, 4th September, with Open Athletics Events, Open Cycling Events, Open Wrestling Events and Invitation Events.   Entries closed with Willie Carmichael on 23rd August and other attractions included Piping, Shinty, Highland Dancing, Massed Army Gymnastic Display, Massed Pipe Bands and Massed Military Bands.   Furthermore ‘Olympic Stars from Several Countries Will Take Part’.    I don’t know when I have ever seen a bigger or more ambitious programme for a one day meeting – there were twelve open athletics events alone!  With the Olympic Games being held in London in 1948 space was scarce and the only actual reference to the meeting was in the December edition of the magazine where Emmet Farrell’s ‘Running Commentary’ read as follows:

Are Football Tournaments Necessary?   Before finally leaving the track season I should like to comment on an interesting feature concerning the Murrayfield Highland Games on 4th September.   On a none too favourable day this meeting attracted an audience of approximately 25,000, and remember there was no 5-a-side football, and that a major first league match was taking place at Tynecastle.   Surely this is an answer to those who assert that an athletics meeting must include such a tournament to attract a crowd.   Perhaps active Eastern District Secretary Willie Carmichael who has been connected with several of these successful Edinburgh promotions can tell us the secret of success.   No doubt the programmes were very comprehensive and attractive and good prizes offered, but similar  conditions pertained in the west with less successful results.   Could a better advertising campaign have something to do with it?  

No results – of even the most cursory kind – but evidence of a large crowd and no complaints of over running this time!

Willie Carmichael

The back page of the July 1949 issue of ‘The Scots Athlete’ was taken up by a full-page advert for the City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh Highland Games once more, on 3rd September, and offered 12 open athletics events and 9 invitation events plus a full marathon (26 miles 385 yards specified on the advert) plus cycling, military bands and wrestling.   Entries again to Willie Carmichael who produced quite a show.   The ‘Scots Athlete’ for September covered the event in some detail.   First of all Emmet Farrell said:    Murrayfield a Picture.    If there is a better venue for an athletic meeting, particularly a Highland Games gathering than Murrayfield I should like to know of it.   With its spacious stand, compact ground, its bright green sward, its general surroundings and atmosphere, Murrayfield looked a picture.   Add to this a huge warmly appreciative crowd, a host of athletics personalities headed by Olympic champions Fanny Blankers-Koen and Arthur Wint as well as the real Highland Games atmosphere and you have the ingredients of a real feast of sport.     .

W Carmichael who was the guiding light in this promotion once again proved his great flair for organising and it was grand to see such a resounding success.   The hard-working Eastern District secretary has the gift of imagination and believes in doing things on a big scale.   For example the appearance of Fanny Blankers Koen and Arthur Wint would alone have drawn the crowd.   But an invitation was also sent to a select British team of athletes and cyclists: and what a team Jack Crump had with him including the great Welsh sprinter Ken Jones, quarter-miler Lewis, half-miler Tom White and three great milers in L Eyre, AB Parker and Douglas Wilson.   In addition there was Ron Pavitt, one of England’s and Britain’s great two new high jumpers and a charming bevy of Britain’s best lady athletes including Dorothy Manley, Sylvia Cheeseman and new hurdle discovery Miss Desforges.

Fanny Blankers Koen did not disappoint.   She was a colourful and resplendent figure in her flaming orange track suit.   Equally so as she stepped on to the mark in white blouse and orange trunks and once more she moved gracefully but robustly over the hurdles and later over the flat.   The Dutch girl has the solid robust qualities of the Dutch house frau allied to the elfin grace of a Peter Pan.   Picturesque too was chocolate-coloured Arthur Wint from the time he warmed up in his white creamy track suit till he faced the starter and once more gave us a demonstration of that lazy, effortless style which deceives the eye but does not deceive the opponents who strive to hold on to his pace.   But at the end of the day in attempting to recapture once more the high-lights of the meeting, perhaps the most striking feature of all was the magnificent enthusiasm of the spectators.   The warm sportsmanship of the Edinburgh audience remains a fragrant memory.”

Although Emmet was as literate and accurate in his observations as ever, an article further through the same issue entitled “City of Edinburgh Highland Games: some impressions and reflections”  by DA Jamieson, an athletics establishment figure who had written a lot of the ’50 Years of Athletics’ book on the history of the SAAA in 1933.    He had much more space than Emmet and could spread himself and his comments more generously.   It is an excellent article and reads:

It was in a scene of inspiring pageantry and splendour that the Scottish amateur athletic season of 1949 made a dignified and impressive exit with the presentation of the Third Annual City of Edinburgh Highland Games at Murrayfield Rugby Union Ground, Edinburgh, on Saturday, 3rd September.   The genesis of this athletic gathering – which now bids fair to take primary place in the athletic sports calendar of the country – is to be found in the Holidays-at Home sports promotions which throughout the war years gave much pleasure and welcome relief to the people.   To the small coterie of athletic enthusiasts to whom the development of this experiment was entrusted by the City Magistrates and Town Council the full flowering of their cultural efforts must afford the keenest satisfaction and pride.

Most sports promoting bodies would shrink from the responsibilities of holding an athletic gathering on such a date when the appetite of the Scottish football piblic is being whetted during a period of restricted football fare, but this Highland Gathering is unique in respect that it wholly excludes football from its prospectus and makes a direct and absolute endeavour to submit entertainment of a thoroughly comprehensive athletic nature combined with the introduction of intermissions both interesting and attractive.   In this bold departure the promoters have met with signal success and richly deserve the congratulations of the Scottish sports-attending public.

In attempting to review the actual proceedings within the arena at Murrayfield it is somewhat difficult to visualise and maintain a clear picture, which inevitably becomes blurred by the multiplicity of happenings within the circle.   With the presentation of many field events concentration on any given event becomes well-nigh impossible and even to the lay observer there will have to be a drastic pruning to obviate the danger of this meeting drifting into a state of wild undergrowth of foliage out of all proportion to the blossom.  

Of the running handicap events which figured on the card the greatest thrill was provided in the finish of the 1 Mile race, in which the North of England entrant R Poxon, after a ding-dong struggle up the straight with a Borderer, R Taylor, literally threw himself at the tape, which action gained him the victory.   This was indeed a handicapping triumph if also a judge’s nightmare; but in the Youths’ Race over the same distance a different picture was seen when a fifteen-year-old competitor – D Stirk, Pilton AAC – running from the limit allowance established a winning lead halfway through the race which he maintained easily to the tape. 

The Invitation events all attained that high standard of performance which is expected of them.   Although small in number of starters, the 100 yards race was rich in the quality of its participants, and Ken Jones, the Welsh Rugby Internationalist,  found himself renewing acquaintance with the Murrayfield sward in yet another sphere of athletic activity and with a similar degree of distinction.  His winning time of 10.2 secs does not truly reflect the merit of his performance, since the runners were sprinting up wind which had a considerable degree of strength in its gusts.   Throughout the afternoon field events were exclusively engaging the attention both of competitors and of such  spectators as were conveniently positioned to watch, and one heard through the loud-speaker that a new record for the Hop, Step and Jump had superseded that other achievement in the same event which awaits ratification by the SAAA.   Since the claim affects Lindsay’s own earlier performance it must be gratifying to the Shotts AAC member to be able to substantiate still further his record achievements.

The participation by women in athletic events at sports promotion is too often watched by many spectators with a tepid interest and regarded in the nature of an interlude.   The first appearance, however, in Scotland of Fanny Blankers Koen as a competitor in the 80 metres hurdles and 200 metres flat aroused the keenest interest of the spectators.   On both occasions she was opposed by the fleetest of Britain’s women athletes and Blankers Koen’s dual victory was warmly applauded.   Tru it is that the Hurdles iten quickly assumed a processional character, yet such was the urge to greater endeavour shown by the Scottish lass – Jean Thomson, Dumfries – that whilst running into third place she created a new native record of 12.5 seconds, time which is still capable of further reduction by this talented athlete.

Stronger opposition was provided against the Dutch athlete in the 200 metres race, but here again the supreme class of this Olympic star could not be denied as she swept through to the tape a winner in the most impressive manner.   The appearance of this great woman athlete is bound to have an inspiring influence upon these girls who are so earnestly striving to restore to its pre-war prestige in Scotland the cult of athletics among its young women.   The incidence of a period of calm which now prevailed gave ideal conditions for the decision of the 300 yards race and also the 1 Mile item.   In the former race – one of the most testing distances in the running schedule – LC Lewis gave a brilliant performance when winning from Jones in the fast time of 31.1 seconds.   Although this is not an officially recognised distance for acknowledgement on the list of records, yet it will be classified as the fastest run under the “Noteworthy Performance” entries.   While it can be claimed that there is no finer grass track in the country than Murrayfield provides with its highly resilient and perfect cover of turf, the fact that Lewis had three turms to negotiate in his progress to the tape accentuates more keenly the great merit of this run.

An effortless win by Arthur Wint in the Half Mile scratch race in the very fast time of 1 min 54.1 secs came as a kind of anti-climax to the apologia which had been broadcast to the spectators prior to the decision of this race.   Here young Petty’s effort is worthy of mention and the steady improvement in the Scottish Champion’s pace must be extremely gratifying to his mentor as well as to his club connections.   Even more select than the 100 yards scratch event was that of the Mile race in which four runners took part – but they were four of the best, including L Eyre, the young Yorkshireman whose name must now be added to that great list of great milers who figure in athletics history.   His winning effort in 4 min 16 secs – and making all his own running – speaks for itself and one would have liked to have seen the young Irish student Vic Milligan, no stranger to Edinburgh, test his paces once again against such sterling runners over this distance.   

In the high jump event, RC Pavitt gave a polished display, clearing a meritorious 6 ft 5 ins.  

Of some 14 starters in the Marathon Race there were eight survivors, and the finish in a relative sense, was very close.   How galling the experience must be to be a runner-up in a race of this nature to be able to keep company with his opponent over a major part of the distance yet find himself unable to make that final effort which would yield him the fruits of victory – also the laurel wreath.   There was little sign of exhaustion in Paterson’s bearing when he reached the winning line in mere 5 secs ahead of CH Ballard , confirming the wonderful stamina and endurance shown by him in his SAAA title win last July.  

Behind all this cavalcade of sport and spectacle looms the figure of the man who from the very outset has been the creator and director of all this pulse-stirring setting of athletic activity and the fullest tribute must be paid to Willie Carmichael of the SAAA whose dynamic energies and flaming enthusiasm  has put the seal of quality upon this Edinburgh Festival sports promotion.   By virtue of his achievements in the sphere of athletic sports organisation he stands beyond challenge as the supreme impresario of Scottish sport.  

But – and it is a necessary repetition – there must be a curtailment in the list of events to ensure that patrons can take an intelligent interest in what is transpiring in the field.   More especially is this needed when one considers the fact that the finest exponents of the information conveyed through the microphone that so-and-so has achieved a certain feat in a certain part of the sports arena leaves with its hearer a certain sense of disappointment that the deed has eluded his attention.  

It appears to be a chronic defect in athletic meetings of larger proportions  that the arena should be crowded with individuals who are simply trespassers, and to whom repeated exhortations to get off the track leaves stone cold.   A glimpse of what ideal conditions might be achieved was observable during the performance given by the Alsatian dogs, following which the ground was speedily cluttered up again.   Again, during the massed Pipe Bands Display the number of amateur photographers exercising their hobby was beyond reason.   Incidentally it was amusing to note the backward stepping of the “snappers” as the bands arrived.   It suggested the title to a new pipe tune ‘The Retreat of the Camera-man’.”

Fair coverage of the meeting, well written – and no doubt about what he thinks on any point connected with the event!

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In 1950, there was a preview in the August 1950 Scots Athlete.  ” Edinburgh Highland Games.    These Games have won for themselves a considerable niche in the Scottish sporting calendar.   This year’s meeting is to be held at Murrayfield Rugby Ground on Saturday, 2nd September and every effort is being expended to maintain the variety and quality presented at its three predecessors.   The quality of the athletic performances at these Games has hitherto been of an exceptionally high standard.   last year was almost a unique occasion as two Olympic champions, Fanny Blankers Koen and Arthur Wint, were seen in action.   Again this year international athletes will contest scratch races at 100, 300, 880 yards, Mile and 3000 metres and women’s 80 metres hurdles.   It is hoped that Maureen Gardner (Mrs Geoff Dyson) will be seen in the latter event.   An Inter-City  Edinburgh, Glasgow Manchester, relay and inter-association, SAAA v AAA, relay are two new features which should provide great racing.   The Edinburgh Marathon run round the boundaries of the city proved a popular introduction last year and is being again held over the same course.   Jack Paterson, Polytechnic Harriers, is coming up to have a go again.   He won last year and holds the Edinburgh Trophy.   J Henning is coming over from Belfast.  Charlie Robertson, Scotland’s former marathon, saw the Games from the Stand last year: this time he contests the marathon.  

It is unfortunate that the state of the turf coupled with the proximity of the rugby season has necessitated some restrictions in the number of competitors in the field events.   The throwing events will be by invitation and the jumps on a restricted handicap basis.   Being held as they are in the midst of Edinburgh’s International Festival of Music and Drama, these Games attract quite a large number of foreign visitors, but they are also well supported by residents in Edinburgh and around.”

The report appeared in the September issue.  

“The Edinburgh Highland Games, held on 2nd September at Murrayfield, was a magnificent athletic gala, holding the attention of the large number of spectators to the end of the proceedings.   It lived up to its reputation of being one of the best dates on the whole athletics calendar.   Every invitation event was star studded with noted athletes from various countries participating.   Although no records were broken there were some brilliant performances.  

In the scratch 100 yards, Brian Shenton (last year’s runner-up), fresh from his European victory, won with a great finish from AR Pinnington with Scottish champion Sandy Bruce third in 9.9 seconds.   Anglo-Scot Norris McWhirter impressed greatly with his 300 yards win in 31.6 seconds, just 0.4 outside Halswelle’s long-standing native record.   The half-milers were pic-nicking – European champion HJ Parlett won from Roger Bannister in 2 mins 3.6 secs.   Victor Milligan extended the famous John Joe Barry right to the tape in the mile race won by the latter in 4 mins 24.3 secs.   Tom Tracey (Springburn) was first home in the 3000m team race but the team award went across the Border to the Gosforth Harriers.  

Alan Paterson maintained his standard with 6 ft 5 ins in the High Jump.   Perhaps the most colourful event was the Pole Vault.   Erling Kaas, the colourful Norwegian athlete, cleared 13 ft 6 ins and after gallant tries failed at 14 ft.   He was given a rousing reception.   In the same event, young GM Elliott became the third Britisher to clear 12 ft 9 ins.   JA Giles won the Shot and J Drummond of Heriot’s, the former Scottish champion, pleased being runner-up with one of the best home efforts in a long time being but 4 inches off the native record.   Drummond also won the Scots Hammer event.  

Edinburgh beat Manchester and Glasgow in the inter-city relay, and a popular win was the relay victory of the Scottish Select (J Petty, N McWhirter, W Jack, D Gracie) against the AAA team.   Elspeth Hay rounded off the track events display by beating Maureen Dyson and Jean Desforges in a special 100 yards.  

Not the least impressive scene on the arena by any means was the grand display of Scots Country Dancing to teh accompaniment of massed pipe and military bands.   In the round the city marathon, Scottish champion Harry Howard (Shettleston) gradually pulled from the leading group and running powerfully went on to finish the testing course a clear winner giving him further claims as one of Britain’s best.   Veteran JE Farrell (Maryhill) moving strongly in the latter stages passed noted English and Irish rivals to be runner-up.   Among the majority of contestants who retired were F Gratton (had travelled unwell) and Charlie Robertson who felt the effects of his record breaking run the previous week.    (Winning time was 2:40:10, Farrell 2:43:46; G Iden  2:45:42).

In 1951 there was no report on the Games themselves but a first class report on the marathon with some excellent photographs.

Thanks to Arnold Black, I have a copy of the programme of the meeting and very interesting it is too.   The invitation events included a One Mile with runners W Nankeville (Walton AC – British Mile Champion 1949/50; best time 4:8.8), AB Parker (Barrow AC – Winner of Mile in Triangular International 1951), HJ Parlett (Dorking St Pauls AC – British Empire 880 yards and European 800 metres champion), W Lennie (Vale of Leven AAC – Scottish Champion), J Smart (Edinburgh SH – Scottish Half Mile Champion, 1948), D Grubb (Heriot AC and Victoria Park AC), R Coutts (Aberdeen University AC – Scottish Inter Varsities Champion) and D Parmenter (Burchfield Harriers); a 100 yards with Brian Shenton (European 200 metres champion 1950), W Jack (Victoria Park – Scottish 100 and 220 yards champion), J Millican (Elswick H – Northumberland and Durham 440 yards champion), O Hardmeier (Edinburgh SH, Swiss Olympic representative), AS Dunbar (Stranraer Harriers) Scottish JUnior 100 yards champion), E McDonald Bailey (British Champion and record holder and these were all in the same heat.   The second heat of the 100 yards included Andy Stanfield (USA – American 100 and 220 champion 1950), MD McWhirter (Achilles – Scottish Internationalist), J Schofield (Elswick – Northumberland and Durham 100 and 220 yards champion) and J Mclachlan (Maryhill Harriers – Scottish Internationalist).   The Two Miles Flat Race (Invitation) was a team race with Victoria Park, Garscube, Gosforth, Bedlington Harriers, Motherwell YMCA plus five individuals from the AAA’s including Walter Hesketh, C Brasher, TG Hosking and RF Robins plus Eddie Bannon entered as an individual.   There were open events including a 100 yards with 18 Heats of seven runners and handicaps ranging from a half a yard to 11 yards.   Below is the centre page from the programme with some highlights of previous games.

*

1952 was Olympic year and many of the Olympians travelled to Scotland and competed at both the Rangers Sports and Edinburgh Highland Games.   Remigino, McKenley, Rhoden and company were an inspiration and although there was a big demand on space with coverage of the Olympics including previews, reports and reviews after the event, the magazine managed to cover the big Scottish events after a fashion.   The comments on the Games were in the November issue of ‘The Scots Athlete’.

“Spectacular Edinburgh Games”.   The Edinburgh Highland Games with its magnificent Murrayfield setting provided the usual mixture of music spectacle and sheer intrinsic athletics.   Mal Whitfield who surely must be one of the greatest half-milers of all time revealed versatility by winning his own speciality – then going down to 220 and winning that also.   Another McKenley-Rhoden duel ensued with McKenley on top.   Then Rhoden showed his versatility by taking the ‘200’ with a remarkable 9.7 secs.   It was another triumph for the organisers, with the complete programme of the multifarious events concluded 7 minutes before schedule – quite unusual – but a pointed reference for sports promoters.   Of course, as usual the genius behind the scene, who seems to leave no stone unturned in ensuring the success of a meeting is our own Willie Carmichael, formerly the Eastern District Secretary and now the SAAA Vice President.   The Association President ins Duncan McSwein who is also responsible as treasurer.   It will be recalled that Mr McSwein and Secretary Mr Gilbert were at Helsinki as Assistant Team managers to the British team.”     It also points out separately that the attendance was 50,000!

 The ‘Glasgow Herald was a bit more fulsome about the match, saying  “Fully 50,000 people saw excellent sport at the Highland Games at Murrayfield on Saturday including the making of three Scottish all-comers records.   In the weight putt P O’Brien (USA) reached 55′ 2” – half an inch better than the previous record set last year by JE Fuchs (USA).   O’Brien later competed in the Scots Hammer and, although he is a novice in the event, showed that with a week or two of practice he would probably beat any Scot.   GV Rhoden (Jamaica) equalled the all-comers record for the 100 yards with 9.7 seconds.   This was a grand performance especially as he had just previously run the quarter-mile in which another Jamaican, H McvKenley, beat him in an extremely close finish in 47.6 and thus reversed the position in the Olympic 400 metres.   Rhoden competed with a limb in plaster protecting a slightly pulled muscle.  

The best dual performance of the meeting was accomplished by MG Whitfield, the Olympic 800m champion.   He won the half mile with 1L57.1 and then the special furlong in 22.3 seconds.   His form in the latter event revealed that he possesses the pace of the best sprinters for it was over the last 20 yards that he passed L Laing (Jamaica).   One of the surprise results was the defeat of the Olympic 1500 metres runner-up R McMillen (USA) in the Mile.   DR Burfitt (AAA) was in the rear at half distance and McMillen apparently out on his own.   Over the last lap, Burfitt wiped out McMillen’s 30 yard lead and beat him by five yards in 4 min 17.4 sec.  

W Davis and J Biffle (USA) achieved all that was required to win the high and broad jumps.   Davis was suffering from a damaged foot and ceased jumping at 6′ 2″.   In the women’s events, B Brouwer (Holland) knocked 0.1 second off the 100 yards all-comers record and SB Strickland (Australia) reduced the 80 metres hurdles all-comers record from 11.3 to 11.2 seconds.”

Looking at the names listed, the athletics enthusiast is in wonderland!.   Almost all the Jamaicans – McKenley, Rhoden, Laing – only Wint missing, the Americans – Davis, McMillen, the marvellous Whitfield, the great Parry O’Brien; the Australian women – Betty Cuthbert, Shirley Strickland!    And the crowd of 50,000 is confirmed

.After the Olympic year of 1952, 1953 was bound to see a bit of a drop in standards but nevertheless the meeting featured athletes from Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the Argentine, the Netherlands and England as well as the best of Scottish athletes.   Results:

100 yds:   1.   R Gallan (Argentine)   9.7, equals Scottish A-C record);  2.   B Shenton (AAA)   9.9;   3.   W Jack (Vict Pk)   9.9

220 yds:   1.   B Shenton   22.0;   2.   PG Fryer (AAA)   22.4;   3.   W Jack (Vict Pk)   22.6

440 yds:   1.   H Geister (Germany)   48.7;   2.   LA Smith (AAA)   49.2;   3.   S Steger (Switzerland)   49.5.

880 yds:   1.   W Leug (Germany)   1:54.2;   2.   B Grogan (AAA)   1:55.0;   3.   DC Seaman (AAA)   1:57.4.

Mile:   1.   DC Law (Achilles)   4:19.3;   2.   L Eyre (AAA)   4:20.9;   3.   CJ Simpson (Small Heath)   4:24.4

Two Miles (Individual):   1.   F Green (AAA)   2.   I Binnie (Vict Pk);   3.   C Brasher (AAA)   9:04.1

             Team Placings:    1.   Vict Pk   10 pts;   2.   Shettleston Harriers   21;   3.   Edin Sth   29.

Inter-City Relay (1408 yds):   1.   Glasgow (D McDonald, W Jack, R Whitelock, DK Gracie);   2.   Edinburgh;  3.   Birmingham.   2 min  44.8 secs.

Inter Association Relay (1408 yds):   1.   AAA (L Smith, AW Lillington, B Shenton, PG Fryer);   2.   SAAA   2 min 52.6 secs

HJ:   1.   DRT Cox (AAA)   6ft 2 in;   2.   NGA Gregor (Kent CC)   6 ft 0 in;   3.   K Cunningham (Vict Pk)   5 ft 10 in.

LJ:   1.   AR Smith (Glasgow U);   2.   J McAslan (Edinburgh S);   B Devine (“Q”)   21 ft 2.5 ins

PV:   1.   GM Elliott   13 ft 6 ins;   2.   NGA Gregor;   3.   J Vicario (Belgium)   12 ft 6 ins.    (No distance for Gregor was listed in the results as published.)

Wt:    1.   V Depre (Belgium)   45 ft 5 in;   2.   J Drummond (Heriot)     44 ft 2.5 ins;   3.   T Logan (Vict Pk)   41 ft 4.5 in.

WOMEN:

100:   1.   A Pashley (AAA)   11.0;   2.   P Brouwer (Neth);   P Devine (“Q”)

220:   1.   P Brouwer   25.3 (Scottish A-C record);   2.   A Pashley;   3.   E Hay.       

80m Hurdles:   1.   J Desforges (Essex L);   2.   I Pond (London Olympiades);   W Lust (Neth)   11.4

Inter-Association Relay (704 yards):   1.   English WAAA (Pashley, Burgess, Desforges, Johnson) 1:19.0;   2.   SWAAA

***

In 1954 we know that there was another Edinburgh Highland Games but unfortunately 1954 not only had a European Games but also had a Commonwealth Games in Vancouver!   A Commonwealth Games in which Jim Peters and others came to grief and Joe McGhee won.   The incident is well known and can be followed up on this website at the page called Vancouver 54.   It took up pages and pages in all the papers of the day and – relatively speaking – even more in ‘The Scots Athlete’   One of the side results was the lack of any coverage of the Edinburgh Highland Games simply because of the timing of the two events.   The former over-lapped the latter, which is a shame because the advertisements for the event on 21st August included the note that Star Attractions” included “Ten reigning American Athletic Champions and final try-out for Britain’s contenders for European Championships” as well as proclaiming that it was “one of Scotland’s Greatest Gatherings, the prelude to the Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama and Edinburgh Military Tattoo.”

However when in doubt look up the ‘Glasgow Herald’ archive and sure enough there was a short report.  “Shot and Hurdle Feats at Murrayfield: Rain Spoils Edinburgh Games.   Heavy rain which fell throughout the afternoon marred the eighth Edinburgh Highland Games at Murrayfield on Saturday reducing the attendance to around 18,000 and making the creation of new records virtually impossible.   One of the best performances in the field events was the shot putt of 53′ 5″ by JA Savidge, the British Champion.   The merit of this effort in the conditions can be appreciated when it is pointed out that D Koch (USA) achieved 5′ 5” less.   Another performance of note was the 15.2 sec for the 120 yards hurdles by E Kinsella who for the second time beat the British champion P Parker – this time by 1.5 yards.  

The world 3 mile record holder, F Green, was not stretched in the Two Miles which he won in 9 min 20.3 sec.   Young J McLaren (Shotts) performed very well indeed in finishing third, again beating the Scottish senior cross-country champion, E Bannon.   American successes were gained in the high jump, 100 yards, 440 yards and, surprisingly, in the caber.   F Jeter (USA) and the Em[pire Games champion E Ifeajuna, Nigeria, both jumped 6′ 2″ but the Nigerian was placed second because of ne failure.   W Williams of the USA had little to spare in the 100 yards.   H Hogan (Australia was in front with 20 yards to go  but Williams and KA Box (AAA) wo was second produced a stronger finishing burst.

***

The first mention I could find in 1955 to the meeting was in the August issue of ‘The Scots Athlete’.   The comment was simply that apart from Cowal, Highland Games generally were not doing well but Edinburgh was an exception because of the super effort from Willie Carmichael and ‘the Highland aspect is largely bolstered by prominent continental and British stars’.   There were some remarks in subsequent issues but no comprehensive report.   Eddie Kirkup of Rotherham won the marathon and in his review of the season, Emmet Farrell said that ‘we had another star in Ayrshire lad, Jackie Boyd of Glasgow varsity and Garscube.   He displayed all the polish of a brilliant middle distance runner.   One of his best performances was at the Edinburgh Highland Games when he went right through his field from virtual scratch in the open half, returning a time equivalent to faster than the International scratch event at the same meeting.’    However, if space forbade coverage in the magazine, there was a short report in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ of 22nd August.   “Records at Edinburgh Highland Games.   Two all-comers records were broken and one equalled at the ninth Edinburgh Highland Games on Saturday at Murrayfield.   The new all-comers records were achieved by K Wood (AAA) with 4 min 8.8 sec in the Mile and by Miss T Hopkins (Queen’s University, Belfast) with 5′ 6” in the high jump.   The equalled all-comers record was 25,1 sec for the furlong by Miss M Francis (WAAA), the British record holder for 100 yards.   The Games records were, of course, broken in those events and the other Games records were achieved in the marathon, inter-city relay and the Two Miles.   E Kirkup (Rotherham) won the marathon in 2 hrs 31 min 03 sec – 7 minutes better than the previous best of the late Donald Robertson four years ago.   Wood had a runaway win in the Mile.   He was content to lie behind the pace-maker AD Breckenridge, but entering the last lap, he never gave his rivals a chance to get on terms with him.   His time was 1 second better than that of G Nielson (Denmark) at Ibrox Stadium which is awaiting approval.  

Miss Hopkins was an easy winner, beating the present all-comers best in the high jump of D Walby (late of Glasgow University) by 4″.   She attempted 5′ 8.5″ hopeful of beating the world record, but failed.  

The best race of the say was the Two Miles in which P Driver and BT Barrett fought out a terrific last lap, the latter losing by a yard in the good time of 8:57.7.   The Scottish champion I Binnie tried hard to keep up with the leaders but he evidently cannot cope with the powerful finish of English runners.”

This was the unfortunately the last year that the marathon was run at the Games: it had been popular with runners and supporters alike.   The comments on Ian Binnie by the anonymous reporter do not show a lot of sympathy and taken with those made the following year seem to me to indicate some slight bias against the man.

***

In 1956, the games were held in what can politely be described as poor conditions – the ‘Glasgow Herald’ had the headline “Conditions Overcome By Visiting Athletes” and the class of the visiting athletes was undoubtedly of the highest.with Zimny of Poland, Khaliq of Pakistan and Barthel of Luxembourg mixing it with the best of British talent.   The report went on :“Despite the atrocious weather performances at the tenth Edinburgh Corporation International Athletic Meeting at Murrayfield reached a high level.   For example, Abdul Khalid (Pakistan) romped home over the squelching turf for a 100 yards victory in 10.1 seconds – a time probably equal to half a second better in fairer times which confirmed his reputation of being capable of 9.6 for the distance.   Perhaps the most striking performer of the meeting, however, was K Zimny of Poland aged 21 who raced in easy and comfortable style throughout the Two Miles and won as he liked in the good time of 9 min 21 sec, showing barely a trace of exhaustion at the finish.   The field beaten by Zimny was impressive, despite the absence of GD Ibbotson who failed to appear with the Amateur Athletic Association team.   I Binnie (Victoria Park) who reported some weeks ago that he had retired from athletics, made a surprise re-appearance.  As usual he ran well enough in the early stages and then fell away but he was able to count for his club who won the team honours.   AH Brown (Motherwell) the Scottish 6 Miles champion did well to finish third with outstanding Spanish, Belgian, German and Dutch runners taking part.

J Barthel (Luxemburg), the Olympic 1500m champion, measured his field for three-quarters of the distance in the Mile, made his way easily to the front over the last lap and raced home seven yards ahead of Murat (Yugoslavia).   K Wood (AAA), winner of this event for the past two years, was another notable absentee from the AAA team.  

A Pole Vault of 13′ 6″ by Wazny (Poland) was excellent in the pouring rain for the pole must be perfectly dry for the best two handed hold to be useful.   Miss TE Hopkins (NI) was one of the outstanding women athletes with a perfect hurdle effort of 11.8 sec for 80 metres, and she went on to win the high jump with 5′ 1″   –  a moderate effort for her.” 

The report is very interesting for a number of reasons: first it refers to the meeting as the Edinburgh Corporation International Athletic Meeting – the words Highland and Games not yet being the regular description of the event; second it points out that real international stars were prepared to come to Scotland and race on a five laps to the mile track and turn in very good times and the fact that the net was cast far and wide by the organisers is shown by the countries mentioned in this short report – Poland, Pakistan, LuxemburgSpain, Holland German and Belgium as well as England Ireland and Wales.

 The picture above, kindly supplied by Graham McDonald of Pitreavie AAC, is of the finish of the 100 yards at the 1957 Games.   Result (from left): Abdul Khaliq (Pakistan) 1st  9.9; Brian Shenton (GB) 4th, Gavin Carragher (Australia)  3rd, Ronnie Whitelock, Victoria Park, 2nd, 9.9, J Glen Edgar, E Roy Sandstrom.   (Edgar partially hidden by George Barber of Maryhill Harriers in the kilt).

1957, 17th August was the date for the Edinburgh Highland Games and a really well supported one it was.   The ‘Glasgow Herald’ didn’t make a habit of giving the attendance but this time it did and said that the numbers were 25000.   Quality athletes from all over Britain and abroad were taking part, and I’ll include the results here although I won’t make a habit of it for all meetings.   Mike Lindsay, born in Glasgow but brought up and living outside the country, made the headline of ‘Lindsay’s Record’ and the report read: “One Scottish Native Record and one Games record were broken at the Edinburgh Highland Games on Saturday at Murrayfield where there was an attendance of 25,000.   The British Junior Shot Putt champion MJ Lindsay, who was born in Scotland, won the shot putt with a fine throw of 52′ 3.5″ and beat the previous best set three years ago by T Logan (Renfrew & Bute Police) by as much as 5′ 8.5″.   This was achieved by his first putt.   M Iqbal (Pakistan)  was second with 43′ 11.5″ and the Scottish Champon, J Drummond, was third with 43′ 8.5″.  

E Kinsella (Eire) won the 120 yards hurdles in 14.6 sec and beat his own games record set three years ago by 0.5 sec, but he only narrowly beat G Raziq (Pakistan).   One of the best performances by a Scot was in the final of the special 100 yards in which the Scottish champion, R Whitelock (Victoria Park), ran very well and lost to A Khaliq (Pakistan) in 9.9 seconds, an exceptionally good time on teh difficult grass course.   Three heats were necessary and Whitelock gained a fine win in the second, beating ER Sandstrom (AAA) in 10.1 seconds.   The time for the other two heats was 10.2.   The Victoria Park runner who did not allow the presence of the more reputable sprinters to unnerve him, is almost certain to gain a place in future British International teams.  

The Scottish relay team (GE Everett, Whitelock, JG Edgar and J McIsaac) also ran very satisfactorily and were only beaten by 0.3 seconds by a strong English team (MA Farrell, A Breaker, B Shenton and FP Higgins).   Miss H Bloemhof (Holland) although not yet as good as her country woman Miss F Blankers Koen, a former Olympic champion, easily won the women’s sprints from Miss J Paul (AAA).   Miss D Tyndal (Scotland) was third in each, beating the Scottish champions Miss ISH Bond.

Invitation  Event  Results

100 yards:   1.   A Khaliq (Pakistan);   2.   R Whitelock (Victoria Park);   3.   G Carragher (Australia)     9.9 seconds

220 yards:   1.   B Shenton (AAA);   2.   G Carragher (Australia);   3.   A Breaker (AAA)                           22.6 seconds

440 yards:   1.  JD Wrighton (AAA);   2.  FP Higgins (AAA);   3.   J McIsaac (Victoria Park)                     48.6

880 yards:   1.   MA Rawson (AAA);   2.   JV Paterson (Edinburgh University);   3.   E Buswell (AAA)      1:55.4

Mile:           1.   K Wood (AAA);   2.   AD Gordon (AAA);   3.   M Berisford (AAA)                                        4:09.4

Two Miles:  1.   LD Reed (AAA);   2.   G Knight (AAA);  3.   A Lawrence (Australia)                                   9:03.4

                   (Team Race:   1.   VPAAC  (I Binnie 5, J McLaren 7, J Russell 12    24 pts)

120 yards H:   1.   E Kinsella (Eire);   2.   G Raziq (Pakistan);   3.   P Hildreth (AAA)                                  14.6

High Jump:    1.   D Wilson (AAA);   2.   D Vandyke (AAA);   3.   W Piper (Glasgow Police AC)                 6′

Pole Vault:    1.   GM Elliott (AAA);   2.   I Ward (AAA);   3.   A Ditton (Pakistan)                                       13′ 6″   

Javelin:          1.   M Nawaz (Pakistan);   2.   J Khan (Pakistan)                                                                      203′ 5″

Shot Putt:      1.   M Lindsay (AAA);   2.   M Iqbal (Pakistan);   3.   J Drummond (Heriot’s AC)                   52′ 3.5″

Hammer, Scots    1.   M Iqbal (Pakistan);   2.   D Brands (RAF);   3.   A Valentine (London AC)                 107′ 8″   

The match events tended to be mixed in with the Invitation events but where Scots were involved they have been covered in the text, including the women’s events.   There were also handicap events and schools relays.   It was a real gala event with world stars and Euro, Empire and Olympic medallists sharing the day with the local athletes.    And not a football kicked anywhere on the sward, as they liked to call it!

***

There was nothing in the magazine for 1958 but Alex Wilson in Germany was good enough to send n some information about a very interesting meeting at Murrayfield.   There were lots of all-comers records on the track and in the field events as well But Mike Lindsay returned after his triumphant competition the year before and won the Shot Putt with fifty two and a half feet, not far off his Scottish record of fifty two feet three and a half inches of the previous year.   The Australian Norma Thrower set a new all-comers record for the 80 yards hurdles of 11.1 and in the women’s 100 yards Olympic champion Betty Cuthbert, also of Australia, equalled the all-comers record of 11.1 seconds.     Mary Bignal (later Mary Rand after marrying the Olympic oarsman Sidney Rand) won the high jump with five feet four inches.

Peter Radford, third in the Olympic 100m, won the 100 yards in 9.8 seconds.   The Indian star Milka Singh, the British Empire Champion and record holder won the 440 yards in 47.6 from Britain’s two Johns – John Wrighton was second in 47.8 and the AAA’s champion John Salisbury was third in 48.4   Britain was very strong in the 440 yards event at the time and these two were the mainstay of the relay teams with Glasgow’s John McIsaac also being one of the top quarter-milers of the day.   George Kerr of Jamaica set an all-comers record in the 600 yards of 69.8 seconds.  Merv Lincoln, the Australian rival to Herb Elliott, trained by Franz Stampfl, Roger Bannister’s old coach who had emigrated to Australia, won the Mile in 4:06.8 from Derek Ibbotson who ran 4:07.9 and Mike Berisford.   The Two Miles was won by Basil Heatley in 8:52.4 from Welshman John Merriman and the Kenyan Arere Anentia.   Anentia won bronze in the six miles in the Empire Games in Cardiff and Kenya was just starting to make a breakthrough in middle distances.   Keith Gardner of Jamaica won the men’s 120 yards hurdles in 14.1, another Scottish all-comers record.   In the 1000m flat, Mike Blagrove from Ealing won in 2:10 which was an all-comers record with Scotland’s Jim Boyd second in 2:10.9.

1959 was a bit quieter than most with no athletes from abroad but there were athletes of real talent from all parts of the United Kingdom and Eire with the ‘Glasgow Herald’ report being headed by Mike Lindsay’s performance in shot and discus events.   Lindsay’s Native Records at Murrayfield:   MR Lindsay (Anglo-Scottish AC) set up Scottish native records in the shot putt and discus at the thirteenth annual Edinburgh Highland Games at Murrayfield on Saturday and contributed to Scotland’s success over Ireland by 101 points to 71 in the 16 event international.   Lindsay’s 55′ 2.5″ in the shot putt improved the native record by 2′ 5″ and 2′ 5.5″ better than the games record.   He broke the discus record by 5′ 8″ with 160′ 11″.

The Scottish sprinters in the 100 metres failed but young MR Hildrey (Victoria Park AAC) atoned for their shortcomings in the 220 yards.   John McIsaac (Victoria Park) demonstrated his return to form with a fine win in the quarter-mile in the good time of 48.6 seconds.   With his colleague RL Hay taking second place, they earned 8 valuable points for the team.   GE Everett (Shettleston Harriers) finished fifth in the joint match and invitation mile and was second in the match in 4 min 10.4 secs.   In the match he was 0.4 sec behind J McLaughlin, an Irish miler.   The Mile was won by JP Anderson (AAA) whose last lap effort was too much for Everett.   GD Ibbotson was second in 4 min 8.7 seconds 0.8 secs behind the winner.  

The outstanding performance of the meeting was the victory of DH Segal (AAA) in the 300 yards in 30.1 sec – one second inside the all-comers record.   DH Jones and HM Yardley, both of the AAA’s team, who were second and third also broke the record with times of 30.7 and 30.9 seconds.”

There were many other talented athletesbut despite the best efforts of Brightwell, Rawson and Fairbrother no other records were broken.

JJ Barry and Fred Wilt in the Police Sports of 1949

The Glasgow public was treated after the War un 1945 to an annual feast of athletics that we can only dream about.   The very best from international athletics came to the city and competed in the Rangers Sports and the Glasgow Police Sports and for the price of a train ticket they could go through to Edinburgh and see the Highland Games at Murrayfield.   This page summarises the Games from 1945 although they started well before that and it can be seen from the reports that the standard slid over the years as society and the sport of athletics altered and priorities became different.

In 1947 the sports were held on 27th June, the week after the SAAA Championships, and was a purely domestic affair with the top men being 19 year old Alan Paterson in the high jump, D McD Clark in the hammer and Andy Forbes in the two miles.   Paterson was particularly interesting: he had won the Irish Championship in 1946 with a leap of six feet five and a half inches and been top man in Britain since then.   In 1947, despite being the AAA’s champion he had been eliminated in the SAAA Championships after being unable to clear 5′ 8″.   At the Police Sports he won the event with six feet one and a half inches.   Clark (Royal Ulster Constabulary) won the wire hammer with 168′ 9.5″ beating the existing 166′ 5.5″ set by his countryman T Nicholson.    Andy Forbes of Victoria Park won in 9:28.9 from McLennan of Shettleston and Lamont of Victoria Park.   Victoria Park and Shettleston tied for the tem race with 11 points each.   1948 was Olympic year and although the British Police Championships were held at Hampden, there seemed to have been no specifically Glasgow Police event.

However, 1949 was the first of the post-war bumper years.   The Glasgow Herald headline read “SIXTY THOUSAND CROWD SEE RECORDS BROKEN”    and the report read:

“Four Scottish all-comers records were established at the sixty sixth Glasgow Police Sports at Hampden Park on Saturday.   The crowd of 60,000 though reserved the greatest cheer for AS Paterson (Victoria Park) who just failed to make a new British record in the high jump.   The Scot was more confident than he has ever been and it was by the merest touch of the bar that he was unsuccessful in clearing 6′ 8”.   He had previously beaten the American Phillips and the Norwegian Paulsen.   The latter who was second in the Olympic Games high jump, could not beat 6′ 4″ on this occasion, and the American after clearing 6′ 5″ complained of back strain and could no better.   Paterson’s wining effort of 6’7″  was a most creditable performance, particularly in view of the fact that a football five-a-side match in which the spectators were scarcely interested did not help his efforts to concentrate on that height and on the British record attempt.  

WILT-BARRY DUEL

 One of the best races in the programme, which unfortunately lasted too long, was the two miles in which JJ Barry of Eire found more than his match in Fred Wilt of the United States.   Finishing the first mile in 4 min 32 sec the Irishman did more than he was accustomed to do by making the pace.   Neither he nor Wilt was concerned about the field of handicap runners during the first mile and a half.   Then both made substantial progress and over the last lap the American put in a finish with which Barry was unable to cope.   He as well as the winner was inside the 45 year old record of Alfred Shrubb, the winner by 4.4 seconds and Barry by three seconds.  

RF Ault who is only 23 had no serious opposition in the 440 yards hurdles, and won as he liked in 55.1.   The previous all-comers record was 56.2 made by J Livingston Learmonth 22 years ago.   Harrison Dillard, the American and Olympic sprint champion, set up a new 120 yards hurdles record of 14.5 beating DO Findlay’s 11 year old time by 2-10th second ran through the 220 yards handicap to return 22.1 sec in a strong wind.   Herbert Douglas in the long jump returned 23′ 11 5-10th”    A Bolen, who like Dillard and Douglas is a coloured man, equalled the 440 yards all-comers record and Douglas in a heat of the 100 yards equalled WR Applegarth’s record which has stood since 1913.”

Harrison Dillard won the handicap 220 yards at the end of the afternoon in 1949

The “Scots Athlete” couldn’t let the meeting pass without comment, and the commenter was Emmet Farrell who said,

“G-Man Catches Tired Hare”   Despite their hectic week of athletics the American team of athletes finished up their programme at the Glasgow Police Sports with displays worthy of their exceptional talent.   Fred Wilt and John Joe Barry again fought out a terrific struggle in the Two Miles but the Yank who is a member of the FBI, popularly known as a G-Man, brought out a finish worthy of Zatopek to beat the “Ballycurren Hare” in 9 mins 5 2/10th secs which beat Alfred Shrubb’s all-comers record of 9 mins 9.3 secs set up away back in 1909.   Barry was also inside the old figures and both received an ovation worthy of their efforts.   Subject to confirmation, all-comers records were also set up by Harrison Dillard and Dick Ault in the hurdle events and by Herb Douglas in the broad jump.   Veteran Don Finlay ran surprisingly well to hold his renowned opponent”

Results of invitation events:

100 yards:   1.   Robin Ward (Glasgow Univ)   3yds;   2.   W Christie (Bellahouston)   4 yds;   3.   J McLaughlin (Maryhill)       Time 9.7 secs

220 yards:   1.   Harrison Dillard (USA);  2.  DY Clark (Garscube);   3.   G McDonald (VPAAC)        22.1 secs

440 yards:   1.   D Bolen (USA)   scr;   2.   AB Watts (England)   12 yds ;   3.   P Dolan (Eire)   4 yds    48.4 secs

880 yards:   1.   T Begg (Glasgow Univ)   40 yds;   2.   S Petty (St Modan’s)   36 yds;   3.  A Boysen (Norway)   18 yds     1 min 52.1 sec

Two Miles:  1.   F Wilt (USA) scr;   2.   JJ Barry (St Machans) scr;   3.   L Theys (Belgium)   32 yds       9 mins 5.2 secs  (new Scottish all-comers record)

120 yards hurdles:  1.   Harrison Dillard;   2.   DO Finlay (England)   3.   E Arneberg (Norway)      14.5 secs   (new Scottish all-comers record)

440 yards hurdles:   1.   RF Ault (USA);   2.   ER Ede (USA);   3.   A Klein (Norway)    51.1 secs        (new Scottish all-comers record)

High Jump:   1.   AS Paterson (Victoria Park);   2.   R Phillips (USA);   3.   B Paulsen (Norway)     6 ft  7 ins

Broad Jump:   1.   H Douglas (USA);   23 ft  11 3/4 ins   (new Scottish all-comers record)

Putting the Shot:  1.   D Guiney (Eire);   2.   J Giles (England);   3.   J Drummond (G Heriot’s)      45 ft   2 1/2 ins

One Mile:   1.   W Williamsn (Greenock Wellpark Harriers) 105 yds;   2.   T Tracey (Springburn Harriers)   95 yds;   3.   R Boyd (Clydesdale Harriers)   85 yds         4 mins 19.5 secs

A fine mix of domestic and foreign athletes but with competitors from America, Norway, England and Eire the Glasgow public was well served.

Alan Paterson

This was followed a year later by another top class meeting on 10th June, 1950 at Hampden:   R McFarlane (Canada won the half-mile and the quarter-mile.   “Canadian Athlete’s Do to nearly three-quarters of the journey.   In the special 440 Dave Bolen strode out gracefully to win on his own and though Doug Harris of New Zealand could do no better 1 min 54.3 secs in the special half-mile, his facile striding seemed to indicate that he is well on the road to recovery from the serious Achilles injury sustained in last year’s Olympics.   uble:   The performance of R McxFarlane (Canada) in winning the half-mile and the quarter-mile was the outstanding was the outstanding feature of the long series of Glasgow Police Sports held at Hampden Park n Saturday before a crowd of 50,000 people.   McFarlane, a tall strapping athlete, who is 23, ran particularly well in the half-mile opposed by RL Brown of USA and R Bengtson of Sweden.   JS Petty, the Scottish champion, set off at a tremendous pace completing the first “quarter” inside 57 seconds – an excellent time on a track rendered very loose by the drought.   Rounding the last bend, Bengtsson raced to the front but when the straight was entered McFarlane with his powerful relentless strides broke the opposition and won handsomely in the fine time of 1 min 54.4 sec, the fastest time run in Britain this season.   McFarlane equalled the all-comers time of 48 seconds in the 440 yards.   As in the half, he allowed others to make the pace but he powered down him rivals and won from the American H Mariocco.”   The meeting standard was very high indeed with the Mile being won by S Langqvist (Sweden) from H Ashenfelter (USA) and J Ashby (AAA) in 4:20.    The other invitation events were no less glamorous:   100 yards: 1. WJ Dwyer (USA0, 2.  B Shenton (AAA); 3. W Jack (Victoria Park).   220 yards: 1.  Dwyer; 2.   Jack;   Shenton.   120 yards hurdles:  1.  H Dillard (USA);  2. W Birrell (AAA); 3.  JP McAslan (Trinity AC).   There are lots of top quality athletes in these results: Harrison Dillard and Horace Ashenfelter were both Olympic champions; Dwyer and Shenton were also Olympians and Jack was one of Scotland’s best ever sprinters.

Bill Nankeville winning from Landqvist and Erikson

The standard was every bit as good in 1951.   The results of the invitation events speak for themselves:

100 yards:   1.   E Conwell (USA);  2.   E McDonald Bailey (AAA);  3.   J Wilkinson (AAA)   9.9 sec

220 yards :  1.   E McDonald Bailey;   2.   J Wilkinson;  3.   W Jack (Victoria Park)     21.1 sec

440 yards:   1.   M Mariocco (USA);   2.   RL Browne (USA);   3.   AW Scott (AAA)   48.7 sec

880 yards:   1.   MJ Parlett (AAA);   2.   RL Browne;   3.   L Gurney (AAA)    1:55

Mile:           1.   GW Nankeville (AAA);   2.  B Landqvist (Sweden);   3.   L Ericsson (Sweden)   4:15.5

The field events were equally good with RE Richards of the USA setting a new British pole vault record and John Savidge setting a new British all-comers record for the shot.  Alan Paterson was third in the handicap high jump after clearing 6’6″ But the really big attraction was on the women’s side of the event with Fanny Blankers-Koen winning both the 100 yards and 220 yards from June Foulds (AAA) defeating the best of Scots like Morag Carmichael and G Thomson.

Richards in 1951

In Olympic year of 1952, the SAAA Championships were held on the first Saturday of June and the Police Sports moved to the vacant date at the end of the month, and a fine sports meeting it turned out to be.  One of the bonuses was that women’s events could now be included: the usual date of the second Saturday in June always clashed with the SWAAA championships and none of the best Scottish women athletes were available.   There was no impediment to their inclusion two weeks later.   The Glasgow Herald headline and report read:

MAGNIFICENT TIMES AT POLICE SPORTS

No fewer than six Scottish all-comers records were established in the Glasgow Police Sports at Ibrox Stadium on Saturday before a crowd of nearly 36,000.   In the men’s invitation races the Jamaicans were responsible for two of the records, an Australian one and a Scot one, and in the women’s events Miss M Jackson (Australia) and Miss Y Williams (New Zealand) were the record breakers.   

GV Rhoden (Jamaica) easily won the 440 yards in the excellent time of 47.6 sec – 1 1-10th faster than the all-comers record held jointly by his countrymen, H McKenley and AS Wint, and 1.8 seconds outside McKenley’s world record.   RH Weinberg,  (Australia), the AAA’s champion, won the 120 yards hurdles in 14.2 sec beating the record of 14.4 made by J Davis (USA) at Rangers Sports last year.   How PB Hildreth (AAA) failed to lower the existing record is a mystery for he was only beaten by a yard and yet timed at 14.6 sec.   The Scottish champion JGM Hart was credited with 14.7 sec which easily beat the best time he has done  – he holds the Scottish native record of 15.3 sec.   A whirling wind may have assisted the competitors in this event.  

From a Scottish point of view the best performance of the meeting was the win of DK Gracie in the 440 yards hurdles.   With competition from JM Holland the New Zealand champion and record holder, who was runner-up in the Empire Games in 52.7,   it was expected that Gracie would have to do something special to win.   Drawing the inside lane gave Gracie confidence and so well did he prohrace that he and Holland took the last hurdle together and the Scot won on the tape in 53.8 seconds.  

The international 4 x 440 yards was more or less a procession led by the Jamaicans. J Laing covered the first quarter in 50.7, Rhoden the next in 48.8 and McKenley the third in the exceptional time of 47 seconds and Wint ambled round the first quarter in 49.3 for a collective time of 3:15.6 – 6.4 seconds  outside the world record.  

Miss Jackson’s 10.5 seconds for the 100 yards, although probably favoured by a fitful wind, proved her the equal of many male competitors at the same meeting.   Until recently Miss F Blankers-Koen (Holland) was the world record holder with 10.8 seconds.   Times of 10.6 and 10.4 have since been returned by Miss Jackson.   Miss Williams’ 19′ 3 1-4th ” long jump was the more remarkable in that she did not have good conditions.”

The comments about Fanny Blankers-Coen being the former record holder for the women’s 100 yards were interesting since she could have been at Ibrox.   A separate article in the same issue of the paper read: “Miss FE Blankers-Coen, who was unable to accept Glasgow Police’s invitation to take part in their sports because the Dutch championships and Olympic trials were being held in Rotterdam broke the women’s world 100 metres record yesterday with 11.4 seconds.”   She also set a new Dutch record for the 200 metres and equalled her own world record in the 80 metres hurdles.    It would have been an interesting confrontation had she made it to Ibrox – the world 100 yards record holder versus the world 100 metres record holder!  

Yvonne Williams (New Zealand) winning the long jump.

The results of the invitation events were:

100 yards:   1.   B La Beach (Jamaica);   2.   RH Weinberg (Australia);   3.   W Henderson (Watsonians)    Time: 10 sec

220 yards:   1.   H McKenley;   2.   L Laing;   3.   B La Beach (All Jamaica)   Time 21.7 sec

440 yards:   1.   GV Rhoden (Jamaica);   2.   E Carr (Australia);   3.   P Fryer (AAA)   Time: 47.6 sec

880 yards:   1.   AS Wint (Jamaica);   2.   DRT MacMillan (Australia);   3.   JM Landy (Australia)    Time:   1:55.8

Mile:    1.   GW Nankeville (AAA);   2.   LM Marshall (New Zealand);   3.   CW Brasher (AAA)     Time:   4:13.7

Mile Relay:   1.   Jamaica (Laing, Rhoden, McKenley, Wint);   2.   Australia and New Zealand (DRT MacMillan, KL Doubleday, JM Holland, E Carr)   Time:  3:15.6

120 yards hurdles:   1.   RH Weisberg;   2.   PB Hildreth;   KL Doubleday (Australia)   Time 14.2 sec

440 yards hurdles:   1.   DK Gracie (Glasgow University);   2.   JM Holland; 3.   KL Doubleday (Australia)    53.8 sec

Pole Vault:  1.   TD Anderson (AAA);   2.   GM Elliott (AAA);   3.   W Piper (Glasgow Police)   12 feet.

Discus:   1.   J Savidge (AAA);   GM Elliott (AAA)    140′ 5″

Putting the 16lb ball:   1.   J Savidge (AAA);   2.   GM Elliott (AAA);   3.   W McNeish (Victoria Park)    52′  1″

100 yards women:   1.   M Jackson (Australia);   2.   S Strickland (Australia);   3.   WM Cripps (Australia)     10.5 seconds

80m hurdles women:   SB Strickland (Australia);   2.   D Harper (AAA)   11.4 seconds

Broad Jump women:   Y Williams (New Zealand);   2.   D Willoughby (AAA);   3.   V Johnston (Australia)     19′ 3″

Alan Paterson, who had been a major part of all the big meetings, not just in Scotland but throughout Britain. on that very day was winning the high jump in the Canadian Olympic trials and cleared six feet and half an inch and won the event.  Paterson had competed in the 1948 Olympics and was about to go to the 1952 Olympics.    In the actual meeting at Ibrox in the open events, in the second mile (there was a first class mile and a second class mile) Graham Everett won from a mark of 90 yards!

Marjorie Jackson

Saturday 13th June, 1953 and the Police Sports were held at Ibrox and the Glasgow Herald report read:

“OVERSEAS ATHLETES EXCEL AT POLICE SPORTS 

Glasgow Club  Runner’s Mile Record.  

No fewer than five records were made at Glasgow Police Sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday – two of them in the invitation mile event.   The first record was in the 16lb weight putt in which WP O’Brien (USA) who stands at the ready in the shot putt circle in the opposite direction to his putt sent the missile 57 feet 10 inches, broke by 2 feet 8 inches his own Scottish all-comers record set up at the Edinburgh Highland Games  in September last year, and beat by 1 foot 8 inches the British all-comers record held by a fellow countryman WM Thomson.   O’Brien has already to his credit 59 feet 0.5 inches and 59 feet 2.5 inches which have yet to receive official approval as world records.  

Another American JW Mashburn won the 440 yards in 47 seconds – only 2-10ths outside the British all-comers record.    K Haas (Germany) who was second in 47.2 seconds was credited with a new European record.   He was 4-10ths inside the time returned by AK Brown (Britain) in 1938 and by M Lanzi (Italy) a year later.  

BRECKENRIDGE’S FEAT

A splendid race for the mile proved that Scotland has a great performer over the distance.   The race was won by S Carlsson (Sweden) in 4 min 9.9 sec – 1 1-10th sec better than the Scottish all-comers record of SC Wooderson set 13 years ago – but it might have been an even greater triumph for ADN Breckenridge (Victoria Park AAC) had he not waited too long behind the leaders early in the race.   He went to the front at the half-mile stage, and though passed before the finishing straight he rallied strongly and only failed by a foot to beat  R Lammers (Germany) for second place.   Breckenridge who is only 21 clocked 4 min 11.2 sec, a new Scottish native record.   GM Eliot (AAA) in the pole vault set a new British record of 13 feet 8 ins. “

The comments of Parry O’Brien’s step-back shot putt technique are of interest as it must have been one of the first sightings of it in Scotland.

Results

100 yards:   1.   J Futterer (Germany);   2.   J O’Connell (USA);  3.   W Jack Victoria Park)          10.1 secs

220 yards:   1.   J Futterer (Germany);   2.   W Jack (Victoria Park) ;     3.   EWJ Ferguson (AAA)        21.7 secs

440 yards:   1.   JW Mashburn (USA)   47 sec;   2.   K Haas (Germany)   47.2 sec;   3.   S Steger (Switzerland).

880 yards:   1.   M Whitfield (USA);      2.   M Stracke (Germany);   3.   A Boysen (Norway)    1 min 50.9

One Mile:   1.   S Carlsson (Sweden)   4 min 9.9 sec;   2.   R Lamers (Germany);   3.   ADN Breckenridge (Victoria Park)      4 min 11.2 sec (Scottish native record)

440 yards hurdles:   1.   AJ Hardy (AAA) ;   2.   H Kane (AAA);   3.   WH Ciephan (Watsonians)         54.8 secs

Pole Vault:   1.   GM Elliott (AAA)   13 ft  8 ins   British National and Empire Record;   2.   C Calladine (AAA)   12 ft  6 ins;   3.   O’Connor (Eire)   11 ft  3 ins

Weight:   1.   WP O’Brien (USA)   57 ft  10 ins (British all-comers record);   2.   WB Palmer (AAA)  43 ft   1 inch;   3.   GM Elliott (AAA)   39 ft  9 ins.

Women’s Events

80 metres hurdles:   1.   F Blankers-Koen (Holland);  2.   M Sander (Germany);  3.   P Threapleton (Northern Counties WAAA)    11.5 secs

100 yards:   1.   B Brouwer (Holland);   2.  G Goldsborough (Northern Counties WAAA);   3.   M Sander (Germany)   11.5 secs

Long Jump:   1.   W Lust (Holland)   18 ft 4 1/2 ins;   2.   M Sander (Germany)   18 ft 2 1/2 ins;   3.   P Devine ( ‘Q’ AC)   17 ft 7 ins

Parry O’Brien in the Police Sports in 1953

Of course that excellent magazine The Scots Athlete had a lot to say on the meeting and I will quote from it – if you want the entire article go to the issue for June 1953, you can get it at www.scottishroadrunningandcrosscountrymedalists.co.uk at the archive page.   I’ll quote the comments on Breckenridge and on events not covered above.

“Despite the appearance of American and Continental stars it was Alex Breckenridge of Victoria Park who stole the thunder.   Surrounded by milers of Olympic and world class Alex was not the least bit over awed and after a comparatively slow half he upset the stars idea of a cat and mouse race by boldly taking command in the third lap.   It was a unique experience to see noted milers Nankeville (rated second only to Bannister in Britain) Dwyer of USA with Alan Parker and Freddy Green in trouble and run completely out of the race.   The Scot held his lead until about the 300 yards mark when the new flying Swede S Carlson and Olympic finalist Lamers of Germany tore past in a devastating sprint to the tape.   But Breckenridge was not finished yet and found something round the last bend and though no one could catch the Swede he chased Lamers right to the tape.   It was obvious even before an official announcement had been made that fast times had been made.   When Carlson’s time of 4 min 9.9 secs for a magnificent new Scottish all-comers record which displaced Sydney Wooderson’s 4 mins 11 secs  came through    I knew that Breckenridge had beaten the Scots Native record and so it proved.   The new record of 4 mins 11.2 secs displaces Bobby Graham’s 4 mins 12 secs which was set up 18 years ago in 1935.   Now at last Scotland has a miler of real class.   I should say that Breckenridge is essentially the stamina type of miler willing and able to maintain a fast pace in the miler’s bug-bear – the terrible third lap.   He proved his amazing stamina by turning out roughly 1 hour later in one of the open miles where only a fast finish by R Ballantyne of Kilmarnock Harriers off 80 yards kept him from pulling off a startling double.   He was recorded this time with 4 mins 17 secs.

Despite a slight spiking incident near the start Mal Whitfield strode round beautifully after a slowish start to win the half-mile invitation scratch from Stracke of Germany.   There was some disappointment when his time of 1 min 50.9 secs was announced despite being only 0.2 behind his all-comers record set up at the same venue in 1950.   Obviously people look for and expect a world record from him.   The US flying streak has gone on record saying that he intends to break all world records from the quarter to the mile before he retires, a somewhat tall order but after witnessing Whitfield’s smooth striding and later on his devastating sprinting finish in his two unofficial furlong appearances I can well believe that his ambitions of creating world records at distances so far apart as the quarter and the mile are not impossible.   Many good judges believe he is the ideal candidate for the four minute mile.

… J Futterer the German sprint star had a fine sprint double beating O’Connell of USA in the hundred and Willie Jack in the furlong.   In the heat of the latter Jack headed Futterer but in the final the German produced a devastating burst which would not be denied.   Jack’s form was his brightest of this season whilst clubmate Ronnie Whitelock, though not in the prize-list continued to show grand form and did well to nose out AAA nominees in the sprint heat.   Incidentally the times in the hundred were comparatively slow due to an adverse wind.

… The Dutch ladies trio were too strong for their opponents in the three Ladies events.   Miss Brouwer cast in the Blankers-Koen mould was too strong for her opponents in the invitation “100” as was her compatriot Lust in the broad jump.   Evergreen and inimitable Dutch veteran Fanny Blankers-Koen who seemed to be limping ever so slightly reserved herself for her speciality – the 80 metres hurdles and when the field got away gave her opponents no chance, leading from start to finish despite a brave effort by the German Olympic runner-up Sander.   This was not a record breaking race but it was certainly a heart-breaking one, the field taking three false starts before finally being despatched on the fourth pistol shot.”

It is a longish article and is well worth following up.

1954: Pat Ranger wins from Warren and Eyre

The Sports of 1954 have a special resonance for me – they were one of the first really big sports meeting that I had ever seen.   Runners like Lindy Remigino, Audun Boysen, and the best of the Englishmen were there.    The date was 12th June and the Glasgow Herald headline read:

“FIVE RECORDS BROKEN AND THREE EQUALLED

Eventful Police Sports at Ibrox

Three Scottish all-comers records were made on Saturday at the Glasgow Police Athletic Club’s Annual Sports meeting at Ibrox Park before an attendance officially given as 22,000.   They were 9.6 seconds for 100 yards by L Remigino (USA), 1:50 for the half-mile by A Boysen (Norway) and 13 min 57 sec for the three miles by W Ranger (AAA).   A new Empire and British National pole vault record of 14′ was set by GM Elliott.

In addition the British 100 yards record was equalled by L Remigino, and G Neilsen (Denmark), runner-up to Boysen in the half-mile equalled the all-comers record made by MG Whitfield (USA).   LH Kane (AAA) equalled the all-comers record for the 440 yards hurdles.

It was however the three miles that appeared to stir the emotions of the crowd, for the Scottish champion, I Binnie, set out at record breaking pace, clocking 4:26.1 for the mile, and 9:11.1 for the two miles, but found himself totally unable to retain the big advantage he held entering the last mile.   It was during this critical stage of the race that G Warren (Australia) came well into the picture.   He had been well behind during the second mile but when he came up to L Eyre and Ranger over the last mile it became abundantly clear that he was going to have a big say for individual honours.    Warren, Eyre and Ranger caught Binnie just before entering the finishing straight, and Ranger with a superb effort crossed the line first in the fine time of 13:57.   Warren returned 13:57.8, Eyre 13:57.9 and Binnie 14:0.2 which beat his own record.  

Remigino, the Olympic champion was in a class by himself in the 100 yards equalling the all-comers record in the 100 yards in his heat with 9.7 seconds, and then clocking 9.6 in the final.  

The half-mile was also a “one horse race” for Boysen took only 56 seconds for the first lap, and although Nielsen did show some signs of seriously challenging him during the second lap, the Norwegian pulled ahead and beat Whitfield’s time by 0.7 sec.   The pole vault exhibition was splendid and Elliott’s performance, the best of his career, enabled him to beat the European champion, R Lundgren, Sweden.

Another athlete who impressed was L Jones (USA) who strode through his heat of the “quarter” and the final and won as he pleased in the fine time of 47.5 seconds.    It was disappointing to see DK Gracie finish last of the four in the 440 hurdles, won in time he has bettered on more than one occasion.”

The Mile was not reported on but the result was:   1.   DR McMillan (Australia);   2.   L Ericsson (Sweden);   3.   JW Brown (AAA)   4:12.6

L Jones wins 440 yards in 1954

In 1956 the Sports were held on Saturday 9th and the headline was about a local boy – “NEW ALL-COMERS RECORDS AT POLICE SPORTS.   Everett’s fine running in the mile.”   There were again many big names on parade – Ibbotson, Dunkley, Jungwirth, Hewson, Shaw and Larsson with the best of Scots in opposition – Binnie, Everett, Piper and then there were no fewer than nine open events where the Scottish club runners were performing on a big stage.  On a sunny day, the Glasgow Herald estimated the attendance at 30,000 but felt that the quality of the meeting deserved more than that.    It also remarked that with half of the spectators arriving three quarters of an hour after the start of the meeting, perhaps a meeting of two and a half hours would be sufficient.   “Two Scottish all-comers records were broken.   S Jungwirth (Czechoslovakia) reduced the Mile record of K Wood from 4:08.8 to 4:04.5, and DG Ibbotson (AAA) reduced the three miles record of 13:50.3 by RH Dunkley by 16.9 seconds with a time of 13:33.4 seconds.   Jungwirth was the pacemaker almost throughout the mile running with a somewhat low, quick-striding action for a tall man.   IH Boyd (AAA) kept close to him and the Scottish champion GE Everett (Shettleston Harriers) was always within reach of the pair.   Over the last furlong Boyd tried hard to get in front but but the Czech, with a strange head-wobbling movement,  strained every sinew and held off the little Englishman in a desperate finish.    Everett ran splendidly and finished third in 4:07.5, a time which beat the native record of 4:11.2 held by AD Breckenridge by 3.7 seconds.  

I Binnie (Victoria Park AAC) holder of the Scottish three miles record set off in the three miles in a pace more suited to a mile event.   He clocked 4:24 for the mile but his rivals, including Ibbotson, paid no attention to him, for they were 50 yards or more behind him for the first half of the race at which stage Binnie registered 6:47.1.    Thereafter Binnie faded and and at two miles Ibbotson was in front with O Saksvik (Norway) and RH Dunkley (AAA) close on his heels.   Over the final lap the Norwegian gradually dropped back as the pace quickened and Ibbotson held off Dunkley in the straight.   Dunkley eight yards behind at the post, was 5.5 seconds inside his own previous all-comers record. ”  

Other results:   100 yards:  1.   T Erinle (Nigeria);   2.   AS Dunbar (Victoria Park);   3   E Sandstrom (AAA)          10.1 sec;

220 yards:   1.   RG Roberts (AAA);  2.  RJ Ruddy (AAA);    E Sandstrom (AAA)        21.9 sec

440 yards:   1.   V Hellsten (Finland);   2.   P Higgins (AAA);   3.  H  Kane (AAA)         47.7 sec

880 yards:   1.   BJ Hewson (AAA) ;   2.   M Rawson (AAA);   3.   DCE Gorrie (AAA)         1:47.7   (NB: Gorrie was one of the first MSPs at Holyrood as a Liberal Democrat representative)

3000m steeplechase:   1.   E Larsen (Norway;   2.   P Hedley (AAA);   3.   D Pemble(AAA)          9:07.1

High Jump:   1.   W Herssons (Belgium);   2.   W Piper (Glasgow Police);   3.   W Little (Glasgow University)       6’3″

Pole Vault:   1.   J Puronen (Finland);   2.   I Ward (AAA);    3.    G Elliott (AAA)          13’6″

High Jump (Women):   1.   O Modrachove (Czechoslovakia);   2.   D Tyler (WAAA);   3.   J Fraser (WAAA)          5’4″

The invitation high jump for women was a new event but it was to be a few years yet before the first women’s events were to be included in the main programme.   In what has been called the ‘Alan Paterson effect’ the high jump was increasingly popular the event in the open programme was won by Alan Houston of Victoria Parl who had a handicap of 4″ and won with a height of 6’4″.   Three high jump competitions in a meeting that had as shown above runners from Scotland, England, Nigeria, Finland, Norway, Belgium and Czechoslovakia.

Mashburn (left) and Hass in the quarter mile, 1953

On June 15th 1957 Glasgow favourite Derek Ibbotson made the headlines once again – “IBBOTSON’S ACHIEVEMENT AT POLICE SPORTS” – when he switched from the three miles to the mile and set new British, European and Scottish all-comers records for the Mile.  Report: “GD Ibbotson, holder of the AAA’s Three Miles title, gave notice of his intention to do particularly well at Glasgow Police’s seventy fourth annual sports at Ibrox Stadium on Saturday by requesting that he take part in the Mile rather than in the three miles event.    That he was serious was proved when on an afternoon of stamina-sapping heat, he broke the European, British and Scottish all-comers records for the mile by winning in 3 mins 58.4.    Ibbotson’s time is the second-fastest ever run in the world.   Only J Landy (Australia) who holds the world record of 3 min 58 sec has achieved faster time.   The 18000 crowd gave the Yorkshireman a magnificent reception when he became the first to run the distance in Scotland in under 4 minutes.   That Ibbotson succeeded may be due in the first instance to the pace and judgement of a colleague, L Locke, who ran the first lap in 57.2 sec – Ibbotson was then comfortably in fifth place – and the half mile in 1 min 58 sec, at which point Ibbotson was moving up.   At the end of the third quarter of a mile, Ibbotson led the time being 2 min 59.8 sec.   No one was able to extend him in the final lap and yet he completed it in 58.6 sec.   The previous British record of 3 min 59.4 was held jointly by RG Bannister and two Hungarians,  L Tabori and I Roszavolgyi.   The Scottish champion GE Everett, profited by competing in the top class for he finished fourth in 4 min 6.6 sec- 0.9 sec better than his previous best for the distance achieved at the corresponding meeting last year.   M Bernard (France) who was second was delighted with his time of 4 min 5.8  sec, the best ever by a Frenchman.   Ibbotson who visited his wife and newly born daughter in St Helier Hospital, Carshalton, Surrey, said of Saturday’s race:-

“Had it not been quite so hot, and had someone been able to stay with me to the bell, I think I should certainly have broken the world record.   I had not planned to try for a four minute mile but knew after hearing the time for the first lap that it was possible.   The only encouragement I had was the other athletes lining the track and urging me on.”    

His next race will be in Dublin a week today.   R Delaney and BS Hewson will compete with him in a mile event.   “That should be a fast race,” said Ibbotson, In my present form I should be able to do a mile in 3 min 57 sec if all the conditions are right.”

That was the only race reported on but the other results were as follows:

100 yards:   1.   JA Spooner (AAA);   2.   B Randall (Australia);   3.   AS Dunbar (Victoria Park)        Time 10.2 sec

220 yards:   1.   B Randall;   2. W Henderson (Watsonians);   3.   A Spooner (AAA)   21.4 sec

440 yards:    First Race:   1.   Z Makomaski (Poland);  2.   JD Wrighton (AAA);   3.   M Farrell (AAA)    48.3  sec

                 Second Race: 1.   FP Higgins (AAA);   2.   JV Paterson (Edinburgh University);   3.   MA Rawson (AAA)    48.2 sec

880 yards:   1.   BS Hewson (AAA);   2.   M Rawson;   3.   M Farrell      1:52.4

Mile:      :     1.   GD Ibbotson;   2.   M Bernard;   3.   M Berisford (AAA)     3:58.4

Three Miles:   1.   S Ozeg (Poland)   2.   SE Eldon (AAA);   3.   E Roszaki (Finland    Time   13:47.4     (I Binnie was fifth in 14:29.8)

3000m steeplechase:   1.   EG Ellis (AAA);   2.   J Llewellyn (SAAA);   3.   I Auer (Finland)    9 min 24.4

Not so many from abroad as heretofore but a strong AAA’s team plus athletes from Finland, Poland and Australia as well as the top Scots made it a good meeting.  No high jump among the invitation events but the open event was won by David Cairns of Springburn.

In contrast to previous years, the stars in 1958 were entirely domestic – John  McIsaac in the 440, Donnie McDonald in the 880, Graham Everett in the Mile, Ian Binnie in the Two Miles and Peter Milligan in the Pole Vault were the winners of the invitation events.  No event was won by any athlete from outwith Scotland.    The Glasgow Herald headline read “LONG STANDING RECORD BROKEN AT IBROX.   J McIsaac’s splendid time”   And the headline did not lie!   The record broken was Halswell’s 440 yards record set back in Olympic year 1908.    The report reads:

JW McIsaac (Glasgow University) easily won the invitation 440 yards on Saturday at the Glasgow Police sports at Ibrox Park and broke the longstanding Scottish record for the distance.   His time of 48 seconds beat by 0.4 sec the record time of the lat Capt W Hallswell who set up the record in 1908 , the year he won the Olympic Games   400 metres.   At the halfway stage McIsaac led from L Locke (Polytechnic Harriers) and he put in an excellent sprint in the final straight and won by 10 yards from D McDonald (Garscube Harriers).   Performances in the other invitation track events were also of a high standard.   GE Everett (Shettleston Harriers) was not challenged at any time in the Mile but he had a good time of 4 min 8.7 sec, just over two seconds outside his native record.   It was unfortunate that there was no one capable of keeping  him company to provide the challenge necessary for record times.  

IS Binnie (Victoria Park) started very fast in the two miles and 4:19.5 for the first mile was too good for him to maintain the pace as his eventual time of 9 min 5 sec proved.   His own native record for the distance is 8 min 58.4.    JJ Connolly (Bellahouston Harriers) finished second in 9 min 12 sec.   It was his anxiety to get away from Connolly that made Binnie make the mistake of running such a fast first mile.  

The most exciting race of the invitation series was the half-mile in which D McDonald narrowly beat L Locke and IR Boyd (RAF) with a nicely times finishing burst.”

It is a pity that there was no actual account of the half-mile if it were such a good race.   Remaining results of the invitation events.

440 yards:   1.   J McIsaac (Glasgow University)   2.   D McDonald (Garscube Harriers)   3.   W Morrison (Larkhall YMCA)         48 sec

880 yards:   1.   D McDonald (Garscube Harriers)   2.   L Locke (Polytechnic Harriers)   3.   IR Boyd (RAF)         1:56.4

Mile:           1.   G Everett (Shettleston Harriers)   2.   DM Asher (Glasgow University)   3.   WJ More (Kilmarnock Harriers)    4:8.7

Two Miles:   1.   I Binnie (Victoria Park)    2.   JJ Connolly (Bellahouston Harriers)   3.   D Dickson (Bellahouston Harriers)    9 min 05 sec.    Winning team: Bellahouston Harriers   10 points

Pole Vault:   1.   P Milligan (Victoria Park)   2.   MJM Brown (Jordanhill TC)     3.   W Piper (Glasgow Police)    12′ 3″

The meeting was a much lower key affair than it had been:   there were no invitation races at 100 or 220 yards, there was only one invitation field event, with few exceptions the competitors were all Scottish and a team race had been intrduced to the two miles when there had previously been no note of such an event in the two or three miles races.

*

In 1959 in the second week in June, a fortnight before the SAAA Championships, there was another purely domestic Police Sports.   The invitation    events had shrunk even further – there were now only two on the programme, the two miles and the high jump, compared with ten or eleven just a few years earlier.    “EVERETT’S FINE TWO MILES AT IBROX.   Scottish Records Broken.   The event which attracted most interest in the Glasgow Police Sports at Ibrox on Saturday was the two miles individual and team race.   GE Everett (Shettleston Harriers) , the Scottish Mile champion and record holder, quickly went to the front of a select field of representatives of five leading Scottish clubs, and at the end of the first mile, which he completed in 4 min 24.3 sec, Everett was 30 yards ahead of AJ Wood (Shettleston).   Everett continued to show magnificent form and by running the second mile in 4:26 he established a new Scottish native and all-comers of 8 min 50.3 – beating the two year old native record set by 6.9 seconds and also GD Ibbotson’s all-comer’s record established at Dunoon in 1957 by 0.5 seconds.    Wood did well to finish second in 9 min 0.1 sec and J McLaren (Victoria Park) was third in a personal best time of 9 min 12.5.  

CW Fairbrother (Victoria Park) won the invitation high jump at 6′ 6″ and went on to win the open event at 6′ 3″.   A Houston, to whom he was conceding 3″ was second to him on both occasions.  Fairbrother had his customary three attempts at six feet seven and a half in the invitation event but the Scottish record set at this height by AS Paterson, still eludes him.”

Results of invitation events:

Two Miles:   1.   GE Everett (Shettleston);   2.   A Wood (Shettleston)  3.    J McLaren (Victoria Park)      Time:   8:50.3   Team race:   Victoria Park   12 pts (3, 4, 5)

High Jump:  1.   C Fairbrother (Victoria Park);   2.   A Houston (Victoria Park);   3.   DS Cairns (Springburn)

*

In 1960 the invitation events were down to one – the two miles – but the open events were well supported and also for the first time incorporated a steeplechase event.   Top men were Eddie Sinclair (Springburn Harriers) and John Linaker (Pitreavie) in the two miles although Crawford Fairbrother performed well in the Open High Jump.  “Good Two Mile Time by E Sinclair.   E Sinclair (Springburn Harriers) and J Linaker (Pitreavie) ran a splendid two miles race in a stiff wind at the Glasgow Police Sports and Sinclair’s winning time of 9 mins 11.3 secs was only 2.3 secs slower than the Scottish record – set 40 years ago by Alfred Shrubb.   The Springburn runner’s superior finishing speed enabled him to gain a narrow win over Linaker.   Several runners, including Sinclair and Linaker, withdrew from the 3000m steeplechase because the water jump was more than 12 feet but RA Henderson (Braidburn) the backmarker raced through the field and won in 9 min 38.4 sec.  

CW Fairbrother (Victoria Park AAC) , off scratch of course, won the handicap high jump at 6′ 7″ , a very fine jump in the conditions.   WM Campbell  (Kilmarnock), off 8 ” was second with 6′ 6″.”

Two Miles result:   1.   E Sinclair;   2.   J Linaker;   3.   J Connolly (Bellahouston)    Time:   9 min 11.3 sec    Team race:   1.   Victoria Park 17 Points;   2.   Springburn   20 pts;   3.   Bellahouston   22.

The standard in the open handicap events was high and there were many stars (real such as Crawford Fairbrother) or up and coming (such as Dick Hodelet of Auchmountain Harriers) and Jim Finn (Monkland) first and second in the Youths 880).   Names that stand out are WM Campbell, AS Dunbar, Bert McKay, Mike Ryan, Jim McLatchie and Tom McNab.   Good, very good, but the international dimension was missing.

*

Nevertheless the ‘Glasgow Herald’ gave the Police Sports of 10th June 1961 good coverage with Graham Everett  and Mike Hildrey getting the headlines.    They read: “EVERETT AND HILDREY IN GOOD FORM: Records broken at Ibrox.”   And the report read:

“GE Everett and MG Hildrey were the outstanding performers in the Glasgow Police Sports open sports meeting on Saturday at Ibrox Stadium.   Everett broke three records in his two mile run in conditions which were certainly not in his favour, and Hildrey equalled the Scottish Native record in the 100 yards with a time of 9.8 sec.    Everett was taken along at a merry pace by R McKay (Motherwell YMCA) and both were well ahead of the field at half distance in the fast time of 4 min 14.5 secs  – too fast, as Everett admitted afterwards.   It was clear that if this pace were maintained the all-comers record would be broken.  Unfortunately McKay was unable to carry on, having fallen out more or less exhausted after one of his best-ever mile times.   Everett was alone thereafter, but but his time of 6 min 31.4 secs for the mile and a half beat T Riddell’s native record and JJ Barry’s all-comers record by 2.4 secs.   He slowed over the last half-mile and lost his chance of beating the all-comers record of 8 min 45.6, but the time of 8 min 48.6 beat his own best Scottish performance by 1.8 secs.

Hildrey won the special 100 yards only  by inches from a clubmate, R Whitelock.   The time was exceptionally good on grass rendered heavy with rain.    Hildrey was, as usual, half a yard behind Whitelock at half-distance, but he finished very strongly.

McKay made a fine recovery after his exhaustive effort in the two miles and won the mile in 4 min 08.3 from 40 yards.”

Results of invitation events:

100 yards:   1.   M Hildrey (Victoria Park);   2.   R Whitelock (Victoria Park);   3.   WM Campbell (Glasgow University)                                  Time 9.8 secs

Two Miles:   1.   GE Everett (Shettleston);   2.   AH Brown (Motherwell YMCA);   3.   J Connolly (Bellahouston)                                               8:48.6

                     Team race:   1.   Edinburgh Southern   21 pts;   2.   Bellahouston   22 pts;   3.   Shettleston   24 pts

The open events contained some interesting results – Menzies Campbell was second in the 100 and first in the 220 yards (off 4 in the 220 from Mike Hildrey off scratch – Hildrey was second);  Jack Brown of Dumbarton won the 880 yards, McKay won the Mile from Willie Gault (VPAAC – 145 yards) and Jim McLatchie off 45 yards; Tommy Thompson of Paisley (210 yards) won the steeplechase from Charlie Meldrum (St Modan’s) off 85 and Tom O’Reilly (Springburn) off 120.    The field events featured a high jump where A Lay defeated David Cairns (Springburn) and Willie Piper (Glasgow Police) and there was a very interesting Junior 880 yards:

1.   R Rae (Bellahouston) off 38;  2.   J Cameron (St Modan’s) off 36; 3.   JL Stewart (Vale of Leven) off 130 yards.   Time 1:53..3

It was another domestic meeting with only two invitation events but it looked like a very good meeting for the spectators with several close contests.

The short report on the 1962 meeting appeared in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ of 11th June, 1962 was headlined “ANOTHER WIN FOR JP McLATCHIE”  and read

“JP McLatchie (Ayr-Seaforth) ended a successful week when he won the 3000 metres steeplechase at the Glasgow Police Sports at Ibrox on Saturday.   McLatchie, conceding up to almost 200 yards, steadily overhauled his rivals  and won comfortably in 9 minutes 20.6 seconds.   He ran from the back mark of 10 yards in the half-mile, and although only fourth in the final, recorded a personal best time.   WM Campbell (Glasgow University) ran the fastest heat in the 220 yards, 21.2 seconds, but he was forced to take the outside in the final and lost narrowly to C LaPointe (Bellahouston) to whom he was conceding 10 yards.    Results:

Invitation Events

Two Miles:   1.   AH Brown (Motherwell YMCA);   2.   R McKay (Motherwell);   3.   C Laing (Glasgow University   9:05.4

Schools 4 x 220:   1.   Glasgow HS;   2.   Hillhead HS;   3.   Allan Glen’s HS   1:43.2

Open Events

100 yards:   1.   LM Piggott (Garscube H)   5;   2.  R Mayberry (Bellahouston) 5.5;   C LaPointe (Bellahouston) 5.5    9.8 seconds

220 yards:   1.   LaPointe 12;   2.   WM Campbell (Glasgow University) 2;   3.   AM Miller (Glasgow University)   5   21.8 seconds

880 yards:   1.   JM Brown (DumbartonAAC)   24;   2.   DC Young (Bellahouston) 30;   3.   RB Stoddart (Bellahouston)   18   1:51.9

Mile:   1.   W Morrison (Larkhall YMCA)  40;   2.   J McDonald (Bellahouston)   95;   3.   WP Marshall (Motherwell YMCA)  135    4:12.6

3000m steeplechase:   1.   J McLatchie (Ayr Seaforth) 65;   2.   JL Stewart (Vale of Leven)   125;   3.   H McWilliams (Greenock Glenpark Harriers)   260   9:20.6

Long Jump:   1.   JP Craig (Glasgow University)  22′ 2″;   2.   D Shedden (Beith) 21’6″;   3.   R McCormick (Unattached)  20′ 8″   22′ 0.25″

High Jump:   1.   C Julien (VPAAC) 8″;   2.   D McGhee (Clydesdale)   7.5;   3.   AM Law (Paisley Police AC)   3.5″   6’6″

Shot Putt:   1.   DM Edmunds (St Joseph’s College)   7’3″;   2.   GAK Taylor (Garscube)   5′ 6″;   3.   J Brown (Hoover)  11′ 9″     48′ 4.5″

This was the shortest ever post-war report on the Glasgow Police Club Sports – and it was to be the last.    Many of the long-established and well known sports meetings that had lasted for decades, over half a century, die at this time including the Rangers Sports, the Lanarkshire Constabulary Sports (normally at Shawfield at the start of June), the Glasgow Transport Sports at Helenvale all went from the calendar and Scottish athletics was much the poorer – I remain to be convinced that the present competition structure is better.

The Last Rangers Sports: Peter Keeling wins with Hugh Barrow in third

Although this page is about  ‘The Rangers Sports’  it should be noted that for a while in the 40’s and 50’s there were well-attended sports meetings in Edinburgh on a regular basis and in other places more spasmodically.   There are pictures on this page from the Edinburgh sports to illustrate that point but the one which resonates most with the top athletes from that period was the Ibrox event.   Although there were good, very good, sprints and field events at the meetings, and from time to time an SAAA Championship event was incorporated, my memory tells me that the middle distance events were the highlights.    It was one of the best cinder running tracks in Scotland and athletes liked it – but the crowds were something else: 50000 and 60000 were not unusual.   I went along to see them for the first time after the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki when many of the Olympians competed – Lindy Remigino, Herb McKenley, Arthur Wint among them – and Tom O’Reilly from Springburn won the steeplechase.    I ran there in 1962 at the last ever Rangers Sports and the crowd was huge.   Cowal was big but Rangers was bigger.

The Programme from the last Sports in 1962

The Rangers Football Club was founded in 1872 at a time when it was not at all unusual for a man to be a member of several clubs in several sports: football players were also athletes, cyclists and oarsmen too.   The first open athletics club in Scotland was Clydesdale Harriers, founded in 1885, and right from the start it had many from other sports as members but the connection with Rangers was strongest with several men being founder members of both clubs.   The Harriers trained at the Rangers Headquarters at Kinning Park to start with and then moved to Ibrox for training facilities when the football club moved.   It was natural therefore that when the Harriers started holding annual sports the initial favoured venue was Ibrox and several big and successful meetings were held there before the first world war with lots of the major stars of the sport from all over Britain being involved in the action.   As early as season 1889 there were references to “joint sports with our good friends, the Rangers Football Club”.    These meetings continued – with the Harriers also being involved in sports meetings at the grounds of Celtic and Partick Thistle – until after 1918.     Rangers provided the ground and some financial backing but the Harriers did the organising and if, as was the case on a couple of occasions, there was a slight financial loss, the Rangers covered it.

A group of Clydesdale Harriers at the Rangers Sports in 1960 or 1961

More than any other club in Scotland, The Rangers always showed an interest in athletics generally.   Right at the beginning with the Clydesdale Harriers and the club having many members in common – eg William Wilton, Tom Vallance, JR Gow of Rangers were Harriers and on the Harriers football committee.   Joint sports were organised with the athletic club providing the bulk of the officials and knowing who to invite to make the events a success.   The football club also invited Eric Liddell to train at Ibrox and such as Alfred Shrubb and Wyndham Halswelle competed at Ibrox.    Bill Struth, legendary Rangers manager, had been an athlete and a professional runner in his younger days and he was keen to see athletics at Ibrox.  In his recent biography, “Mr Struth: The Boss” by David Mason and Ian Stewart reference is made to Mr Struth’s own running career and the link to Clydesdale Harriers.   The club’s involvement in athletics is also mentioned in “Field of Dreams” by Iain Duff and documented in some detail in “The Gallant Pioneers” by Gary Ralston.   One of the biggest captures of any sport in the early 1930′ was when Paavo Nurmi ran at Ibrox in 1931.

This  comprehensive account of the race was written by athletics historian Alex Wilson.

There were races at half time in big football matches (see the profiles for Hugh Barrow and Lachie Stewart in particular) and I remember clearly seeing one featuring Derek Ibbotson in the Mile at half time in the match between a Scottish Select and a South African Select with SA playing in the green and white of Hibernian and including two Rangers players (Johnny Hubbard and Don Kitchenbrand.   He it was, who was given credit for the burgeoning of the Rangers Sports as a really big domestic competition with a significant international dimension.   The peak years for the sports however were the post-WW2 years and although the great draw for many of the crowd was the five-a-side tournament with all the Glasgow teams (Rangers, Celtic, Clyde, Third Lanark, Partick Thistle and Queen’s Park) taking part, the Ibrox crowd was very knowledgeable about athletics and the management was sympathetic to the needs of the athletes.

The man behind the sports in their glory days was indisputably Bill Struth who was always on the qui vivre for interesting items.   The following is a direct quote from the Shettleston Harriers Centenary History:

“Early in his Army career when he (Allan Watt) was stationed in Orkney, he was given three days leave to travel to Glasgow to compete in the Rangers Sports.   A summons had come from Bill Struth, the legendary Rangers manager, asking the army to give Allan time off to take part in the invitation 100 yards against the American Clyde Jeffrey.   Fifty years later Allan was to learn that Mr Struth had another reason for wanting him to appear.   The American was the scratch man.   Allan was off one and a half yards and Willie Waddell, the famous footballing Deedle Dawdle of Rangers, was off three yards.   The Yank won, Allan was second and ‘Deedle’ third.   In the early 1990’s Allan was at Ibrox as a guest of Rangers at Ibrox when the wife of the Rangers doctor recalled the wartime race.   She claimed that Struth had deliberately kept Deedle an amateur so that he could take part and the crowd would see a Rangers player beat the American guest and the Scottish star.   The Deedle turned profssional immediately after the race.”

There is a shortage of information about the Sports so the intention is to cover the period from 1946 to 1956 in some detail and then to include personal reflections and observations as well as isolated reports on individual events to give something of the flavour of this wonderful meeting.

The meeting was always held at the start of August and was usually blessed with good weather and this only adds to the happy memories of those who attended.    Emmet Farrell’s report for the 1946 meeting reads as follows:    “To Rangers FC fell the honour of opening the August programme of meetings, and while on occasion there have been classier meetings, notably in Olympic Games years when Finnish and American athletes graced the Ibrox sward, nevertheless there was keen sport in both the invitation and open events.   Then of course the proximity of the August Bank Holiday meeting precluded any chance of Wooderson and certain other stars from the South appearing; the coloured stars Wint and McDonald Bailey were especially attractive guests however, arrangements however having been made to fly them to Glasgow and back to London in time for the international match against France.  

However this meeting will be remembered chiefly for the record-breaking achievements of Alan Paterson who, with a jump of 6 ft 6.5 in broke his own native record by three inches and also HM Osborne’s (USA) all-comer’s record by the narrow margin of a quarter of an inch.  Paterson was in great form and could have gone on to make further attempts on the British record of 6 ft 7 in with every chance of success, but team manager Jack Crump advised “enough” in view of Monday’s international match.  

In the medley relay, the tall, loose-limbed Wint fascinated the large crowd with a loping quarter of a mile to make things easy for team-mate Dove who ran the final half-mile sector.   However later in the special quarter mile handicap, Wint after catching the field to whom he gave some useful starts, just failed to produce enough steam in his finish to hold his English colleagues Lewis and Collier.   Winning time was 48.2, Wint’s time 48.6    McDonald Bailey streaked across the Ibrox grass in the special 120 but, despite breaking evens, he failed to catch Wigham , Victoria Park, (off 8.5 yards) by inches in his Heat.    In the final of this event, Scottish sprint champion, Hugh Broadley of Glasgow YMCA off the low mark of three and a half inches, finished second to Cambridge student J Fairgrieve.  

By his forward running in the heats of the open half-mile, the Stirling youth JS Petty, who has been so much in the public eye in recent weeks, installed himself a hot favourite for the final of this event.   Off 38 yeards he was always nicely placed, and his well timed, devastating finish left his field standing.   His winning of the Rangers half-mile sets the seal on his recent successes.   It is to be hoped that he will not be asked to do too much too early, for he has a future in athletics.   Worthy of mention was the double of DJ Nicolson of Victoria Park in the sprints.   Although he had useful starts in both events to win through represents a power of running in both heats and finals.

A grand race was the open Mile, J Millar of Shettleston 9 (off 38 yards) holding off A Forbes, Victoria Park, (95 yards) in 4 min 16.9 sec.   The eight-lap steeplechase, always a feature of Rangers Sports,  was won by ex-champion JC Ross of Shettleston but the unexpected rule of jumping the hedge without tipping the bar was not to the liking of many competitors, one of whom received a bad scrape from spikes in a melee at one of the jumps.”

It is clear from this report that the event was a big in quality as well as in numbers of competitors and spectators.   To mention Arthur Wint and McDonald Bailey as almost ‘consolation’ for the missing stars such as Sydney Wooderson for a meeting that also included a Scottish record in the high jump with the AAA’s secretary and international team manager present, is an indication of the high expectations.   The inspirational effect of racing against these men must have been huge: John Hume of Clydesdale Harriers found himself warming up beside a tall, coloured athlete and they were talking away when he suddenly realised that it was Arthur Wint.   John always ran well but not usually that well!   The reference to the hedge in the steeplechase is interesting in that at sme meetings, the water-jump had a hedge erected right up against the barrier so that the athletes could not see the water and using the rail to push off over the water was very difficult under normal conditions.

John Jo Barry and Andy Forbes at Ibrox

The 1947 meeting was reported on in the September issue of ‘The Scots Athlete’ by John Emmet Farrell under the headline ‘IBROX THRILLS’ as follows: “We are accustomed to expect thrills at Rangers’ athletic gala, but surely the 1947 August Carnival surpassed itself in this respect.   A record crowd of over 70,000 watched the fascinating and sporting duel between the high-jumpers Alan Paterson and Bill Vessie.   Paterson came-back with a vengeance to reach Olympian heights.   Bothe he and Vessie tied at 6 ft 7.5 in to set up a new British record, beating “Corney” Johnson’s record of 6 ft 7 in.   Alan has two marks to aspire to.   First the Olympic record of 6 ft 9 in, set up by Johnson at Berlin in 1936, and the colossal world mark of 6 ft 11 in, standing to the credit of Lester Steers, who, we understand, is attempting a successful come-back.    Then has there ever been a more impressive bit of sprinting that McDonald Bailey’s bullet-like exhibition in winning the 100 metres in 10.4 sec, sprinting reminiscent of Jesse Owens at his best.  

American distance star, Curtis Stone, put the crowd in a good humour with a beautiful piece of striding in the steeplechase, and Edinburgh student, Cofie, repelled the American challenge in the 400 metres, clocking 48.2 sec (off 10 yeards), to make us wonder why he did not tackle this event in the Scottish Championships.   There was the bird-like exhibition of hurdling presented by the coloured star Harrison Dillard and our own veteran “Don” Finlay, hero of a thousand races, and the magnificent finish in the 800 metres, where British “find” GW Nankeville (off 10 yards) split Americans Trevor Perkins and W Hulse in a 1 min 52.3 race.

What shall we say of the relay, a pulsating race if ever there was one.   In the first half-mile sector Bill Hulse of America streaked away to hand over a nice lead to colleague Smith with Fairgrieve chasing.   McDonakd Bailey set to give Guida perhaps 12 yards thrilled the crowd with a brilliant attempt to catch his man, and Trevor Perkins of USA, set of with approximately five yards in hand.   But the thrill of the race was still to come.   Running with tremendous verve and courage, Pugh not only caught his man but forged to the front.    A heart-breaking race ensued down the finishing straight, but Perkins proved just the stronger in a desperate finish.

Like other meetings this year, the five-a-side football served up did not reach the athletic heights.   This is not just the opinion of athletics enthusiasts, but according to the leading scribes of the Press who cater for the football public.   But all-in-all, it was a grand day’s show and will provide lasting memories.”  

The entire meeting was of a top class standard with athletes mentioned being from Scotland, England and USA.   There were almost certainly athletes from all over the United Kingdom as well.   A crowd of 70,000, international competition of a high standard and a new British High Jump record!!!   And this in the days of genuine austerity where not only was money short, but food was rationed and food parcels sent from South Africa for international class Scottish sportsmen to augment their diet, and clothing could not be bought without clothing coupons.

In 1948 the sports were held on 7th August and the report read:

“HIGH JUMP AND HURDLES THRILLS AT IBROX

The sixty-second annual sports of Rangers Football Club were not so favoured by the weather as they have been in the past, but the meeting at Ibrox Stadium on Saturday was enjoyed by over 30,000 spectators.   The outstanding feature was the invitation high jump in which there was the unusual spectacle, in Scotland, of three competitors clearing six feet three and a half inches.   AS Paterson and A Jacques (Canada) failed to improve on that figure, but Edleman (US) went 2 inches higher and in an exhibition jump reached six feet six and a half inches.  

Perfect hurdling was exhibited in a thrilling race between two Americans, Scott and Dixon, the former winning by inches in 14.5 seconds – only 1-10th outside the British record but beating the Scottish all-comers record set by Donald Findlay at Rangers Sports by 2-10th seconds.

The prestige of the sports remains as high as ever despite the handicaps experienced on Saturday.   Because of the claims of the Olympic Games several of the athletes entered were unable to attend but Mr Struth produced others of very high standard to take their places.   The various events were carried out with expedition and trhere was nt an idle moment in the programmes of 35 events.

Results:   Invitation events 

120 yards:   1.  J McLaughlin, Maryhill H (4 yds); 2.   A Watt, Shettleston H (3)   11.7 sec.  

440 yards:   1.   JB Panton, VPAAC (20);   2.   A Watt, Shettleston (24).   47.6 sec  

Half-Mile:   1.   J Speirs, Shettleston (34);   2.   J Smart, Edinburgh SH (26).   1 min 53.5 sec  

Two Miles:   1.   A Forbes, VPAAC (30);   2.   H Nelson, NZ (scr).   9 min 30.5 sec  

120 yards hurdles: 1.   E Scott US;   2.   CK Dixon (US).   14.5 sec.  

High Jump:   1.   TE Edleman, US   (3″)   6′ 8.5″;   2.   A Jacques, Canada  (2″)  6′ 5.5″

5-a-side:   Celtic 1 goal, 1 point, beat Hibernian, 1 goal.  

Winners of open events:  

100 yards:   W McNaught,  VPAAC  (5.5)   10 seconds.     220 yards:   MT Fraser,  Garscube  (12)   22.5 seconds

Half-Mile:   K Sigrist, Glasgow Police, (36)  1:57.6.     Mile:   W Watson, Motherwell YMCA (95) 4:26.6

High Jump:   A McLaren, St Modan’s (10″)  6’5″.     Eight-lap steeplechase:  JM Burns, Shettleston (160 yards)  9:45

100 yards heats at the 1948 Games

***

With limited space in the magazine and the Empire Games review, AAA’s and AAA’s Junior Championships plus a triangular international to be covered, coverage of the 1949 Rangers Sports had to be squeezed into Emmet Farrell’s monthly ‘Running Commentary’ slot under the sub-heading “Don’s Sun Has Not Yet Set” and read Despite the presence of a seven-man American team it was wonder veteran hurdler Don Finlay who earned the greatest ovation from the vast 60,000 crowd at the Ibrox Stadium on the occasion of the Rangers’ Annual Sports.   Tall Richard Attlesey was a surprised man to find that he could not quite cope with the RAF man’s devastating form.   The watches showed 14.5 seconds for the 120 yards hurdles which is one fifth of a second inside Finlay’s own record.   As there was a fairly brisk following wind however, the record ,may not be passed.   Nevertheless it was a brilliant exhibition of hurdling.  

Alan Paterson’s feat in clearing 6 ft 4 ins, despite a thigh injury, was also a meritorious one, though Dick Phillips had not the best of luck with one of his efforts.   John Joe Barry outclassed his field despite the apparently liberal handicaps and in the fresh gusty conditions running solo for the last three quarters of a mile, his good time of 9 min 14.2 sec for Two Miles was value even better.   The American team did not quite reach the high spots on this occasion.   Constant travelling and different conditions can take the snap out of a touring athletic team.   However, big Bill Brown’s victory in the special quarter fairly tickled the vast crowd who dearly love to see the scratch man win through.   Brown travelled wide at the bend to get on terms with his field and at the finish there was quite a bit of daylight between him and his opponents so that the 49.4 secs taken was a really splendid effort.”

In the following year (1950) there was no report bit a short list of invitation event results that is quite impressive

120 yards: 1.  E McDonald Bailey (AAA) scr;    2. J Maclachlan (Maryhill H) 4y; 3.   CM Wilkinson (AAA)  1.5y   11.3 sec;

220 yards:   1.   A Bragg (USA);   2.   JCM Wilkinson (AAA);   3.  ND Stacey (AAA) 21.5 sec;

440 yards:   1.   AS Wint (AAA) scr;   2.   R Pearman (USA)  scr;   3.   D Pugh (AAA)    47.7 sec   (Scottish all-comers record);

880 yards:   1.   MG Whitfield (USA) scr;   2.  JS Smart (ESH)  24y;   3.   JS Petty (St Modan’s)  20y     1:50.8   (Scottish all-comers record)

Mile:           1.   DG Wilson (AAA);   2.   GW Nankeville (AAA);   3.   T Kirwan (USA)   4:17.2

Two Miles:   1.   H Ashenfelter (USA) scr;   2.   P Green (AAA) scr;      3.   G Adamson (W Kilbride) 115y       9:15.6

120 yards hurdles:   1. W Fleming (USA);   2. D Halderman (USA);   FJ Parker (AAA)    15 sec

High Jump:   1.  AS Paterson (Vic Pk) 6’5″;   2.  V Severns (USA)  6’4″  

Mal Whitfield – double Olympic 800m champion plus two relay medals, take two tenths of a second off the furlong all-comers; Arthur Wint, Olympic 400m champion, while colleague Rhoden not to be outdone had two 400m medals (silver and bronze) and two 4 x 400 medals (gold and silver), a world record at 800m, and a man whom you would be well advised to look up on Wikipedia, a wonderful role model – Horace Ashenfelter – an FBI man who won the 1952 Olympic steeplechase – and of course Alan Paterson, European HJ winner.    Any one of them capable of filling a stadium.

Rangers Sports in the late 1950’s: Five-a-side in progress, note the handicap markers on the sprint straight on the grass, the starter’s podium, track markings, etc.   The crowd looks a bit smaller than in the heyday of the meeting.

1952 was of course Olympic year and the Rangers Sports benefited from the number of stars who had come to Europe for the Games in Helsinki.   The Headline in the ‘Scots Athlete’ read “Mighty fine, Mr Davis.” and Emmet Farrell wrote – “Despite “enjoying” weather far removed from their usual, the Rangers had more than their share of records.   No wonder, with such a galaxy of Olympic stars.   Giant 6ft 8.75 in Texan Walt Davis cleared 6 fet 8.25 in to erase the wonderful Paterson-Vessie record from the record book.   Inspired by Laz of USA Norman Gregor cleared 13 ft 2 ins for a new native record in the pole vault.   In that romantic and very Grecian event, the discus, Olympic champion Iness threw the platter 166 ft 1 in to put the previous Scottish all-comers record of 153 ft 3 in well in the shade.  

McKenley tore around the semi-circle to head Remigino and stop the watches at 20.9 to take two tenths of a second off the furlong all-comers, while colleague Rhoden not to be outdone showed something of his Olympic form by completing the full oval in 46.8 seconds, four tenths inside the all-comers record.   Finally our own Bill Nankeville, showing more fire than he did at the Games ran a grand three-quarter mile in 3 mins 0.4 again a Scottish all-comers record.”

It would be interesting to get a full copy of the results of all the meetings but particularly of this one where all the American and West Indian runners gave of their best before the knowledgeable Glasgow crowds.

The cover from the 1952 sports is above but the entire programme for the 1958 version of the meeting can be seen at this link  .

Walter Ross was finding it harder to keep the magazine going – it was a drain on his finances and despite donations from well-wishers and a captive market it was not really paying its way.   There was no report on the Sports in 1953 and the slim joint August – September issue had too much to report on from two of the busiest months of the year.   The results of the Invitation events at the meeting held on 1st August were as follows.

120 yds handicap:   1.   R Quinn (VPAAC)   4 yds;   2.  WH Crawford (Bellahouston)  5;   3.   W Henderson (Watsonians) 4.   11.5 sec

220 (Scratch):   1.  J Schatzle (USA);   2.   WJ Ferguson (AAA);   3.   A Pinnington (AAA).   22.2

880 (Scratch):   1.      C Joyce (USA);   2.   D MacMillan (Australia);    3.   J Schlereth (USA)   1:52.9

2 Miles (Handicap):   1.   J Stevenson (Greenock Wellpark) 150y;   2.   L Eyre (Leeds Harehills) Scr;   8:54.7   [Scottish All comers record]; 3.   I Binnie (VPAAC)   scr   8:58.4 [Scottish Native Record].

440 Hurdles (Scratch):   1.   DK Gracie (GUAC);    2.   AW Scott (AAA) ;    3.   AID Francis (AAA)   53.7   [Scottish Native and all comers Record]

Long Jump:   1.   KAB Oluwu (Nigeria)  22 ft 4 ins;  2.   R Soble (USA)   22 ft 2 ins;   3.   AR Smith (GUAC)   20 ft 5.5 ins

High Jump:   1.   BM O’Reilly (Donore)   6 ft 4 ins;   2.   NG Gregor (AAA)   6 ft 2 ins;   3.   V Fritts USA)   6 ft 2 ins

Pole Vault:   1.   F Barnes (USA)   13 ft 6 ins;   2.   NG Gregor (AAA)   13 ft 3.75 ins [Scottish Native Record];   3.   GM Elliott (AAA) 13 ft 3 ins.

Weight:   1.   T Jones (USA)   53 ft 7.75 ins;   2.   M Engle (USA)   49 ft 10.5 ins;   3.   GM Elliott (AAA)   41 ft 9.75 ins.

It is clear from the above that the quality had not slipped too much – two all-comers and three native records and contestants from six countries testify to that.

1954 was Vancouver Commonwealth Games year and what with the Bannister/Landy Mile and, more particularly from a Scottish point of view, the McGhee win in the marathon absorbed almost all the available space.

I couldn’t find either a report or the results for the 1956 Sports but there was an “Ibrox Floodlit Meeting” on 15th September that was a great success.   Bill Struth, the manager who above all set the standard for the sports and keep them going, died on 21st September 1956 which was less than a week after the Floodlit Meeting.  He is pictured above at his last Rangers Sports.   Olympic year again,  and a host of Olympic athletes.   James L Logan reported this time.   “The international Floodlit Meeting at Ibrox Park organised by the SAAA and sponsored by the Scottish Daily Express, emphasised the powerful effect of professional publicity in the successful promotion of sports events in this country.   Despite the miserable weather which lasted right up to starting time, and the fact that the football season was in full swing, a crowd of 25000 turned up in expectant mood: not to while away a few hours but eager to acclaim pure sporting performances by athletes whose calibre was known after a week’s publicity.    

The Continental-style ovation given to Brian Hewson after his magnificent effort  in the 800m was something new to Scottish ears.   Wave after wave of cheers rolled round the stadium and the enthusiasm burst out again when his time was announced.   And how Brian deserved this reward!   Undisturbed by the preliminary haggling for position, he came through to the perfect striking situation and unleashed his winning move at the beginning of the back straight, a sustained effort with no sign of fade at the tape.   His nearest challenger, the German H Reinnagel, closed the gap slightly but the issue was never in doubt.   The time of 1 min 47.5 secs is the second best ever achieved by a British athlete, just 0.1 behind Derek Johnson’s time in the 1954 European championship final, and easily beats Mal Whitfield’s Olympic record of 1 min 49.2 sec.    It should not be forgotten, however, that old warrior Whitfield recently returned 1 min 49.3 sec in the American Olympic trials and finished fifth behind Tom Courtney who clocked 1 min 46,4 seconds!   Still, the American trials are on the level of another Olympics, demanding optimum effort.   Courtney, it should be noted, holds the Scottish All-Comers “880” record and Hewson, if he had continued to the 880 mark, would have been well  inside the American’s figures; which all adds up to a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ which will only be resolved at Melbourne!

The amateur track and field statistician has been overwhelmed in recent months by pre-Olympic reports flooding in from all over the world.   Only a professional checking his records daily, could hope to keep track of all the world class names.   This was emphasised in the 4 x 440 yards relay.

When the great Jamaican team of Arthur Wint, Herb McKenley, George Rhoden and Les Laing set up the Scottish All-Comers record of 3 mins 15.8 sec at Ibrox Park in 1952, each of those names was known to everyone.   Wint was reigning Olympic 400 metres champion, McKenley and Rhoden  were 440 yards and 400 metres world record holders, and Laing was just a fraction below that class.   They went on inevitably to the Olympic title and the world record.   Now we have a German team, with names familiar only to the  most knowledgeable, smashing the Jamaicans Scottish record by 3.4 seconds, easily beating a British team who were also inside record.   Who would dare forecast Olympic winners in these circumstances?

In the ladies 4 x 100 metres relay, the English team moved with the poise and assurance of world record holders and cruised in just one fifth of a second outside the Olympic ‘best’.   The British girls both in individual and relay events have already struck ‘world’ form and should go to Melbourne stacked with confidence.   The 1500 metres was a big disappointment to home fans.   Just as we filled our lungs to roar for Graham Everett’s challenge, the local boy went down with stunning suddenness at the top bend.   Even allowing for the break in rhythm, Boyd’s winning time of 3 mins 50.6 secs, suggested that Everett could well have been closely involved in the finish.  

It was interesting to see Josy Barthel again.   “Out of the blue” winner of the 1500 metres at Helsinki, Josy is one of these athletes who boost the morale of others who are not built in the classic mould.   Short, almost squat, with heavy legs and balding head, he makes up for lack of natural physical advantages with the virtues of tenacity and consistency.   Simce Helsinki, he has maintained a position just short of the modern masters.   It is too easily forgotten that many of the great names of 1952 have now entirely disappeared from the news.   Eamon Kinsella, winner of the 110 metres hurdles in 14.5 seconds, is another athletes with a fine record of consistency.   The American negro C Pratt with his very close snap-down action may have had his accuracy impaired by the grass track – he pulled down several hurdles – and Kinsella’s powerful, flowing style appeared more suitable to the conditions.

Enthusiasm for the home victory in the high jump was tempered somewhat by Bill Piper’s moderate winning height of 6 ft but it should be borne in mind that apart from the heavy underfoot conditions the temperature at an evening meeting in September is more trying for the field events men who have to hang around between their efforts.   In these circumstances, V Sillon’s winning vault of 13 ft 6 ins and I Ward’s 13 ft for second place were most commendable.   Encouraged by generous applause, the Pole A Walczak broke a 20 years old All-Comers record by throwing the javelin 230 ft 2 ins.   Tall Diane Leather, a late entry, was too powerful for her German and Polish opponents in the 800 metres and returned the excellent time of 2 mins 9.7 secs.   

In the 3000 metres, Ibbotson gave an uncharacteristic performance and we were also disappointed in our first view of wonder boy sprinter Young.   These however were minor blemishes in a memorable evening.”

These were NOT the Rangers Sports – no open competition but the feast of athletics put on for the public can be seen from the results.   I make it nine countries represented.

100m:   1. KJ Box (Liverpool)   11.3;   2.   H Jensen (W Germany)   11.3;   3.  JRG Young (Bishop Vesey’s GS)  11.4.

200m:   1.  L Pohl  (W Germany)  21.7:   2.  ER Sandstrom (RAF)  21.8;   3.  W Henderson (Benwell)   22.3.

400m:   1.  H Mann (E Germany)   47.8;   2.  M Poerschke (W Germany)  48.2;   3. FP Higgins (Southgate)   48.2.

800m:   1.   BS Hewson (Mitcham)   1:47.5;   2.   H Reinnagel (E Germany)   1:49.3;   3.   MA Farrell (Birchfield)   1:50.0

1500m:  1. IH Boyd (Herne Hill)   3:50.6;   2.  J Barthel (Luxembourg)   3:50.7;   3.  F Janke (E Germany)   3:52.3.

3000m   1. Z Kryszkowiak (Poland)   8:05.4;   2.   GD Ibbotson (RAF)   8:08.1;   3. G Havenstein (E Germany)   8:08.6.

110 H:   1.  E Kinsella (Eire)   14.5;   2.  C Pratt (USA)   15.2;   3.  E Roudnitska (FRance)   15.4.

400m H:   1.   H Dittner (E Germany)   52.7;   2.  RD Shaw (Achilles)   53.5;   3.  M Basset (France)   54.5

High Jump:   1.  W Piper (Glasgow Police)  6 ft 0 in;   2.   AM Law (Paisley Police)  5 ft 11 in;  3.  MC Ludow (Hythe) and V Sillon (France)  5 ft 10 ins.

Pole Vault:   1.  V Sillon (France)  13 ft 6 ins;   2.   I Ward (Bury)   13 ft 0 ins;   3.  GE Broad (Hermes)   11 ft 6 ins.

Javelin:   1.  A Walczak (Poland)  230 ft 2 ins [Scottish All-Comers Record];   2.  PS Cullen (Rotherham)   204 ft 5 ins;   3.  CN Loveland (Army)  201 ft 1 in.

4 x 100m Relay:   1.  W Germany [Pohl, Feneberg, Fuchs, Jensen] 41.8;    2. England   41.9;   3.  Scotland  42.9

4 x 440 Relay:   1.   Germany [Kuhl, Poerschke, Blummel, Mann]   3:12.4;   2.   Great Britain [Farrell, Shaw, Wheeler, FP Higgins]   3:14.4

4M Paarlauf:   1.   Finchley H  [E Shirley/FG Salvat]   16:34.3;   2.   Sheffield United Harriers   16:48.9;   3.  Bellahouston Harriers   16:58.9.

Emmet Farrell commented on the meeting in the same issue of ‘The Scots Athlete’ as follows:

“Devastating Hewson The piece de resistance was undoubtedly Brian Hewson’s800 metres where he left a classy field trailing helplessly in his wake when he unleashed a last lap effort of beautifully controlled running.   His time of 1 min 47.5 secs is the second best ever by a Briton.   Perhaps Hewson, under a cloud for some little time, is beginning to find his real form at the right time.   Klaus Richtzenhain of East Germany recent conqueror of Pirie and Chataway over 1500 metres in fast time, elected to start in this race but faded badly.  

Polish Trouble Maker Kryszkowiak of Poland provided us with a bit of pronunciation trouble, then added insult to injury by stealing away in the last lap from a classy 3000m field like Mr Mercury himself in the good time of 8 min 5.4 sec.   The Pole, a delightful mover, really went to town before the bell and despite a determined effort Ibbotson could not close an ever-widening gap.   The latter, though running well, has had a hard racing programme and seemed to lack sparkle.  

Everett Stumble Spoils 1500 metres. A very interesting 1500 metres provided an anti-climax when Graham Everett bursting into the lead at the last lap stumbled leaving Ian Boyd to win narrowly from 1952 Olympic winner Josy Barthel who, though some five seconds slower than his record, still shows some remnants of his Olympic silk.   Barthel is strong and looks as if he is running on a tight rein.   While he hardly looks able to repeat his surprise win at Helsinki he may be building up to a peak and provide contenders with more trouble than appears evident.   Other highlights of this mini Olympics include Walczak of Poland’s javelin throw of 230 feet 2 inches for a new Scottish All-Comers record.   Sillon of France’s13 feet 6 inches pole vault.   Kinsella of Eire’s impressive 110 metres hurdles win.   Diane Leather’s narrow revenge win over U Donath of Germany with a 2 mins 9.7 secs 800 metres.   The game but futile attempts of Wheeler and Higgins to close the gap against the combined German 4 x 400 metres relay in a race where both teams beat the all-comers record.    Interesting novelty the two man team ‘paarlauf’ race over four miles was also well received.   The strong English team representing Finchley H of Eric Shirley (AAA Steeplechase champion) and Frank Salvat was just too classy for English rivals Sheffield United and a host of Scottish teams.   But a word of congratulation is due to Bellahouston’s Nelson and Connelly for their game display and fluent running to gain third place to prove themselves easily the best of the Scottish contingents.   Yes, it was a feast of good sport.”

John Freebairn from Kilsyth was a very talented all-rounder who became an SAAA coach for the throwing events after his competitive days were over.   He remembers competing in the Sports of 1958 where he won the shot putt and was rewarded with a Parker-Knoll armchair which was better than Hugh Barrow’s transistor radio (see below) but much harder to fit into the family car.   He also took part in the high jump immediately and his opening jump was 5’11” which was not good enough for a place in the event.   He did however get a second in the pole vault.    These were the days of landing in flat sand in the ‘jumps for height’ but at Ibrox the sand was piled high .   John had seen the Walt Davis/Alan Paterson duel in 1952 and had been roped in by Fraser Riach to help retrieve the javelin in the floodlit meeting.   Unfortunately the 1958 Sports was his only competition because he turned professional at the end of 1958 to compete on the Highland Games circuit.

Despite the success of the 1956 meeting, the floodlit meetings continued only intermittently and the picture above is of Hugh Barrow finishing second to Morris Jefferson in an invitation Junior mile on 3rd October 1962.   Jefferson, who won in 4:10.1, was the AAA’s Junior Mile champion who ran 4:05 for the distance as a Junior and Barrow, who was second in 4:10.2, had been second in the AAA’s 880 yards in the same year.    They were fine times, run on cinders, for an evening in October in Scotland when the weather is not at its warmest!

Having given some idea of the Sports and the standard of competition it is only fair to point out that the football club’s commitment to athletics went beyond the special events that brought them in around £4000 a time.  Ian Binnie, the famous and independent minded international endurance runner on one occasion had promised to run at the Rangers Sports when he was called by the AAA’s at the last minute to run in London for the British team.   He refused saying he was already committed to the Ibrox event.   The tale is told in Doug Gillon’s obituary notice for Binnie which can be found here but Struth was so impressed with the runner keeping his word that he presented him with a key to Ibrox Park telling him that he could train there any time so long as the football team was not training on it.   A prize indeed as Ibrox was the best track in the country at the time.

The ‘Daily Express’ Helicopter lands at Ibrox in 1959

The half time events at Old Firm games were well-known and  I quote from Iain Duff’s book about Ibrox “Temple of Dreams” where the following appears on pp 90 and 91 under the heading “On the right track”.  

“For more than 70 years the Rangers Sports had been Scotland’s leading track and field event, but with the death of Bill Struth the main driving force behind the annual meetings had gone.   Declining crowds led to the event finally being scrapped.   However in the mid-1960’s there was a slight return for athletics to the stadium.   There was growing unease among the authorities at the level of trouble on the Scottish terraces, especially at Old Firm games.   In an attempt to ease the tension, they came up with various initiatives aimed at diverting the rival fans’ attention away from each other.   One such idea was to invite prominent athletes to take part in a series of half time races on the cinder track around the pitch.  

Hugh Barrow, a member of Victoria Park athletics club, was one of the athletes invited to take part., running in a one mile race on the Ibrox track at the 1965 Ne’erday match.   It was a bizarre experience.   “On the day in question, you were told to report to the primary school on Edmiston Drive where you changed,” he said.  “Then the athletes warmed up on the training area under the main stand, sharing the arena with the City of Glasgow Mounted Division so you had to be careful. ”    As soon as the half-time whistle blew the athletes headed off down the tunnel, while the players went on the opposite direction.   “When you took to the track, what an atmosphere!     Not even an Olympic champion would experience this.   You had been cautioned from wearing either blue or green vests – and that was a pity, as my club wore blue and white hoops”     He went on,

“Time was at a premium so you were on your marks immediately – the gun went – although you could hardly hear it – and you were off, heading round the Copland Road bend.   Then came the first surprise, the track was lined with police, sometimes actually on the track, so it became an obstacle race.   Then suddenly, halfway up the back straight, a police snatch squad rushed out in front of you across the track, heading for the crowd.   When you were on your next lap, the snatch squad were on their way back across the track with a culprit, so you had to swerve to avoid them for a second time.   It wasn’t exactly made for fast times, however on this occasion I managed a win over my old rival, Ian McCafferty, who went on to greater things including the Olympic 5000m final in Munich.

There was no prize money for the winner, “for my endeavours I was presented with a transistor radio by Scot Symon and a cold wash back at the primary school.”

The man responsible for the Sports lasting as long as they did: Bill Struth at the water-jump: on the day of the sports, there would be a hedge placed in front of the barrier.

Another member of Victoria Park to compete there was Colin Young.  He says

Sports at Ibrox

I have used the heading above as I have memories of both the Rangers Sports and Police Sports – both held at Ibrox.    I cannot now recall which I am remembering!

 As a Spectator:   I used to go with my dad who had been a half miler himself when at university  – and may even have run at Ibrox, as the clock on our mantelpiece at home was a prize he won.   I can still hear the voice of the announcer George Bradley who announced at both meetings – he was the deputy registrar at the university. I guess Fred Evans would have been the starter and my dad can recall being started by Fred when he ran in the early 1920s. I believe Fred was the groundsman at Helenvale.  

Some memorable competitors and races:    

Seeing the great Jamaican runners such as Arthur Wint, George Rhoden and Herb McKenley – must have been in the early 50s. My research suggests they might have been there after the Helsinki Olympics but I cannot be sure! If this is so it is a reflection on the status of these sports at Ibrox that such men appeared.  My memory was that Wint ran the half-mile but research proves me wrong – by a quarter of a mile!    Remigino of the USA was another name to the fore in the sprints. 

I also recall hearing the name Rintamaki announced – but my Internet researches tell me he was later than the early 50s. Also later would have been the South African 440yds hurdler, Gert Potgieter who had been a gymnast and could hurdle with either leg no problem – so he just ran and took the hurdles as they came! Wonderful to watch!   I also recall the English athletes Anne Pashely and June Paul both being there to sprint and John Savidge throwing the discus.

I recall watching Ian Binnie running in the 3 miles and 6 miles on more that one occasion. He had a stopwatch on his wrist and reached across to start it at the beginning of every race. On one occasion I recall Ian building up a tremendous lead throughout the race – only to have it whittled away at the end and loose the race because he couldn’t sprint.

 Another race memory is seeing John McIssac breaking the long-standing 440yds record, which had stood at 48.6 secs since set by Halswell in 1908. Halswell was an officer in the HLI and was killed in the first war.    Not so very many years ago the RHF (successors to HLI) gave the Halswell/Halswelle cup as a trophy.    John did 48.00 that day in 1958 – wearing a VP singlet even though he was a student at Glasgow Uni at the time!

You will find that Wikipedia carries a different story on this one. Stating that Halswell’s record was broken after 25 years but I do recall his name on the programme!  Wikipedia also says that Menzies Campbell took Halswell’s 300 yards record in 1961 – my shaky memory is that it was Eric Liddle’s 300 yds record! 

Joe McGhee won the marathon one year – in bare feet and sandshoes and I recall him doing his lap of honour wearing a substantial laurel wreath! 

In these days there were a lot of cycle races at the sports and I do recall the cyclists getting the slow handclap for not racing – which is of course what they seem to be doing when jockeying for position for the sprint. 

5 a side football was also a feature – mainly to draw in the crowds which were substantial.

Me as a competitor:   I started my own career running in the boys 100 yards and then carried on to the youths and open 100 and 220.    The open 220 had over 20 heats so there were semis and finals. All handicap stuff of course  – I never won any prizes there and have more memories of the Highland games (amateur circuit) for some reason.

Now I wonder how all this was crammed into one highly entertaining sports meeting!”

Thanks for the memories Colin.   Maybe I should say for some of the younger ones among us that RHF stands for the Royal Highland Fusiliers and HLI stands for the Highland Light Infantry (Glasgow’s own regiment.)   The earlier Rangers Sports are covered at the following links 

The First Rangers Sports   Rangers Sports: 1890 – 94    Rangers Sports: 1895 – 99    Rangers Sports: 1900-1909   

Rangers Sports: 1910 – 1920    Rangers Sports: 1920 – 1929 Rangers Sports: 1930-1939   Rangers Sports 1940 – 45