The development of organised football in Scotland: 1824-1875

Abstract

In the present day, organised forms of football can easily be found in communities throughout Scotland. For the rugby and association codes, visitor attractions at Hampden Park and Murrayfield Stadium help to tell the story of how the modern versions of each sport were developed in Scotland, from the early international matches of the 1870s into the billion pound industry of the twenty-first century. What is less well known, is the history of organised football in Scotland decades before the arrival of the two dominant codes. Many of the early football histories within the United Kingdom considered football in the early part of the nineteenth century to be an unruly ‘mob’ game which was increasingly censured and inevitably died out. Such accounts argue that these wild and outmoded games were ‘civilised’ decades later, by the elite schools and universities who provided rules and regulations. However, whilst the elite institutions had an important role to play, there were wider influences on the development of organised football throughout the nineteenth century. This thesis discusses the existence of older organised football traditions which predated the modern codes. The research also sheds light on the process of transition, particularly for the association game, which saw football teams and football players connected to traditional games adapt to the newer and more structured form of the sport. A study of football club members during the late 1860s and early 1870s forms part of the process. An examination of the development of football clubs, commencing with the oldest documented club of 1824 and concluding with several mapping projects up to 1875, provide an unprecedented insight into the organisation and development of football in Scotland during a crucial period which witnessed the end of the traditional era of football and the beginning of the modern age.