The presence of the B.T Premiership Trophy on the top table at the Glasgow Accie Centenary Dinner at New Anniesland last night recognised the contribution made by Accies to Hawks since its' inception in 1997.Both Hawks presidents have come from New Anniesland in the form of Brian Simmers and Tom Howie.

It was good to see so many former Hawks players present including Alan Perrie,Stevie Winter,John Mason,Torquil Mathewson,Gordon Mackay,Graeme Lusk,Kevin Horton, Chris and Stuart Simmers,and current Accie coach Chas Afuakwah

Over the last two seasons Accies have made a major contribution to Hawks success in winning back to back League titles and the B,T Cup in 2004.
During this campaign seven Accies have played with Hawks--Stewart Smith,Ricky Munday,Steve Begley,Murray Strang,Richard McKnight,Matt Smith,and Stuart Low --also Kenny Sinclair and Richie Maxton have family connections with Accies

The best? The answer is surely Academical-from The Herald 27 August 2005

THE cost of hiring the marquee in which almost 500 Glasgow Academicals will tonight celebrate their centenary at the New Anniesland sports ground, is greater than the £10,683 which the school paid for the land itself, plus building the pavilion, groundsman's house, and grandstand 100 years ago.

Just how sound that investment has proved we learned from Billy Mann, who is helping organise festivities.

The club were members of the Rugby Football Union before the Scottish Rugby Union was founded in GlasgowAcademy itself in 1873, and the school has produced more than 80 Scottish internationalists as well as 10 cricket caps and many international athletes.

Glasgow Academical Football Club did not find it necessary to include "rugby" in its title when they formed in 1866. "Association" football was born the next year, with the formation of Queen's Park.

GlasgowHawks (a merger of Accies and Glasgow High/ Kelvinside) are now arguably the dominant Scottish rugby force, national champions for the past two years. Yet they must envy Accies' previous golden ages: just 11matches lost in their first 16 years during which six Academicals played in the inaugural Scotland v England international, and a remarkable post First World War era when Anniesland matches drew crowds of up to 10,000. Special trains ran from Edinburgh and, when they met their rivals Heriot's, the game had to be played on the international ground at Inverleith, attracting 18,000.

Academicals were considered by The Times to be "easily the best club in the British Isles", and the writer exhorted "English rugger enthusiasts to take the trouble to go to Glasgow on a Friday evening by the "sleeper" to see Glasgow Academicals who would probably beat, and beat easily, any London club".

This was all the more remarkable considering battlefield ravages on the sports field.

From 1901 to 14, the club had been Scottish rugby champions three times. The 1903-05 captain was Louis Greig, a Scotland internationalist and British Lion who became the confidant of the future King George VI and his tennis partner at Wimbledon.

All of the XVwhich beat West of Scotland 27-8 in the last game of the 1914 season enlisted on the outbreak of war. Eight were killed, six were wounded, and only one returned unscathed. Three were awarded the Military Cross. Three died on June 18 1915 at Gallipoli, yet nine otherAccies FPs, all Cameronian officers, were killed at Souvla Bay that same day.

Despite these casualties, from 1921 to 1926 the rebuilt Accies rugby XV played 123, won 111, drew 2, lost 10. They were beaten only six times by Scottish clubs, scoring 3069 points for the loss of 482. So high was their status that the New Zealand Maori wanted to play them. The SRU refused to sanction the game.

Their luminaries included Herbert Waddell (stand-off in the 1925 Scotland grand slam side) who was memorably billed by the SRU for the fire which he asked to be lit in his room at the North British Hotel, the team's pre-match headquarters, and Max Simmers.

Before settling at New Anniesland, the school had three previous grounds, the first at Burnbank, between Great Western Road and Woodlands Road. When Accies moved out, it became the home of a football club, newly moved from public pitches at Glasgow Green. Yes, Rangers. They stayed a year before moving to Kinning Park. Burnbank was where Glasgow Academy Sports was launched in 1868. It is the oldest surviving athletics meeting in the West of Scotland.

The club produced several outstanding international athletes, including John McIsaac who helped Britain to European 4 x 400m gold in 1958, Robert Stronach, a rugby internationalist who won three successive AAA 120 yards hurdles titles, and more recently Alastair Douglas, Pat McLaggan, and Hugh Barrow who was once teenage world record-holder for the mile, and is now secretary of the Hawks.

Cricket was the dominant sport when the club was founded in 1866 (and was Scotland's major team sport until the latter part of the 19th century). In the 1930s, as many as five internationalists played in the first XI, including rugby and golf "caps", but three of the most promising players were killed in the Second World War. However, more recently, Dougie Lockhart has now represented Scotland more than 100 times.

The school once had its own curling pond and has also hosted international women's hockey and lacrosse.

This article was originally posted on 28-Aug-2005, 18:41 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 30-Aug-2005, 21:59.