When Stoke face Manchester City in the FA Cup Final on Saturday it is hard to believe that a Glasgow Accie once helped put them out of the very same tournament

The Glasgow Accies are usually identified with rugby and cricket but that was not always the case
During the 1870-80s Accies produced international class footballers

In some ways this is not suprising when the history of Queens Park F.C. records the following

"The Queen's Park members were
ever greatly daring, and no matter what they undertook they always pushed to a satisfactory conclusion. No obstacles were allowed to stand in the way. When they, at their annual meeting in April, 1869, decided to challenge the Glasgow Academical Rugby Club to play them a match under Rugby rules, and twenty men a side, in their ardent pursuit for opponents at that early stage in their career, they were met by a refusal on the ground of difference of rules, and want of time (it was as late as October that the reply to the challenge was received).
Although this match did not take place both Accies and West of Scotland helped Queens Park prepare for the F.A. Cup in 1872 with practice sessions

However out of all this came two Accies who were capped for Soccer

These "soccer"men were William Turner and Woodville Gray

Turner played for Pollokshields Athletic
He was capped twice against Ireland in 1885 and 1886
He had the distinction of scoring five goals in an inter city match between Glasgow and Sheffield when the Scots won 9-0

Even more impressive were the exploits of Woodville Gray who was first capped whilst still at the Glasgow Academy
Although at that time several schoolboys had earned full caps at rugby Gray was the first to have achieved that honour at soccer when he was capped against England in 1886

Gray like Turner played for Pollokshields Athletic but he also played for the mighty Queens Park a club that had the historic association with Glasgow Accies after all they had asked Accies to supply players for the first Soccer international at Hamilton Crescent in 1872 In 1883 Gray was included in the Glasgow team for the first Inter City Soccer match against Edinburgh which was held at Powderhall with Glasgow winning 2-0
In 1885 in front of a crowd of 12,500 he played in the Queens Park side that lost 0-2 to Blackburn Rovers in the final of the F A Cup held at the Kennington Oval
Enroute to this historic game Queens Park had beaten Stoke,Crewe Alexandra,Leek,Old Whykhamists,Notts County,and Notts Forrest Strangely the replayed semi final match against Notts Forrest was played at Merchiston Castle School following a drawn match at Derby

This article was posted on 11-May-2011, 06:36 by Hugh Barrow.