Scotland v England - First international football match 150th anniversary
- last year
John Devlin 30/11/2022. GLASGOW. Cathcart Cemetary.
Colin (moustache) and Alex Taylor, Great grandsons of founding internationalist, Joseph Taylor at the graveside of the ex Scotland player.
On St Andrew’s Day, 30 November 1872, teams representing Scotland and England took to the field to play out a 0-0 draw – a significant moment in the development of international football.
Colin (moustache) and Alex Taylor, great grandsons of Joseph Taylor, who represented Scotland in the first international.
They all had their stories to tell, no more so than Joseph Taylor, a member of the first-ever Scotland XI. Taylor, a defender, played Scotland’s first six games, which means he took part in the first five games against England. He skippered Scotland in two of these six matches.
Colin Taylor, Taylor’s great grandson, will make the journey next week from Northamptonshire, where he is based. He has been invited to take kick-off when two teams of schoolchildren re-enact the 1872 game on Wednesday precisely 150 years to the minute since international football began in earnest – 2pm.
Colin only discovered his great grandfather’s final resting place as recently as 2012. He grew up knowing precious little about his direct association to one of the most significant men in Scottish football history. Taylor also features heavily in the early history of Queen’s Park, one of the most important clubs at the time. On Scottish Cup third round weekend, it’s worth noting Taylor earned three winners' medals with Queen's Park in the 1870s.
Colin’s father, also Colin, did not tend to speak much about his grandfather. That tends to be the way of it in most families. According to his son, Colin Senior found it hard to speak about his own experiences in the Second World War, when he took part in convoys to Malta and Russia, never mind peer further back in the dim and distant and recall the sporting exploits of his distinguished antecedent.
“It was during Calcutta Cup games … that’s the first time I was aware my dad was mostly Scottish,” says Colin, who was born and brought up in England. “Dad was the first of the line to be English born – in Cheltenham – but he would be supporting Scotland.
“You look back in life and think of opportunities, times when you might have said ‘tell me more, Dad …’ I remember he had a little drawer which he shoved stuff in. He had his war medals in there, he didn’t pay great attention to them, there were brass buttons in there too.
"But I now know there was one of Joseph’s medals in there. I guess I used to play with them. One day I said, 'Dad, what is that?' He did not want to talk about the war. But he did say one day that his grandad played football for Queen’s Park and for Scotland. I didn’t think anything more of it, I must be honest. It did not change my life.”
What did change his life was father’s death, aged 70, in 1993. Despite the frustration of realising that he had left it too late
Colin (moustache) and Alex Taylor, Great grandsons of founding internationalist, Joseph Taylor at the graveside of the ex Scotland player.
On St Andrew’s Day, 30 November 1872, teams representing Scotland and England took to the field to play out a 0-0 draw – a significant moment in the development of international football.
Colin (moustache) and Alex Taylor, great grandsons of Joseph Taylor, who represented Scotland in the first international.
They all had their stories to tell, no more so than Joseph Taylor, a member of the first-ever Scotland XI. Taylor, a defender, played Scotland’s first six games, which means he took part in the first five games against England. He skippered Scotland in two of these six matches.
Colin Taylor, Taylor’s great grandson, will make the journey next week from Northamptonshire, where he is based. He has been invited to take kick-off when two teams of schoolchildren re-enact the 1872 game on Wednesday precisely 150 years to the minute since international football began in earnest – 2pm.
Colin only discovered his great grandfather’s final resting place as recently as 2012. He grew up knowing precious little about his direct association to one of the most significant men in Scottish football history. Taylor also features heavily in the early history of Queen’s Park, one of the most important clubs at the time. On Scottish Cup third round weekend, it’s worth noting Taylor earned three winners' medals with Queen's Park in the 1870s.
Colin’s father, also Colin, did not tend to speak much about his grandfather. That tends to be the way of it in most families. According to his son, Colin Senior found it hard to speak about his own experiences in the Second World War, when he took part in convoys to Malta and Russia, never mind peer further back in the dim and distant and recall the sporting exploits of his distinguished antecedent.
“It was during Calcutta Cup games … that’s the first time I was aware my dad was mostly Scottish,” says Colin, who was born and brought up in England. “Dad was the first of the line to be English born – in Cheltenham – but he would be supporting Scotland.
“You look back in life and think of opportunities, times when you might have said ‘tell me more, Dad …’ I remember he had a little drawer which he shoved stuff in. He had his war medals in there, he didn’t pay great attention to them, there were brass buttons in there too.
"But I now know there was one of Joseph’s medals in there. I guess I used to play with them. One day I said, 'Dad, what is that?' He did not want to talk about the war. But he did say one day that his grandad played football for Queen’s Park and for Scotland. I didn’t think anything more of it, I must be honest. It did not change my life.”
What did change his life was father’s death, aged 70, in 1993. Despite the frustration of realising that he had left it too late