Tuesday 14th April 1903

On this day in 1903 the Amalgamation Committee of the three main clubs in the area; Aberdeen, Orion and Victoria United convened at the offices of Alex Clarke in Bridge Street to form the present Aberdeen Football Club. A new board of directors were appointed as efforts now turned to gaining admission to the Scottish League. Jimmy Philip was confirmed as manager with Peter Simpson as trainer.

The rest as they say is history.

However until recently not much was known about the history of our club prior to 1903. The Aberdeen FC Heritage Trust though have been doing a lot of research into the period from the 1880s to the turn of the century.

Here are some of the stories which have featured in RedMatchday this season:

The Victorians – A.V. Lothian – A Founding Father

People tend to accept that the history of Aberdeen FC begins in 1903 with the amalgamation of three other clubs. In a sense that is correct, but the story of those three clubs – Orion, Victoria United and Aberdeen are unarguably a part of the roots of the present club. The tap root of the trio is the original Aberdeen Football Club, with a history stretching back to its foundation twenty two years earlier, in 1881.

The first ever gathering of would be Aberdeen footballers is well documented and was called by three Woodside teacher, Messrs. McHardy, Glennie and Stewart who clearly thought that it was time to get the game of Association Football, already flourishing further south, off the ground in Aberdeen. They were joined at the meeting by nine others and in all there were eight teachers, two bookbinders, a medical student and a tailor. Prominent amongst these was one A. V. Lothian who hailed from Wishaw and may well have had some experience of the game in that part of the world. In any event, he became the first President of the new club and by the time the first team was fielded against Coupar Angus in March 1882 he was also Captain, playing at left back.

Lothian played regularly for the developing Aberdeen side from the very beginning until season 1888-89 when he left Aberdeen to take up a lectureship in Mathematics at the Normal Training College, Glasgow.  This was the era of amateurism and his working life in Aberdeen was spent at the Grammar School where he was a teacher of arithmetic and science and by all accounts was a popular master who also worked hard there to foster the playing of sports. Indeed it was Lothian’s influence that secured access to the Grammar’s playing field for a couple of matches in the early eighties when the club’s usual ground at the time was unavailable. Unfortunately even by the standards of those formative years, the quality of the school pitch was not great and it was not used again by the city’s senior team.

In the space of the eight years that A.V. was with Aberdeen Football Club we can only say with certainty that he played 33 of the possible 116 first team matches. The vague number comes because the press did not always report the team lines for matches and sometimes barely reported on the games at all. We know for sure that his first match was the very first Aberdonian match away to Coupar Angus when the team went down 4-0 to the locals. Records suggest that his last game was in December 1888 when Aberdeen visited Inverness to play against Crown and ran up a 5-0 scoreline.

Like many sportsmen of the day, Lothian was an all-rounder, keenly participating in cricket, tennis golf, and possibly bowling, all with a reasonable degree of success. He also featured regularly in assorted events at the annual Aberdeen FC sports. But all of this was in pursuit of his leisure and fitness, the real career of A. V. Lothian was in education and in 1889 he had finished with playing the game, although he kept going with tennis. In January 1891 he left his post at the Grammar School to take up a new one in Glasgow and we pretty much lose track of him for most of the rest of his life, although we have discovered that he was the author of “Arithmetic with Numerous Examples” in the 1890’s and that he self-published “The Petrology of the Kilsyth Hills” in 1902. The last trace of him was when he appeared in a group photograph of delegates to the Edinburgh Mathematical Colloquium in St Andrews in 1930, so it has to be guessed that he maintained his educational career over a very lengthy period of time.

It would be good to report on the football exploits of this hugely important player in the sporting history of the game in Aberdeen, but sadly he was seldom mentioned in match reports and often participated in heavy defeats. Nonetheless, when he did get a mention it was always positive and it seems he was one of the more successful players of that period. But what really matters in the present day is that this man deserves an honoured place in the annals of Aberdeen Football as a founder and driving force of the game all those years ago.  Hall of Fame candidate perhaps?

The Victorians – Football takes off in the Granite City

After four seasons of the Aberdeen being the only registered football team in Aberdeen, the level of activity took off in season 1885-86 when seven new clubs appeared on the scene. An explosion of numbers followed in the next few years, with practically street or district boasting a club or at least a team. At last the original club had the possibility of a decent number of fixtures through the season, and although the majority of games were friendlies, they were usually played in a very competitive manner. The new clubs that season were: Bon-Accord; Rovers; Orion; Carlton; Gladstone; Grammar School and Alliance. Aberdeen, with their long experience,  were by some way the dominant team locally, but when it came to facing opposition from further afield they took a couple of 7-0 pastings from Arbroath Strathmore, and Dumbarton and the best they managed otherwise was score draws against Montrose United and St Laurence.

That 7-0 thrashing by Arbroath Strathmore was suffered in the first round of the Scottish Cup – the only tie involving an Aberdonian side that season. The other heavy defeat came when Dumbarton, the fourth oldest Scottish club, became the first “Senior” side to visit Aberdeen. They were a very powerful force in Scottish football at the time and boasted several Scottish Internationals in their team and had won the Scottish Cup only two seasons previously. This was a great feather in the caps of the Aberdeen club and helped to underline their place of seniority in their home city. To keep the result in context, though, it should be noted that Dumbarton handicapped themselves slightly by playing their internationalist goalkeeper, McAulay, at centre forward.

Of the other clubs, it was Orion and Bon-Accord who slugged it out to become the second force in the city, although Rovers also had their moments. However, even a team drawn from all of the other clubs were unable to conquer the mighty Aberdeen when “Clubs of Town” took them on in a benefit match near the end of the season. Aberdeen won the match 4-1 but the big beneficiary was the Royal Infirmary, which got £20 out of it – a substantial sum at the time – and the tone was set for many more charitable matches to be played over the next few years.

In a way, none of the results really mattered. The most important aspect of the development of Aberdonian football was that teams were getting plenty of match practice against a healthy variety of opposition under their belts and the beginnings of an impact on the Scottish game were at last in hand.

The Victorians – Orion Observer

Orion Football Club was arguably the strongest of the local senior teams before 1903. This benefitted the club through unbounded enthusiasm from their officials, players and supporters. A spin-off of that enthusiasm was reflected by an innovative approach to entertaining the crowds, when at the beginning of August 1895, “The Orion Observer” was first introduced. Priced at a halfpenny this was the first ever football programme to grace the football scene in the Granite City. The men behind this brave new publication were James Russell and a Mr Smith. Russell, who held various positions at the club, was the editor and driving force behind the publication which ran for several years.  Within the publication columns could be found the League Table, Orion records, details of League fixtures, portraits of the players and lots of pertinent notes.

The publication was frequently championed by the Bon-Acord magazine, itself a great source of footballing insights, whose editor felt that the Observer deserved far better sales than it was achieving. Seemingly it was a challenge to get supporters to part with that hard-won halpenny once every two or three weeks.

Sadly the publication went into decline following the untimely death of James Russell. The Aberdeen Journal paid him this tribute in August 1899:  “For many years he was a member of the Orion Football Club. He had occupied almost every official position in the club; was for several years secretary, and latterly edited the “Orion Observer.”

For a time he was president of the Aberdeenshire Football Association, and was for one or two seasons a delegate to the Scottish Association. There never was a more genuine sportsman nor a more likeable companion, and his presence always exercised an undoubted influence for good in all connected with the game of football.” It would be many years before another regular programme began to appear at Aberdonian matches.

Up to now, although it is known that at least one copy of the Observer exists, the AFC Heritage Trust has not seen an edition of the magazine, but it is hoped that somewhere around Aberdeen copies may yet survive and will come to light someday. If anyone has any knowledge of such a beast, we would be delighted to hear about it, especially if there was a possibility of adding a copy or more to the steadily growing Aberdeen Collection.

Peter Simpson

Peter Simpson was in at the foundation of two important football clubs in Aberdeen. The first was Victoria United where he was the first player signed when the club was formed in 1889 and for which he played in their first ever match – against Glasgow Celtic, who were paying their first visit to the Granite City. The second big beginning was when Peter was signed up in July 1903 as the first trainer of the newly formed Aberdeen Football Club. He was one of the few Victorian age football people to make the transition into the new era.

Born in 1865 in Peterhead, Peter lived in Aberdeen most of his life and began his playing career with Gladstone, playing at the Links. He quickly made his mark and was taken up by Rovers to fill a right-back position, where he built on his good reputation, although he also played forward and scored a few goals in his career. When Victoria United burst onto the local scene in 1889, their first recruit was Peter Simpson and he continued with the Torry club in various roles till 1903. In1892, Simpson took up refereeing which had some eyebrows raised around the town for he had been a robust player, not averse to using every trick in the book to give his side the advantage. However, Peter took to the role with some aplomb and by October 1895 the Bon-Accord weekly magazine published the following profile:

“Mr Peter Simpson, Vice-President, Victoria United F.C.

Mr Simpson needs no introduction, to the followers of the Association game in the city and county, for since the inception of the code in Aberdeen has he not gone in and out amongst us — first as a member of the Rovers and latterly as one of the leading players of the Victoria United, As a player he did valuable work for his colours, but it is to his abilities as a referee that I wish particularly to refer. When Peter first took the enviable whistle to his lips, I can very well remember the laugh that went round among a certain few. But I may be pardoned for asking where is that chuckle now? On the other side of the cheek; the general opinion among all fair-minded critics being that he is the only referee worthy of the name In the north.  Possessing a wide knowledge of all tricks of the game, keen of eye, and agile of foot, it takes the veriest artful dodger to hoodwink Peter. Fair and impartial in his dealing with players under his eye, quick at picking out the transgressors, and dogged in laying down the law and seeing it obeyed, Mr Simpson has not only gained the esteem of the football public, but he has also been successful in achieving what few officials in a like capacity are able to boast of – confidence of the players as well. Mr Simpson, like all referees, makes mistakes — that is unavoidable — but taking him all in all, he is as good as is agoing not only in this northern region, but even in the “classic” south, and if we do not greatly err honours of a high character are in store for him as a whistle blower.”

There is no doubt that he was good at the whistler’s art, for in March 1897 it was announced that he would be in charge of the Scottish Cup Final, a rare honour for an Aberdonian referee. The final was contested by Dumbarton and Glasgow Rangers – teams separated by the entirety of two league divisions – who ran out winners by 5 goals to 1. The press reported that “Mr. Simpson proved an efficient referee.”
In addition to his successful refereeing career, Peter became the trainer with Victoria United and once again built a sound reputation at the job.

Contrary to current accounts, Peter was not appointed to the trainer’s position at Pittodrie at the same time as Jimmy Philip became club secretary (and later manager). He had been working at Hall, Russel’s before he was recruited in July 1903, shortly before the start of the first season. There were those around the town who questioned his appointment, arguing that the job should have gone to Jim McIntosh who had been trainer with the original Aberdeen team.  Time would cause doubters to change their minds as Peter contributed to a steady improvement in the fortunes of Aberdeen FC. His first newsworthy contribution came in the November 1904 Qualifying Cup final when his ingenuity in fitting the players’ boots with rubber strips allowed them to master the slippery Dens Park conditions in the second half and secure a famous victory.

In 1911 with the Dons riding high in the League, the Aberdeen Journal ran a story on the importance of non-playing characters at the club: “At a time when the Aberdeen Football Club is enjoying such a run of success there is a tendency on the part of the public to bestow all the praise on the players, and the fact that equal credit is due to those behind the scenes is sometimes lost sight of. In a marked sense this is true in the case of the Aberdeen Club, of which Mr Peter Simpson — whose portrait we give — is trainer. “Peter” has long taken an active part in the football life of the city, and it is appropriate that he should now, after many years of useful work, have the guiding of the destinies of the club in the field, and that he should take such a prominent part in bringing the progress of the club to a successful issue in the present race for the League championship. Away back in the early eighties Peter, who retains the appearance of the sturdy youth he must have been, associated himself with the Gladstone Club, one of the leading Links organisations, and subsequently became a member of the Rovers, which club he assisted at right back.

“There was no “signing-on” in those days, but when the Victoria United was formed, Peter was the first player to be secured by the new club. In his position at back, and subsequently at inside left, Peter took part in many of the stern fights between the local clubs, and in the form of medals and badges he has mementoes of numerous cup-tie struggles in which he assisted the “Vics” to a hard-won victory. Peter was a member of the United in the year they won the County, Charity, and Gershon Cups, and he assisted the club to annex the Northern League championship.

Ceasing to be a player, Peter took up refereeing, and as a wielder of the whistle was well known over the north.
Taking an interest in the work of the players for the strenuous tussles of the local clubs in the pre-amalgamation days, he became trainer to his old club, the “Vics” and it was from this post that he was appointed to his present position as trainer of the club which is now the most favourably placed to win the Scottish League.
Peter has won the respect of the players, and the effectiveness of the methodical way in which he prepares his men is reflected in the manner in which they have been able to “stay” the strenuous games they have taken part in during the past few years.

This season the club has played in many gruelling games, and their triumph under the most adverse conditions reflects on the effectiveness of their training. Football critics all over the country join in admitting the Aberdeen Club to be one of the best trained in the League, and than this what better compliment could be paid the enthusiastic and popular Peter Simpson?”

His efforts for Aberdeen over the years were recognised with a benefit match in 1912 when the first team played the reserves in front of 1500 of a crowd. A further match was scheduled for April 1920, when Liverpool were due to provide the opposition, but that game appears to have fallen through. Sime six years later, a game went ahead with Morton playing the home team. In the interim, though, Peter had retired from the club giving way to William Russell.

Peter kept on working though, and was groundsman at the Rugby grounds at the upper end of St Machar Drive until his sudden death at his home, 1 Nelson Street in April 1931. Despite having been unwell over the previous few months, he had been a work that morning but on returning home he died sitting in his armchair.

Peter Simpson’s contribution to Aberdeen football in particular, but Aberdeen’s sporting scene in general, was wide ranging; he had even been President of the Aberdeenshire FA at one time. To have guided our players through the first twenty years of the club’s existence was no mean feat and bearing in mind his earlier contribution to the great game in its formative years, Peter deserves to be remembered as one of the greats of Aberdeen Football Club.

The Victorians – Aberdeen’s first ever victory

Much of the history of Victorian Aberdeen FC is about firsts. The club’s small but steadily growing band of supporters had to wait until their sixth match to see the opening victory of their career. It came in the teeth of a gale on the second of December 1882, on the links at Montrose, where the local captain chose to play the first half against the wind. This was a fatal decision for his team because Aberdeen took full advantage of the assistance from the weather and rattled in four goals by half-time for no reply. The scorers in this half were D.B. Lothian (twice), Ross, and Hyslop. In the second period Lothian added a fifth goal, and in so doing became the first Aberdeen player to register a hat-trick. Montrose did endeavour to fight back in the second half, but only scored one goal that counted, although they had a couple chalked off by the referee.

The first home victory for Aberdeen came two months and two games later. Again Montrose were the victims, this time on the Holburn Cricket grounds and they were overturned by 6-2. Once again Aberdeen were assisted by the wind and rushed into a 4-1 lead by the interval. Montrose, who were making their first ever visit to Aberdeen, managed to score a second goal but conceded two more in the second half so can be considered to have been routed. Except, that is, that they were only reported as having fielded ten men and they also had another match in progress on the same day – against Brechin – so this may have been a second eleven side. The team listed was certainly radically different to the line-up back in December. Nonetheless, a fist win on home soil gave the Aberdeen supporters reason to feel cocky and their team’s early history was beginning to look healthier.

The Victorians – Aberdeen’s first Cup tie

Strange but true – the first ever Scottish Cup tie to be played within the city of Aberdeen was contested by our first ever local club and they had only previously played three matches. All of these were against Coupar Angus and two of them were fought out away from home. Hardly ideal preparation for such an important event. In fact it gets worse, for The Aberdeen Football Club had never even played on the pitch where they contested the tie. Their first home match, almost six months earlier, had been played on the Holburn Crocket Grounds at Broomfield Road. This historic Scottish Cup event was played on the field of the Grammar School which, at the time, was situated immediately behind the main school building.

The opposing team were Dundee Harp – a magnificent seven years old – a much more experienced side. Played on the 7th of October 1882, the outcome of the game was pretty inevitable, with Harp winning 3-1. However, the Aberdeen had managed to keep it close for much of the match. A goal down at half time, they equalised through D. B. Lothian, brother of captain A. V. Lothian, but in the end the Dundee team prevailed. The ultimate scoreline was optimistically reported as being 4-1 in the Dundee Courier, but they appear to have counted a disputed goal, which resulted in this line in the Aberdeen Journal: “After a “squabble,” it was agreed that the ball should be thrown free into the air from a point a few yards distant from the Aberdeen goal, and, this being done, the strangers got hold of the ball, and added another goal to the score.” The opposing match reports can be found on the AFC Heritage Trust website – www.afcheritage.org by drilling into the Fixtures and Results menu for the1882-1883 season.

The Aberdeen men only played one more match on the Grammar School venue, a resounding 3-3 draw against Montrose United  a couple of years later. The pitch evidently had problems and the preferred ground in those distant days was at Holburn.

To find out more about the history of the club please visit www.afcheritage.org/main.cfm