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1911 | Summer Tours | Bohemia

04 June 2020
Author Red Matchday Team (Kevin Stirling) (Malcolm Panton)

 

In 1911 Aberdeen went on their first tour.

It was an adventurous trek to Eastern Europe where Aberdeen were welcomed with great enthusiasm as much as curiosity by their hosts.

The Dons under Jimmy Philip had enjoyed their most successful season to date although they just failed to land the clubs first major trophy in season 1910.11. Aberdeen finished as strong runners up in the league and were eliminated at the semi final stage of the Scottish Cup. It was seen as great progress by the club in what was only Aberdeen’s 10th year in existence.

The Aberdeen directors had adopted a cautious approach in previous years and it had provided a sound financial base for the club as they settled in to the top flight in Scotland. Manager Philip was never one to look back and he was certainly an innovative force; he had been the driving force behind the clubs efforts to gain admission to the Scottish League and he was also adamant that the players should broaden their experiences in the game.

Part of that learning process would be to play against sides from foreign lands and as a reward for coming so close to success that year; Aberdeen announced that they had accepted an invitation to tour Bohemia, Moravia and Poland in the summer.

Aberdeen party set off for the tour with only 12 players from Aberdeen Joint Station at 8pm on Wednesday 10th May on board their Caledonian train to London on the first part of their journey.
While the train was the usual mode of transport for the club back then, it was their eventual destination that had attracted a sizeable crowd at the station to wish them well on their journey.

The club were heading for Prague, back then in Bohemia, then in modern times Czechoslovakia and now of course the Czech Republic.

The party would not reach Prague until Saturday night with an overnight stay arranged in Dresden.

The Aberdeen party left with 10 players, manager Philip, director William Jaffrey and Dr Ellis Milne.

On route the train would collect a further two players; Jock Wyllie at Larbert and Dave Main at Coatbridge.

Such was the interest in Prague over the visit of the Scots, a capacity crowd gathered for the opening game against the Slavia Club of Prague in Bohemia.

The game was played in very hot conditions and there was no doubt that this affected the Aberdeen players who had never before experienced such conditions. The local side also surprised the Dons with their speed and tenacity, however the Scots certainly looked more skilful.

Despite goals from Stewart Davidson and Dave Main, Aberdeen went down 3-2 against a tough Prague side and the local crowd were appreciative of both sides with Aberdeen being given a warm welcome throughout the game.

Two days later the sides met again and once more the ground was full to capacity. With only a threadbare squad, the Dons had to switch defender Jock Hume to centre forward and his two goals gave Aberdeen a 2-1 win over the Bohemians as Aberdeen looked better prepared than they had in the first outing.

After the visit to Prague the team moved through Poland and on to the city of Cracow where they were well received on their arrival on Friday 19th May. The next day they faced local side Wisla and they raced into a 3-0 half time lead before running up an impressive 9-1 win.

What was strange to the tourists was that the Poles insisted on Aberdeen manager Philip refereeing the match. In the interests of friendship and sporting play even manager Philip could not prevent his side scoring almost at will.

A large crowd gathered for the second game against the Poles and Aberdeen continued to impress in a 8-1 win. With only two scheduled games left on the tour, the Aberdeen party then took the train to Pardubitz for their final two games on tour.

However on their way to the game they were stopped at Prerau in Bohemia where the local side their insisted on playing the Scots. Aberdeen duly obliged and turned on some exhibition stuff in what was a hastily arranged game.

News had obviously spread and further down the line they were halted again at Brunn, and the Dons party were delighted to play the local Brunn side. The Aberdeen party finally arrived in their destination and played Pardubitz twice to close out the tour. Incredibly makeshift forward Jock Hume was the Dons top scorer with 18 goals from the eight games played.

A tired Aberdeen squad returned to Scotland two days later and the tales from the players was that it was quite an unforgettable experience and a trip that they relished.

They spoke of the incredible reception they received wherever they went and the kindness of the local people.

There was a slight sting in the tail however as the Austrian FA had complained officially to the SFA about Aberdeen playing Brunn as they were not members of the Austrian FA. Once Aberdeen had explained what had happened the account given by the Dons was accepted and the matter closed.

ABERDEEN TOUR 1911

14th May 1911 | Slavia Prague 3-2 Aberdeen (Prague) Davidson, Main

16th May 1911 | Slavia Prague 1-2 Aberdeen (Prague) Hume 2

20th May 1911 | Wisla Krakow 1-9 Aberdeen (Krakow) Hume 5, Main 4

22nd May 1911 | Wisla Krakow 8-1 Aberdeen (Krakow) Main 3, Hume 2, Davidson 2, Soye

23rd May 1911 | Prerau 0-8 Aberdeen (Prerau) Not available

23rd May 1911 | Brunn 1-6 Aberdeen (Brunn) Not available

25th May 1911 | Pardubitz 2-4 Aberdeen (Pardubitz) Wyllie pen, Hume, Soye 2

28th May 1911 | Pardubitz 1-4 Aberdeen (Pardubitz) Main 2, Hume 2

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