Season 1881/82

In a preview of the upcoming football season, Glasgow’s Evening News and Star observed “The secret of the success of the Queen’s Park Football Club is to be found in the careful selection which is made every year of its team or teams; and, when selected, the preparation it undergoes long before the season commences. The series of trials for the selection of the team which have been going on now for some time will be brought to a close next week when the men will be finally picked.”

On the evening of Tuesday 23 August, Queen’s Park played a friendly game with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. The weather was bad and the attendance poor. George "Geordie" Ker (2), Willie Anderson and Tom Brock gave Queen's a 4-0 lead at the interval. The second half scorer in a 5-1 victory is not known.

The Queen’s Park Sports took place at Hampden Park over the following two weekends. On the second Saturday, the 5,000 spectators saw 2^nd Queen’s Park beat 1^st Queen’s Park in the final of the 4-a-side football competition.

Queen’s Park’s first home game of the season took place on Saturday 10 September 1881, with Kilmarnock Athletic the visitors to Hampden Park. Queen’s took the opportunity to blood several young players. A sizeable crowd saw a disappointing game that Queen’s Park won 5-2.

On the following Saturday, Queen’s Park were at home to Caledonian in the first round of the Scottish Cup. Caledonian had been expected to show some good form but were completely outplayed in a 14-0 defeat. The Queen’s Park goal was only threatened once in the entire 90 minutes. Not unexpectedly, the scorers varied from report to report but may have been Eadie Fraser (4), George Ker (4), Tom Brock (4), David "Davie" Allan and Charles Lawrie.

Queen’s Park met opposition from England for the first time in the new season when Lancashire club Darwen visited Hampden Park on Saturday 24 September. The Darwen side contained some new players who had not had much chance to play together and Queen’s Park won the game with ease.  The day was very wet and this badly affected the state of the pitch and kept the crowd down to about 1,000. Anderson opened the scoring in 13 minutes from a scrimmage and Tom Brock made it two in 25 minutes after a fine run. In the second half, Queen’s hit another four fine goals to record a resounding 6-0 victory. Either George Ker or Eadie Fraser put Queen’s three up, Brock made it four with a superb lob, and Brock and George Angus got goals five and six with clever efforts.

In its report on the game, the Blackburn Standard made an interesting observation – “Queen’s Park does not possess one of the best grounds for football. This mitigated against Darwen to some extent, for they are accustomed to a perfectly flat field.”

Cartoon depicting Queen's Park in action at First Hampden Park in 1882 (courtesy of University of Glasgow, Special Collections)

On Saturday 1 October 1881, Queen’s Park beat Dunbartonshire side Jamestown 5-1 at Hampden Park. Eadie Fraser got the opening goal for Queen's and Willie Anderson and Tom Brock both then scored twice.

Queen’s Park were in Scottish Cup second round action on Saturday 8 October. What had been expected to be an easy win for Queen’s at Hampden Park turned out to be a close and exciting affair with opponents Cowlairs, from the north of Glasgow, performing well above expectations. Eadie Fraser put Queen’s ahead in 10 minutes but Cowlairs shocked the home side by scoring on both sides of half-time to take a 2-1 lead. However, Eadie Fraser saved Queen’s blushes by equalising with a smart shot off the underside of the bar with only 15 minutes remaining.

The replay of the Scottish Cup tie with Cowlairs took place at Hampden Park on the following Saturday, with the sides knowing that the winner would receive a bye in the next round. Queen’s Park were strengthened by the return of George Ker and Johnny Kay and made absolutely no mistake at the second time of asking. The 5,000 or so spectators who had paid for admission, and those watching from various spots outside the ground, saw a very one-sided game. Queen’s were two up at the interval through Johnny Holm and Willie Anderson. The North British Daily Mail described Queen’s Park in the second half as “astonishing all who witnessed the game by their brilliant goal-taking powers.” Queen’s scored a further seven times, including five goals in the final ten minutes. Six of the goals came from James Richmond (2), George Ker (2), Johnny Kay, and a Falconer own goal. The final goal in the 9-0 victory came when the Cowlairs 'keeper caught a fierce George Ker shot only to be charged over the line by Johnny Kay. The Queen’s goalkeeper Archie Rowan touched the ball only once in the second half.

Queen’s Park were in Birmingham on Thursday 20 October taking on Aston Villa. Queen’s won 4-0 with goals from George Ker (3) and Johnny Holm and, according to the North British Daily Mail, they “received quite an ovation” from the spectators. The match was seen as Villa's most important fixture of the season. The Birmingham Mail gave the attendance as 3,500 and explained that thousands more were unable to attend because the match was played midweek. The same newspaper said of Queen's Park - "The play of the Scotchmen left nothing to be desired, and never before has such splendid combined play been shown in Birmingham." 

Two days after the trip to Birmingham, Queen’s Park travelled to Renfrew and received a warm reception from the local fans. Queen’s were without several of their forwards and two veteran players, Harry McNeil and Walter Lamberton, stepped in and contributed positively to a 3-1 victory.

Queen's Park had been drawn against Accrington FC in the first round of the FA Cup but scratched once again.

On Saturday 29 October, Queen’s Park beat Vale of Leven 2-1 in a fine game in Alexandria. Willie Anderson put Queen’s ahead with a slick goal in seven minutes and Tom Brock added a second two minutes later. Vale pulled one back through David Friel five minutes from time.

Queen’s Park were away from home again on the following Saturday. Their opponents were Rangers and the match attracted 5,000 spectators to Kinning Park. Queen’s Park fell behind in 25 minutes to a Corbett goal but two second half goals, one from a Johnny Kay header and the other from David Allan, gave the visitors a 2-1 victory. The Queen’s Park team was A R Rowan; A Watson and A H Holm; J J Gow and J W Holm; M J E Fraser, W Anderson, G Angus, G Ker, J L Kay, and D S Allan.

Saturday 12 November’s edition of the Evening News and Star stated that, due to them having a vacant date, Queen’s Park had arranged a match at Dumbarton that afternoon. It appears that the game did not take place.

On Saturday 19 November, Queen’s Park met Johnstone in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup before a small crowd at Hampden Park. An understrength Queen’s team was further weakened when Harry McNeil had to retire with a dislocated jaw after only ten minutes. The score was 1-1 at half-time but fine goals from John Holm and David Allan in the final 15 minutes saw Queen’s safely through to the next round.

Harry McNeil

Queen’s Park had a match with Dunfermline at Hampden Park on Thursday 24 November. There were few spectators present to see Queen’s win 3-0 in what the North British Daily Mail described as a pleasant but slow game on a heavy pitch. The strength of the Queen's Park side and the scorers of the goals are not known.

On Saturday 26 November, the annual fixture between Queen’s Park and Notts County, now in its seventh year, was played at Hampden Park. Dreadful weather restricted the attendance to around 2,000. The Notts players had travelled through the night, which was hardly ideal preparation for the game. This must have contributed to some extent to the English side suffering a humiliating 10-1 defeat. Queen’s Park were six up at the interval through Johnny Holm, Tom Lawrie (2), Eadie Fraser, Johnny Kay and William "Bill" Harrower. County pulled one back after the break but further goals from Willie Anderson, Harrower and Ker (2) completed the Queen’s victory. After dinner at the Athole Arms Hotel, the Queen’s Park players accompanied their guests to St Enoch Station and saw them safely off on their journey home.

Queen’s Park scored ten goals for the second consecutive week when they met Partick Thistle in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday 3 December 1881. Thistle had been expected to do fairly well at Hampden, and their supporters were there in numbers, but they spent almost the entire game in their own half and slumped to a 10-0 defeat. Queen's were six up at half-time through goals from Geordie Ker, Willie Anderson (2), Charles Lawrie, Eadie Fraser and a score from a scrimmage.  The four second half goals came from Ker, Fraser, Anderson and Johnny Kay. 

Due to a keen frost, few games were played on Saturday 10 December 1881. If the frost was not bad enough, there was dense fog at Hampden Park and the Queen’s Park and Vale of Leven teams agreed that their scheduled match could not go ahead.

On Saturday 17 December, 3^rd Lanark Rifle Volunteers were the visitors to Hampden Park. The wind was blowing a gale and rain fell in torrents. The game was restricted to an hour’s play, probably much to the relief of the couple of hundred spectators present.  Queen’s Park won 2-0 with goals from John Holm and either Johnny Kay or Bill Harrower (reports varied). 

On Christmas Eve, Queen’s Park were in Lancashire for a return match with Darwen, who had been defeated comprehensively at Hampden Park earlier in the season. The Blackburn Standard said of Queen’s Park “So brilliant and unbroken have been the achievements of this Scotch team, that it has of late been the envy of English clubs to get fixtures with them.” The match was played at Barley Bank Meadows and attracted a crowd of over 5,000. The Darwen side was much stronger than the one that played at Hampden and a slightly under-strength Queen’s Park eleven had a tough battle on a hard, slippery pitch. It was Darwen who took the lead through Bury but Queen’s scored twice before half-time to record a 2-1 victory. Reports varied considerably as to who scored the two Queen’s Park goals. The North British Daily Mail went for John Holm and an own goal, the Blackburn Standard Andrew Holm and Tom Brock, the Glasgow Herald William Harrower and an own goal, and the Glasgow News scorer not known and an own goal.

Following their narrow win at Darwen, Queen’s Park moved on to Blackburn on Boxing Day to take on Blackburn Rovers at the Leamington ground. The ticket boxes were closed long before kick-off and there were at least 15,000 spectators inside the ground and several thousands in adjoining fields.  An exciting match ended in a 2-2 draw. James Douglas put Rovers ahead in ten minutes, David Allan equalised from a Smith pass, and John Hargreaves put the home side back in the lead before half-time.  Queen’s Park drew level a few minutes from time, “amid great cheers”, through either Willie Anderson or Johnny Kay. The Queen’s Park team was A R Rowan, goal; A Watson and A H Holm, backs; C Campbell and J W Holm, half-backs; W Anderson and W Dunlop, right wing; D S Allan and J L Kay, left wing; J Smith and W Harrower, centres. Doctor John Smith had only returned from Rangoon in Burma two days previously and was completely out of form. 

On Hogmanay, what was described as a Queen’s Park “scratch team” met Hurlford at Hampden Park.  The Queen’s side consisted of a mixture of first team and second team players. Queen’s Park won 3-1 with goals from Harrower, Allan and Brock. The proceeds of the match were donated to the Langside Dorcas Society.

Two days later, on Monday 1 January 1882, Queen’s Park welcomed the holders of the FA Cup, Old Carthusians, to Hampden Park. Despite heavy rain and a strong wind, upwards of 3,000 spectators were in attendance. Old Carthusians had been doing well in England and had been expected to put up stubborn resistance but, despite a relatively good start, eventually slumped to an 8-0 defeat.  According to the North British Daily Mail, Johnny Kay (2) and Bill Harrower put Queen’s 3-0 ahead at half-time and the five second half goals came from Kay, Harrower (2), Willie Anderson and George Ker. The Glasgow Herald, on the other hand, gave the first four scorers as John Gow, Bill Harrower, Johnny Kay and Eadie Fraser (the scorers of the other four goals were not mentioned).  Queen’s also had four goals ruled out for offside.

As was the custom, Queen's Park entertained Old Carthusians to dinner after the match. When speaking to the toast to the English Football Association, former vice-president of the SFA, Don Hamilton, took the opportunity to denounce the action of the FA in giving itself the name "National Association", with the term "national" referring to the United Kingdom rather than England.

Queen’s Park’s third team, the Hampden Eleven, was also in international action on Monday 2 January with a trip to Belfast to take on Cliftonville. A “large concourse of spectators” saw Queen’s Park win 3-0 with a first half hat trick from former Rangers’ player George Angus. The composition of the Hampden Eleven side was along the usual lines, with the exception of the inclusion of the redoubtable Charles Campbell in an unaccustomed forward role.

Hampden Eleven - Season 1881/82

Both the Queen’s Park first eleven and the Hampden Eleven were again in action on Tuesday 3 January. The senior players were in Faslane taking on a team of “Residents and Natives of the Gairloch”. Queen’s won 2-0 (scorers unknown). The Glasgow News reported that "A considerable crowd from Helensburgh and the neighbouring districts watched the play." As in the previous season, the Hampden Eleven followed up their game in Belfast with a match against the Irish Cup holders Moyola Park in Castledawson. The Irish side had been preparing hard for the game and were rewarded with a 1-1 draw.  Taylor scored for Queen’s Park.

On Saturday 7 January, Shotts were the visitors to Hampden Park for a Scottish Cup sixth round tie.  The Lanarkshire men had the option to play at home but chose to come to Glasgow. They may well have regretted that decision as they suffered a crushing defeat. The actual margin of defeat is not entirely clear. According to the North British Daily Mail, Queen’s Park won 14-0. The Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser agreed, stating that a fifteenth goal had been ruled offside. However, the Evening Times, Glasgow Herald and The Scotsman reckoned the score was 15-0 and this seems to be the accepted result. The Men with the Educated Feet names the scorers of 13 of the goals as Harry McNeil (4), Willie Anderson (3), George Ker (3), Davie Allan, Bill Harrower and an own goal.  The Glasgow News opted for Johnny Kay (4), Willie Anderson (3), George Ker (3), Bill Harrower (2) and Davie Allan, plus one from a scrimmage and one unknown.

A reader sent a letter to the Glasgow News about the Queen's Park versus Shotts match.  In it, he referred to Queen's Park as "The Spiders" and to Shotts as "The Flies".  This seems likely to have been the origin of Queen's Park's nickname, which has persisted to this day. The terms "Spiders" and "Flies" were borrowed from the popular Victorian poem "The Spider and the Fly" which told of the entrapment of a silly fly into a cunning Spider's web.

On Saturday 14 January, a number of Queen’s Park players took part in a trial match at Hampden Park for Glasgow’s upcoming games with Lancashire and Sheffield. The match with Lancashire took place at Hampden Park on the following Saturday. A crowd of some 3,000 saw Glasgow win 7-1.  Archie Rowan, Willie Anderson and Johnny Kay played for the home side. The goal scorers are not entirely clear but it seems likely that Anderson and Kay both scored at least twice.

While Glasgow played host to the Lancashire representative side, the Queen’s Park Second Eleven were in Lancashire itself. Their opponents were Bootle. This was Queen’s Park’s first visit to the Liverpool area. The game took place at Bootle’s Marsh Lane ground with around 1,000 spectators in attendance. Despite, according to the Liverpool Mercury, home goalkeeper Jones being in great form, Queen’s Park won 2-0, with a clever Brock goal just before half-time and a fine effort from Harrower ten minutes from the end. (The Glasgow News credited Harrower with both goals.) The home side were said to have been well satisfied with the final result.

Two days after the win in Bootle, the Queen’s Park Second Eleven went down 2-0 to Blackburn Olympic at the Hole-i’-th’-Wall in Blackburn. The Blackburn Standard said of the Queen’s Park team - “Several first team players came down, but they acted on the expediency of changing their names.”  David Allan and Bill Harrower played in the game, under their own names, but the rest of the side seemed to be pretty much the usual Second Eleven line-up. 

On Saturday 28 January 1882, Queen’s Park were away to Ayrshire side Beith at Netherhill Field. Despite the weather being very wintry, a good crowd saw Queen’s score twice through Robert Fraser and Johnny Kay in the opening two minutes before going on to record an 11-2 victory. Johnny Holm scored with a fine shot in first half but the scorers of the other eight goals are not known.

A week later, Queen’s Park travelled to Dumfries by special train to take on a local select side in a match in aid of Dumfries Infirmary. The Dumfries eleven was made up of players from the Wanderers, Rovers and 5th KRV clubs. There were around 2,500 spectators at the Nunfield Ground to see Queen’s Park win 15-1.

The latest in the series of matches between Glasgow and Sheffield took place at Bramall Lane before a crowd of between 7,000 and 8,000 on Saturday 11 February 1882. Andrew Holm, Charles Campbell, John Holm and Bill Harrower played in the Glasgow side that went down 3-1.  

On Saturday 18 February, Queen’s Park met Kilmarnock Athletic at Hampden Park in the seventh round or semi-final of the Scottish Cup. The North British Daily Mail described the match as “one of the most remarkable contests of the season.” A good crowd turned out on a stormy afternoon anticipating a comfortable home victory. The Kilmarnock Standard stated that 5,000 spectators had paid for admission, with more than double that number watching from adjacent elevated positions. Queen’s were one up at the break with a header from a Johnny Kay corner. After the interval, further goals from Bill Harrower and Kay seemed to put the home side in easy street. However, the Kilmarnock men refused to lie down and hit back with two goals from Johnston and Goudie to set up a nervy finish. However, Queen’s Park held on to progress to the club’s sixth Scottish Cup Final.

The Queen’s Park Second Eleven were also in cup action on Saturday 18 February, drawing 0-0 (according to reports) with 2nd Royal Albert in Larkhall in the Scottish Second Eleven Cup. A few days later, Queen’s Park were drawn against 2^nd Dumbarton in the second round of the competition.  That would strongly suggest that the 0-0 scoreline reported in the press from the Larkhall game was probably incorrect. 

The latest in Queen’s Park’s series of challenge matches with Notts County took place on Saturday 25 February. The Queen’s Park team left St Enoch Railway Station at 5pm on the Friday for the game at the Castle Cricket Club Ground on the following afternoon. The County eleven was stronger than the one that played in Glasgow earlier in the season. A big crowd saw a hard-fought but scoreless first half. After the break, Willie Anderson put the Scots ahead from a Ker cross and Johnny Kay made it two with a header. Harry Cursham pulled one back for County but further goals from George Ker and Eadie Fraser gave Queen’s Park a comfortable 4-1 win. The Queen’s Park team was - A R Rowan; A Watson and J Wallace; J W Holm and D Davidson; W Anderson, M J E Fraser, G Ker, W Harrower, D S Allan, and T Y Brock.

Also on Saturday 25 February, the Second Eleven met 2^nd Dumbarton at Hampden Park in the Second Eleven Challenge Cup. Dumbarton were two up at half-time but Queen’s Park fought back to draw 2-2.

Several thousand fans were present at Hampden Park on the following Saturday for the Second Eleven Cup replay between Queen’s Park and Dumbarton. The score was 0-0 at the interval but Queen’s had to play most of the second half with ten men and Dumbarton ran out 4-0 winners. On the same afternoon, many of the Queen’s Park first team players were involved in a trial match at Kinning Park for the following week’s Scotland versus England clash.

There were 20,000 spectators in and around Hampden Park for the Scotland v England match on Saturday 11 March 1882. Queen’s Park’s Andrew Watson, Charles Campbell, Eadie Fraser, Willie Anderson, George Ker, Bill Harrower and Johnny Kay played in a 5-1 home win. The Scots’ goals came from Harrower (2), Ker (2) and Kay. At a dinner in the Bath Hotel after the match, Mr Harvey of the English FA remarked that the Scotch were decidedly the best exponents of the dribbling game. He added that one thing struck him - “... while England only recognized football as their winter game, the Scotchmen played it all the year round, and had thereby a great advantage.”

Saturday 18 March 1882 was Cup Final day. Between 15,000 and 20,000 fans flocked to Cathkin Park for the meeting of Queen’s Park and Dumbarton. The game had excited feverish interest in Dumbarton. One Dumbarton man said that the ancient town had been left in the charge of three policeman, one soldier and sundry old wives. Spectators were two deep around the pitch and the stand was full an hour before kick-off. Temporary terracing structures had been erected on the three open sides of the ground and these too were soon full.

The pitch at Cathkin Park was better than had been expected but was not conducive to close dribbling or accurate passing. Queen’s Park got off to a flying start when Bill Harrower scored from a cross from the left in the first minute. Dumbarton then took the initiative and Archie Rowan in the Queen’s goal saved his side on a number of occasions. However, despite all Dumbarton’s pressure, it was Queen’s Park who scored again when Bill Harrower finished off a fine passing move after around 30 minutes’ play. Before half-time, Dumbarton pulled a goal back. A shot hit the crossbar, bounced down and was grabbed by ‘keeper Rowan. The referee gave a goal. Queen’s Park disputed his decision on the basis that the ball had struck the top of the bar but to no avail. Dumbarton were still on top as the second half progressed and equalised through a fine James Meikleham header. Play was end to end from then on but there was no further scoring.  Major Francis Marindin, President of the English FA, was present at the game and commented that play had been somewhat rough but the fastest he had ever seen. The Glasgow News commented on the lack of fitness exhibited by two of the Queen's Park players - David Davidson and James Richmond - and questioned the wisdom of fielding "untrained" players.

The Queen’s Park team that lived to fight another day was – A R Rowan; A Watson and A W Holm; D Davidson and J W Holm; W Anderson, M J E Fraser, W Harrower, G Ker, J T Richmond and J L Kay.

The debate about Dumbarton's first goal continued into the following week. Archie Rowan maintained that he would have saved the shot easily had it been under the bar. His view was supported by two members of the SFA Committee present at the game and numerous spectators. However, Queen's Park decided not to make a formal protest.  In a letter to a newspaper, a reader complained that the match officials had been "three stout old gentlemen" who were unable to keep up with play.

Archie Rowan

On the following Saturday, Queen’s Park players again made up the bulk of the international side as Scotland took on Wales at Hampden Park. Archie Rowan, Andrew Holm, Charles Campbell, Johnny Kay, James Richmond, George Ker and Eadie Fraser all played before a crowd of 5,000. Kay, Ker and Fraser (2) were on the scoresheet in a 5-0 victory.

On Saturday 1 April 1882, Queen’s Park made the return trip to Cathkin Park for the Scottish Cup Final replay with Dumbarton. The Queen’s Park team showed one change from the first game, with Charles Campbell replacing John Holm. The day was dry but there was a cold east wind. There was said to have been a decided improvement in the conduct of the crowd, with less “ruffianly talk”, but the condition of the pitch was worse than for the first game and the play rougher. The temporary terracing erected round the ground had been extended to provide additional accommodation for the crowd of between 15,000 and 20,000.

Queen’s Park took the lead in the first minute when James Richmond scored from a scrimmage. The remainder of the first half featured some very rough play, with frequent charging and tripping, and the score remained 1-0 at half-time. Six minutes into the second half, Dumbarton equalised through Andrew Kennedy. Almost immediately afterwards, Bill Harrower was fouled 30 yards from goal.  Andrew Watson took the free kick and his shot struck the crossbar. The ball bounced down and George Ker chested it through the goal to put Queen’s back in the lead. Queen’s Park were now on top and Bill Harrower made it 3-1 with a fine shot. Around four minutes from time, either Eadie Fraser or Johnny Kay scored a clever fourth goal from a Davidson pass to give Queen’s Park an unexpectedly decisive 4-1 victory. After the first match, questions had been asked about fitness levels in the Queen's Park side but it appears that certain players had put in some serious training to be ready for the Cup Final replay.

A week after their Scottish Cup triumph, Queen’s Park made the trip to Blackstoun Park in Paisley for a charity match with Abercorn in aid of the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor in Paisley. A crowd of over 3,000 saw Queen’s win 5-0. The first four goals were scored by Willie Anderson (2), Johnny Kay and Geordie Ker. It is not known who got goal number five.

On Saturday 15 April, Queen’s Park met Vale of Leven at Hampden Park in the first round of the Glasgow Merchants’ Charity Cup. The day was very cold, with showers of hail, and this restricted the crowd to between 4,000 and 5,000. The Provosts of Glasgow, Crosshill and Govan were in attendance. Vale of Leven were half an hour late taking the field due to a delay in the train from Helensburgh. The Queen’s Park team was – A R Rowan; A Watson and A H Holm; C Campbell and J W Holm; W Anderson, M J E Fraser, G Ker, W Harrower, J T Richmond and J L Kay.

Vale played against the wind in the first half but took the lead through James Brown in 12 minutes.  However, Queen’s Park equalised in 27 minutes when Willie Anderson scored “amid deafening cheers”. George Ker put Queen’s ahead after the interval but Johnny McFarlane drew the Dumbartonshire side level shortly afterwards. There was no further scoring. 

Queen's Park - Season 1881/82

 Back row (from left) - Archie Rowan, George Ker, Eadie Fraser, Arthur Geake (Match Secretary),  

Willie Anderson, Bill Harrower and David Davidson.

Front row - Andrew Holm, Charlie Campbell, Tom Lawrie, Johnny Holm and James Richmond.

The Queen’s Park Annual General Meeting took place in the Marie Stuart Hall in Crosshill on Friday 28 April 1882. The Secretary’s and Treasurer’s reports both showed a very satisfactory state of affairs.

The replay of the first round Charity Cup tie between Queen’s Park and Vale of Leven took place at Hampden Park on Saturday 6 May 1882. The crowd was somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 (reports varied). Vale of Leven had been practising hard since the first game but apparently Queen’s Park had not. Vale were the better side throughout and earned a well-deserved 2-0 victory, with goals from Dan Friel and Robert McCrae. A large crowd gave Vale a hearty welcome when they arrived back at Alexandria Station.

The final event of the season came about on Tuesday 6 June 1882 when the Scottish Cup and gold badges for the players were formally handed over to Queen’s Park at a special meeting of the SFA in the Athole Arms Hotel.

Results 1881/82

First Team
23/08/1881 Kilmarnock 1 Queen’s Park 5
10/09/1881 Queen’s Park 5 Kilmarnock Athletic 2
17/09/1881 Queen’s Park 14 Caledonian 0 - Scottish Cup
24/09/1881 Queen’s Park 6 Darwen 0
01/10/1881 Queen’s Park 5 Jamestown 1
08/10/1881 Queen’s Park 2 Cowlairs 2 - Scottish Cup
15/10/1881 Queen’s Park 9 Cowlairs 0 - Scottish Cup replay
20/10/1881 Aston Villa 0 Queen’s Park 4
22/10/1881 Renfrew 1 Queen’s Park 3
29/10/1881 Vale of Leven 1 Queen’s Park 2
05/11/1881 Rangers 1 Queen’s Park 2
19/11/1881 Queen’s Park 3 Johnstone 1 - Scottish Cup
24/11/1881 Queen’s Park 3 Dunfermline 0 
26/11/1881 Queen’s Park 10 Notts County 1
03/12/1881 Queen’s Park 10 Partick Thistle 0 - Scottish Cup
17/12/1881 Queen’s Park 2 3rd Lanark Rifle Volunteers 0
24/12/1881 Darwen 1 Queen’s Park 2
26/12/1881 Blackburn Rovers 2 Queen’s Park 2
31/12/1881 Queen’s Park (scratch team) 3 Hurlford 1
02/01/1882 Queen’s Park 8 Old Carthusians 0
03/01/1882 Residents and Natives of Gairloch 0 Queen’s Park 2
07/01/1882 Queen’s Park 15 Shotts 0 - Scottish Cup
28/01/1882 Beith 2 Queen’s Park 11
04/02/1882 Dumfries Select 1 Queen’s Park 15
18/02/1882 Queen’s Park 3 Kilmarnock Athletic 2 - Scottish Cup
25/02/1882 Notts County 1 Queen’s Park 4
18/03/1882 Queen’s Park 2 Dumbarton 2 - Scottish Cup Final
01/04/1882 Queen’s Park 4 Dumbarton 1 - Scottish Cup Final replay
08/04/1882 Abercorn 0 Queen’s Park 5
15/04/1882 Queen’s Park 2 Vale of Leven 2 - Glasgow Charity Cup
06/05/1882 Queen’s Park 0 Vale of Leven 2 - Glasgow Charity Cup replay

Second Team
24/09/1881 2nd Hibernian 2 Second QP 6
01/10/1881 Shotts 2 Second QP 9
08/10/1881 Partick Thistle 3 Second QP 0
15/10/1881 Abercorn 1 Second QP 5
22/10/1881 Drumpellier 0 Second QP 0
26/11/1881 1st LRV 0 Second QP 4
03/12/1881 Port Glasgow Athletic 0 Second QP 4
10/12/1881 2nd Vale of Leven 2 Second QP 1
17/12/1881 2nd Heart of Midlothian 1 Second QP 1
24/12/1881 Hamilton Academical 2 Second QP 4

31/12/1881 Second QP 3 Hurlford 1  
07/01/1882 Johnstone Rovers 0 Second QP 2 (one report gave the score as 4-0)
21/01/1882 Bootle 0 Second QP 2
23/01/1882 Blackburn Olympic 2 Second QP 0
04/02/1882 Second QP v Hamilton Academical (result not known)
11/02/1882 Second QP v Drumpellier (result not known)
18/02/1882 2nd Royal Albert 0 Second QP 0 - Scottish Second Eleven Cup
25/02/1882 Second QP 2 2nd Dumbarton 2 - Scottish Second Eleven Cup
04/03/1882 2nd Dumbarton 4 Second QP 0 - Scottish Second Eleven Cup replay
08/04/1882 Holytown 0 Second QP 2
15/04/1882 Johnstone Rovers 1 Second QP 2

Hampden Eleven
10/09/1881 Johnstone Rovers 0 Hampden Eleven 3
17/09/1881 Falkirk 2 Hampden Eleven 2
01/10/1881 Royal Albert 1 Hampden Eleven 2
22/10/1881 Maybole 1 Hampden Eleven 5
05/11/1881 Drumpellier 1 Hampden Eleven 2
12/11/1881 Clarkston 0 Hampden Eleven 2 (one report gave the score as 1-0)

19/11/1881 Bellshill Daisy 2 Hampden Eleven 4
26/11/1881 Milton of Campsie 0 Hampden Eleven 2
03/12/1881 Woodside 0 Hampden Eleven 0
10/12/1881 Cartvale 4 Hampden Eleven 2 (one report gave the score as 3-2) 

17/12/1881 2nd South-Western 0 Hampden Eleven 5
31/12/1881 Cliftonville 0 Hampden Eleven 3
02/01/1882 Moyolo Park 1 Hampden Eleven 1
14/01/1882 Battlefield 1 Hampden Eleven 0
28/01/1882 Woodside (Paisley) 0 Hampden Eleven 6
04/02/1882 Kilbarchan 0 Hampden Eleven 1
11/02/1882 Aidrieonians 1 Hampden Eleven 6
25/02/1882 Clarkston 1 Hampden Eleven 0
29/04/1882 Kilbarchan 3 Hampden Eleven 1

Representative Matches
21/01/1882 Glasgow 7 Lancashire 1
11/02/1882 Sheffield 3 Glasgow 1
11/03/1882 Scotland 5 England 1
25/03/1882 Scotland 5 Wales 0