Season 1892/93

Queen's Park opened season 1892/93 with a match at Braidwood near Carluke on Saturday 6 August 1892. A "scratch" Spiders' side won 2-1. Then, on Saturday 13 August, Queen's met Airdrieonians at the Lanarkshire club's new ground Broomfield Park. Queen's insisted that the match be regarded as unofficial as the side was significantly understrength. Thunderstorms and driving rain made conditions miserable for both players and spectators. Queen's Park were 3-2 down at half-time but went on to win 5-3. The first four goals were scored by Martin, Robertson (2) and D Berry.

A new pitch design was now in use following the introduction of penalty kicks.



The composition of the Queen's Park side at Airdrie led to unrest among the members of the Spiders' second eleven, the Strollers. The line-up at Broomfield included eight players from the defunct Minerva club. The Strollers' players complained that they were regularly overlooked for places in the first eleven. The Queen's Park Committee responded that selection decisions were taken on ability alone.

A week after the Airdrie match, Queen's Park were at Telford Street in Inverness facing a local select side, composed mainly of players from the Caledonian club. A "very large crowd" saw Queen's stroll to an 11-0 victory. According to the Inverness Courier, ten of the goals came from Jimmy Hamilton (4), Willie Lambie (3), Bill Sellar (2) and a Walker own goal.


Queen's Park's first home match of the season took place on Saturday 27 August, with Battlefield the visitors to Hampden Park. Queen's won 6-1. The goalscorers are unclear. Reports varied. The Glasgow Herald went for Martin, Robertson, Black own goal, Waddell, Martin and Waddell. The Scotsman opted for Hamilton, scrimmage, Robertson, Waddell, Martin and Waddell. Scottish Sport reported, "Martin, the ex-Minerva forward celebrated his inclusion in the Queen's Park first eleven by scoring the first goal of the season at Hampden."

On Saturday 3 September, Airdrieonians were beaten 4-0 at Hampden Park. The goals were scored by Martin or Hamilton, Robertson or Martin, Martin and Hamilton.

On the following Saturday, Queen's Park took on Thistle at Braehead Park in Bridgeton. Queen's led 3-1 at the interval with goals from Tom Robertson, William Gulliland and Willie Lambie. The final score was 6-1. The second half scorers are not known. Bob Smellie was at the game but refused to play. It seems that he was unhappy with the choice of captain. Bob McFarlane, who had been due to play for the second eleven, was wired to come to Braehead Park and arrived 15 minutes after the start of the match.

Scottish Sport reported that Queen's Park had decided to start a fifth team, probably to be called the "Reserves". The club had too many players unable to get a game.

With the league clubs' boycott of Queen's Park having been withdrawn, Saturday 17 September saw the first friendly match between Queen's and a Scottish League club in two years, with the visit of Rangers to Hampden Park. The game attracted a crowd of around 13,000. After the Rangers' goalkeeper brought off two fine saves, Queen's Park took the lead in 10 minutes when Bill Sellar fired in a fine shot from distance. Rangers began to press as half-time approached and drew level in 43 minutes when the Spiders' defence misjudged a dipping shot. Queen's regained the lead in 48 minutes when a Robertson free kick was touched home by either David Stewart or Willie Lambie. Rangers were now being outplayed and Bill Sellar extended the Spiders' lead in 55 minutes. Tommy Waddell thought that he had added to the Queen's total but his effort was ruled offside. There was no further scoring and Queen's Park won a fast and exciting match by three goals to one. Donald Gow of Rangers was twice penalised for deliberate hand ball during the ninety minutes but Queen's missed both penalty kicks.

On Saturday 24 September, Queen's Park beat Dykebar of Paisley 6-1 at Hampden Park. Jimmy Hamilton opened the scoring in ten minutes. It is known that Tommy Waddell, Willie Lambie and Tom Robertson were among the scorers of the other five goals. Queen's Park initially had no fixture arranged for that Saturday and William Gulliland, Jimmy Hamilton and Tom Robertson were going to be playing for Celtic against Rangers at Ibrox Park. However, the late arrangement of the Dykebar match put pay to that.

Another friendly match followed at Hampden Park on Saturday 1 October, with Greenock Morton the visitors to Mount Florida. Queen' Park were 6-0 ahead at half-time, with goals from Hamilton (2), Gulliland, Sellar, Lambie and Waddell. Bob Smellie was unable to reappear for the second half and Morton pulled three goals back against the ten men to make the final score 6-3.

Bob Smellie

Queen's Park made their first trip of the season south of the border on Thursday 6 October to take on Everton at Goodison Park. Despite steady drizzle, a crowd of 11,000 turned out for the match. The Queen's side included young players Freeland and Martin. There was no scoring in the first period, although Queen's went close when Bill Sellar hit the post. Queen's Park took the lead early in the second half when Willie Lambie beat two defenders before slipping the ball past Murray in the Everton goal. However, the Merseysiders hit back to take the lead through Fred Geary and Edgar Chadwick. Shortly afterwards, the Spiders equalised when Bill Sellar burst through to score. Both sides went all out for the winner but there was no further scoring. The Liverpool Mercury described the game as "brilliant" and the players were cheered warmly as they left the pitch. The Queen's Park players and officials were "sumptuously" entertained in the Compton Hotel after the game and a smoking concert followed. A large number of people then saw the Queen's party off on the 12.15am train.  

On Saturday 15 October, Queen's Park had another friendly match at Hampden Park, with Kilmarnock providing the opposition on this occasion. The Spiders had an easy 7-2 victory, with goals from Lambie (3), Hamilton (2) and Gulliland.

A week later, six Queen's Park players - John Gillespie, David Stewart, William Gulliland, Tommy Waddell, Jimmy Hamilton and Bill Sellar - played for Glasgow against Edinburgh at Logie Green in the capital. Hamilton scored both Glasgow goals in a 2-2 draw.

Queen's Park's first competitive game of the season came on Saturday 29 October 1882. The occasion was a Glasgow Cup third round tie. Queen's had been drawn against United Abstainers Athletic in the first round but the Abstainers had scratched from the competition. The Spiders then received a bye in the second round. The match with Rangers attracted a crowd of around 10,000 on a dull, showery afternoon. Queen's, who were without Bill Sellar and Bob Smellie, had all the early play and the Rangers' goal had a number of narrow escapes. Immediately after Willie Lambie had hit the bar, Rangers broke away and took the lead through Hugh McCreadie. Shortly afterwards, Queen's Park drew level and then went into the lead with goals from Willie Lambie and William Gulliland. Rangers were quick to retaliate and John McPherson made the score 2-2 at the interval. In the second half, Rangers seemed more at home in the heavy conditions. After Willie Lambie had missed an open goal, either McCreadie or Kerr put the Light Blues into the lead with a shot that the Queen's players claimed had not gone within a yard of the goal. The Spiders' opposition to the use of goal nets did them no favours on this occasion. Near the end, either Barker or McPherson made the final score 4-2 for Rangers. 

On the following Saturday, Queen's Park turned in a miserable performance in a friendly match with Thistle at Hampden Park. Tommy Waddell put Queen's in the lead when a Hamilton shot was parried by the Thistle 'keeper but the Bridgeton men then scored three unanswered goals through Allan (2) and Gemmell to take a two-goal lead at half-time. After Thistle had gone 5-1 ahead, Queen's finally woke up and scored two late goals, the second from Willie Lambie, but it was a humiliating 5-3 defeat.


On Saturday 12 November, Queen's Park welcomed leading English club Preston North End to Hampden Park. With Queen's having suffered two consecutive defeats, it was thought that they would present easy prey for the visitors. However, the Spiders raised their game and ran out 2-1 winners in a hard-fought contest. A crowd of 10,000 saw Queen's have the better of the early play and take the lead in 30 minutes when Bob Holmes put through his own goal under pressure from William Gulliland. Queen's should have been further ahead but, just on half-time, Frank Becton finished off a fine move to equalise. There was only one goal in an even second half and it was for Queen's Park. The scorer was Jimmy Hamilton with a brilliant effort. Queen's held on comfortably in the closing minutes, which were played in semi-darkness. On the same afternoon, Glasgow drew 3-3 with Sheffield at Bramall Lane. There were no Queen's Park players in the Glasgow side and the Spiders came in for some criticism for arranging to play Preston on the same day as the inter-city fixture.

A week later, Queen's Park met St Mirren in a friendly match at Hampden Park. The weather was wretched and the attendance poor. Queen's went into the match without Gulliland, Lambie, Robertson, Smellie and Sillars. The ground was heavy and slips frequent. St Mirren were two up at the interval through Alexander and Shaw. Jimmy Hamilton pulled a goal back from a scrimmage. The Spiders improved as the game went on but wasted a number of chances and the paisley side ran out 2-1 winners.

Queen's Park had been drawn away to Cowlairs in the first round of the final stage of the Scottish Cup and the match was scheduled to take place at Springvale Park in Springburn on Saturday 26 November 1892. Unfortunately, the referee missed his train from Edinburgh. A substitute could not be found and the match had to be played as a friendly rather than a cup tie. Queen's Park won 5-2 with goals from Gulliland (2), Hamilton, Sellar and Lambie. There were pools of water all over the pitch throughout the match - an omen of things to come. During the match, a wooden shed collapsed, according to Scottish Sport "with a noise resembling the application of a fuse to a pyrotechnic line-of-battleship." Fortunately, the individuals using the shed as a viewing platform emerged unscathed.

The Springvale Park pitch was unplayable on each of the following three Saturdays. On Tuesday 20 December, Queen's Park asked the Committee of the SFA that the tie be played elsewhere but the Committee ruled that a further attempt should be made to play the match at Springvale Park on the following Saturday. However, once again, the pitch was unplayable, as it was a week later on Saturday 31 December.

Sandy Maxwell, the Queen's Park trainer, was said to be on the mend after a period of illness. James Aitken stepped in to cover while Maxwell was out of action.

Queen's Park had a break from Scottish Cup postponements on Monday 2 January 1893 when their annual match with Corinthians took place at Hampden Park. The pitch was very hard and, under normal circumstances, the game would have been called off. Six cartloads of sand were spread on the pitch and this lessened the danger. The Queen's Park players had their boots shod with India rubber. The 12,000 spectators saw Queen's Park, with the benefit of the wind, besiege the Corinthians' goal for a period. William Gulliland struck the crossbar and 'keeper Gay had three fine saves from Tommy Waddell. However, in a counter-attack on the stroke of half-time, George Cotterill gave Corinthians the lead with a low drive. The second half was keenly contested. Corinthians were on the defensive initially but got on top near the end. With seven minutes to go, Cotterill struck for a second time to give the visitors a fortuitous 2-1 victory. The defeated Queen's Park side was -  A Baird; W Arnott and R J Smellie; D C Sillars, T Robertson and D Stewart; W Gulliland, T S Waddell, J Hamilton, W Sellar and W A Lambie. 

On Saturdays 7 January and 14 January, Springvale Park was still unplayable but finally, after eight postponements, the cup tie with Cowlairs went ahead on Saturday 21 January. The pitch was still in poor shape and cut up badly, with the players ploughing through six inches of mud. The standing areas for the 4,000 spectators were a quagmire. Cowlairs started well but it was Queen's Park who opened the scoring in 20 minutes through David Stewart. The game was very rough and play was stopped for seven minutes due to an injury to goalscorer Stewart. A local doctor dressed his wound and he resumed his place. Tom Robertson was then also injured in a tackle and was carried off. Being down to ten men seemed to make Queen's more determined and Willie Lambie doubled the Spiders' lead before half-time. Tom Robertson returned after 60 minutes. Queen's Park then went on to score a further twice, with headers from Tommy Waddell and Willie Lambie. Cowlairs pulled a goal back towards the end to make the final score 4-1 for Queen's Park.

As a result of the numerous postponements of the Cowlairs tie, Queen's Park's second round match took place only a week later. Queen's opponents were Kilmarnock. The team changed in a "luxurious saloon" put at their disposal by the Caledonian Railway and then drove to the ground. A crowd of 3,000 at Rugby Park saw the home side, with the benefit of a stiff breeze, have a good first half but fall behind to a Jimmy Hamilton goal in 30 minutes. It was an entirely different story in the second period. Queen's Park scored seven unanswered goals. According to the Glasgow Herald, the goals came from William Gulliland, Bob McFarlane, Tommy Waddell (2), Bill Sellar (2) and Jimmy Hamilton. The North British Daily Mail, on the other hand, gave one of Waddell's goals to Gulliland and Hamilton's goal to Willie Lambie. Given that Jimmy Hamilton had retired with a leg injury after the sixth goal, the North British Daily Mail's version seems the more likely. The game was not as one-sided as the score suggests.

Queen's Park were one again in Scottish Cup action on the following Saturday. Their opponents in the quarter-finals were Heart of Midlothian. Tynecastle Park was packed to capacity with a crowd of up to 15,000 inside the stadium. A special train carried almost 1,000 Queen's Park supporters through to the capital. As on the previous Saturday, the Spiders' players changed in a railway carriage and made their way to the ground in a brake. Queen's were without the injured Tom Robertson and David Stewart, while Andrew Baird and Walter Arnott failed to turn up for the match. Queen's Park faced a bright sun and gusty wind in the opening half. Dave Ellis for Hearts and Willie Lambie for Queen's both missed great chances and Bill Sellar had a goal disallowed but there was no scoring at half-time. After the break, Jimmy Hamilton, missed a good chance for Queen's before Hearts took the lead. George Gillespie, in for the absent Andrew Baird, slipped and fell when trying to intercept a soft Ellis shot and the ball dribbled between the posts. A few minutes later, however, William Gulliland equalised with a powerful shot. There was no further scoring and the tie went to a replay.

The quarter-final replay took place at Hampden Park on the following Saturday - 11 February 1893. There was a crowd of 15,000 in attendance. The ground was heavy and there was a strong wind blowing. Hearts made a good start to the game but Queen's Park gradually got on top. The Spiders took the lead in 30 minutes when Bill Sellar met a corner kick to score. Almost straight from the kick-off, George Hogg equalised for Hearts from an Ellis cross. The score remained 1-1 at half-time. With the wind advantage, Hearts were expected to go on and win the match but Queen's Park rose to the occasion. Shortly after the interval, Tommy Waddell restored Queen's lead after a fine passing move. In 53 minutes, the Spiders made the score 3-1 with a well-judged John Gillespie shot. Then, in 67 minutes, Tommy Waddell extended the lead to 4-1. The Edinburgh men did not give up and Davie Baird pulled a goal back. The Hearts' goal then had two remarkable escapes before Jimmy Hamilton scored a fifth goal for Queen's Park. The 5-2 scoreline was a bit harsh on Hearts but Queen's progressed deservedly to the semi-finals.

John Gillespie

The delay caused by the much-delayed tie with Cowlairs meant that Queen's Park had to play Scottish Cup matches on one Saturday after another and, on 18 February 1893, Queen's were in semi-final action. Their opponents were Broxburn Shamrock. The match had to compete with the Glasgow Cup Final between Celtic and Rangers at nearby Cathkin Park but a respectable crowd of 5,000 was present in Hampden Park. The game was extremely rough. The Glasgow Herald commented that Broxburn Shamrock were "disciples of the physical school of football, in which force rather than skill is the dominating factor." Queen's Park enjoyed the majority of the early play and took the lead in 25 minutes through either Davidson "Dyke" Berry or Jimmy Hamilton. Minutes later, Hamilton doubled the lead after a clever passing move. Just on half-time, there was a controversial incident. A Mulvey shot hit Bob Smellie's hand and it looked to be a deliberate offence. However, the referee ruled that it was accidental and gave a foul (indirect free kick) rather than a penalty kick. Nothing came of the free kick. Feeling were running high among the spectators and there was a fight in a corner of the ground. Broxburn, with the benefit of the wind, had a good spell at the start of the second half. The playing surface was becoming badly cut up and was now much more in keeping with the condition of the visitors' pitch in Broxburn. Willie Lambie was kicked by an opponent and had to retire from the game limping badly. Despite this handicap, Queen's increased their lead through Dyke Berry after powerful play by Jimmy Hamilton. Shamrock pulled a goal back from a scrimmage but Jimmy Hamilton restored the Spiders' three-goal advantage soon afterwards. A few minutes from time, McCann scored a second for Broxburn to make the final score 4-2 for Queen's Park.

Queen's Park's opponents in the Scottish Cup Final were Celtic, the conquerors of the Spiders a year previously. The final was arranged for Saturday 25 February 1893. However, when the two sides arrived at Rangers' Ibrox Park for the game, they discovered that the pitch was as hard as iron after a heavy overnight frost and unplayable, despite sand and hay having been spread over much of the playing surface. There were no provisions in place at the time for pre-match pitch inspections. Although a cup tie was out of the question on a treacherous surface, the clubs decided to play a friendly as there were 27,000 spectators in the ground expecting to see a match. The play was reasonably good in the first half considering the difficult conditions. Both sides had spells of dominance. However, the situation altered just before half-time when Tom Robertson left the field limping badly, leaving the Spiders to play the rest of the match with ten men. The depleted Queen's side held their own in the second half, until they lost a soft goal in 70 minutes. Tom Towie hit the ball towards goal. The Spiders' defenders left it to each other and the ball passed between the posts for the only score of the game. Celtic held the upper hand to the end, although by this stage the game was not being taken too seriously by the players. Word had leaked out at half-time that a friendly match was being played rather than the Cup Final. By the end of the match, however, many spectators still thought they had been viewing a cup tie.

The fact that a friendly match had been played rather than the Cup Final caused a deal of anger and resentment. Spectators claimed that they had been swindled. In recognition of the mood of the public, Queen's Park decided to donate their share of the gate receipts to charity. The three infirmaries in Glasgow received £40 each and £30 was donated to the Sick Children's Hospital.

Queen's Park had no match on Saturday 4 March but a number of Spiders' players were involved in trial matches at Hampden Park to assist in selecting the Scotland sides for the upcoming international matches with Wales, Ireland and England.

The re-run of the Scottish Cup Final took place on Saturday 11 March 1893. The switch of the original game to a friendly, when people had paid cup final prices, had left disillusioned fans wondering if the same thing might fallen again. As a result, the attendance at Ibrox Park was lower than two weeks previously. Some 13,239 spectators paid for admission and, with Celtic and Queen's Park members having free admission, the total attendance would have been around 15,000. The weather was unfavourable, with a strong wind blowing the length of the pitch. However, on this occasion, the playing surface was in good order.


Queen's Park went into the Cup Final without centre half Tom Robertson, who had failed to recover from the ankle injury sustained a fortnight previously. Former Clyde player Bob McFarlane deputised.

Queen's Park won the toss and elected to play with the wind advantage in the first half. The Spiders were on top from the outset and took the lead in 10 minutes. Joe Cullen in the Celtic goal brought off a good save but Bill Sellar swooped on the rebound and fired the ball between the posts. Queen's continued to press and doubled their lead in 30 minutes. Following a corner kick, a melee developed and the ball was sent towards goal before being cleared. Referee Harrison of Kilmarnock, the Vice-President of the SFA, gave a goal. The Celtic players protested that the ball had not crossed the line but had been wide of the post. However, the referee stuck to his guns. Celtic were hard-pressed until half-time but the score remained 2-0 at the interval. With the strong wind at their backs in the second half, Celtic were expected to go on and win the match. When Jimmy Blessington pulled a goal back in 50 minutes with a smart header, Queen's Park's prospects did not look too good. The Parkhead men piled on the pressure but they could not breach the Queen's defence. As Celtic seemed to run out of ideas, Queen's Park finished the game strongly to secure a famous victory. Queen's Park had refused to allow goal nets to be used in the game and the Parkhead side felt that Queen's second goal would not have stood if nets had been in place. Celtic also accused the Spiders of rough play.  

The Cup Final sides were: -

Queen's Park - Andrew Baird; Donald Sillars and Bob Smellie; John Gillespie, Bob McFarlane and David Stewart; William Gulliland, Tommy Waddell, Jimmy Hamilton, Bill Sellar and Willie Lambie.

Celtic - Joe Cullen; Jerry Reynolds and Dan Doyle; Willie Maley, Jimmy Kelly and Mick Dunbar; Tom Towie, Jimmy Blessington, Johnny Madden, Johnny Campbell and Sandy McMahon.

Later in the evening, the two teams had supper in the Alexandra Hotel in Bath Street. After the customary speeches, the SFA President Archibald Sliman presented the trophy and gold badges (medals) to Queen's Park President Peter McCallum.

Queen's Park - Season 1892/93
Back row - R McFarlane, J Gillespie, T Robertson, J Hamilton.
Middle row - T S Waddell, A Baird, P McCallum, E Gillespie, W Gulliland.
Front row - W A Lambie, J McTavish, D Sillars, D Stewart. 

On the Saturday after the Cup Final, Scotland beat Wales 8-0 in Wrexham. Donald Sillars, David Stewart and Willie Lambie were members of the Scotland side. Lambie scored the seventh goal. Also on that afternoon, Queen's Park's second eleven, the Strollers, met Leith Athletic Reserves in the Final of the Scottish 2nd Eleven Cup. The match was played before a crowd of 6,000 at Easter Road in Edinburgh. Leith Athletic, the holders of the trophy, won 4-3. Unfortunately for the Strollers, goalkeeper McCorkindale did not have the best of games.

A week later, on Saturday 25 March, Walter Arnott, Bob Smellie, Bill Sellar, Tommy Waddell and Jimmy Hamilton played in the Scotland team that beat Ireland 6-1 at Celtic Park. Sellar (2) and Hamilton were on the scoresheet.

After the big wins over Wales and Ireland, Scotland were brought back down to earth with a bump when they faced England at Richmond on Saturday 1 April. Arnott, Hamilton, Sellar, Smellie and Waddell were in the Scotland side. Tommy Waddell scored the Scotland goal.

On the Monday after the England game, Queen's Park had a challenge match in Sunderland. James "Bummer" Campbell of Kilmarnock guested for the Spiders at centre half. The attendance of 10,000 on a beautiful day was a record for a friendly match in the town. Sunderland, the newly-crowned English league champions, have the better of the opening stages and take the lead in 10 minutes through John Scott. Queen's were not behind for long. Willie Lambie equalised from a John Gillespie free kick. Jimmy Hamilton had his shirt torn and had to leave the field with roars of laughter ringing in his ears. While he was off the pitch, Willie Lambie gave Queen's the lead. Hamilton then returned to the fray wearing a Sunderland jersey. After the break, Jimmy Hannah converted a Millar cross to level the scores. Queen's were adamant that the scorer was offside and, for a while, it looked as if they would refuse to continue. There will still differences between Scotland and England in the interpretation of the offside law. There were two further goals in the game, both for the home side. First of all, Hannah scored from a Scott pass and then, near the end, Jimmy Millar fired home a fine shot. The four Sunderland goalscorers were all Scotsmen.

On Saturday 8 April, there was a crowd of 5,000 at Hampden Park for the visit of Renton. Although neither set of players appeared to be over-exerting themselves in the first half, play was end to end and there were a number of close things. However, the game was scoreless at the interval. The second half was much more competitive. Jimmy Hamilton gave Queen's the lead but John Murray soon headed an equaliser. Shortly afterwards, the Renton goalscorer had to retire hurt. The Dunbartonshire men were not discouraged, however, and went into a 3-1 lead through John Duncan and John Bell. David Stewart pulled a goal back for the Spiders and then William Gulliland struck to make the final score 3-3. There was a widely-held view that the Gulliland equaliser had actually gone wide of the post.

Queen's Park were insistent that their season would finish at the end of April and indicated that they would not be taking part in the Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup competition, which was scheduled to be held in May. Queen's took the view that too much was being asked of players and accused the Charity Committee of failing to understand the physical demands of modern football. In addition, the club did not want to interfere with other sports, such as athletics and cricket, that took place in the summer months.

The Spiders made the short trip to Cathkin Park on Saturday 15 April to take on Third Lanark. A crowd of 4,000 saw William Gulliland gave Queen's a 1-0 lead at half-time. David Stewart doubled the lead in 55 minutes with a magnificent shot. John Allan pulled a goal back for the Warriors but young McGowan restored Queen's two-goal advantage. There was no further scoring and an understrength Queen's side pulled off an unexpected victory.

While Queen's Park were in action at Cathkin Park, Walter Arnott turned out for St Bernard's in Airdrie, despite the fact that Queen's were without full backs Donald Sillars and Bob Smellie. Had the famous defender parted company with the Spiders?

There was a double-header at Cathkin Park, with the ground also staging the Final of the Glasgow Reserve Cup. The Queen's Park Strollers lifted the trophy with a 5-0 victory over Battlefield's second string. The Strollers had defeated Clyde, Cambuslang and Rangers in the earlier rounds. 

Two days after the victory at Cathkin Park, Queen's Park welcomed the FA Cup holders Wolverhampton Wanderers to Hampden Park. The match between the holders of the English and Scottish FA Cups was seen as the unofficial championship of Great Britain. The weather was miserable on the evening but there was a good attendance. Due to the likelihood of darkness setting in before the end of play, the match was limited to 35 minutes each way. Queen's Park were the superior side from the off. After a Donald Sillars shot had hit the post, Bill Sellar put the Spiders ahead from a Gulliland pass. Then, in a four minute burst, Queen's Park scored a further three times. The goals came from John Gillespie, Willie Lambie and young Allan Fraser. In 50 minutes, Jimmy Hamilton added another goal to make the final score 5-0. It was a scoreline that flattered Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Queen's Park side was - Andrew Baird; Donald Sillars and Bob Smellie; John Gillespie, Bob McFarlane and David Stewart; William Gulliland, Allan Fraser, Jimmy Hamilton, Bill Sellar and Willie Lambie.

Queen's Park were back in England on Saturday 22 April facing old rivals Corinthians at the Athletic Ground in Richmond. The match attracted a crowd of 4,000. Both goals had narrow escapes before the home side took the lead in 20 minutes when a Norman Cooper shot deflected off the back of a Queen's Park defender for an own goal. Queen's were the better side but the score remained 1-0 for Corinthians at the interval. Early in the second half, John Veitch doubled Corinthians' advantage in a breakaway. Jimmy Hamilton then pulled a goal back with a deft header after a fine passing move. In the last 20 minutes, Queen's seemed certain to score but the goal simply would not come and the Spiders slumped to an unlucky defeat.


Queen's Park's last official match of the season took place on Saturday 29 April 1893 with the visit of Blackburn Rovers to Hampden Park. The match was for the benefit of Vale of Leven FC, who were in financial difficulty. The game attracted a crowd of 4,000. Andrew Baird was late in arriving for the match and Wilson of Levendale FC deputised. Queen's Park opened the scoring through Tom Robertson after Blackburn goalkeeper Watson was laid low by Jimmy Hamilton. The Spiders doubled their lead when John Murray put through his own goal in trying to clear a Gulliland cross. Queen's went three up when Willie Berry converted a Sellar cross. Rovers pulled a goal back from a scrimmage near the end. Vale of Leven benefited by around £95.

Although Queen's Park's season was now officially at an end, some unofficial matches were played in the month of May. It is always difficult to know if these post-season games were played as Queen's Park or if they fell under the banner of the touring side I Zingari, which consisted mainly or entirely of Queen's Park players. Six matches appear to have been played as Queen's Park. Four games were played in four days in the first week of May. On Wednesday 3 May, a Queen's Park side, containing only four regular starters, drew 2-2 at Falkirk before a crowd of 2,500 at Brockville Park. Both sides fielded two guest players. Bill Sellar and Jimmy Hamilton scored for the Spiders. On the following evening, a Queen's Park eleven containing only two first team players was beaten 2-0 by Partick Thistle at Inchview. Then, on the Friday, Queen's Park played at Kilmarnock Athletic to raise funds for the Kilmarnock club. A crowd of 2,000 saw Queen's win 3-1. The scorer of the first goal is not known. Willie Lambie and Willie Gulliland scored the other two. A day later, Queen's were in Newton Stewart facing Wigtownshire before a crowd of over 1,500. The Spiders won 8-1, with goals from W Gulliland (2), J Sommerville (2), W Sellar, W Lambie, D Stewart and T Robertson.

The Queen's Park Eleven at Newton Stewart on 6 May 1893

On Saturday 13 May, a Queen's Park side drew 2-2 with Queen of the South Wanderers before a record crowd in Dumfries, with McGowan and Lambie scoring for the Spiders. Finally, on Monday 22 May, a relatively strong Queen's Park team played Celtic at Celtic Park. The match had been arranged by a player from each side to raise funds for Whitevale Children's Refuge in the east end of the city. Due to the game being unofficial, the attendance was only around 2,500. With the Charity Cup Final against Rangers coming up on the following Saturday, Celtic fielded a relatively weak team and Queen's ran out 5-1 winners. Both clubs had struggled to find players for the game. The Spiders drafted in Herd of the Thistle club in defence. The Celtic side included the two McCreadie brothers of Rangers. Four of Queen's five goals were scored by William Gulliland (2), Bill Sellar and Tom Robertson.  

Two meetings of the Scottish Football Association in May 1893 were of particular significance. At the Annual Meeting on Tuesday 2 May, a Celtic motion to legalise professionalism in the game was carried almost unanimously. Queen's Park voted in favour of the motion. Then, at a continuation of the Annual Meeting on Tuesday 9 May, the decision was taken that goal nets would be used in future at Scottish Cup finals and semi-finals and that the SFA would carry out pitch inspections before cup finals. In addition, it was decided to recommend to the International Conference in 1894 that the offside law be changed from three opponents between a player and the goal to two opponents. At a meeting of the Committee of the SFA in the previous month, the members had voted in favour of scrapping offside altogether. This was rejected at the Annual Meeting, as was a proposal from Dumbarton to restrict offside to the area inside the 12-yard line.

The sad news was received that Alexander "Sandy" Maxwell, who been Queen's Park's trainer on and off since the 1870's, had died on 24 May at the age of 37. He left a widow and five young children. He is buried in Cathcart Cemetery. 

At Queen's Park's Annual General Meeting, Alexander Hamilton was appointed President. The club's accounts showed a balance of £1,002. The Spiders' first eleven's record for the season was - played 29, won 19, lost 7, drawn 3 (goals for 111, goals against 49). Only official matches were included in the statistics.

The annual Queen's Park Sports took place on Saturday 3 June 1893 and were a great success. There was a record entry of athletes and a bumper 10,000 crowd.

Queen's Park had arranged fixtures with a number of league clubs in the following season but the Scottish League had appropriated the dates for league matches. Queen's had written to the clubs concerned seeking confirmation that they would honour their commitments but had received no replies. Was another boycott on the way?            


Results 1892/93

First Eleven
20/08/1892 Caledonian Select (Inverness) 0 Queen's Park 11
27/08/1892 Queen's Park 6 Battlefield 1
03/09/1892 Queen's Park 4 Airdrieonians 0
10/09/1892 Thistle (Glasgow) 1 Queen's Park 6
17/09/1892 Queen's Park 3 Rangers 1
24/09/1892 Queen's Park 6 Dykebar 1
01/10/1892 Queen's Park 6 Morton 3
06/10/1892 Everton 2 Queen's Park 2
15/10/1892 Queen's Park 7 Kilmarnock 2
29/10/1892 Queen's Park 2 Rangers 4 - Glasgow Cup
05/11/1892 Queen's Park 3 Thistle (Glasgow) 5
12/11/1892 Queen's Park 2 Preston North End 1
19/11/1892 Queen's Park 1 St Mirren 2
26/11/1892 Cowlairs 2 Queen's Park 5
02/01/1893 Queen's Park 1 Corinthians (London) 2
21/01/1893 Cowlairs 1 Queen's Park 4 - Scottish Cup
28/01/1893 Kilmarnock 0 Queen's Park 8 - Scottish Cup
04/02/1893 Heart of Midlothian 1 Queen's Park 1 - Scottish Cup
11/02/1893 Queen's Park 5 Heart of Midlothian 2 - Scottish Cup replay
18/02/1893 Queen's Park 4 Broxburn Shamrock 2 - Scottish Cup semi-final
25/02/1893 Queen's Park 0 Celtic 1
11/03/1893 Queen's Park 2 Celtic 1 - Scottish Cup Final
03/04/1893 Sunderland 4 Queen's Park 2
08/04/1893 Queen's Park 3 Renton 3
15/04/1893 Third Lanark 1 Queen's Park 3
17/04/1893 Queen's Park 5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
22/04/1893 Corinthians (London) 2 Queen's Park 1
29/04/1893 Queen's Park 3 Blackburn Rovers 1
03/05/1893 Falkirk 2 Queen's Park 2
04/05/1893 Partick Thistle 2 Queen's Park 0
05/05/1893 Kilmarnock Athletic 1 Queen's Park 3
06/05/1893 Wigtownshire 1 Queen's Park 8
13/05/1893 Queen of the South Wanderers 2 Queen's Park 2


Second Eleven - The Strollers
27/08/1892 Denny 1 Strollers 5
03/09/1892 Milton Rovers (Carluke) 2 Strollers 7
10/09/1892 2nd Linthouse 2 Strollers 6 - Scottish Second XI Cup
24/09/1892 Alloa Athletic 0 Strollers 3
01/10/1892 2nd Rangers 4 Strollers 4 - Scottish Second XI Cup
08/10/1892 Strollers 3 2nd Rangers 2 - Scottish Second XI Cup replay
15/10/1892 Bridge of Allan 1 Strollers 7
22/10/1892 2nd Linlithgow Athletic 2 Strollers 10 - Scottish Second XI Cup
29/10/1892 Dunfermline Athletic 2 Strollers 6
12/11/1892 Dunipace 1 Strollers 2
19/11/1892 Lochwinnoch 2 Strollers 3
26/11/1892 Strollers 6 Denny 1
17/12/1892 2nd Third Lanark 1 Strollers 6
14/01/1893 Strollers 6 2nd Clyde 1
21/01/1893 2nd Abercorn 1 Strollers 5 - Scottish Second XI Cup semi-final
28/01/1893 Strollers 5 2nd Clyde 1 - Glasgow Reserve Cup
04/02/1893 Strollers 7 2nd Cambuslang 0 - Glasgow Reserve Cup
18/02/1893 Bridge of Allan 3 Strollers 7
11/03/1893 Girvan 0 Strollers 7
04/03/1893 Strollers 5 2nd Rangers 4 (at Cathkin Park) - Glasgow Reserve Cup semi-final
18/03/1893 2nd Leith Athletic 4 Strollers 3 (at Easter Road) - Scottish Second XI Cup Final
25/03/1893 Queen of the South Wanderers 4 Strollers 0
31/03/1893 Beeston Town 0 Strollers 2
15/04/1893 Strollers 5 2nd Battlefield 0 (at Cathkin Park) - Glasgow Reserve Cup Final
29/04/1893 Laurieston (Falkirk) 2 Strollers 14

Third Eleven - The Hampden Eleven
03/09/1892 Troon 5 Hampden Eleven 3
10/09/1892 2nd Dunblane 2 Hampden Eleven 4
17/09/1892 Dunfermline Juniors 1 Hampden Eleven 2
15/10/1892 Kilmacolm 1 Hampden Eleven 6
22/10/1892 Hampden Eleven 2 Rangers Ibrox XI 3
29/10/1892 Clackmannan (scratch) 5 Hampden Eleven 3
12/11/1892 Kirkintilloch Rob Roy 1 Hampden Eleven 4
19/11/1892 Bridge of Weir 2 Hampden Eleven 4
26/11/1892 Lenzie 2 Hampden Eleven 7
24/12/1892 Ashfield 3 Hampden Eleven 4
02/01/1893 Selkirk 1 Hampden Eleven 4
11/02/1893 Bonnybridge Grasshoppers 1 Hampden Eleven 2
18/02/1893 Dalry 5 Hampden Eleven 5
01/04/1893 Largs Thistle 3 Hampden Eleven 8
26/04/1893 Hampden Eleven 1 Pollokshields 0
29/04/1893 Linlithgow Athletic 5 Hampden Eleven 4

Fourth Eleven - The Victoria Eleven
03/09/1892 Largs Thistle 2 Victoria Eleven 5
05/11/1892 Victoria (Helensburgh) 2 Victoria Eleven 5
26/11/1892 Victoria (Busby) 2 Victoria Eleven 1
21/01/1893 Greenock Volunteers 4 Victoria Eleven 3
11/02/1893 Kirkintilloch Rob Roy 4 Victoria Eleven 2
18/03/1893 Jamestown Athletic 5 Victoria Eleven 3
25/03/1893 Troon 5 Victoria Eleven 3
08/04/1893 Caledonia (Barrhead) 0 Victoria Eleven 3
15/04/1893 Largs Thistle 1 Victoria Eleven 4

Representative Matches
01/10/1892 North of Scotland 1 Glasgow 7
22/10/1892 Edinburgh 2 Glasgow 2
18/03/1893 Wales 0 Scotland 8
25/03/1893 Scotland 6 Ireland 1
01/04/1893 England 5 Scotland 2

Other Matches
06/08/1892 Braidwood 1 Queen's Park XI 2
13/08/1892 Airdrieonians 3 Queen's Park 5 (unofficial match)
24/09/1892 Bathgate Thistle 3 Queen's Park XI 4
20/05/1893 Stevenston Thistle 5 Queen's Park "Select" 1
23/05/1893 Celtic XI 1 Queen's Park XI 5


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