John McGough

McGough headshot

JOHN McGOUGH: The Flying Postman

The following detiled and well-researched piece about John McGough has been written by Alex Wilson who has provided all the photographgs, except for the 1907 AAA’s championship and the Olympic trial which appear courtesy of Kevin Kelly.

It’s almost an understatement to say that Celtic athletes were prominent in international track and field athletics in the late 19th and early 20th century. The names of Tom Conneff, Walter Newburn, John Flanagan, Paddy Ryan, Denis Horgan, Tom Kiely, Peter O’Connor, Tim Ahearne and the brothers Con and Pat Leahy are among the early Irish T&F greats who created world records and won Olympic medals across a range of events. Many more among the Irish diaspora competed with distinction under the flags of Great Britain, USA, Canada and South Africa. The Scoto-Irish middle distance runner John McGough is a classic example, a son of Erin fostered by the Scottish harrier system.

John McGough saw the light of day on January 20 1881 in the hamlet of Annagleve, a farming community located about two miles SSW of Castleblayney in County Monaghan. He was the eldest child of Thomas and Bridget McGough, who, to escape poverty, emigrated to Scotland and settled in Glasgow when McGough was an infant. McGough grew up in the Gorbals district, the heart of Glasgow’s Irish community, and later became the town postman. Little could Thomas and Bridget McGough have known that their boy would blossom into a wonderful athlete whom John W. Keddie described in “Scottish Athletics” as the “dominating force in Scottish middle distance running in the first decade of the new century”.

In a “Scots Athlete” piece entitled “A potted history of Bellahouston Harriers” by W.R. McNeillie it is gleaned that the club “was formed in 1892 in and around Govan, having as their earlier headquarters, Govan Baths, the nucleus of the club being postmen to whom it must have been just a quick step from walking to running.” As a postman, McGough had an important duty to discharge, letters being the principal means of long distance communication in the early 1900’s, as ordinary families couldn’t afford telephones. People expecting news would wait for the postman, who was easily recognisable by his navy blue uniform and peaked hat. A town postman had a lot of walking to do, covering at least ten miles a day and sometimes even double that, carrying a heavy mailbag slung over his shoulder or pushing a cart laden with parcels. The volume of mail in those days was such that a postman did several rounds a day, serving each household only once, and worked six days a week. “There is nothing like delivering letters on a long round for developing the leg muscles and producing real champions,“ said a Post Office official. “People sometimes claim that postmen are slow, but our list of record holders shows that in reality they are about the the speediest class of worker in the country. Postmen often claim that they walk thousands and thousands of miles in the course of their duties, and our list proves that they have speed as well as stamina. Healthy recreation was always encouraged in the Civil Service.” The list of famous G.P.O. athletes is a long one and, apart from John McGough, includes such names George Dunning, London G.P.O., the national cross country champion of 1881 and 1882 and long-time holder of the world 25 mile record; Bobby Bridge, the Chorley postman who broke every walking world record from eleven to sixteen miles in 1914; and Alf Shrubb, who was the postman at Horsham from 1901 to 1904 and broke every world record from 2000 yards to the hour.

In the early years the Bellahouston Harriers were solely a cross country club. Training was done work permitting and typically limited to a couple of runs a week through the Pollok estate from the Govan Baths in Summerton Road. The harriers did not hold their first summer championship until 1900, when the winner, according to McNeillie, was one J. McGough. A novice at the time, McGough won his first open race in July of the following year at the Clydesdale Harriers sports at the Exhibition Exhibition Sports Grounds in Gilmorehill. The Glasgow Herald reported that “a comparatively unknown man in J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers, 40 yards, won the half mile”. The race brought out a big field and in the final heat McGough won by six yards from A. Grant, Edinburgh University, in 2:00.2. The following month, he was once again in the frame at the Celtic FC sports, where he finished second in the mile handicap off 60 yards. That season he won seven prizes, chiefly firsts. It was already clear that Bellahouston Harriers had an emerging star in their ranks.

1902 SEASON

McGough came out late in the season and was immediately successful, winning a two mile team race at the West of Scotland Harriers’ sports at Ibrox Park on 14th June in 9:54.6. A week later he caused a sensation by lifting both the one and four mile titles at the S.A.A.A. championships at Hampden Park on June 21st. The report in The Scotsman: “One mile – 1, J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers; 2, W.H. Mill, West of Scotland Harriers. Three ran and W.R. McCreath made all the running. At the bell, however, McGough went to the front, and running away from his opponents, ultimately won by twenty yards. McCreath stopped 200 yards from the tape. Time, 4 mins 33 3-5 secs. Four miles – 1, J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers; 2, A. Wright, Wellpark and Maryhill Harriers; 3, J. Ranken, Watson’s College A.C. Six turned out, and Ranken, McGough and Wright were left to finish. When the bell rang it was seen that the first-named had no chance of winning, and the other two went ahead together. A great race was ran between this pair. Wright, who was second to Mill last year, challenged the leader, but McGough stuck gamely to his advantage, and was a popular winner. Time, 20 mins. 51 3-5 secs.”

After claiming double gold in the Scottish championships McGough suddenly found himself running off scratch and heavily handicapped. That, however, did not deter him from winning the two miles flat handicap at the Clydesdale Harriers sports at Hampden Park on Thursday 26th June in 9:43.4, a time just two seconds shy of the Scottish native record.

As Scottish champion he was automatically selected by the S.A.A.A. General Committee to represent Scotland in both the mile and four miles in the annual international contest between Scotland and Ireland at Ballsbridge, Dublin, on July 19th. The contest, then in its eighth year, was the world’s first regular series of international matches and, at the time, the season highlight for both Irish and Scottish athletes alike. Scotland, the holders, were without several of their stars, notably Jack Paterson and Duncan Mill, winners respectively of the one mile and four miles in 1901, and found themselves on the receiving end of a 9-2 drubbing by the Irish. The running of McGough, beaten into second in both the mile and four miles by J.J. Daly, was symptomatic of the Scots’ overall showing. The Edinburgh Evening News: “Both these events were regarded as certainties for our youthful champion, J. McGough, and the defeat carried consternation into the Scottish camp. Daly’s sprinting of the last lap of the shorter distance took McGough completely by surprise. When Daly darted ahead at the bell, and prematurely took McGough’s ground, the latter made no effort to hold him, under the impression that the big Irishman would come back to him, but amidst wild “hurrors” from the spectators, Daly ran in a strong winner by twenty-five yards in 4 min. 27 4-5 sec., a time which nobody deemed him capable of. He is one of the ugliest runners we ever saw, lurching along with giant strides, but “handsome is as handsome does” all the world over, and Daly must rank as one of the best milers Ireland has yet produced. In the four miles McGough was looked upon as likely to turn the tables, and excitement rose to a high pitch when the pair alone remained on the track with half a mile to go. In the back straight of the second last lap McGough on the inside made an attempt to draw away, whereupon Daly swooped down upon him, and fouled him so badly as to cause him to reel. Before McGough recovered Daly was 20 yards in front, but with a great effort McGough began to close up the gap 300 yards from home. At the foot of the straight Daly was palpably in extremis, but try as McGough liked he was still three yards to the bad when the Irishman broke the worsted in 20 min. 42 3-5 secs. McGough was distinctly unlucky to lose, and on a cinder track we are confident that he would beat the Irish champion. The last mile was run in 5 min. 0 2-5 secs., and the intermediate mile times were: one mile, 5 min. 3 1-5 secs., two 10 min. 24 2-5 secs., three 15 min. 42 1-5 secs.”

A fortnight later, in a meeting at Barrhead, one of many that had to be postponed that summer due to the Coronation of King Edward, McGough delivered one of the best performances of the day in the half mile handicap off 8 yards. “He ran as he always does, with rare judgement, and it goes without saying that his triumph was well received,“ the report read.

At the Celtic FC sports the following Saturday he produced another excellent performance in the mile handicap in front of a bumper crowd of 25,000 spectators. The race fell to A. Duncan, of the Olympic Harriers, 120 yards, in 4:21. McGough just failed to get up to win the race, but managed to get the better of his Irish rival Daly, both men running from 40 yards, the one getting second and the other third.

Thus concluded a season in which McGough had gone from being a relative unknown to the new face of Scottish athletics. In all, he added 19 prizes to his trophy cabinet. More importantly, from a broader perspective, he was the only Scottish middle distance runner then who was capable of filling the big boots left by Jack Paterson and Duncan Mill. Even though still in the early stages of his athletic career, he was, it seemed, carrying not only the mail but also the hopes of a nation on his shoulders.

Celtic Sports, 1902

Celtic FC Sports, 1902: Daly 5, Joe Binks 7, Rimmer 9, McGough 12

1903 SEASON

A winter of stamina-building pack runs and inter-club runs saw McGough emerge from the winter of 1902/3 an improved athlete. He kicked off his track season at Parkhead on May 11th at the annual sports of the North Cycling and Motoring Club, where he won the half mile handicap off 8 yards. “In the half mile flat handicap,” reported the Glasgow Herald, “J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers, ran splendidly getting through about 40 runners, and winning easily. Time: 2 min. 2 3-5 sec.“

A few days later he was matched against fellow Scoto-Irishman Pat McCafferty over four miles in the West of Scotland Harriers sports held at Ibrox Park on Thursday 14 May. It wasn’t much of a contest, though, because McCafferty retired at two miles and McGough finished alone. His time of 20:21.8 was another personal best and brought him to within 11 seconds of the Scottish native record.

Four days after that, McGough tested himself against English cracks Sid Robinson, Northampton, and Jack Rimmer, Southport, in a two miles handicap at the Glasgow Merchants Cycling Club sports at Parkhead. In view of his good early season form, it’s maybe a little surprising that he was given an 80 yard start on his English rivals, who were the backmarkers. Not surprisingly, neither Robinson nor Rimmer figured prominently, while McGough cut through the field like a hot knife through butter and came home the winner by 15 yards in 9:26.4. As was a common practice in those days, it had been arranged that the Bellahouston Harrier would run on for another 80 yards to complete the full distance. His time of 9:37.0 was a new Scottish native record, four seconds inside the old figures that had been held by Andrew Hannah, Clydesdale Harriers, since 1894. “Record breaking,” wrote a Herald columnist, was an “infallible test of athletic excellence”

His appetite for record-breaking whetted after making his first incursion into the record books, McGough then set his sights on the three miles native record – 14:57.2 by William Robertson, of Clydesdale Harriers – in a handicap race at the Edinburgh Harriers sports at Powderhall Grounds on June 6th. The report read: “This was one of the tit bits which the promoters of the sports had arranged. Additional interest was added to it by the appearance of Daly and McGough at scratch. The entries numbered twenty-seven, and twenty-one competed. The absence of P.J. McCafferty, W.S.H. (125 yards) and W. Robertson, C.H. (140 yards) was regrettable, as between them and the scratch men a good race was expected. For some time neither of the scratch men made much ground, but as some of the competitors with the large starts dropped off and the field was thinned, they began to draw in the remaining men. With five laps to go, after having covered seven, Daly dropped off, but McGough held on his course. It was unfortunate that he got no assistance in the way of pacing. Many of the runners dropped off, leaving him to cover the large gap between him and those with the big starts. If he had had a strong runner in front of him he certainly would have made a great show, as he finished only 4-5th secs. outside record time. The winner finished apparently fresh after a sprint for the tape. McGough on coming into the straight was loudly cheered for his sprint home. His time was 14 mins. 58 secs.” Clearly the record was at McGough’s mercy, given good conditions and a good race.

Next on the agenda was the S.A.A.A. championships at Ibrox Park on June 20th, when the main feature was McGough’s bold attempt to pull off an unprecedented triple in the half mile, mile and four miles. The Edinburgh Evening News takes up the story: “Hugh Welsh was the first man to win both the half mile and the mile, a feat he accomplished in 1896, ’97 and ’99. His ambition, unfortunately, did not turn in the direction of triple honours. J. Paterson, who began as the four miles champion, and worked down to the lesser distances, in 1900 won the half mile and mile, and he might have forestalled McGough had he possessed the stamina of the Bellahouston man. Paterson was actually three distance champion in 1900, he having won the ten miles championship in April, but it has been reserved for McGough to be the first to win three distance races in one day. He was fortunate in respect that he had his easiest undertaking first; had Cowe met him at four miles after a gruelling mile, the chances are that the Berwick man would have been champion instead of runner-up. But McGough well deserved his laurels. He beat a prettier runner in Roxburgh over half a mile in the capital time of 2 min. 1 3-5 sec., in the mile he pulled out Ranken and made the Watsonian do the best time of his career – as a matter of fact, Ranken’s 4 min. 30 1-5 sec. has only two or three times been beaten in the championship – and in the last race of the day he wore down a strong and plucky runner in J.B. Cowe, winning in 20 min. 30 1-5 sec., the fastest time on record in an S.A.A.A. championship, and not 20 sec. outside Duffus’ Scottish “native” record time for the distance in the S.A.A.U. championships of 1896. The times alone stamp McGough as one of the greatest runners we have ever had in Scotland. He was in distress in one portion of of his race with Cowe, who has a lot to learn in the matter of tactics, but in each case his strong sprint pulled him through, and his capabilities were not bottomed at any distance on Saturday.”

The feat of winning all the distance events at a single one-day championship is one of such singular difficulty, it has never been repeated since. McGough being postman, it was of course a red letter day in the annals of S.A.A.A. history. Here is the account of all three races as published in The Scotsman:

Half mile: 1, John McGough (Bellahouston Harriers); 2, William Roxburgh (Hamilton Harriers). The winner went to the front from the crack of the pistol and was never overtaken. Roxburgh made his effort coming round the last bend, by which time Smith had dropped well out of the race, but McGough shook off the challenger, and, finishing strongly, won by about eight yards. Time 2 mins. 1 3-5 secs. One Mile: 1, John McGough (Bellahouston Harriers); 2, John Ranken (Watson’s College A.C. and Edinburgh Harriers). McGough won the second championship in easy fashion by about a dozen yards in the good time of 4 mins. 27 3-5 secs. The lap times were 66 1-5 secs., 2 mins. 15 ½ secs., 3 mins 24 1-5 secs. Four Miles: 1, John McGough (Bellahouston Harriers); 2, James B. Cowe (Berwick Harriers). J. Ranken dropped out with a mile gone in 4 mins 55 4-5 secs., and Robertson retired at two miles, which took 10 mins. 5 3-5 secs. McGough was leading when three miles had been covered in 15 mins. 23 secs. With two and a half laps to go, Cowe went away with a spurt, and it looked for a minute or two as if the champion was going to give in, but he soon pulled up and took the lead again. With the ringing of the bell McGough forced the pace, and it was at once seen that Cowe could not finish like a champion, and continuing to go strongly round the last lap, amid enthusiastic cheering, McGough won his third championship of the day by about twenty yards. Time 20 mins 30 15 secs.

The S.A.A.A. entered McGough for the A.A.A. championships at Northampton on Saturday 4th July. In his first event, the half mile, he made the mistake of trying to win from gun to tape, for despite his best efforts, he was unable to get away from experienced campaigners Bert Blunden and Albert Barker, and ultimately ran himself to a standstill, giving up 200 yards from the finish. He was also entered for the mile, which the peerless Alf Shrubb won easily in 4:24.0, but heeded the advice of his friends to “stand down”.

He was selected for both the half mile and the mile in the Scoto-Irish contest at Powderhall on July 18th. The half mile was one of the doubtful events, for he was up against Irish speed merchant James Finnegan, winner of the half mile in the previous two encounters. However, McGough left very little hope for the Irishman by going away at a cracking pace and, leading from start to finish, won by ten yards in 2:03.4, a good time considering the sodden track and bleak and miserable weather. The mile was a more tactical affair, in which McGough avenged his previous year’s defeat at the hands of J.J. Daly, powering through a 61 sec. last quarter to win by 12 yards from the burly Irishman. Overall, though, Scotland lacked the strength in depth, and again Irish eyes were smiling when they retained the team contest.

On Wednesday 22nd July McGough made another appearance in Edinburgh, in the Leith Shamrock Cycling Club sports at the Hawkhill Ground. Alongside the American sprint ace, Arthur Duffey, he was the main attraction of the evening. Running from scratch in the mile handicap, he threaded his way through a big field, and was cheered home the winner by eight yards in a new personal best of 4:26.6.

In Rangers F.C. sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday 1st August he ran in the mile handicap. A big crowd of 12,000 spectators cheered as worked his way up through the field and got up to second, six yards short of catching W. Watson, Edinburgh Southern (80 y), in 4:28.4. When the meeting continued on a wet and cold Monday evening the Scottish champion started from the scratch mark in the two miles handicap, and, taking the lead after 1 ¼ miles, breasted the tape in a new Scottish native record of 9:36.4, three-fifths of a second inside his own figures.

He concluded his track season a week later at the Celtic F.C. sports, but did not have the freshness in his legs needed to make up some big starts in a field of 53 runners and retired before the finish. “McGough,” wrote the Glasgow Herald, ”made a plucky effort to get through the labyrinth of competitors, but did not succeed, and he, along with J. Daly, the Irish crack, gave up on entering the finishing straight.“ Handicaps with large fields, were great crowd entertainment, but had their obvious drawbacks for the backmarkers, who were additionally handicapped by the sheer weight of numbers, being forced to constantly dodge and weave through slower runners and run wide on the bends and in the straights.

Thus ended a memorable season during which he had amassed 24 prizes and created S.A.A.A. championship history by winning all three distance titles in one day, not to mention scoring a “double” in the Scoto-Irish contest and setting a couple of native records.

1904 SEASON

McGough was no cross country runner and derived little pleasure from heavy going or ploughed fields. Bearing this in mind, he showed loyalty beyond the call of duty by turning out for his club in the 1904 Scottish Cross Country Championships at the Agricultural Grounds, Scotstoun. After leading in the early stages, said the report, he slipped down the field upon entering the open country and, though we don’t know his finishing position, he presumably finished well down the order. However, the work he put in during the winter showed when he opened his track 1904 campaign with a bang in the West of Scotland Harriers sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday 21st May. The meeting was actually a team competition for the Connell Cup, and four teams took part, including the ultimate winners, South London Harriers. One of the highlights of the meeting was the appearance in the one and three miles of English champion Alfred Shrubb, who had only just recently smashed the world five mile record. The neatly moustached Englishman had swept all before him since 1902, but had yet to make acquaintance with the Glasgow postman, who, after finishing runner-up to E.H. Montague (SLH) in the half mile, faced Shrubb in the mile. “The mile was a specially interesting race, in which the respective champions of Scotland and England fought out the issue. Going off at a fast pace – the first quarter was covered in 58 sec. – Shrubb speedily scattered the field, and at mid distance only the Scotch champion remained seriously to consider. Drawing slowly on the South Londoner, the Scot closed up the gap, and the pair ran stride for stride till 300 yards from home. Then a ding-dong finish was witnessed, lasting round the final bend and into the straight, where McGough gained an advantage, which attended him to the tape. Shrubb tens yards from the tape easing up, seeing pursuit hopeless. Shrubb was beaten by two yards in 4 min. 26 sec., and the merit of McGough’s win all the greater because prior to the mile McGough had run a close second in a scratch half mile to E.H. Montague, a club-mate of Shrubb’s.” McGough’s victory over the indomitable Shrubb was, of course, something of a novelty and, wrote The Scotsman, caused “a scene of excitement which is seldom witnessed at an athletic meeting in Glasgow.” The Glasgow Herald: “Some have it that the Scottish champion does not always show sound judgement, but, be that as it may, he gave a flawless display on Saturday.”

When the meeting continued on the Monday, McGough turned out in the three mile handicap against Shrubb, amongst others, and served up the highlight of the evening by knocking more than 13 seconds off the Scottish native record. In spite of running such an impressive time, bad handicapping saw him finish unplaced, the winner being J.R. Moffatt, of Larkhall Harriers, who with the benefit of a liberal 450 yards start broke the tape in the then fanciful time of 14:12.4. The Scotsman reported: “A. Shrubb, English champion, was at scratch, and the handicap was framed with a view to record-breaking. The Englishman, however, gained nothing on McGough after the first half mile, and retired after running two miles. McGough, who ran in rare style, maintained a steady pace throughout, and although only fourth in the handicap, completed the full distance in 14 mins. 44 3-5 secs.” Shrubb, who had also run the three miles at the Saturday meeting in 14:59.4, was clearly not at his best and stale from his heavy racing schedule, but this does not in any way diminish the quality of McGough’s performance, particularly when it is considered that the three miles was a distance he rarely attempted.

McGough was among the entries for the 1000 yards handicap at the Clydesdale Harriers sports on Saturday 28 May, but was called upon to give 57 yards to S. Carson, and this task was five yards too much for him. He ran fairly well, but could do no better than 2:21.4. The following week, at the annual athletic gathering of the Edinburgh Harriers at Powderhall Grounds, he was in better fettle, breaking the two minute barrier in the half mile for the first time with a time of 1:59.6. Being rather heavily handicapped, however, he was unable to get among the first three, William D. Anderson, of Olympic Harriers, winning off 20 yards in 1:58.0. Later in the same afternoon, he turned out in the two mile handicap where, despite a sterling 9:41.4 performance, he was unable to get anywhere near the leaders, Sam Stevenson, Clydesdale Harriers, taking advantage of a 180 yard allowance to win comfortably in 9:22.0.

On June 11th he again confronted Alf Shrubb in a mile handicap at the West of Scotland Harriers meeting at Ibrox Park, where earlier in the afternoon the Londoner had electrified the crowd by smashing the world two mile record to win in 9:09.6. In spite of his exertions, the Englishman conceded McGough 15 yards in the mile. It proved to be a great race, McGough and Shrubb running neck and neck on the last lap. Then the Englishman edged ahead in the home straight and won by a yard amid tumultuous scenes with the clock stopping at 4:23.8.

McGough was conspicuous by his absence when the meeting resumed on the Monday evening, when, once again, the undisputed star of the show was Alf Shrubb, who served up a world four mile record of 19:23.4. In spite of the record-breaking exploits of Alf Shrubb and his face-off with John McGough at the Saturday function, the overall attendance at both meetings was disappointing (a mere 6,000).

A fortnight later McGough had no difficulty in retaining his half mile and mile titles in the S.A.A.A. championships at Powderhall Ground, the former by a couple of yards from William Anderson in 2:01.8 and the latter by 30 yards from Sam Kennedy, Garscube Harriers, in 4:36.4. By winning the mile for the third time McGough made the 25 guinea silver challenge cup his to keep. To be allowed to keep an S.A.A.A. challenge cup in any event, you had to win the title either three times in succession or four times in total.

On July 2nd McGough renewed his rivalry with Alf Shrubb in the mile flat race at the A.A.A. championships at Rochdale. Shrubb, as expected, took the lead early on and, setting a fast pace considering the stormy weather, held it until 300 yard from home, when Joe Binks, the British record holder, went ahead. Shrubb, however, came again, and won a desperately close race by a yard, just managing to hold off McGough, whose late charge carried him past Binks and into the silver medal position. McGough’s time of 4:22.2 was faster than he had ever previously run in public and some consolation for narrowly failing to win this, the blue ribband event. Among Scots (amateurs), only Hugh Welsh had run faster. In 1906 Shrubb would describe this race as the hardest battle he had ever had.

Fresh from his medal-winning run in the A.A.A. championships, McGough took full advantage of favourable weather and track conditions at the Behahouston Harriers sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday 9 July to erase not one, but two, Scottish native bests from the record books. Running from scratch, he finished fourth in the 1000 yards handicap, recording a personal best of in 2:18.8 – a 1.2 sec. improvement on the previous figures for the distance which had stood to the credit of James Rodger, of Maybole, since 1895. Later in the afternoon he turned out in the two miles handicap, and, taking the lead with a lap to go, stretched away to win comfortably in a time of 9:36.0, four tenths of a second inside his own figures. The setting of two native records in two separate distance races in the space of a single afternoon was a Shrubb-esque feat and, accordingly, the Glasgow Herald’s editorial reads like a laudatio: “It is not too much to say that John McGough has made the Bellahouston Harriers. For years he has taken a great pride in the club, and in turn the members have taken a great pride in him. By his brilliant achievements he has given Bellahouston Harriers a name which is now a household word in athletic circles everywhere, and that name he enhanced on Saturday , on the occasion of their first open sports, by creating two fresh records in the 1000 yards and the two miles, taking 1 1-5 off the former and 2-5 sec. off the latter. He was the winner of the longer distance, but in the 1000 yards he was unplaced , which is to be regretted, as his running was worthy of being crowned with first honours. McGough is an extraordinarily fine runner ; as a matter of fact, he comes next to Hugh Welsh, of the Watsonians, whose running must still be fresh in the minds of many.”

The record-breaking double at Ibrox obviously augured well for the annual Scoto-Irish contest, held a week later at Ulster Cricket Club, Belfast, where, as Scottish champion, McGough was nominated for the half mile and the mile. The weather was fine and there was a large attendance, but the playing field was anything but level, literally, and so not conducive to fast running. In the half mile McGough looked to have the trace sewn up, but was denied when Ireland’s James McKenzie came with a storming late run to win by four yards in 2:03.6. However, he made amends in the mile, which he won easily from Ireland’s Michael Hynan in 4:27.6. Once again, though, Scotland lost the contest with only four wins to Ireland’s seven.

After the international match McGough continued to show good form throughout the remainder of July and August, when the big sports meetings of Glasgow Rangers FC and Celtic FC traditionally rounded off the season, even if the handicappers were not on his side. In the Edinburgh Northern Harriers’ sports at Powderhall Ground on July 30th he was too heavily handicapped to have any hope of winning the half mile from scratch, and first prize went to John Clelland, of Edinburgh Harriers, 50 yards, in 1:57.0. Despite running two minutes dead, fifth place was the best he could do. His next engagement was in the Rangers sports on Saturday 6 August, when 12,000 spectators turned out in uninviting weather and were rewarded with some excellent T&F fare including a record hammer throw of 51.71 metres by Tom Nicholson and a popular evens win for James P. Stark, of the West of Scotland Harriers, in the 100 yards handicap off 2 ½ yards. McGough was running in the mile, the final event on the programme, and again conceded some formidable starts to his fellow competitors including 15 yards to Darlington’s George Butterfield, whom he had only just managed to beat in the A.A.A. mile. He got into frame by finishing third, but was unable to do anything about Butterfield, who gleefully sprinted to victory in 4:24.2, more than making up for his 15 yard start in the process. McGough returned to Ibrox on the Monday evening, when he again he faced Butterfield in the two miles handicap, both men running from scratch on this occasion, and the 6,000 spectators witnessed a terrific race. Butterfield ran magnificently, sprinting away from McGough a furlong from home to win by fully ten yards from A. Wright, of the Wellpark Harriers, in 9:28.4. There was a separate watch on McGough, who in finishing third was timed at 9:32.4, an improvement of 2.6 seconds on his own native record.

McGough ran his last race of the season five days later at the last important athletic meeting of the Scottish season, the annual sports of the Celtic Football Club at Parkhead. The sky was overcast, and during the progress of the sports there was occasional showers. Notwithstanding the weather there were 20,000 spectators present, which was the biggest attendance of all the fixtures held that season. In the one mile handicap, Wright of Wellpark Harriers took full advantage of a 55 yard allowance to win a close contest in 4:23.4. However, the interest in this race centred chiefly around the scratch men McGough and Butterfield. Towards the end of the race McGough left the Englishman several yards behind and it looked like he was going to avenge his earlier defeats. With an astonishing sprint, however, Butterfield overtook McGough ten yards from the line and finished a yard in front, both men clocking 4:25.

Thus ended another fine season in which there had been little to fault, save for a tactical error that cost him victory in the A.A.A. mile championship. Earlier in the season he had run his best race to date when he showed English distance-running maestro Alf Shrubb a clear pair of heels in the mile at the West of Scotland Harriers sports. He had defended his Scottish half mile and mile titles, and, by winning the latter for the third time in a row, had claimed the valuable silver challenge cup. He had also defended his mile crown in the Scoto-Irish contest. And, most importantly, he had shown continued improvement by setting a string of personal bests and Scottish native records over distances from 1000 yards to three miles. He had gained 26 prizes in all, this being made of 10 firsts, 12 seconds and 4 thirds. It was all good stuff, but the best was yet to come.

 1905 SEASON

McGough kicked off his 1905 campaign with a four miles match against Hugh Muldoon in a sports gathering at Belfast on May 20th, winning by 20 yards in 21:12.4. This he followed a fortnight later with a double start in the Edinburgh Harriers sports at Powderhall, where he took second in the 1000 yards handicap in 2:23.4 before carving up the field to win the two miles in 9:37.0. A 4:30.4 handicap mile victory at the Edinburgh Pharmacy AC sports on June 7th and a 9:43.0 win in the two miles team race at the West of Scotland Harriers meeting at Ibrox Park on June 10th set him up nicely for an attack on the Scottish 1000 yards record at Ibrox on the Monday evening. The weather was good, but a strong wind prevailed. He set off in good style and, running strongly, made up all the handicaps and broke the tape first in a time of 2:18.2, which bettered his own Scottish native record by six tenths of a second. McGough‘s “fine running was the feature of the meeting”, said the Herald.

The following weekend, he scored the easiest of wins in the one mile handicap at the Bellahouston Harriers sports at Ibrox Park in 4:24.2. This was a perfect tune-up for the twenty-third S.A.A.A. championships held at the same venue on June 24th in fine weather. The attendance at the national championships, however, was disappointing, and not more than 2000 people were present. But if the number of spectators was small, the sport was of the highest order. One native record was broken, this being in the half mile. It was also one of the best races of the day. In addition to McGough himself, it featured that peerless Army runner Wyndham Halswelle and William D. Anderson, now a fellow Bellahouston Harrier having switched his allegiances from Olympic Harriers. The pace was fast as W. Roxburgh (W.S.H.) led the field through the quarter in 58.8 sec., and the finish culmimated in a “magnificent struggle” with Anderson just getting home ahead of McGough in a new native record time of 1:58.8. By so doing Anderson was eligible for a second, special gold medal, in addition to the winner’s gold medal. McGough finished a mere yard adrift, recording a personal best of 1:59.0, and Wyndham Halswelle was two yards behind McGough with 1:59.4. It was the first time in championship history that the first three men had finished inside 2 mins. Sadly, the mile championship took place in the absence of Charles Henderson-Hamilton. The Edinburgh-born Oxford University student, who had won the mile in the varsity match on 31st March in a sensational 4:17.8, was unavailable as he was reading for his Army exams. John Ranken, Watson’s College AC, took on the pace-making duties and led until a furlong from home, when McGough accelerated away to win title No. 4 by fourteen yards in 4:24.2. In his wake, fast times were returned by A.M. Matthews, Edinburgh University AC, second in 4:27.4; and Ranken, third in 4:28.0.

AAA 1905 1m George Butterfield

AAA 1905 1m George Butterfield

July was just around the corner again, and that traditionally began with the A.A.A. championships. On Friday week McGough travelled south to Stamford Bridge in hopes of making amends for his narrow defeat at the hands of Alf Shrubb in the mile a year earlier. He was still smarting over the tactical blunder that, he believed, had cost him the title. This year, at least, there was no Shrubb to contend with; he had pulled out of the mile rather than confront McGough and Butterfield. “It is no use killing myself,” was his eloquent argument. Nevertheless, a strong field of eleven runners lined up in sunny weather. First George Butterfield and then Joe Deakin, of Herne Hill Harriers, set the pace. James Roberts, of Sefton Harriers, went ahead in the third lap, and at the bell it was Roberts leading, followed by Butterfield and McGough. So it remained until halfway round the final bend, when Butterfield showed what a brilliant tactician he was by suddenly hustling past Roberts and streaking to victory by four yards in 4:25.2. McGough immediately gave chase, but he could not close the gap, and for the second year in a row he finished runner-up in the British championship.

A week later, McGough put in an appearance at the St. Bernard’s F.C. sports at the Gymnasium Grounds, Edinburgh, where he was the main attraction alongside Wyndam Halswelle, who stirred up the 2,000 strong crowd with a 32.6 sec. victory in the 300 yards handicap off 2 yards. McGough turned out in the mile, in which 26 ran, conceding starts up to 125 yards. He also gave spectators something to cheer about as he gradually reeled in all his opponents, producing a grandstand finish to get home first by a yard in 4:25.2. Earlier in the day, there had been skullduggery afoot in the heats of the 120 yards handicap, where one of the competitors, looking to set himself up for a big win in the final, was disqualified for running with lead weights sewn into the soles of his spikes.

After collecting his silverware, he hurried back to Glasgow to catch the mail steamer from Greenock to Belfast, where he competed next day in the one mile handicap and in the three miles championship of the Gaelic Athletic Association, the G.A.A. being the older of Ireland’s two rival governing bodies. In the latter event, he defeated Hugh Muldoon by 20 yards to win his first Irish title, albeit in a slow time of 16:18.8.

The Emerald Isle clearly had a special place in McGough’s heart as witnessed by his affiliation to the G.A.A., and the fact that he aspired to winning titles not only in Scotland and England, but now, also, in his country of birth. There was, however, never any question of him switching his allegiance to Ireland at this time, and he dutifully turned out in the colours of Scotland in its encounter against Ireland at Powderhall Grounds on July 15th.

The meeting took place in the presence of 5,000 spectators and ended in a very decisive victory for the Scots, by eight points to three. “A feature of the day’s sport,” wrote The Scotsman, “was the running of the new quarter mile champion, Lieutenant Halswell, and J. McGough, who won the quarter and the mile respectively very comfortably from their Irish opponents.” As to the actual race, “A.M. Matthews, Edinburgh University, paced the champion for the first two laps, with the Irishmen in very close company, and at the third round McGough assumed the lead. On the last lap, G.N. Morphy, Dublin, challenged McGough, and led him five yards at the bend. McGough, however, came up the straight in great style, and won by a yard and a half, J. Fairbairn-Crawford, M.C.C., and Matthews being half a dozen yards behind.” The weather was fair, but the presence of a fairly stiff breeze showed its effect on the time sheets, which credited McGough with 4:30.2.

A fortnight later McGough was once again headed south where he would be representing his employer in the inaugural British Postal Service championships. The event was promoted by the St. Martin’s (G.P.O.) Harriers and held at Putney Velodrome and attended by athletes from postal services throughout the United Kingdom. McGough was the class act in an otherwise modestly contested meeting where the showcase event was the mile championship for a gold medal and the Dewar Challenge Shield presented by Sir Thomas Robert Dewar, M.P., the name behind the world-famous Scottish whisky and a leading sporting patron. After comfortably winning this in 4:36.6, McGough ran the last leg for his team (Glasgow P.O.) in the inter-office relay race and left his opponents standing, winning by 80 yards.

“Alfred Shrubb doubly defeated”     “run off his legs”

Racing in London on the Saturday might not have been the ideal preparation for his next engagement, the West of Scotland Harriers’ sports at Ibrox Park on Monday 31st July, but McGough possessed surprising recuperative powers. The preview in that day’s edition of the Glasgow Herald read: “J. McGough may not be at his best, as he has travelled from London overnight, but he is a runner of great resource, and rarely fails to give a good account of himself on the Rangers ground.” This assessment was to prove dead on. The principal event of the evening was a three-way mile and a half scratch race between Alf Shrubb, the English ex-champion in the mile, George Butterfield, the present mile champion of England, and McGough, the Scottish mile champion. F.J. Spencer, South London Harriers, also took part, presumably as a pacemaker, and led for the first quarter of a mile, which he covered in 59 sec. He then retired leaving Shrubb first, Butterfield second, and McGough third. In this order they passed the half mile post (2:09.0), three-quarters of a mile (3:22.6), mile (4:37.0) and mile and a quarter (5:49.6). Then the real racing began. “When the bell rang for the last lap”, reported the Herald, “half a yard covered the three competitors. Three hundred yards from home McGough got up on Shrubb, and then Butterfield came away. A hundred yards from the post the three men were abreast of each other. Butterfield was the first to show in front, but McGough made a splendid effort, and a magnificent race took place between the two men, the Scottish champion winning by inches, with Shrubb fully two yards behind. McGough had a flattering reception on retiring to the pavilion. Time: 6 min. 52 3-5 sec.” It was a brilliant piece of tactical running against two of the world’s pre-eminent runners, and possibly his single best race to date. The Herald: “McGough…came out as a tactician in this race, which is rather a new role for him.” Another paper described the race as “one of the finest seen in Scotland for some time”. The time constituted a Scottish amateur record, but it was inferior to the best mark on record by a Scot. That stood to the credit of professional Bob McKinstray, Maybole, who set a then world record of 6:50.0 at Manchester on February 23, 1867.

McGough was back at Ibrox Park on the Saturday for the Rangers F.C. sports, where he again clashed with George Butterfield in the invitation mile handicap. Once again, he got his nose in front of the Darlington man, winning by half a yard in 4:27.0, a good time on a heavy track and in windy conditions. The Herald: “McGough, for the second time in six days, got the better of Geo. Butterfield, who in the mile on Saturday, as in the mile and a half on Monday last lost first place by inches only. It was a strenuous effort on the part of both, and the one was as cordially applauded as the other on retiring to the dressing room.”

There was no time to recover, though, for the next day McGough continued his winning streak by claiming a second G.A.A. title over two miles at Dundalk, where he was credited with a dubious near-world-record time of 9:15.0.

Another three-way mile and a half race at the Celtic F.C. sports before 25,000 spectators on August 12th saw Butterfield back to his glorious best. The darling or Darlington won by three yards from Alf Shrubb, who in turn beat McGough by a yard. Given that a stiff breeze was blowing, the winning time of 6:55.4 represented exceptional running. The supplementary meeting of Celtic F.C. on the Monday was to be the scene of yet more record-breaking in a special four miles handicap featuring once again the talents of Shrubb and McGough. There were twelve entrants and Shrubb, scratch, was giving away 100 yards to McGough and 470 yards to the limit man. The Herald picks up the story from here: “The amateur athletic sports of the Celtic Football Club were continued last night at Parkhead in fine weather and before a large attendance, attracted by the entry of several English cracks. Principal interest centred in the four miles flat race handicap, in which Shrubb, Butterfield and McGough met. An exciting race was witnessed. The London runner was in grand form, and starting at once to draw in his men succeeded in passing McGough when two miles had been covered. Half a mile short of that distance Butterfield had retired, owing to the muscles of one of his legs stiffening. After he had taken the lead of the Bellahouston man Shrubb went straight ahead, and got into the first place at the end of two and three-quarter miles. He won in 19 minutes 34 seconds by fully 100 yards from McGough, who completing four miles put up a record for a Scottish runner of 20 min. 6 1-5 sec., the previous best being 20 min. 10 3-5 sec. “ The management of Celtic FC subsequently decided to present McGough with a special medal for breaking the Scottish four miles record.

A few races later he wrapped up his season at the Salford Harriers Autumn sports at Belle Vue on 9th September. His head-to-head against Butterfield in the half mile scratch race was one of the highlights of the meeting, a real crowd-pleaser. McGough had a slight advantage on Butterfield as they entered the home straight, but could not hold off his fast-finishing rival, who roared to a two yard victory in 2:00.2 , with McGough returning 2:00.5.

Overall, this had been the Bellahouston man’s best season yet, with only a few minor blemishes on an otherwise perfect record. He had appropriated the Scottish mile title for a fourth time in a row, but had been denied a second title in the fastest half mile championship in S.A.A.A. championship history. Later he had stamped his authority on the mile in the Scoto-Irish contest, winning for a third time in succession, and, for good measure, had also claimed the Postal Service mile championship and two Irish G.A.A. titles, not to mention finishing runner-up in the A.A.A. mile. He had erased three Scottish records from the history books that season, namely the 1000 yards, the mile-and-a-half and the four miles. He had captured 20 firsts, 5 seconds and 5 thirds, or 36 prizes in all, that season, bringing his grand total in four seasons to over 100 prizes. As to this, the Herald commented: “Other athletes may have won as many prizes; but few, if any, in Scotland, in recent years at least, have had their victories embroidered, so to speak, with record tinsel to the same extent as this crack Bellahouston Harrier. It is when one bears in mind that McGough has not the time to give to special preparation that his performances are all the more creditable, and the very natural assumption is that with sustained training on systematic and scientific principles he might easily succeed in placing some of the Scottish records in a more exalted position than they occupy now.“

1906 SEASON

McGough 1906 Olympic team

1906 Olympic Team: McGough is Number 1, Halswell  is Number 2

Onward to ancient Olympia

The 1906 Intercalated Games, celebrated in Athens, Greece, were an aberration, the only Games in Olympic history to break the quadrennial sequence. There was no UK selection process per se. Eligible athletes were invited to notify the A.A.A. of their definite intention to compete on the understanding that they would do so at their own expense. Only a small number of entries were received from British athletes, owing to the prohibitive cost of travelling to Athens and back, and the sheer amount of time involved in making the trip. They included several Oxbridge students and Lieutenant Halswelle, the great Scots hope. With Ireland competing under the British flag, given that it did not have a national Olympic committee, the two feuding Irish amateur athletics federations, the Irish Amateur Athletic Association (I.A.A.A.) and the Gaelic Athletic Association (G.A.A.), raised subscriptions to send three of their athletes. The roster also included the Bellahouston pair of John McGough and William Davison Anderson, whose participation was, presumably, paid for by a subscription and/or by a grant from the special fund of £208 that the Greek government had given to the English A.A.A. Notable absentees included Alf Shrubb, who had turned professional after being suspended; and George Butterfield, a busy hotelier.

The five-day itinerary would see the British team journey by boat from Dover to Dieppe and by train across Europe via Paris, Turin, Brindisi and Bari, then by boat to Corfu and Patras, and finally on to Athens. The three-day rail journey was something of an odyssey as food was in short supply and rumbling stomachs were the order of the day. It was not until the athletes boarded the steamer in Bari that they had their first square meal since leaving Britain. On their arrival in Athens the visiting teams were billeted at the Zappeion, where catering was provided by the organisers, but the Americans, among others, were unhappy about the arrangements and the food, and moved out and checked into a hotel. McGough had four days to settle in and acclimatise to the hot conditions before taking part in the 800 metres. With only the first two to progress to the final, he was eliminated in the fourth heat, won by the American Paul Pilgrim, the eventual gold medallist in this event, in 2:06.6. The relatively modest times posted throughout the games were accounted for by the slow running track in the Panathenaic Stadium, an elongated horseshoe-shaped 400 metre circuit with long straights and bends so tight they were virtually turn-arounds. To make matters worse, the surface was of loose sand and ashes, which, without an underlying layer of clay, made the going soft and heavy. Later that afternoon McGough turned out for the final of the five miles, where he was one of twenty-five starters. A blistering pace was set from the gun as the runners from the various nations vied for pole position. England’s Henry Hawtrey, the favourite, took command in the second half of the race, and lived up to his billing by pulling clear of the field to win by 50 yards in 26:11.8 – a fast time given the circumstances. Ireland’s John Daly was third past the post, but was disqualified the next day for bizarrely obstructing the Swede Edward Dahl in the home straight by running zig-zag, owing, he claimed, to exhaustion. McGough finished, but was outside the first eight. His outings on 25th April, though fruitless, gave him the invaluable opportunity to tune up for his main event and get to grips with the peculiar track. The 1500 metres heats were decided on the afternoon of 27th April and preceded by a spot of tourism unthinkable in elite track and field athletics today. The British team had, namely, begun the day by visiting the Acropolis! That wasn’t a problem for McGough, of course, who was well used to putting in a full day’s work before donning his spikes. The trouble with the afternoon programme was that there was no timetable. In any case, protocol dictated that competition not commence until the arrival of the King and the royal family, who attended the games every day and even helped out with officiating field events. McGough and his fellow athletes had no option but to hang around waiting for their turn. The first of two heats fell to 1904 triple Olympic champion Jim Lightbody (USA) in 4:19.4, with Kristian Hellström (Sweden) second, James P. Sullivan (USA), third and Greg Wheatley (AUS) fourth. McGough won the second in 4:18.8, with Reginald Crabbe (GB) second, George Bonhag (USA) third and Harvey Cohn (USA) fourth. Both qualifying rounds were relatively close affairs, and there was not much to choose between the eight finalists. In the final two days later the pace was set by George Bonhag, with Greg Wheatley (AUS) second, Cohn third and Lightbody, the holder, fourth entering the last lap. McGough was sitting at the back of the pack, as he had done throughout the race together with Crabbe. Bonhag was moving along at a great lick and had the field strung out behind him in more or less single file, but had no response when Hellström made his bid for glory approaching the last bend. For a moment, the big Swede looked all over a winner, but Lightbody quickly covered the move and unleashed a devastating burst of speed which saw him open a gap on the field. McGough, who was badly placed when he hit the home straight, summoned a great finish which carried him past all of his rivals bar one to clinch the silver medal. There was, however, no denying the fair-haired University of Chicago student, who won with five yards to spare, arms raised aloft in celebration. The winning time was worth only about 4 min. 30 sec. for the mile, but on this track it was a brilliant piece of running. 

            Result: 1, James Lightbody (USA) 4:12.0; 2, James McGough (GBR) 4:12.8; 3, Kristian Hellström (SWE) 4:13.6 

McGough’s compatriots did well, too. William Anderson qualified for the 400 metres final after winning the repechage race in 53.0, the equal fastest time of the Games, but was out of sorts in the final two days later and wound up eighth and last. Wyndham Halswelle was decorated with silver in the 400 metres and bronze in the 800 metres, being the only British double medallist if you exclude Irish jumpers Con Leahy and Peter O’Connor, who were forced to compete under the British flag. Though eclipsed by Halswelle, McGough has the distinction of being the first Scottish athlete to win an Olympic medal. The first Scot to win an Olympic medal in any sport was, incidentally, golfer Walter Rutherford, who won silver at Paris in 1900.

When McGough arrived back to Scotland a few weeks later the national track season was just getting under way. Both McGough and Anderson, revealed the Glasgow Herald, spoke highly of the treatment they received while at Athens. A few days after his return McGough turned out in the National A.C. meeting at Parkhead and won the half mile handicap at a canter in 2:06.2. The Herald reported: “The feature of the meeting was the running of John McGough in the half mile handicap, which he won pretty much as he liked. The going was again heavy, otherwise he would have put in an even better performance. The trip to Athens has done McGough some good, and there are substantial grounds for assuming that his reputation will be vastly enhanced this season.”

The pick of McGough’s other early-season outings was a 600 yards flat race invitation handicap against rivals Halswelle and Anderson in the Clydesdale Harriers sports at Parkhead on May 26th. Halswelle had given starts of 15 yards to McGough and 10 yards to Anderson, and, despite being baulked twice, took the lead a furlong from home and won a brilliant race by 4 yards from McGough in a Scottish record time of 1:12.8 for this rarely-run event. After that McGough put in a series of fast races over his preferred distance, the mile. He started with a 4:27.6 at Powderhall Grounds on June 6th, and followed that up with a 4:24.8 at Parkhead on June 18th and a 4:25.0 at Powerhall Grounds on June 20th, still finding the time in between to take second in a mile and a half handicap at Ibrox Park on June 16th.

This of course augured well for the S.A.A.A. championships, decided at Powderhall Grounds in favourable weather before 6000 spectators on Saturday 23rd June. The half mile, in which McGough faced, among others, Wyndham Halswelle, the Olympic bronze medallist in this event, went pretty much by the form book. McGough led the field of four until entering the home straight, when the holder, Anderson, retired, leaving Halswelle and McGough to fight it out. Halfway up the straight the Lieutenant burst ahead and streaked to victory by seven yards in 2:00.4. McGough just held off club-mate, 21 year old Jimmy Vallance, a fellow postman, to take the silver medal in 2:01.5. An aspect of early S.A.A.A. championships was that medals were awarded to only the first two in each event, bronze medals being given to all those who, not taking the first or second place, reached the standard fixed by the General Committee. This was the case with Jimmy Vallance, whose 2:01.8 was comfortably inside the 2:03.0 standard. In the mile, A.M. Matthews, Edinburgh University AC, made the pace for three laps, then McGough drew level and kicked away to win easily by 12 yards in 4:32.6, thus extending his stranglehold on the event to five wins in a row. The most noteworthy feature of the meeting, though, was the running of Wyndham Halswelle, who amassed four titles, a feat unprecedented and unmatched in the annals of the Scottish championships. In addition to winning the afore-mentioned half mile, he was first in the 100 yards in 10.4, the 220 yards in 23.2 and the quarter mile in 51.4.

A fortnight later McGough lined up for AAA mile championship at Stamford Bridge, alongside a strong field including George Butterfield and Olympic five miles champion Henry Hawtrey. A sixty-second opening quarter quickly saw the field strung out, Hawtrey among others finding the pace too hot, but some half a dozen men were still together when the bell rang, with McGough sitting at the back of the pack. F.A. Knott , of South London Harriers, led until a furlong from home when Butterfield surged into an eight yard lead. A few seconds later McGough came out of the ruck in hot pursuit, but though he managed to make up a little ground, it was a case of “too little, too late”. A sub sixty second last lap saw Butterfield streak home the winner by four yards in a superb 4:18.4. McGough recorded a personal best of 4:19.2 in finishing second, eight yards ahead John Lee, of Heaton Harriers. The race was one of the fastest in A.A.A. championships history, the winning time not far outside the British record of 4:16.8 set by Joe Binks in 1902. Alongside Halswelle’s emphatic 48.8 sec. win in the quarter mile it was the outstanding performance of the championships. McGough would have taken some consolation in becoming only the third Scottish amateur after Hugh Welsh and Charles Henderson-Hamilton to break 4 mins. 20 secs., but the overriding feeling would probably have been one of frustration over finishing a close runner-up for the third time in a row. “From a Scottish point of view the most disappointing result was the mile, in which John McGough for the third time had to be content with second place – twice to George Butterfield and once to A. Shrubb. While the race, from the time aspect, was the best the Bellahouston Harrier had yet accomplished, it was, in tactics, absolutely the poorest in which he had performed for some time. For some inexplicable reason he lagged far behind till the last lap, or thereabout, and when he did make his effort it was too late. Still, he was finishing faster than Butterfield, and with another twenty yards he would have won. If only the feet had Butterfield’s head, he would be invincible over the mile. “ If any criticism could be levelled at McGough, then it was his poor tactical judgement, sentiments echoed by John Keddie in “Scottish Athletics”: “He had a habit of hanging back in a race, which presented few problems in domestic competitions, but often meant in International events that he gave himself too much to do in the closing stages”. In fact, he was about to make his worst-ever tactical mistake.

The 1906 Scoto-Irish International, the twelfth meeting between the two countries, was held the following weekend at the Ulster Cricket Club, Belfast, in an atmosphere of acrimony between the G.A.A. and the I.A.A.A., whose long-standing working relationship had broken down earlier in the year. McGough had competed at a Celtic FC meeting in Belfast under G.A.A. rules two days earlier, winning the two miles and finishing third in the one mile handicap, off 15 yards, in an excellent time of 4:20.0 worth about 4:23 for the full mile. Little did he know that his actions would have consequences, but more on that later. In the international match on July 14th he was teamed with A.M. Matthews in the mile, and the Scottish pair made the pace closely tracked by the Irish runners Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford and George Morphy. This is how it remained until the last lap, when McGough slipped away and looked to have the race sewn up before inexplicably snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. With a terrific sprint, Morphy caught McGough napping just before the finish line and beat him by a foot in 4:33.2. The Glasgow Herald made no bones about it, his defeat was down to bad tactics: “The surprise in Belfast was the defeat of John McGough in the mile. Over-confidence no doubt was to blame, for, however good a runner G.N. Morphy may be, he is not in the same street as the Bellahouston Harrier. All the same, it must be admitted that McGough is not a good performer in scratch races.” This was harsh criticism given that McGough had, within the space of five seasons, accounted for nine Scottish track titles, two Irish titles, three Scotland v Ireland titles, three A.A.A. silver medals and an Olympic silver medal.

McGough subsequently ran a couple of low-key races, winning them all, including a fast mile at the Abercorn F.C. sports in Paisley on July 21st. The Herald: “The best races was the one mile handicap, which John McGough won in 4 min. 25 1-5 sec., which is a very fine performance, considering the size and condition of the track. The S.A.A.A. champion has had a very successful handicap season, it is only in scratch races that he had failed to rise to the eminence of his powers.”

He had a week to sharpen up for the West of Scotland Harriers meeting at Parkhead, where he and George Butterfield, both off 5 yards, were the backmarkers in a specially framed half mile invitation handicap. The crowd was not disappointed when both men, despite the miserable weather, scorched round the track and carved up a good field, Butterfield winning by a yard and a half from McGough. The times were outstanding:1:57.2 to 1:57.4. McGough would have bettered the native record had he run through to the full 880. Be that as it may, by running 875 yards he had, unbeknown to anyone, run the fastest ever 800 metres by a Scot!

Though this was his longest season to date, the good performances just kept on coming. “John McGough”, wrote the Glasgow Herald, “appears to be in irresistable form”. When the W.S.H. meeting continued on the Monday evening, McGough turned out in the pouring rain for the mile and a half handicap. Despite conceding big starts, he caught the last of his rivals at the bell and won with the greatest of ease in 7:00.0. Two days later, in a Wednesday evening meeting at Larkhall, he took the one mile handicap in 4:27. Then, on Saturday 4th August, he put in an appearance at the Glasgow Rangers F.C. sports, held of course at Ibrox Park before 12,000 spectators in unsettled weather. In the final of the half mile handicap, after a close race, he was first off 5 yards and ran on to complete the full distance in 1:59.4. Earlier in the day, in the third heat, he had done the full distance in 2:01.0. When the meeting resumed on the Monday evening, McGough and Butterfield, for a change, kept out of the way of each other. Butterfield, though unplaced, delivered the best performance of the meeting by setting a Scottish all-comers record for the 1000 yards of 2:16.6. McGough, for his part, provided the other highlight in the mile and a half handicap. In his sixth race in just nine days, he finished second in 6:54.6, only two sec. outside his own record for the distance.

The following weekend it was the other half of the Old Firm’s turn to hold their annual sports. Celtic F.C. were, certainly at the time, the mecca of the Scottish athletic world, their meeting drawing together an impressive assemblage of 30,000 people in excellent weather. Wyndham Halswell was the magnet, the Lieutenant duly turning out in three events – the 100 yards, the quarter mile and the half mile. His victory in the 440 yards handicap was the feature of the meeting. In spite of a heavy handicap and the soft track, the “epochmaker”, as he was labelled, won by six yards and lowered his own Scottish native record by six tenths to 49.0 sec. “Halswelle’s 49 sec. here,“ opined the Herald, “is equal to 48 sec. in England, and the magnificence, as well as the significance of the performance can only be appreciated by those who are in a position to contrast the conditions in Glasgow with those in the South of England.” Not to be outdone, McGough produced a tremendous effort in the one mile handicap to get within six yards of catching A.B. Hepburn, who won in 4:20.8 off 115 yards. His time from scratch was a Scottish native record of 4:21.6, clipping two seconds off the former record which had stood to the credit of Hugh Welsh since 1898. Later in the afternoon he again toed the line in a special half mile invitation race against rivals Butterfield and Halswelle. Though he had been given a five-yard start, he was, understandably, running on tired legs, and was just run out of it, Butterfield winning by a foot from Halswelle in two minutes dead. As to his performance in the mile, the Glasgow Herald wrote: “This is his second best public effort, the best being his 4 min. 19 sec. at the A.A.A. Championships last month. We have been expecting a new record from him for some time back; indeed, all his performances since the West Harriers meeting when he did the mile and a half in 7 min., have led up to this brilliant effort, and like every clever article, he keeps the best till last. Being closely associated with the Celtic Football Club, McGough is naturally proud that Parkhead shares with him the glory of the record.” One may ask as to what exactly is meant by “closely associated”? As far as is known, McGough was a follower of Celtic F.C. and gave the club his services as an expert masseur during the winter months when he was not competing.

McGough returned to Parkhead when the Celtic F.C. fixture resumed on the Monday evening and uncorked a powerful finish to claim the one mile handicap from John Lee, Heaton Harriers (25 yards), and arch-nemesis George Butterfield. His winning time of 4:23.2 was, relatively speaking, a superior performance to his record run on the Saturday considering the sodden track. Again, though, he stood in the shadow of Wyndham Halswelle, who showed off his prodigious versatility by running second in the 110 yards sprint and then winning the 1000 yards handicap from scratch in 2:19.0. As the Glasgow Herald put it: “Another light, a little less replendent than the Lieutenant, is John McGough, of the Bellahouston Harriers.“ Although McGough and Halswelle came from very different backgrounds, they had lot in common – they were about the same age, both were Catholic, they shared the experiences of the Athens adventure and came home Olympic medallists, they were the leading lights of Scottish athletics, they were sometime rivals; and, last but not least, they were both coached/advised by former professional miler Jimmy Wilson, the popular trainer of Rangers Football Club.

For McGough, it had been a long five months since embarking on his expedition to Athens, but his season was not over yet. There was still the small matter of defending the British G.P.O. mile title, which he had taken at Putney the year before. To that end, he again had to travel all the way south to London. The 1906 Postal Service sports were held under the auspices of St. Martin’s Harriers at Herne Hill Velodrome on Saturday 15th September. Presumably to make the journey worth his while, McGough competed in three events. He was the virtual scratch man in the half mile, off 5 yards, conceding starts even to the likes of Jack George, a real speed merchant. The South London Harrier had, that year, run superb times of 50.2 sec. for the quarter and 1:57.8 for the half. Inevitably, off 11 yards, George won comfortably. McGough didn’t stand a chance, but completed the half mile by running 5 yards beyond the winning post in a personal best of 1:58.2. Though six tenths of a second inside William Anderson’s Scottish record, the mark did not find its way into the record books of the S.A.A.A., which recognised only native best performances achieved in Scotland. In a mile relay race (won by the Glasgow P.O. team) he ran the half mile in 2:01.8. Finally, he stamped his authority on proceedings in the mile championship of the Postal Service, taking only 4 min. 38.8 sec. to retain the title of “fastest postman in Britain”.

McGough‘s final race of the season on September 26th required that he journey to the other end of the country, having been selected to represent the Rest of Scotland in a match against Scottish Students in Aberdeen to commemorate the quartercentenary of the university. The athletics events were decided on the grass track at King’s College Recreation Ground before a large gathering. In the mile McGough defeated Edinburgh University student A.M. Matthews, his sole opponent, by two yards in 4:30.8. This win was actually one of three by the Bellahouston Harriers, who contributed six points to an 18 points to 12 triumph for the Rest of Scotland team, R. Kitson taking the 220 yards in 24.4 and Jimmy Vallance the quarter mile in 54.2.

The Glasgow Herald encapsulated his 1906 season thus: “Next to Lieutenant Halswelle, there is no more interesting personality in athletics circles than John McGough, of the Bellahouston Harriers. The S.A.A.A. champion is one of ourselves in the sense that he is a product of the Glasgow school of athletics, and that, no doubt, accounts largely for his popularity in and around the city. McGough has had a very successful season – in fact, the most successful in his career. He may have won more prizes last season, but his racing has touched a higher level this season, and that, after all, is the greater accoont than the accumulation of silver plate. His best performance was in the English championships in July, when he ran second to George Butterfield in the mile in 4 min. 19 sec. McGough should have won this race, as at the finish he was comparatively fresh, while the Darlington runner was all out. McGough did the mile at Belfast in 4 min. 20 sec., which is his next best performance; while his Scottish record at the Celtic sports comes next, though possibly it will be remembered long after the others are forgotten owing to the fact that it is enhanced in the official records of the S.A.A.A.“ The naked figures for the season were 14 firsts, 9 seconds and 2 thirds. But, of course, they do not tell the full story.

As hinted at earlier, McGough was inadvertently caught in the maelstrom of Irish political in-fighting during the early part of the season, when he was suspended by the I.A.A.A. for competing in a meeting held under G.A.A. rules in Armagh. Prior to the falling-out, athletes had competed with impunity in the promotions of both governing bodies, and McGough had, perhaps naively, availed himself of this freedom. The spirit of goodwill having evaporated amid the widening rift, he found himself being made an example of. Fortunately, he was later reinstated after arguing that he taken part in the proceedings purely for charitable purposes. As one might imagine, a champion runner like John McGough was a coveted asset and, hence, possibly more eligible for clemency than, say, lesser mortals.

1907 SEASON

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John McGough and James Vallance of Bellahouston Harriers, 1907

McGough kicked off his 1907 season by making an appearance in the I.A.A.A. championships on May 20th at the RDS Showgrounds in Dublin, where his participation might be seen as a conciliatory gesture to the I.A.A.A. after its decision to rehabilitate him several months earlier after he had flouted their rules. Entered as “John McGough, Castleblayney & Bellahouston Harriers” he was unplaced in the half mile, but later turned out to win the mile by inches from George Morphy in 4:48.0. Of course, the opportunity to compete in Dublin also gave him the pretext to represent Castleblayney, where he still had family. The McGoughs, like many an Irish family uprooted by poverty, kept close ties with their ancestral homeland.

As was his usual modus operandi, McGough did several tune-up races prior to the Scottish championships beginning with a 4:27.2 mile in the Bellahouston Harriers meeting at Ibrox Park on June 1st. “The mile flat handicap”, reported the Herald, “witnessed a fine effort from John McGough, who finished second in 4 min. 27 1-5 sec., which on a sodden, heavy track, shows what he might have accomplished under more favourable conditions.” The vagaries of the Scottish climate have always had a major bearing on T&F performances during the summer season, even more so in the days of grass and cinder tracks, which were typically not well drained and, thus, at the mercy of the elements. When the meeting continued on the Monday evening McGough took on George Butterfield in a special one mile match, which, however, was as disappointing as the attendance, McGough winning by 15 yards in 4:36.0 before a mere smattering of spectators. As a result of the low overall attendance, the sports were a financial failure and Bellahouston Harriers incurred a big loss which could have threatened their existence were it not for some new-fangled accounting.

The going was also “extremely sticky” at the Queens Park FC sports on June 15th at Hampden Park where McGough delivered the outstanding performance of the meeting in the one mile handicap losing by just a few inches from scratch in 4:24.8 – a time the Herald’s athletics expert reckoned to be worth around 4 min. 20 sec. in good conditions.

Heavy and blustery conditions again greeted the competitors in the 25th annual Scottish championships held at Powderhall Grounds on June 25th. With the holder Halswelle unable to defend his title in the half mile after picking up a thigh injury in the 220 yards sprint, McGough had no trouble securing his third title in this event in 2:06.8. His winning margin of half a yard over Jimmy Vallance belied the ease with which the victory was accomplished. With William Anderson taking third, Bellahouston Harriers scored an historic 1-2-3 clean sweep. McGough had even less difficulty defending his crown in the mile, which he won by 10 yards from A.M Matthews in 4:34.2. As the Herald put it, “John McGough captured the half and mile events without turning a hair.” By winning his sixth consecutive mile title, he took possession of the 25 guinea challenge cup for this event for the second time. Also celebrating his sixth successive title was hammer thrower Tom Nicholson, who would go on to win the Scottish hammer title an amazing 19 times in a row, in addition to amassing 14 shot put titles.

Scottish hopes in Scoto-Irish International held at Ibrox Park on June 29th in front of 6,000 spectators in fine weather suffered a blow when Wyndham Halswelle pulled out on account of the injury he had sustained at the Scottish championships. The Scottish team without Halswelle was well below strength, and as a upshot of this lost narrowly by 5 points to Ireland’s 6. McGough had been selected to run in both the half mile and the mile, but only took the latter event seriously. The “half” was a tremendously fast race, Ireland’s Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford front-running his way to an impressive victory in an all-comers’ record of 1:57.2. Finishing close behind was Jimmy Vallance, who ran a blinder to clock 1:59.0 for second place. McGough gave up early in the second lap, as did George Morphy, both men evidently saving something for the mile. In the mile, with A.M. Matthews out injured, John Ranken set the pace until a lap from home. Then McGough went to the front and launched a long sprint which took the sting out of Morphy’s finish and carried him to victory by 20 yards. McGough would have been delighted by his fast time of 4:22.2, but perhaps even happier about avenging his defeat by the Irishman in Belfast the year before. Ireland were without a second string since McGough, I.A.A.A. champion, and Scottish champion, had been selected by both sides! “sportsman” had this to say: “McGough did not seem to be more than stretching his legs in the half mile. That was only natural, as, with the mile in view, he wanted to harness his reserve energies for the latter event. He certainly ran a good race over the longer journey, and his sprint at the finish was longer sustained than usual. McGough’s 4 min. 22 1-5 sec. was as smart a bit of running for a mile as he has shown this season.“

McGough’s strong performance in Glasgow again saw him pegged as one of the favourites for the A.A.A. mile championship to be decided on July 6th at the Manchester Athletic Ground in Fallowfield. He was still searching for his first win in this event after finishing second for three straight years. Unfortunately, a strong wind kept down the attendance and a sodden cinder track prevented any new records being accomplished. A field of eight runners faced the starter in the mile. W. Cottrill, of Hallamshire Harriers, led the first lap in 59.8 sec., but soon fell back, having shot his bolt. Then Deakin, of Herne Hill, took command, closely followed by McGough, Butterfield and Lee, and held that position until the end of the third lap. As the bell rung out Lee made his effort early and opened up a gap of three yards, but Butterfield’s strength told over the last furlong into the wind. The Darlington Harrier charged past the Heaton Harrier in the home straight and ran to the tape a winner by 3 ½ yards in 4:22.4, a last quarter of 63 sec. doing all the damage. Behind him, Deakin got up to snatch second place away from Lee by a foot. McGough was run out of it on the last lap, and retired, presumably after having realised the race was a lost cause. The Herald’s analysis: “George Butterfield’s 4 min. 22 2-5 sec. for the mile must be considered in some respects his greatest achievement, and in the light of that fact, which will scarcely be disputed, it is easy to account for the defeat of John McGough, not that the Bellahouston Harrier, up to a certain point, ran indifferently by any means, but the Darlington man happened to excel himself.” In spite of McGough’s failure, Bellahouston Harriers rejoiced in an A.A.A. title courtesy of 32 year old ex-soldier Tom Kirkwood, who retained the shot put title he had won the previous year whilst serving in the Liverpool Scottish Volunteers. Jimmy Vallance also picked up a standard medal after finishing fourth in the half mile in 2:01.0

McGough Stockholm 1907Stockholm, 1907.   Petterson leads

The following weekend McGough made his way down to London and, representing Glasgow G.P.O., comfortably defended his title in the One Mile Championship of the Postal Service at Herne Hill Velodrome, winning by 25 yards from C.S. Read in 4:42.4. By winning the mile championship for the third time in succession, under the rules then in place, the Dewar Challenge Shield was his to keep. Afterwards he ran an excellent race from 15 yards in the one mile handicap, doing about 4:22.4 for 1745 yards, although hampered by a big field.

What happened next is unclear, but it appears that McGough was badly spiked in a low-key race at Liverpool, as a result of which he suffered an injury that impacted the remainder of his campaign for that year. The month of August 1907 was certainly one he would have wanted to forget in a hurry. He was below par for weeks on end and failed to finish a string of races, but to his credit, at least he attempted to honour his engagements. It took until September for the injury to clear up, by which time, however, the British track and field season was effectively over. Keen to get a few races in before hanging up his spikes for the year, he obtained permission from the A.A.A. to run at meetings in Kristiania (Oslo) and Stockholm. His first race was a 5000 metres at Kristiania on September 14th , but misfortune struck and he missed the start owing to the late arrival of his boat. The following day, however, he got to the stadium on time and lined up for the 1500 metres and came home second behind Austrian internationalist Felix Kwieton in 4:22.0. Then it was on to Stockholm for a three-day international meeting where Britain was represented by McGough and three A’s 100 yards champion John Morton (South London Harriers), each competing in three events. Morton was in blinding form, winning the 100 yards in 10.2 sec., the 100 metres in 11.2 sec. and the 150 metres in 16.7 sec. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for McGough in the middle distance events where the standard would have been well within his compass had it not been for the fact that he was still nothing like at his best. In his first outing, a 1500 metres on September 20th, he was beaten into third place, trailing home some 30 yards adrift of the winner, Sweden’s Edward Martin Dahl, in 4:16.8. In the 800 metres on the following day he could finish no higher than fourth, but showed improvement by returning a reasonably good time of 2:01.6. The third day of the meeting saw him finish unplaced in a fast 3000 metres, in which Dahl again stamped his authority on the race with an impressive 8:55.0 clocking. Having enjoyed the sightseeing and the hospitality of his Scandinavian hosts, which would have gone some way to atoning for his underwhelming performances, it was back to Glasgow where the mail was no doubt piling up after his week-long absence.

It had been a season for mixed fortunes for McGough, capped by an impressive victory in the all-important Scotland vs. Ireland fixture in an excellent time just outside his own native record. Other highs were his victory in the I.A.A.A. mile championship and his half/mile double at the Scottish championships, where he took ownership of the mile challenge trophy for the second time after winning the event for the sixth time in a row. The Dewar Challenge Trophy also became his absolute property after winning the British G.P.O. mile title for the third time in as many years. Lows were, of course, his disappointment in the A.A.A. championships and the spiking-related injury which he suffered at Liverpool, ruining the remainder of his season at home and scuppering his chances of setting any records at the August meetings in Glasgow. Consequently, for the first time in several seasons, McGough was not his club’s most successful performer, that particular honour going to Jimmy Vallance. A late-season tour of Scandinavia produced a mixed bag of results, but at least it gave him another taste of international competition, and the chance to end the season on his own terms.


1908 Season

From the outset, the 1908 season was dominated by the Olympic Games which were to be held in London. The 1908 Olympic Games had originally been scheduled to be staged in Italy, but after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906 the overwhelmed Italian government relinquished the right to host the games, whereupon the British stepped into the breach at short notice. Lord Desborough, chairman of the British Olympic Committee and the driving force behind the British effort, persuaded the organisers of the Franco-British Exhibition in London to build a multi-purpose stadium, the largest in the world with a seating capacity of 68,000, at no cost to the B.O.C. in return for three quarters of the ticket and programme sales. The White City Stadium was truly built on a Olympian scale, the giant cinder track measuring just three laps to the mile. The news that Britain would be hosting the Olympic Games in 1908 generated unprecedented home interest across all sports, the competition for the generous allotment of starting places in the track and field events being particularly intense. The S.A.A.A., as one of the regional associations eligible to enter a contingent, arranged for several trials to be held over metric distances at concurrent meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow on June 6th. The “1500 metres S.A.A.A. Olympic Trial” was decided in conjunction with the Bellahouston Harriers sports at Ibrox Park imparting a “dash of novelty” to the programme, although the attendance (1,500) was a little disappointing in view of the fine weather conditions. With just a couple of low-key races under his belt, McGough was raring to go, even if he only had just one opponent in the shape of Sam Stevenson. The Clydesdale Harrier had narrowly beaten McGough in a mile handicap at Wishaw a couple of weeks earlier, but was not expected to trouble the Bellahouston Harrier in a race on level terms. Nevertheless, a spirited contest was witnessed by the diminutive crowd, both men duelling it out through the vast emptiness of Ibrox Park before McGough turned on the speed on the last lap to win by 30 yards in a Scottish record of 4:10.2. For good measure, McGough turned out in the one mile handicap later in the proceedings and produced an excellent run from scratch to get within a yard of Robert Magura, Glenpark Harriers (115 yards), in 4:25.4 – his fastest in over ten months. For these performances McGough was nominated alongside 11 others to wear the British colours in the 1500 metres at the London Olympics.

Olympic Trial, Ibrox 1908Olympic Trial at Ibrox Park in 1908

Picture courtesy Kevin Kelly

On the surface, it looked as if McGough was rounding into form with the Olympics just over a month away, but by the following week it was public knowledge that he was nursing an ankle injury after he pulled out of the Irish championships. Contrary to expectations he turned out in a mile handicap at Saughton on June 17th, but failed to do himself any justice and retired well before the finish. It was the same story at the Queens Park Rangers sports held on June 20th at Hampden Park, where he was unplaced in the one mile handicap. “John McGough,“ wrote the Herald, “was not seen at his best; as a matter of fact, it was obvious to all that he was running under physical disabilities. With the championships so near he should have been resting on Saturday instead of aggravating his infirmities.“ His subsequent absence from the S.A.A.A. championships the following weekend spoke volumes. The injury, reportedly a “weakened tendon achilles”, was evidently worse than first thought and bad enough to seriously derail his Olympic preparations. In his absence, Rob Burton, Berwickshire Harriers, won the S.A.A.A. half mile in 2:02.0 and the old Watsonian Harry Jamieson, Edinburgh University AC, took the mile in 4:33.8.

On July 8th, five days before the heats of the Olympic 1500 metres, the Evening Telegraph revealed that McGough had taken “a quiet week in Ireland with a view to his complete recovery from the minor mishap which prevented his running in the championships.”

Two days prior to the games, McGough finally tested his strapped-up foot and his form by turning out for Scotland at the annual Scoto-Irish contest. The encounter took place at the Scottish National Exhibition Grounds in Saughton, Edinburgh, the Scottish equivalent of the Franco-British Exhibition in London. Features included a sports ground complete with a quarter mile cinder track, which, however, was loose and heavy after recent rainfall. In the mile, the Irish champion Morphy made the mistake of watching McGough rather than Harry Jamieson, who stole a march early on and led by 20 yards at halfway. Neither Morphy nor McGough was able to make up the deficit the lanky Scottish champion, who was no stylist but very effective, winning by 3 yards from Morphy in 4:39.0, who, in turn, was just ahead of McGough. It was no the confidence-building performance he would have hoped for in the run-up to the Olympics but at least he was, for want of a better phrase, back on track.

The qualifying rounds of the 1500 metres were decided on July 14th, the second day of the track and field programme. There were eight heats, and with only the winner advancing to the final. They were unevenly seeded and consequently a string of “big guns” fell at the first post. There was a shock in the very first heat, when reigning champion Jim Lightbody was eliminated. Then, in the second heat, McGough’s great rival George Butterfield was unceremoniously knocked out. In the third heat, the Italian champion Emilio Lunghi failed to progress to the final despite smashing the Olympic record. McGough was next up, drawn in heat 4 alongside Vincent Loney (GB), Harry Coe (USA), Stylianos Dimitriou (GRE) and Joseph Dreher (FRA). The Official Olympic Report noted that McGough’s left ankle was bandaged and that he “set a lively pace until just before the bell“. Handicapped by his injured achilles tendon, however, he was unable to respond when first Loney and then Coe shot past him on the last lap, Loney winning by 3 yards from the American in 4:08.8. A disconsolate McGough trailed home third some 50 yards adrift in 4:16.4 and took no further part in the proceedings.

His outright Scottish 1500 metres record of 4:10.2 was to be short-lived, Arthur Robertson improving it to 4:07.2 in Stockholm in September 1908.

For McGough, it had been a cruel twist of fate to suffer injury at the time of the Olympics because he was back to something like his best within a few weeks of his early exit from the 1500 metres. He had something to prove when he turned in in the Rangers Sport on August 1st, a week after the conclusion of the track and field programme at the White City stadium. The meeting featured a mouth-watering billing that included several Olympic medallists and international stars, attracting a big crowd of 15,000 spectators, who were treated to some excellent sporting fare despite the windy conditions. Emil Voigt, Manchester, the Olympic five miles champion, was sublime in the four miles, winning by 30 yards from another gold medallist, the Scot Arthur Robertson, in an impressive time of 19:40.0. The newly crowned Olympic 400 metres champion Wyndham Halswelle was a whisker outside his own Scottish all-comers’ record in the 300 yards handicap, where he finished second in 31.4 sec. In the 100 yards dash Olympic 100 metres champion Reginald Walker, of the South African Olympic team, took advantage of the wind at his back to clock a brilliant 9.8 sec. in his heat, this being the first ever sub-ten performance witnessed on Scottish soil. The mile handicap saw McGough drawn alongside Olympic 1500 metres silver medallist Harry Wilson, Hallamshire Harriers, and his old adversary George Butterfield on the scratch mark. Unfortunately the starts were too much for even these fine athletes and the race was won by R.S. Sinclair, Glenpark Harriers, who had the limit. McGough was fifth past the post in about 4:28.0 and surprised many, perhaps even himself, by defeating Wilson by several yards. His performance would, no doubt, have elicited mixed emotions – delight that he had beaten the Olympic silver medallist tempered by frustration over his recent tribulations. In the supplementary meeting two days later, he started in two races, devoting his main effort to the half mile, where finished third behind the Olympic 800 metres champion Mel Sheppard (USA) and Butterfield in two minutes dead after pacing Sheppard to a Scottish all-comers’ record of 1:56.0.

McGough concluded his Scottish campaign on August 19th when the represented the S.A.A.A. select in a match against the Irish Americans at the National Exhibition Grounds and was outsprinted by teammate Harry Jamieson in a tactical mile race in which both Scots had the satisfaction of beating the American couple. McGough, it was noted, “whose strong point used to be finishing, could not respond to Jamieson’s challenge.” A topsy turvy season indeed.

1909 SEASON

McGough beats McNicol, 1910

John McGough pips Douglas McNichol for the SAAA Mile in 1910

1909 was to be a relatively quiet year by McGough’s prolific standards, starting relatively late in the season and ending early. This year he was probably less conspicuous by his absence than would usually have been the case, as Scotland was in the grip of a marathon craze, the event having been popularised at the 1908 Olympic Games by Dorando Pietri, the tragic hero who staggered across the line first after a dramatic finale only to be disqualified. Meeting promoters were incorporating marathon races into their programmes, because, due to their novelty appeal and theatrics, they were a sure-fire crowd-puller. For the first time in his career, he went into the S.A.A.A. championships without having run a single race, foregoing even the chance to compete in the Irish championships in late May. The big question was, therefore, whether he had been able to re-capture form he had shown in 1907. In the week preceding the national championships, the Glasgow Herald was hedging its bets as to the outcome of the mile: “If in form John McGough will be a hard nut to crack in the …mile, though in the latter H. Jamieson, the holder, who is now residing in the North of England, will not part with his honour without a desperate struggle. Jamieson has never done the “times” that McGough has to his credit, but the latter went off last season and it is not public property whether he has regained his distinguishing qualities of 1907.” The S.A.A.A. championships were held at Ibrox Park on Jun 26th before a crowd not numbering many more than 3,000, who witnessed one of the best meetings on record as far as keen contests and close finishes were concerned. As was expected, the mile was one of the finest races of the day. McGough was eager to recover his lost laurels after injury had forced him to reliniquish his title to George Watson’s College student Harry Jamieson the year before. The Scotsman takes up the story: ”Ten of the eleven entrants competed, and the excitement began when the last lap was entered on. The holder (Jamieson), McGough, McNicol (Polytechnic Harriers), and T. Welsh were all together. Later it was a duel between Jamieson and McGough. It was a great finish. First Jamieson went to the front, but McGough passed him, and coming down the straight the western man looked a winner, but Jamieson had something in reserve, and, amid great excitement, won a splendid race in the excellent time of 4 mins. 29 1-5 secs.“ There was less than a yard between Jamieson and McGough, with Douglas McNicol and Tom Welsh also beating the standard time of 4 min. 33 sec. By securing second place, McGough was of course assured of selection for the Scoto-Irish contest. The tone of the Glasgow Herald’s commentary was upbeat: “The defeat of John McGough in the mile was a disappointment to his Ibrox admirers, but the fact of him running so well should be some compensation, as it shows that with a little more practice he will get back to his form of two seasons ago.”

Whether or not McGough could rediscover his form of 1907 remained to be seen, but the Herald was not far off the mark in predicting further improvement. A fortnight after the Scottish championships McGough put in an appearance at his club’s annual sports on July 10th at Ibrox Park, where he finished second in the one mile handicap in a season’s best of 4:26.8. His performance was the feature of a fixture somewhat spoiled by inclement weather. “All things considered,” wrote the Herald, “the racing at Ibrox, on Saturday under the auspices of Bellahouston Harriers of John McGough disclosed vivid signs of his old form in the mile.”

Next up was the fourteenth annual encounter between Scotland and Ireland, which took place at the RDS Showgrounds, Ballsbridge, on July 17th before 4,000 spectators. The result was an easy win for Ireland by eight events to three, thanks in no small part to the appearance of the Olympic 200 metres champion John Kerr, an Irish-Canadian, who set an Irish record of 22.2 sec. in the 220 and equalled the existing record of 10.2 sec. in the 100. For Kerr the chance to represent Ireland was, it was said, the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition. McGough, judging by his close Irish ties, may have harboured similar thoughts, but his loyalty to Scotland in the athletic field was unwavering. In the mile race, one of the most competitive events of the contest, McGough came close to securing a point for Scotland. A strong finish disposed of the Irish champion Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford and the Scottish champion Jamieson, but George Morphy, buoyed by a partisan home crowd, overtook him in the home straight and won by a yard in 4:33.6. Both Fairbairn-Crawford and Jamieson failed to finish. Jamieson, whose full name was Henry Tonkinson Jamieson, was born in Edinburgh on November 30 1885. A chartered accountant, he retired from athletics after the Scoto-Irish contest owing to limited opportunities for training. In 1911 he secured an appointment in Canada and lived there until his death in 1983 at the ripe age of 98.

Uncharacteristically, McGough ran only one low-key race during the next three weeks. Perhaps he had decided he needed to conserve his resources, be it to stay injury free or to be at the best of his ability. In any case, his next major race was at the Rangers F.C. sports, held on Saturday August 7th in fine weather and before a full house at Ibrox Park. The meeting featured many outstanding performances, including, notably, a 9.8 sec. by the South African Reginald Walker in the invitation 100 yards handicap and a Scottish all-comers’ record of 13:57.2 in the two miles walk handicap by Ernest Webb, of Herne Hill Harriers. The mile handicap was no less competitive, Eddie Owen, the scratchman, just getting the better of Clydesdale’s Alex McPhee (45 y) and McGough (15 y) in a thrilling contest. The Broughton Harrier, 1908 Olympic five miles silver medallist, was all smiles after notching up a lifetime best of 4:20.2. McGough ran on to complete the full mile in 4:24.0, which, noted the Herald, was his best showing in a couple of seasons. It was on this high note, however, that he decided to end his season. He did not turn out when the meeting resumed on the Monday evening, and so was spared having to see two of his native records erased from the books. No fewer than seven new records were created at this meeting within the space of just two and a half hours, including two native records that had previously stood to McGough’s credit. In the 1000 yards flat race Adam Turnbull, of the Clydesdale Harriers, knocked two fifths of a second off his record figures, while in the mile and a half handicap Arthur Robertson, Broughton Harriers, not only bettered McGough’s native record but also the all-comer’s record with a time of 6:48.4. Records are made to be broken, as they say, and in those days Ibrox was the place to do it. In good weather the Ibrox was, without doubt, one of the fastest tracks in Britain. With one or two exceptions, all Scottish records had been set there.

 1910 SEASON

McGough with SAAA Challenge TrophiesJohn McGough with SAAA Challenge Trophies

In view of McGough’s sparse racing programme in 1909, one could be forgiven for thinking that his enthusiasm was waning, but in fact this was not the case – he still had unfinished business to attend to. Although a little past his prime, his 4:24 mile at the Rangers F.C. sports in August had shown that he was still a force to be reckoned with. The Scottish mile title, which had eluded him for two seasons, would have been firmly in his sights for 1910, especially after the retirement of his recent nemesis Harry Jamieson. Sticking to the light racing schedule he had favoured the previous year, he ran only one race ahead of the S.A.A.A. championships – on June 11th, when he dutifully turned out for his club in its annual sports and finished second in the one mile handicap in 4:29. The star of the show, however, was not McGough, but rather his fellow Bellahouston Harrier Richard Quinn, who strode to a Scottish mile walk record of 6:45.6.

The Scottish championships were held on June 25th at the Powderhall Grounds, which on this day were bathed in brilliant sunshine and promised an equally brilliant afternoon of athletics. Few if any of the events decided that day, however, could rival the mile for sheer show-stopping excitement. The Scottish Referee gives a good account of the race: “The one mile was a mile which recalled those of the late A.E. Tysoe and Hugh Welsh on the same ground, or of Andrew Hannah, W. Robertson , or S. Duffus, or of John McGough himself and Murphy in the ‘National at Belfast. The record-holder of the mile was in spanking form, but he caught a tartar in D.F. McNicol, of the London Polytechnic Harriers., an old Edinburgh lad of Duncan [D.S. Duncan] build and heart, who led the champion in grand style to the tape, which he was only prevented bursting first by McGough’s breast, amid breathless excitement. Many imagined that McNicol had actually won, so close was the finish. McGough had the judges’ just verdict, however. The loser forced too much, and should have waited a little longer before making his effort. Champion McGough regained the honour he last held in 1907, and robbed Edinburgh and holder Jamieson of his title. The winner’s quarter miles were: First, 1 min. 7 2-5 sec.; half mile, 2 min. 20 1-5 sec.; threequarters, 3 min. 30 3-5 sec.; and mile, 4 min. 32 4-5 sec.”

This gutsy victory brought McGough’s tally of S.A.A.A. mile titles to seven, equalling the record number of wins in a single running event held by Andrew Hannah, of Clydesdale Harriers, who amassed seven wins in the 10 miles championship between 1889 and 1896. As can be seen from the splits, the race was a tactical affair and only really came alive in the last quarter. In the past McGough had often let himself down through poor tactical judgment, but on this occasion he timed his effort perfectly to defeat such formidable an opponent as Douglas McNicol. The Polytechnic Harrier, who had been born in Chelsea of Scottish parents in 1885, was a rising force in Scottish athletics and destined the following year to win the prestigious A.A.A. mile championship that had always eluded John McGough.

The team to oppose Ireland in the international athletic contest at Ibrox Park was chosen at the conclusion of the championship gathering in Edinburgh. McGough was selected for the ninth time in as many years, which, in those days at least, was remarkable consistency.

The following week McGough ran third in a mile handicap at Beith, where there was much bumping and barging, and it was reported that he “was twice interfered with …or he might have won”. Nonetheless, his time of about 4:27.2 was a season’s best and stood him in good stead for the match against Ireland in a week’s time. On the Wednesday evening, while McNicol was running a mile a season’s best of 4:25.8 at Stamford Bridge, McGough won the mile in a sports meeting held by St. John’s Young Men’s Catholic A.C. at Ibrox. A devout Catholic, he was, revealed the Glasgow Herald, “the means of establishing this club, and that it is a popular denominational institution goes without saying. It has very large membership, and is on excellent terms with all the athletics clubs in the district.“ Another item in the same paper referred to McGough as “the controlling spirit” of St. John’s Young Men’s Catholic A.C. Over and above his demanding day job, his side job at Celtic, his training regimen and his racing schedule, he evidently still had the time and energy to engage in voluntary work in the local community! Adjectives like “indefatiguable” spring to mind.

The sixteenth annual international athletic contest between Scotland and Ireland took place at Ibrox Park on Saturday July 9th. Only 2,000 spectators turned out in sunshine to witness the struggle for supremacy, which ended in a record win for the Scottish team by nine points to two. The mile race, featuring McGough and McNicol representing Scotland and Frank O’Neill and James Bill representing Ireland, promised to be one of the most competitive races of the afternoon – and it did not disappoint. A punishing early pace proved too much for O’Neill, the Irish four miles champion, who dropped out after about half a mile had been covered, leaving McNicol, Bill and McGough to fight out a thrilling battle on the final lap. The Irish mile champion Bill looked to have the race sewn up 40 yards from home, but then McNicol uncorked an amazing finish, which brought a roar from the crowd and victory in the last strides. Both men were given the same time (4:26.0). McGough, unable to get back on level terms, gave up in the home straight. He, too, would have beaten 4 min. 30 sec., but with only the winner counting, there was no point in continuing.

The following weekend, McGough turned out in the annual meeting of the Ayr Football and Athletic Club at Somerset Park, a popular fixture reckoned by some to be the best provincial meeting in the country. In the one mile handicap, McGough, running from scratch in a field 40 runners, put in some excellent work get up to third place. His time was returned at 4:32.0, which, adjudged the Herald, was “a creditable performance for grass.” His clubmate John Templeman, an up-and-coming talent whom he had conceded 30 yards, won in 4:30.2.

With the start of the football season now just a few weeks away, there were only a few more good competitive opportunities left before the domestic athletics season was over, these being the Rangers FC sports on August 6th, the Edinburgh Northern Harriers sports on August 10th and the Celtic FC sports on August 13th.

The Rangers FC sports once again drew a big crowd of 10,000 spectators, but the conditions weren’t great. A stiff breeze was blowing, and while it helped the sprinters, it was very much against the longer distance runners. The mile race, traditionally one of the centrepiece events, attracted a massive entry of 81. There were in fact 69 runners at the start, which was still a big field for a mile race, but that number decreased to 40 within half a mile as runners with starts were overhauled and dropped out. The backmarkers, Eddie Owen (scratch), Harold Wilson (scratch) and Douglas McNicol (15 yards), all ran disappointingly, and not one of the three finished. McGough, with pride at stake after being conceded 20 yards, went out hard and showed his rivals from England a clean pair off heels. Frank Stoddart West of Scotland Harriers (105 y), was leading by 20 yards on entering the straight, and though McGough made a plucky attempt to pull him in, he ran out of track, there being a “good six yards” between the two at the post, while W.F. Taylor, Bellahouston Harriers (135 y), was a couple of yards behind the Scottish champion. McGough’s time off 20 yards of 4:21.6, worth about 4 min. 25 sec. for the full mile, was his best performance of the season, unfavourable weather conditions notwithstanding.

On the Wednesday evening McGough put in an appearance at the fifteenth Edinburgh Northern Harriers sports at Powderhall Grounds. One of the features of the meeting was the running of Rob Burton in the 1000 yards handicap, the Scottish half mile champion winning with ease from Eddie Owen, with whom he started from scratch, returning an excellent 2:19.0 in windy conditions. The mile handicap was another fine race, in which McGough (15 yards) again faced Douglas McNicol (also 15 yards) and the Broughton Harriers pair of Eddie Owen (scratch) and Bill Scott (30 yards). The Scotsman reports: “The first lap was rattled off in 59 sec. which was a trifle too fast to permit of record-breaking, and at the end of the second the time was 2 mins. 6 secs. At this point all the backmarkers; Owen, Scott, McNicol and McGough, were together and well placed. And so they ran until coming round the first bend for home – the race was run left hand in. First Owen looked like a winner, and then fell back, and next McGough appeared to have an excellent chance, with McNicol dropping back, but well in the straight Scott, who was ahead, put on a spurt, and McGough could not respond and was comfortably beaten, with Scott easing up. Time: 4 mins. 24 secs. Owen’s time off scratch was 4 mins. 25 2-5 secs., and McGough’s for the full mile was 4 mins. 27 secs.” This was another very solid run from McGough, who, though in his thirtieth year, which was well past the usual retirement age in those days, looked like he could go on churning out high-calibre performances ad infinitum. In fact, it was to be the last track race he would finish.

Although he turned out in the one mile handicap at the Celtic FC sports three days later, he did not have the legs to overhaul another big field for the third time in eight days and dropped out. It was, perhaps, not exactly the way he would have wanted to bow out, but bow out he did. The first mention found of his retirement is in an early 1911 edition of the Glasgow Herald, a brief notice/eulogy that reads: “We have the best authority for saying this. John McGough has resolved to retire from the running path, which he has adorned for the last ten years. He feels he has had a full share of the pleasures of the track, and thinks the time has become to make room for others. Mr. McGough has had a wonderfully brilliant career. His first notable success was at the Glasgow Exhibition in 1901, and in 1902 he captured the mile championship, which, with the exception of 1908 and 1909, he has held all these years. Few have done more to raise the tone of the running path than John McGough, who from that and other points of view will always hold a cherished place in the record of amateur athletics in Scotland.”

McGough’s retirement left the way clear for Douglas McNicol, who “ruled the roost”, as it were, for a few seasons. The anglo Scot delivered one of the finest performances of the 1911 S.A.A.A. mile championship, where he front-ran his way to a emphatic 50 yard victory, returning 4:26.4 in heavy conditions. He was, in the opinion of the Herald, a “worthy successor to John McGough, whose record …will take some beating.” After retaining the mile championship in 1912, he was beaten in 1913 by Duncan McPhee, who, in turn, would dominate the event well into the 1920’s.

After his retirement McGough continued to work as a postman until he was appointed to the position of assistant trainer to Bob Davies at Celtic FC, thereby following in the footsteps of many a well-known footracer. His tenure at Celtic ended in 1914, when he went to Manchester to assist Bob Davies with the training of the Manchester United players. After the suspension of league football due to the outbreak of WW1, he returned to his native Ireland and became a farmer in Annagleve. Sadly, there was to be no reunion after the war with his former rivals Wyndham Halswelle, George Butterfield, Douglas McNicol, William D. Anderson, John Ranken and Tom Welsh, all of whom perished in the hostilities.

After his return to Annagleve, he became involved with Gaelic football and was, for example, the masseur of the Cavan G.A.A. team which won the All-Ireland final at the New York Polo Grounds in 1947.

Attempts at his remaining Scottish native records for one, two and three miles would be a feature of athletics meetings throughout the 1920’s. His two miles record held firm until 1927, when Donald McLean lowered it to 9:31.0 at the Maryhill Harriers sports. His mile record withstood all challenges until 1930, when Tommy Riddell improved it to 4:21.0 at the Rangers FC sports. They were still chasing his native three miles record until 1931, 27 years after it was set, then Jimmy Wood knocked four tenths off it in a four miles handicap featuring the great Paavo Nurmi at Ibrox Park.

John McGough was not a wealthy man by any stretch of the imagination, but he was a man of noble spirit and generosity. During the writing of this piece, the gold medal he won in the 1904 S.A.A.A. mile championship came up for sale on ebay. What was remarkable about this medal was the inscription “TO W. LAW”. He had evidently gifted it to clubmate William Law, who in 1904 was an aspiring young sprinter. The gesture must have worked its magic because Law would win his own S.A.A.A. medal, a silver, in the 220 yards final of 1908. Many years later Bellahouston Harriers made a perpetual trophy of a valuable silver cup handed back to them by John McGough. The aptly-named “McGough Trophy” was awarded to the winner of the 17 mile Stewarton to Pollokshaws road race promoted by Bellahouston Harriers between 1943 and 1946.

McGough SAAA Mile Medal 1904

As far as record breaking goes, he was nothing if not prolific. At one time he held every native record from 1000 yards to four miles. The native half mile record eluded him, although his 1:58.2 at Herne Hill in 1906 was, at the time, the fastest on record by a Scottish amateur. As mentioned earlier, records are there to be broken, but it took until 1931 to finally erase his name from the record books. His record of six successive victories in the Scottish mile championship was equalled by Tommy Riddell in 1935 and finally surpassed by Graham Everett when he won his seventh straight title in 1961. However, one record that has never been equalled, let alone broken, is his amazing three titles in one afternoon in the distance events. He was, in view of these rare accomplishments, perhaps a little unlucky to be overshadowed throughout most of his career by the incomparable and utterly brilliant Wyndham Halswelle, who was listed No. 1 in a list of all time greatest Scottish sporting heroes in the Glasgow Herald in an article preceding the 2004 Olympics. John McGough was listed as number 19. He will, though, always hold a special place in the annals of Scottish Olympic history as the first athlete to win an Olympic medal. Regrettably, he is still the only Scot ever to have garnered Olympic honours in a middle distance event. To date, only one other Scot apart from himself has ever appeared in a Olympic final at 800 metres or 1500 metres, that being Frank Clement, fifth in the 1500 metres at Montreal in 1976. Interestingly, Clement also wore the colours of Bellahouston Harriers, albeit not actually at the Olympics like John McGough!

Here is a list of his best performances at each event by year

  800m Half mile 1000 y 1500m Mile 2 miles 3 miles 4 miles
1902         4:32.0e 9:43.4 15:42.4+ 20:43.2e
1903   2:01.6     4:26.6 9:36.4 14:58.0 20:21.8
1904   1:59.6 2:18.6   4:22.2e 9:32.4 14:44.6  
1905   1:59.0 2:18.2   4:24.2 9:37.2 16:18.8 20:06.2
1906 1:57.4 1:58.2   4:12.8m 4:19.2      
1907 2:01.6m 2:06.8   4:16.8m 4:22.2      
1908   2:00.0e   4:10.2m 4:25.4      
1909         4:24.0      
1910         4:27.0      

 Alex would like to thank athletics historian Kevin Kelly for his generous assistance in compiling the profile.

Paddy Cannon

Paddy Cannon 1

Paddy Cannon

The article below is a fascinating account of the life and sporting career of Paddy Cannon, written by Alex Wilson who donated it to us and published in the Track Stats magazine.   Alex has taken a lot of trouble to research the subject and he is the only one from that particular period on this website.   It not only tells us a lot about the man himself but also illustrates and describes an athletics scene that is different from our own but which at its heart is basically the same.

The Career of Paddy Cannon, farm worker, record breaking professional runner, successful football trainer.

By Alex Wilson

The name of Paddy Cannon, alias Peter Cannon, will not be familiar to many today, but in his time he was a very popular figure in his native Scotland and even further afield.   During the 89 years of his life, he created what you might call an enduring legacy by leaving his indelible imprint in the history books, both as a distance runners and as a football coach.   Cannon was of medium build, stood 5’8″ (173cm) and never weighed more than 147lbs (67kg) during his competitive days.   But behind the moustache and unassuming demeanour lurked a ferocious competitor with a burning desire to win – whatever the sport.   In addition to setting two professional world records on the running track, he coached Edinburgh side Hibernian to their last win in the Scottish Cup.

Paddy Cannon first saw the light of day at Raploch, near Stirling, on 14th January 1857, the son of Irish immigrants Peter and Bridget Cannon.   His father was an agricultural labourer who worked on King’s Park Farm.   In those days the farm occupied a sprawling piece of land beneath the craggy outcrop on which Stirling Castle stands.   Today, it’s a golf course.   From an early age he learned to pull his weight on the farm.   Just like any other youth, he played football and enjoyed sports, but never did he imagine that he would make history on the running track and set two world records.   In fact, he was 20 years of age before he realised that he had any talent for running.   It was by mere chance that Paddy Cannon became a runner.

The story has it that in 1877 a Glasgow shoemaker who had settled in Stirling noticed a group of young men in King’s Park.   The shoemaker had been an athletics trainer and, seeking to carve out a new niche for himself in Stirling, persuaded the men to show their paces.   One of these was Paddy Cannon, who, despite being dressed in heavy workboots and corduroys, romped home an easy winner.   The shoemaker was so impressed with what he saw that he arranged for another trial a short time later.   On this occasion he brought along a pair of running shoes for Cannon who, now properly attired,   showed his true ability.    Excited by his discovery, the shoemaker became Cannon’s sponsor and two weeks after the second tryout persuaded Cannon to enter the Strathallan Games at Bridge of Allan.   He ran in the open mile off the 100 yards mark.   there was a huge field but Cannon held his own and but for inexperience would have won.   He was only beaten by a foot and a half into third place behind David Livingstone of Tranent, himself on the cusp of a successful career.   On May 31st 1881, Livingstone would finish second in 53:53.5 to William Cummings in the prestigious “Ten Miles Race for Sir John Astley’s Champion Belt” at Lillie Bridge Grounds, West Brompton.   Cannon’s rookie performance created quite a stir among the local pedestrians.   A week later at Falkirk, he avenged his Strathallan defeat by winning the confined mile for Stirlingshire men, the open mile and the two and three mile handicaps!   This was an extraordinary performance for a novice.   Paddy Cannon would not have been a runner had it not been for the Scottish Highland Games, a millennium old tradition which had enjoyed something of a revival in Scotland with the advent of half-day working on Saturdays and statutory bank holidays.   By the late 1870’s they were a common and highly popular Saturday afternoon pastime.   He was practically invincible in two and three mile races at Highland meetings where he would concede all manner of starts to his opponents and still come out on top   Unfortunately, promoters were rarely particular about track measurement or timekeeping.   All that essentially mattered was finishing order, as this dictated the distribution of prize monies.   many of Cannon’s performances no doubt some very good ones, are therefore unknown.    Not much is known about Cannon’s early career, save that he is said to have run the great William Cummings of Paisley, then world record holder for the mile,  to within a yard in the Bute Highland Games in the early 1880’s.

In 1883, Cannon renewed his rivalry with David Livingston in the Five Miles Championship of Scotland at Arbroath on 15th September.   In a close-run race he finished a yard behind the Tranent runner  who was credited with a time of 24L31.0.   It would have been a world record had the track withstood scrutiny.

Back on the Farm and hard Work to keep Fit

After his early successes, Cannon went back to working on the farm with occasional spells at the saw-mills during the winter, and when the summer came round, he would free himself for the Highland Games season.  However the farm work, as Cannon knew, was hard graft without labour saving mechanisation.   Stacking hay, to mention but one example, was an intensely physical chore before  the advent of hay baling machines.   This was one reason why Cannon was extremely fit despite doing little in the way of specific training.   In fact he was a great believer in the benefits of walking and hard work.    By his own admission he was a hard taskmaster, as demanding of himself as of others, a sentiment echoed by John James Miller in “Scottish Sports and How to Excel in them: a Handbook for Beginners”:   “Punishment”, vowed Paddy Cannon to me on one occasion, “that’s the keynote for distance running efficiency.   That is the mill I had to go through and there’s absolutely no other way.”   Unusually fro the time, Cannon neither drunk nor smoked.   His physical fitness and healthy lifestyle no doubt enabled him to withstand the rigours of weekly competition during the summer Highland Games season.   He usually ran in two events, and sometimes in three, at meetings, racking up the racing miles.   He clearly showed a preference for meetings which promoted both one and two mile events where he could make double money.   In 1885, having been practically unbeatable in Scotland over two miles, Cannon turned his attention further afield.   Pedestrianism was flourishing in Lancashire and Cannon’s sponsors entered him for what was a famous four-mile handicap promoted by Albert Fletcher at the Moorfield Recreation Grounds in Failsworth, near Manchester.   The “All England Sweepstakes” were held on 19th September 1885 and featured a quality field including Arthur Norris of Brentwood and William Cummings, lately of Preston.   Cannon was comparatively unknown in these parts and Cummings was handicapped by 200 yards.   Cannon’s backers couldn’t believe their luck and betted heavily on their man at odds of 4 – 1 against.   The outcome was almost a foregone conclusion: Cannon overhauled the last of the runners to whom he had conceded starts at the halfway mark.   Taking the lead before the three mile mark (c14:40), he ran out an easy winner in 19:28.0 (equivalent to a shade over 20 minutes for the full four miles.)   The backmarkers didn’t stand a chance, and Cummings pulled out early in the race after failing to make any inroads on Cannon’s lead.   Needless to say, Cannon’s jubilant backers went home with a sackful of money.   However, in his defence, Cummings was likely saving himself for an upcoming race at Lillie Bridge that would decide a high-stakes three-race match against Walter George, the ex-amateur champion from Worcester.   If so, the strategy certainly paid off, Cummings easily defeating George by 420 yards in a world record time of 51:06.6 amid claims that George had been poisoned.

Cummings and Cannon seem to have struck up a working relationship after crossing paths at the Failsworth meeting.   A little over a week after Failsworth, Cannon accompanied Cummings to Lillie Bridge for his race against Walter George.   On 3rd October both men appeared in the Mile Handicap at the Edinburgh Royal Gymnasium.   The reporting newspaper noted that Cannon had been “training along with the Scottish champion Cummings.”   The working partnership continued in 1886 when Cannon trained Cummings at Preston in preparation for another series of matches against Walter George over a mile, four miles and ten miles for £200 each.   The first match in the series, a Mile race at Lillie Bridge on 1st August culminated in a victory for George in a phenomenal 4:12 and three quarters – over three seconds below the previous world record held by Cummings, who collapsed (gave up) 100 yards from home.   Cummings levelled the scores by winning, albeit with suspicious ease, the second race over four miles at Preston Pleasure Gardens in 20:12.6 on 11th September, thereby forcing a lucrative decider at Aston Lower Ground, Birmingham, on 2nd October.   This time George had his revenge, setting a hot pave with the avowed intention of running his opponent off his legs.   Indeed he succeeded in breaking Cummings in the third mile, which can be explained by the fact that the first three miles were accomplished in a near-world-record  14:40.2.   Cummings fell increasingly further behind and eventually retired in the sixth mile, having been lapped.   George reached six miles in 30:26.8 but without any opposition to spur him on, slowed thereafter to outside world record pace and was eventually allowed to stop in the ninth mile.   That concluded Cannon’s working partnership with Cummings, even if the consensus was that Walter George was unbeatable.   Cannon had by all accounts done a good job of nursing Cummings through injury and back to peak fitness.   In his mile race against George, Cummings after all had led at the three quarter mile mark in a near-record 3:07 and three quarters, and would probably have beaten his own best time had he finished.

With the matches out of the way, Paddy Cannon and William Cummings went back to being adversaries.   Apart from coaching Cummings, 1886 was a relatively quiet year for Cannon.   He did, however, seize the opportunity to visit his ancestral homeland turning out in the half mile and mile handicaps at the Caledonian Games at the Ball’s Bridge Ground, Dublin, on 13th June.   He was npt in his best form however, and lost both events, coming in third in the half mile in 2:09.5 and second in the mile in 4:41.3.   On to the 1887 season which Cannon began with a bang, winning the two mile handicap at the Broxburn Annual Athletic Games on July 14th, in 9:21.0 – a Scottish professional record  and one of the fastest times to date.   Nine days later, he showed a good turn of speed in the mile handicap at the Edinburgh Royal Gymnasium finishing third off 50 yards in an estimated 4:21.0.   On 8th September 1887, Cannon dispelled any doubts that there might have been over his performance in the

two miles at Broxburn by winning the two mile handicap at the Manchester Royal Jubilee Exhibition Sports, held to commemorate 50 years of Queen Victoria’s reign.   After rushing through the first mile in 4:33.0, the Stirling runner came home in 9:21.5, defeating fellow Scot Joe Newton of Dundee by 150 yards.   Also in September, 1887, and probably in connection with his appearance at the Manchester Exhibition, Cannon competed in the ix Miles Handicap at Failsworth – the scene of his four miles coup two years before.   The field included Will Snook, of Shrewsbury, the former Birchfield Harrier who, as an amateur, was a two-time AAA 10 Miles Champion and two mile world record holder.   In 1886 Snook had been suspended by the Amateur Athletic Association on allegations of roping (not trying to win) un the National Cross Country Championships and banished to the professional ranks.   Snook had recently won a mile race at Leicester in 4:27.8 and so was still a force to be reckoned with .   Details are sparse, save that Cannon was placed at the 110 yards mark and won in 30:46.2 (worth 25:54.7 for five miles), beating Snook by 400 yards.

Three months later Cannon returned to Failsworth Ground to race Arthur Norris of Brentwood in a mile race for a £50 cup and £50.   Norris, a 4:36 miler, had unexpectedly defeated Cummings the previous year and needed only to win to make the cup his absolute property.   He received 40 yards start, thus presenting Cannon with a stiff task.   A crowd of fully 1000 persons watched anxiously as cannon went off at a great pace and caught his man at half way, but he couldn’t break Norris and in the home straight the Brentwood man drew right away to win by eight yards in 4:31.5.    In Cannon’s defence, the Failsworth race came only three weeks after marrying a 22 year old weaver called Annie Mackin at St Mary’s Chapel in Stirling.

Cannon set about preparing for the 1888 season with a new found zeal and strength of purpose his self-professed ambition to set up a professional record for the two miles or any other distance.   Having broken with his previous summer/winter cycle by running at Failsworth in late 1887, Cannon entered the Professional Mile Championship at the recently opened Victoria Park Grounds, Govan, on 21st January 1888.   There were three competitors: himself, William Cummings of Preston and Arthur Norris of Brentwood.   The match was for a sweepstakes of £25-a-side and a challenge cup.   The 50 guinea solid silver cup had been presented by Mr Lewis, a London patron of pedestrianism, and had to be held against all-comers for 18 months.

Defeat by William Cummings for the Mile Championship

Despite the unfavourable weather and a heavy track due to rainfall on the morning of the race, some 3000 persons assembled to witness the event.   Cummings was the favourite at 6 to 4, while odds of 3 to 1 were being offered against Norris and 4 to 1 against Cannon.   Norris received 40 yards start, Cummings and Cannon starting from scratch.   Cannon reeled off the first quarter in 62 seconds with Cummings, playing his usual waiting game, on his shoulder.   At the end of the first lap, Norris still had his handicap having set off at an equally hot pace.   In the second lap, the scratch men pegged back 20 yards on Norris and the half mile was reached in 2:09.5.   Cummings went past Cannon in the third lap and was within 10 yards of Norris when the three-quarter mile post was reached in 3:16.0.   Cummings rushed past Norris on the last lap and sailed up the straight, looking back the easiest of winners by 10 yards in 428.0.   Cannon was second in an estimated 4:30.0, a similar distance in front of Norris.   In February 1888, there was talk of a series of races against William Cummings at two miles, four miles and six miles, each race worth £25 a side.   However, the proposed match fell through, as these kinds of tentative arrangements so often did.   On 14th May 1888, Cannon entered into a three mile match with Robert Hunter of Govan at the Victoria Park Grounds, Govan, conceding Hunter a start of 350 yards.   Nine days earlier, Hunter had run a dead-heat with Cannon in another three mile handicap at teh Vale of Clyde AC sports having received 350 yards start there too.   A close race was again expected though Cannon was still the bookies’ favourite at 6 – 4 on.   The Stirling man went away at such a fast pace that everyone expected him to crack.   However he was in fine fettle and the track was in good condition.   Hunter was overhauled three quarters a mile from home and retired with a lap to go.   Never slackening his pace, Cannon plugged away and broke the tape amid thunderous applause, to find that he had written his name into the record books.   His time of 14:19.5 was fully 16 seconds inside Jack White’s record.   From now on, Peter Cannon would be named in the same breath as Walter George and William Cummings.   Cannon now turned his attention to the two miles record.

The opportunity arose out of a three-way two-mile sweepstake involving himself, Walter George and William Cummings.   Cummings however was forced to withdraw at the eleventh hour owing to a leg injury.   On Saturday, July 28th, 1888, in heavy rain, Cannon finally crossed swords with the great Walter George at the Victoria Park Grounds in Govan.   A close race was anticipated, and given the constellation, a world record was definitely in the air.   Of the two men, George had the faster time, having run 9:17.4 at Stamford Bridge in 1884, but Cannon was the man in form.   Despite the weather, some 3000 spectators turned out to witness the race.   The track was rough and heavy, and a record looked impossible, but the Stirling man was undeterred.   The toss fell to George and he took the inside lane, but shortly after the start, Cannon went to the front and soon left his illustrious opponent far behind.   He was 150 yards ahead at the end of the first mile in 4:33.4, his powerful stride eating up the ground.   Maintaining an electrifying pace, Cannon won easily by 300 yards and brought the house down with a comprehensive victory.   The official timekeeper, Mr Bonar registered 9:12.5 on his watch.   Cannon had therefore missed Bill “Crowcatcher” Lang’s long-standing record by a mere second.   But for a better surface and someone to push him, as James Sanderson had done Bill Lang at Manchester 25 years earlier, the record would have been his.    In return for his efforts, Cannon carried off a mammoth money prize of £300, which surely would have made up for any disappointment he felt at missing the record.   That year, Cannon made another attempt to break the two miles record at the Glasgow Exhibition enclosure on September 8th.   His race was the highlight of an excellent afternoon of sports at the “Highland Gathering” and witnessed by a bumper crowd of upwards of 25,000 spectators.   With a number of runners starting ahead of him, Cannon made his usual fast start, passing the mile post in a blistering 4:32:0   However this effort was too much to sustain; he faded in the closing stages and was left licking his wounds in second place.   Ferguson of Greenock took full advantage of 140 yards start to win a “punishing” race by a good 10 yards in 9:22.4 to Cannon’s estimated 9:25.0.

An attempt on the four mile record and a crowd of 10000 to spur him on

Cannon returned to the Glasgow Exhibition and made his next record attempt in a Four Miles Handicap on Saturday November 3rd 1888.   The world’s best was 19:36.0, accomplished by Jack White, the legendary “Gateshead Clipper” at Hackney Wick on 11th May, 1863.   The weather was raw and uninviting, and not conducive to record breaking but nevertheless a large crowd turned out to watch the professional sports and, in particular, to see Paddy Cannon run.   Eight started, the Stirling man the back marker off scratch and conceding big starts to veterans William “Cutty” Smith of Paisley, and Bob Hunter of Govan.   The task looked impossible for when the men stood on their marks, Smith and Hunter were only 40 yards behind Paddy, with practically a lap in hand.   Nonetheless, Cannon immediately set about pegging back their lead, passing the mile post in 4:48.2, 2 miles in 9:44.0 and 3 miles in 14:45.0.   Entering the last half mile he was only 50 yards down on the leaders, Hunter and Smith and closing rapidly.   In the last lap he finally took the lead but despite a spirited sprint down the straight to win by 12 yards, he missed breaking the world record by 4.2 seconds.   Nonetheless his time of 19:40.2 was a Scottish professional record.   So great was the disappointment among followers of pedestrianism that the Executive of the Glasgow International Exhibition staged a special four mile race against time and arranged to give a valuable prize if he broke the record.   The trial finally came off on the evening of Thursday, November 8th, 1888.   The track, according to “The Scotsman”, “was officially measured and certified … [as] a guarantee to those who look upon Scottish performances as open to question.”   Three well-known runners were entrusted with the task of pacing Cannon – Bob Hunter of Govan, J Ferguson of Greenock and A Arrol of Glasgow – each taking it in turns to draw Cannon out.   the track was specially lit up for the occasion, and at eight o’clock in the presence of 10000 vociferous spectators the race got under way.   there was a high, biting wind blowing throughout the race and having to run alone  did not make Cannon’s task any easier.   All he had to guide him as to his progress was the timekeeper’s call every half mile.   Cannon set off at a quicker pace than five days earlier, passing the mile in 4:22.0 and two miles in 9:37.8.   After the call at two and a half miles (12:06.2), he knew that he had the record within his grasp.   Having covered three miles in 14:34.4, a time only he himself had bettered, Cannon went through three and a quarter miles in 15:47.0 and three and a half miles in 17:002.2 to reach the bell in 8:15.4.   The crowd sensing a new record was imminent, the noise inside the enclosure grew to a deafening pitch as the excitement mounted.   Straining every sinew, Cannon finished with a sprint to stop the clock in 19:25.4.   Finally the record was his!   Not only that, he had neaten the existing mark by fully 10.6 seconds!   His intermediate quarter times from three to four miles were world records too.

Cannon was still hungry for success and, therefore, two world records were not enough.   He would not rest until he had claimed the two, five and six miles figures as well!   Another winter of hard training lay ahead.   On 4th January 1889, Cannon began his quest with an assault on Jack White’s figures for five and six miles at Hampden Park, Glasgow.   He had with him three pace makers – Robert Hunter of Govan, H McDermott of East Calder and Tom Graham of Lanark.   the conditions were not ideal – a cold wind was blowing and the track was soft owing to a recent frost.   When the race got under way at 2:35 pm a large crowd was present to cheer the Stirling man on, with the pace makers organised to draw him out mile by mile.   He shrugged off the adverse conditions and gave it his best, passing the mile in4:45.6, two miles in 9:46.4, three miles in 14:52.0 and four miles in 19:59.4.   However the record was never truly within his grasp that afternoon, and despite efforts by Graham and Hunter to shield him from the wind, Cannon slowed to reach five miles in 25:13.4 – a fine time but well short of the requisite 24:40.0.   Ultimately it was too tall an order, even for a man of his ability.   However a strong closing mile brought him to within 27 seconds of the record, and he breasted the tape in 30:17.0.   Cannon at least had the consolation of setting a new Scottish professional record, eclipsing the previous figures of 30:18.4 set by his great rival, William Cummings during his record-breaking ten miles at Lillie Bridge on 29th September 1885.

From One Highland Games to Another: two in One Day

Following a successful summer campaign, with recent wins at the Strathallan Meeting and in the Great Three Mile Handicap at the Bute Highland Games, Cannon launched yet another attack on the two miles record.   The undertaking took place on the ground of St Mirren FC at Westmarch, Paisley, on the morning of Friday 16th August 1889.   Cannon ran strongly throughout, sprinting the last 200 yards, but again the record eluded him.   the official timekeeper’s watch registered 9:13.0 – 1.5 seconds outside Bill Lang’s mark.   Cannon was said to have remarked on finishing that he could have broken the record had he been pushed.   Most runners would have been satisfied with a good day’s work, but not Paddy Cannon!   Later that afternoon he put in an appearance at the Luss Highland Gathering in the picturesque village of Luss, on the shores of Loch Lomond.   However after his hard work at Paisley, coupled with the fact that he had been over-handicapped, he had to be content with second place in the two mile handicap.   Two weeks later, on 31st August, Cannon competed in the Two Miles Flat Race at the inaugural Highland Games and Sports in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where there was a large Scottish colony, thus ensuring a good attendance.   Cannon was a little off colour, probably because of the long journey over from Scotland, but caught and passed every opponent but one.   Compatriot Tom Graham took full advantage of 145 yards start to win by 30 yards in 9:42.2 to Cannon’s estimated 9:30.0.   For Cannon the nig race of 1889 was only a month away: the One Mile Championship for a sweepstake of £1100 and Mr Lewis’s Silver Championship Cup.   It took place at Victoria Ground, Govan, on Saturday 28th September 1889,   The four competitors who joined in the sweepstakes were William Cummings, Preston, and Peter Cannon, Stirling, both off scratch; George Powell, Wales, 30 yards start and Fred Goodwin, London, 66 yards.   Each man had laid a £25 stake.   Cummings was the holder having won the first race at the same venue twenty months earlier.   An immense crowd of spectators filled the enclosure and the stands, with most interest centring on the mile championship.   In the days preceding the event, the Glasgow Herald had dampened any expectations of a phenomenal time by commenting that the ground “was not a good one” .   Indeed the 352 yard track was heavy and on the day of the race a gusty wind was blowing.   Cannon, reportedly “in capital condition”, was attended on by JM Campbell of Alexandria.   Cumming was the bookies’ favourite on 7-4 on, while odds of 6-4 were being offered against Cannon.   When the race got under way, Powell set off quickly and overhauled Goodwin in the second lap but then retired, suffering from cramp.   Cannon and Cummings ran side by side, and the Stirling man tried earnestly to shake off his opponent, albeit without success.   The first four laps took: 48 and a quarter, 1:41 and three quarters, 2:36.0 and 3:35 respectively, and after Goodwin was passed the race took on an air of inevitably for Cummings was a 52 second quarter miler.   Sure enough when they entered the home straight Cummings pulled out and, amid thunderous cheering, romped home the easiest of winners by six yards, smiling and looking back.   The times were as good as could be expected: 4:28 and three quarters for Cummings and an estimated time of 4:29.9 for Cannon.   Being from nearby Paisley, Cummings was a popular winner.   By retaining the Mile Championship, he not only won the sweepstakes but after the race, Cummings announced his retirement from racing after having already announced his intention to do so.

The Clans Gather in Paris, and the “Great Champions” race at One Mile

In the autumn, Cannon crossed the English Channel to represent his country in the Gathering of the Clans in Paris as part of the Exhibition.   This unique sporting event saw the greatest number of Scots descend on the French capital since the days when the Scots furnished a fighting contingent for the Kings of France in the 16th and 17th centuries.   However, instead of men-at-arms, this particular Scots contingent – some 300 strong – consisted of bagpipers, wrestlers, caber tossers and, of course, athletes.   There were ten entries for the ‘Great Champion One Mile Race’ on Thursday, October 17th, 1889.   They included Will Snook and Joe Hind of Carlisle, but neither man had shown good form that year, and Cannon was the favourite.   The race was not so much fast as controversial, for Cannon was badly fouled by both Snook and Hind in the closing stages and he could only finish third.   However, the stewards ruled in his favour and awarded him the win, much to the displeasure of the English supporters who in turn cried “foul”.   Snook who had been first past the post  was relegated to second, and Hind to third.   the ruling made a great difference to Cannon’s pocket, for the first prize was 50 guineas, a gold vase and the medaillion d’honneur de Paris (Paris Medal of Honour).   In the four mile champion race the next day, Cannon with a point to prove, set off quickly and ultimately ran out an emphatic winner, finishing a quarter of a mile in front of Snook in 20:34 and three quarters.   The French spectators were said to have been awestruck by his running.   For his efforts, Cannon collected 100 guineas and another gold vase and medaillion d’honneur de Paris, making the trip to France a highly profitable venture.

Just as Cannon was at the pinnacle of his career, a leg injury caused him to break down in training.   The injury was so serious that it wrecked the first half of the 1890 season.   A proposed three race match against J Courtney of Portsmouth fell through and tentative plans to go to America and compete against their best professionals also had to be shelved.   The trip to Paris had evidently whetted Cannon’s appetite for racing abroad.     Cannon eventually made a recovery and when he won the two mile handicap at the Glasgow Police Sports in 10th May 1890 he knew he was back on track.   Injury or no injury, Cannon evidently had his mind set on racing in America, and in early June 1890, he sailed out of Glasgow on SS Ethiopia, travelling under his alias, Peter Cannon.   Upon his arrival in New York, Cannon stopped with a friend in Brooklyn and let it be known that he was ready to accept engagements with “any man in America”.   Despite securing the services of MJ Finn of Natick as his manager, Cannon’s search for competition at first proved fruitless.   His main would-be adversaries, Peter Priddy of Pittsburgh and James Grant of Boston were playing hard to get, demanding that he put up $1000.   After failing to secure a match within several weeks of his arrival, a disappointed Cannon was on the verge of returning to Scotland when the Caledonian Club came to the rescue.   Scots accounted for a large share of the immigrant population in North America, and consequently most major cities had their Caledonian Club or a similar organisation, which served to promote the musical, Literary and social heritage  of Scottish culture.   The premier event in the calendar of any Caledonian Club was the annual Scottish Highland Gathering and Games which naturally were similar to those typically held in the Motherland.   And so it was that Cannon participated in the 37th Annual Picnic and Games of the Boston Caledonian Club at Oak Island Grove, Revere Beach on Thursday 28th August 1890.   The club had put up $2000 for professional athletes and a good field was thereby secured, upwards of 15000 spectators paid their admission to watch the event.   the bustling ground was awash with men in kilts and echoed to the sound of bagpipes.

Cannon was entered for the five mile scratch race.   It was the event of the day and had been the principal topic among athletes in the month  leading up to the Gathering.   The Caledonian Club had allocated some $300 to this race alone.   Cannon was up against stiff competition in the shape of James Grant, Boston; Peter Priddy, Pittsburgh; Ed McLellan, Pittsburgh; Dan Burns, Elmira; and Nick Cox, New York.   Grant, the local hero, was tipped to win, having set an American five mile professional record of 25:22.3 at Cambridge, Mass, only three days earlier.    Cannon must have been mortified by his billing as “Peter Cannon, Champion of England”!   Ed McLellan set the pace from the second mile onwards, reaching three miles in 15:49.0, with only Cannon and Priddy for company, and Grant who was suffering from cramp 50 yards in arrears and practically out of the race.   Three and a half miles were dispatched in 18:35.0 and four miles in 21:21.0.   the order remained unchanged until a quarter of a mile from home, when the Pittsburgh duo set about themselves, much to the detriment of Cannon, who lost contact, McLellan producing the better finish  to win by 20 yards in 26:37.5.   Priddy was second and Cannon third.   A newspaper reported that “Cannon was left by the two Americans as if anchored”, but without detracting from what was a respectable performance under the circumstances.   On 1st September, Cannon competed in the five mile race in Philadelphia, PA.   It was the feature event of the annual athletic sports promoted by the Philadelphia Caledonian Club at Rising Sun Park.   A crowd of 5000 “canny Scots” witnessed a close race between Pennsylvania’s own Peter Priddy and Cannon, the former winning in an astounding time of 24:30 which suggested that the track was considerably short.   Only three days later, Cannon was back in action at the 34th Annual Games of the New York Caledonian Club at Jones Wood and Washington Park, New York.   He was entered for the three and five mile scratch races both of which were open to all-comers.   In his first event, the three miles, victory went to Peter Priddy in 15:40, Cannon comin in second before an audience of 10000 ebullient spectators.   The subsequent five mile race provided the most thrilling finish of the day.   British ex-patriot Nick Cox of New York took the lead from the start and set a stiff pace which only Cannon and Priddy were able to match.   Cannon moved to the front half a mile from home and began a long drive but Priddy went right after him and took the lead, both men dropping Cox.   Thus it remained until the finishing straight when Priddy and Cannon engaged in a mad scramble for the line, Priddy winning by inches as both men clocked 26:59.0.   After a week of frenetic activity Cannon concluded his racing tour of America, packed his belongings and bade farewell to the Land of Opportunity.   The 1890 season had been one of mixed fortunes.   Apart from his racing tour of America, the year had marked the birth of Cannon’s first child, John.    Over the next decade, the family would grow to include another four boys and a girl.

Paddy Cannon did not so much retire from professional running as to fade away.   Age was beginning to creep up on him and after the injury-plagued 1890 season his performances began to slip.   Cannon was now at the crossroads. with the responsibilities to think about, his first priority as a parent was to feed and clothe the family.   The money from pedestrianism was a supplement, no more, no less.    His regular income came from working on a farm where he prided himself on being a threshing machine operator although this was generally considered a hazardous job.   Threshing engines were designed for the removal of husks from grain to make flour.   They had various moving mechanical parts and their operators literally risked life and limb.   A contemporary newspaper tells of a woman threshing machine operator who “had her clothing caught in the machinery and one of her legs drawn and dreadfully mangled”.   Another tells of a foreman who “put his hand too far into the beaters while feeding the machine and the beater tore a finger from his hand.”   From 1890 onwards, Cannon confined his competitive outings mainly to weekends and public holidays.   He continued to compete at Highland Meetings for several more seasons and, for a time at least, continued to pull crowds thanks to his undiminished popularity.   He held on to his scratch man status for a while, albeit conceding ever decreasing starts as his biological clocked ticked onwards.   At the Blackford Highland Games on August 10th, 1891, he won the two miles off scratch but had to settle for second to John Taylor of Kirkcaldy in the mile handicap after finding himself unable to make up the handicap of 25 yards on the latter.   On August 27th 1896, Cannon, now in his 40th year, was third in the two mile handicap at the Abernethy Games where, remarkably, he was still the backmarker!

By now however he was generally receiving rather than giving starts and, therefore still enjoying a modicum of success at meetings.   At the Jedburgh Games on July 11th 1896, he competed in three events, winning the ‘Basket and Stone’ race (winning £1), finishing third in the ‘Go as you Please competition’ and winning the two mile handicap (winning £1 10 shillings).

Paddy Cannon 2

An older looking Paddy Cannon dressed in running kit

Two weeks later, at the Kelso Gathering, he had another payday when he finished third in the half mile handicap off 65 yards, third in the two mile race and second in the mile handicap off 75 yards.   The following year Cannon competed at the Strathallan Games in the two mile handicap, which featured Anglo cracks Harry Watkins and Fred Bacon.   He started from the 75 yard mark alongside T Conchie of Shap who provided a turn-up for the books by winning in 9:33.2.   A newspaper described it as a “very punishing race”, adding gallingly that “veteran P Cannon [brought] up the rear.”

One Sporting Career Finishes, Another Opens.

However, little did Paddy Cannon realise that as the curtains were coming down on one great career, another exciting career was about to take off!   In 1896, Cannon took on a job as the groundsman of Hibernian Football Club (Hibs) in Edinburgh.   He enjoyed outdoor work and coming from a Catholic-Irish household, was a loyal Hibs supporter.   It was something of a dream job for Cannon, and would be the beginning of an association that would last for almost half a century.   The family moved to Edinburgh and into a tenement at 9 Lyne Street in the aptly named Canongate district which then had a large Irish population.   Hibs were founded by Irish born football enthusiasts in 1875 and named after the Roman word for Ireland.   Hibs early years were turbulent.   In 1887 they won the Scottish Cup, but the following year they almost went out of business when a number of their best players defected to the newly formed Glasgow Celtic Football Club.   The game wasn’t professional in those days so no money changed hands directly.   However Celtic lured away the Hibs players by offering them businesses such as pubs and shops.   Consequently Hibs struggled to field teams during the following seasons.   Things went from bad to worse when their treasurer emigrated to Canada with a large portion of the club’s funds.   The upshot was that the club went defunct in 1891.   A reformed club called Hibernian Football Club was established in 1892 and acquired a lease on a site at Easter Road which is still their home to this day.   Hibs fortunes took a turn for the better when their committee promoted Paddy Cannon to the post of trainer-groundsman in 1897  thereby enabling the club to draw on Cannon’s experience and knowledge of conditioning for athletic performance.

Cannon put his charges, many of whom were young players, through a new training regimen destined to reap benefits in the longer term.   His training methods were considered innovative and modern in that era and he was highly respected by the Hibs players of the day.   The young Hibs players blossomed under his tutelage, and with club secretary Dan McMichael holding the reins, Hibs reached the final of the Scottish Cup in 1902.   The week before the final, Cannon primed his charges for the big challenge with long walks to Portobello, dominoes at night and a “diet of thick potted-head sandwiches washed down with cups of milky cocoa.”   It was his unique way of fostering good team spirits.   The plan worked perfectly: the Hibs team gelled together to beat Celtic 1-0 in the final, which bizarrely was contested at Celtic’s home ground of Parkhead Stadium.   The following year Hibs won the Scottish League title for the first time in impressive style, amassing 37 points in 22 games to finish six points clear of Dundee FC.   Arguably the period between 1901 and 1903 was the finest in Hibs history when they were concurrent holders of the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Championship Trophy.   Hibs have won the Scottish League Championship three times since then but have never repeated their Scottish Cup victory of 1902.

Of course other clubs were quick to follow the example set by Hibs.   “Levelling the playing field” so to speak.   Hibs would never again reach those lofty heights during the remainder of Cannon’s tenure as their trainer but they performed by and large consistently during this period, save for a bad patch during the First World War and were never once relegated.

Like Father, Like Son: Another Cannon on the Track

Cannon’s son Tom was cast from the same mould as his father and shared his father’s passion for running and football.   Not surprisingly, he also followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a professional runner and later a football trainer at Hibs.   It was probably his son Tom’s running aspirations which induced Paddy to make a sensational comeback on the pedestrian scene in 1918 at the ripe old age of 61.   A nostalgic match over half a mile was arranged between himself and his old adversary William Cummings at Ibrox Park, Glasgow, on August 17th 1918.   Even in old age, Cummings (60) was still the faster of the two men over the short middle distance, winning by 30 yards in 2:49.   Sadly this was to be Cummings last appearance on the running track.   he died the following year in a Glasgow hospital.    At the same Ibrox meeting, Banknock coal miner George McCrae eclipsed William Cummings’ ancient 10 miles record with a time of 50:55.0.   Earlier in the year McCrae had also erased Cannon’s three miles mark of 14:19.5 from the record books with a time of 14:18.6.   George McCrae was, as it were, the “spiritual successor” to Paddy Cannon.   In fact, McCrae was the first Scottish runner since Paddy Cannon’s heyday to be truly worthy of such an epithet.

The following year, Cannon entered the Powderhall Marathon alongside his son Tom.   remarkably, the distance, ten miles, was the farthest he had ever raced!   Of course given his age, he was the limit man with a start of nine laps.   the veteran Hibs trainer tenaciously defended his lead for fully half of the distance but then had to yield to his younger rivals.   He eventually finished fifth, just outside the prize list having covered seven miles in about 52 minutes.   For a man approaching 62 and on a heavy track and in cold conditions, it was a creditable performance.   The new ten miles track record holder McCrae finished eleventh in the handicap but did enough to win the £25 and the challenge cup for the fastest time (53:32.0).   What an occasion it must have been witnessing those two greats of Scottish distance running, Paddy Cannon and George McCrae running in the same race.

PADDY CANNON 63 and son

Paddy Cannon and son Tom

As heart warming as it was to see the old champion back in action after all these years, Paddy Cannon never intended to make more than a brief comeback for the sake of the family album, as it were.    From then on he left all the running to his son Tom who developed into a 4:30 miler and flew the Cannon family flag for several years, winning various Powderhall handicaps over the mile and two miles.   In the early 1920’s, Paddy Cannon retired from active trainer duties and handed over the reins to his son and fellow pedestrian “Di” Christopher of Currie.   However, he remained loyal to Hibs and worked as their groundsman until old age compelled him to give that up too.   He was blessed with a long and healthy life and remained a loyal football and athletics enthusiast until his death in his ninetieth year at City Hospital, Edinburgh, on August 23rd, 1946.   His wife Annie died three weeks after him.   In the late 1920’s a journalist writing in praise of Paddy Cannon created what is actually a fitting epitaph to the man:

“He was a great athlete and a sound trainer, and the pity is that Scotland cannot raise more of Cannon’s kind.”

Paddy Cannon’s Personal Best Performances

Distance Time Venue Date
880 yards 2:09.5e Dublin 13 June 1886
1500m 4:10.5e Edinburgh 23 July 1887
Mile 4:29.9e Govan 28 Sept 1889
2 Miles 9:12.5 Govan 28 July 1888
3 Miles 14:19.5 Govan 14 May 1888
5000m 15:05.2 Glasgow 8 Nov 1888
3.25 Miles 15:47.0 Glasgow 8 Nov 1888
4 Miles 19:25.2 Glasgow 8 Nov 1888
5 Miles 25:13.4 Glasgow 4 Jan 1889
6 Miles 30:17.0 Glasgow 4 Jan 1889

 

Paddy Cannon 4

I hope and think that you will agree that the above comprehensive account of the life and times of a wonderful athlete sheds some well-deserved light on an athletics scene similar to our own but of which too little is known by the present generation.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

WR Seagrove

Seagrove2 

Scotsmen who have run in the Olympic Games are fewer in number than we might like; Scotsmen who have won medals in the Olympic Games are even fewer and further between.  Understanding that, we should maybe be more familiar with those who have done so than we are.   Among those in the second category is WR Seagrove who won two silver medals – one each in the Games of 1920 and 1924, and yet he is almost totally unknown even among those who consider themselves well versed in the sport.   Given the difficulty in getting details of races for a man who raced almost entirely in University athletics in the 1920’s, what follows will be more career highlights with a look at the sport as it was then.

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Seagrove was born and brought up in London and educated at Highgate School which he left in 1917.    Although he won SAAA championships at 880 yards and the Mile, and the AAA’s title in the Mile, he won his Olympic medals in the 3000m team race and was considered to be at his best over two miles.   He also competed over the country and won the annual Oxford v Cambridge match.

William Raymond Seagrove was born on 2nd July 1898.   He was a promising athlete while at school and in 1916 won the 880 yards at the London Schools meeting.  Leaving school in April 1917, he served in the Army as a lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment  during World War 1.   After demob he attended Clare College, Cambridge and his athletics flourished.

Fifth in the AAA’s mile in 1920 but better known for his running over longer distances, he was selected for the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp as a member of the 3000m team.   The Games were held in Belgium, in Antwerp, where he finished sixth and with team mates Albert Hill and Joe Blewitt he won silver for the team race.   The race was held on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August.   In the heats on Saturday, Britain won the first heat from Sweden and there were five GB runners forward including Duncan McPhee who was second.   France won the second heat from the USA – only two teams finished this race.   On Sunday in the final, Blewitt was fifth, Albert Hill was seventh, Seagrove was ninth and James Hatton was tenth.   Duncan McPhee did not finish.   With only the first three scoring, Seagrove won his medal.   Sweden, France and Italy in that order made up the field in the team race.

Line up at the start of the 1920 Olympic 5000m : Seagrove second from the right, Nurmi on the left

1920 OG 5000m start Le Miroir Sport

Before competing in the 3000m team event, Seagrove had already run in heat and final of the 5000m on Monday, 16th and Tuesday,17th August.   Running in Heat Three, he finished third in an interesting race – first was Carlo Speroni (Italy) in 15:27.6, second was Paavo Nurmi (Finland) in 15:33.0, third was Seagrove in 15:33.6.    The result in the final was:

1.   J Guillemot (France) in 14:55.6,    2.   Nurmi 15:00.0,   3.   Eric Backman (Sweden) 15:13,   4.  T Koskenniemi (Finland)  15:17,   5.   Joe Blewitt (GB)  15:19;   6.   W Seagrove  15:21.0,   7.   C Speroni .   There were 13 finishers.   It is daunting to think of  four Olympic races within seven days.

There is film on youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3rwH5ddNkU ) purportedly of the 1920 Olympic 5000m final but according to the programmes and photographs taken, the shirts and the numbers on them do not match (eg Nurmi and Guillemot both wore dark blue shirts).   The ‘Glasgow Herald report on the race read: “The three Americans jumped to the lead at the start, with Blewitt and Seagrove following close behind, together with Guillemot.   In the third lap the Italian Speroni took the lead.   After the first mile Nurmi (Finland) took the lead followed by Guillemot, Seagrove and Blewitt 50 yards behind.   A mile from home Nurmi and Guillemot were leading by 100 yards from Koskennieme, while Blewitt was sixth.   When 200 yards behind the leaders Seagrove stopped.   The Frenchman and the Finn continued to hold the lead until the last 200 yards.   Guillemot sprinted and won by 20 yards in 14 min 55 3-5th sec.”

1920 OG 5000m Le Miroir Sport

1920 Olympic 5000m final:   Seagrove third from right. 

Seagrove was also a cross-country runner and in December 1920 took part in an interesting race.   Oxford & Cambridge had travelled to America in May 1920 for  a match against Cornell and Yale.   The genesis of the race as well as coverage of it is described in an OUCC Old Members Newsletter of February, 2007.   I quote:

“On their return home, the Oxford captain (Evelyn Montague of Magdalen) raised the possibility of inviting the Cornell cross-country team to a race in England with his counterpart, William Seagrove of Clare. Seagrove put the proposal to his committee and the response was positive, although, as he pointed out to Montague, Cambridge “could not undertake any financial responsibility.”  With an agreement in principle, the two captains wrote formally to Cornell to invite them to a race between a combined Oxbridge team.   Later that summer, on receiving Cornell’s acceptance, the two set about finalising the arrangements.

 Montague and Seagrove then consulted Cornell on the date of the race and the size of the teams: “As regard numbers, we would suggest seven a side to run and five to count, but if you would prefer to bring a smaller team, we should be delighted to fall in with any alteration you may suggest. As regards the date, we would like to leave that point entirely to you to settle as is most convenient for yourselves. The Thames H. & H. can let us have the course any time in December. We would suggest however, that other things being equal, we would prefer the match to be as early in December as is convenient to you, as this will interfere less with the reading work which undergraduates at English universities have to get through during the vacation.” 

The original date had to be altered to allow the Americans time to get used to English cross-country courses – they differed substantially from those found in America. Water crossings and ploughed land were both a novelty. 

Oxford/Cambridge won with 26 points to 29, Seagrove finishing in seventh to give the home team four in the first seven and with seven to run and four to count over the seven and a half miles trail.   The article in full can be found at http://www.ouccc-oldmembers.co.uk/OUCCC_OldMembers_Newsletter_Feb2007.pdf

Seagrove 1926

A Commemoration Day at Trinity College, 1926

In winter 1921 Seagrove won the annual Cambridge v Oxford challenge cross-country race. The ‘Varsity race was a very important one: such indeed was its sign ificance that  Cambridge had automatically awarded  the first Cambridge man home a full Blue.   (In 1922 Seagrove won the ‘Varsity Three Miles on the track).    Like all good athletes at these universities, he competed for the Achilles Club.   They had what they called the Transatlantic Series – matches against Harvard and Yale held every two years – in England, then two years later in USA, then two years later back in England, etc.   These had been going on since 1894, pre-dating the Olympics.  In 1920 the venue for the match was in Harvard.   On 23rd July, 1921, Seagrove competed over the Mile at Harvard Stadium where he finished second.   The reports on the event showed a marked contrast depending on which side of the Atlantic you found yourself.     The New York Times  version started:   “BRITISH ATHLETES BOW TO AMERICANS; Harvard/Yale team wins eight of ten events from Oxford/Cambridge team; Gourdin leaps to record Negro wearer of crimson; RUDD WINS QUARTER-MILE RUN;  Milke run, won by Stallard gives Britons their only other point; — Six Meet Figures Beaten; Gourdin a Double Victor; Like a shot from a gun.   Rudd clips record; BRITISH ATHLETES BOW TO THE AMERICANS;   ….”  and so on.   The Glasgow report read:

“Under splendid skies with the stars and stripes and the union jack fluttering in the breeze, a large gay crowd this afternoon at the Harvard Stadium witnessed the Yale and Harvard track representatives defeat the Oxford and Cambridge representatives in competitions in what is claimed to be a new world record and several other records at meets between combined university teams.”   Despite the defeat it was a very good Achilles  team with Bevil Rudd winning the quarter-mile and Hyla Stallard the Mile.

1924 was probably Seagrove’s best year.   He won the SAAA mile on 14th June  defeating young Tom Riddell in 4:29.6.   “The Glenalmond master and old Cantab’ won by eight yards.   In the AAA’s at the White City one week later he won the Mile by only three yards in 4:21.2 from HA Johnston of Herne Hill AC while Hyla Stallard ran in, and won, the 880 yards in 1:54.6.     Since it was Olympic year, there was no Triangular International between Scotland, Ireland and England but, no matter, Seagrove was bound for Paris where 44 nations competed against each other.

In the Olympics of 1924, Seagrove ran in only one event – the 3000m team race.   The heats were on Friday, 11th July and the final on Sunday, 13th.   Seagrove (9th) was fourth Briton in the heats behind Walter Porter (3rd), Herbert Johnston (5th) and Bertram MacDonald (6th).   The Finnish team of Nurmi, Ritola and Tala was first in their heat with their men in first, second and third.   The final was won by Finland with their counting runners being Nurmi first, Ritola second and Katz fifth.   The British runners were MacDonald third, Johnston fourth, George Webber seventh, Porter tenth,  Arthur Clark eleventh and Seagrove sixteenth.   If Nurmi was the athlete of the Games, Eric Liddell with his 400m victory and 200m bronze was not far behind.

Having graduated from University, Seagrove was a master at Glenalmond School in Perthshire where he no doubt encouraged the sport of athletics – it is known that there were matches between the Atalanta Club (made up of students from the four ancient Scottish Universities) and Glenalmond with the older runners making generous allowances to the schoolboys.

He was not finished with serious competition yet though and in June 1926 he won the SAAA half mile championship.   He won by three yards from Tom Riddell in 1:58.2 which was a new championship best time.   He also competed in the Mile where he was noted among the ‘also ran’ contingent.   This time there was a triangular international where Seagrove finished second to CR Griffiths of England in the half mile.   Leaving Glenalmond to found a prep school in Seaford in Sussex where he was headmaster and mathematics master.   Interestingly enough he competed for the Scottish universities Atalanta Club on 11th July, 1927, against English Universities other than Oxford and Cambridge.   He is reported to have run as Achilles in the half mile but the report states that he was running for Atalanta.   In addition he ran the first stage of the medley relay (the half mile leg) for Atalanta.

Like many university men of his day, he stopped running fairly suddenly and led a varied life thereafter.   He ran the Normansal School choir, introduced boys to opera and organised annual visits to the Vienna Boys Choir concerts in Brighton.   He was master of ceremonies and umpire at the annual sports day: eight-year-olds competed in pole vault, long jump, shot as well as the usual events.  Long distance running was encouraged.   The connection with his old University was maintained and in 1938 he had the honour of giving the speech at the Annual Dinner of the Achilles Club.   It is clear from the above that the world of athletics as experienced by Seagrove was vastly different from that of many athletes of the time and almost totally unrecognisable to modern athletes.

He himself was also an accomplished pianist and violinist.   He died on 5th June, 1980 in Seaford, Sussex at the age of 81.

Charles B Mein

Charles B MeinCH Mein

CB Mein was a very good half-miler who won the SAAA 880 yards championship in 1925, with runner-up medals in 1922 and 1924 and a third place in 1923, he ran in the triangular international for both Ireland and Scotland, and set a Scottish record for the distance of 1:57.8 in 1925.   And that was all after service in the First World War.   A very interesting man whose career should be better known.    The following profile was done with much assistance from Alex Wilson. 

Charles Benjamin Mein was born in Newington, Edinburgh, on 12th March, 1898.   He was the second son of second son of Henry Renton Mein, draper, 7 Great King Street, Edinburgh and the grandson of Sir Robert Cranston, prominent Edinburgh Councillor and Brigadier General of The Royal Scots during WW1.   Like his contemporary and sometime rival Harry Maingay he was born into a fairly well-off family – the family owned  Renton’s Drapery, a large retail drapery business with premises in Princes Street (now, in 2015, the site of an H&M store) and he was educated at Stewart’s College before entering Trinity College, Dublin, in 1915.   This was right in the middle of the first war and he joined 12th Regiment Royal Scots Fusiliers as a 2nd Lieut. in early 1917.   Here he came under the command of his grandfather, who as Brigadier General Cranston was instrumental in forming the RSF.   He was promoted to Lieutentant in 1918.   Shortly after enlisting he saw frontline action as an infantryman at the Battle of Arras.    Alex Wilson, who provided much of the information for this profile sent this link to an account of the battle.

  www.theroyalscots.co.uk/page/arras-april-may-1917

Charles was shot and knocked unconscious on the final advance to Ypres in 1918. It was a lucky bullet though because it did not cause serious injury and he was invalided home.

The Royal Scots at Arras, 1917Royal Scots leaving the trenches at Arras, 1917.

Photograph from Alex Wilson

After the War, he resumed studies in Dublin.   He also resumed athletics and was named Captain of Dublin University Harriers AC.   In the first post-war inter-varsity meeting in Dublin Charles won the half mile and finished 3rd in mile.   In 1920 he won the Irish (I.A.A.A.) half mile championship.   The ‘Irish Times’ reported that “Mein, the Dublin University Harrier, created a rare surprise by outstaying the Birchfield Harrier in the half mile, which he won after a splendid finish“   In the first post-war triangular international at Crewe in 1920 he represented Ireland.   When he graduated from Dublin University with a B.A. in 1921, he became an F.F.A. (Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries) and lectured on actuarial mathematics at Edinburgh University.   He joined up with Edinburgh Harriers in 1921 and became one of their joint secretaries.   Sporting talent seemed to be a family trait: his younger brother Robert Stanley Mein also competed for Edinburgh Harriers and came third in the 1926 SAAA 440 yards championship.

In 1920 his athletics seemed to be split between Ireland and Scotland – three in Ireland up to the end of May and three in Scotland in July with a run for Ireland in the Triangular International at Crewe at the start of July.   The three races that he ran in in Ireland were all in Dublin – on 6th May he ran in a half mile, which he won in 2:05.2, and a Mile in which he was third in an estimated 4:55.0, then on 24th of the same month he won the IAAA half mile championship in 2:06.8.   This gained him selection for the three-way international at Crewe on 10th July in which he was unplaced.   His first race after coming to Scotland was in an 880 yards handicap on 17th July at Powderhall in which he was third in an estimated 2:01.0 off a 5 yard handicap.   A week later at Craiglockhart he was fourth in a handicap 880 yards, again from a 5 yard handicap mark.   And finally for 1920 at the Sports organised jointly by Hearts FC and Edinburgh Harriers, he was third.   The Glasgow Herald commented on this one that, “CB Mein of Dublin University was a competitor in the half mile, but again he had to be content with third place.”   The race was won by J Jackson of Edinburgh Southern Harriers off 52 yards.

In the national championships on 21st June 1921 he ran in the half-mile but was unplaced, but then for a man who seemed to like racing, he had not competed in any of the meetings held earlier in June, such as Queen’s Park FC, the West of Scotland meeting or the Heart of Midlothian meeting in Edinburgh.   He doesn’t seem to have competed seriously in 1921 – largely because of the importance placed on the final university examinations but by the following year he was clearly back to his best running.

In 1922 he won his first SAAA championship medal – a silver one – to go with his Irish gold.   One of the classic meetings in the athletics year was that of Queen’s Park FC and it seemed to be a favourite of Mein’s.  On 3rd June, 1922 he ran there and the report reported that Eric Liddell might have won the relay for Edinburgh but for the fine half mile by D McPhee for Glasgow who started 15 yards behind CB Mein of Edinburgh and finished was two yards in front, “the Edinburgh harrier being harassed by the strong adverse wind in the straight.”   Continuing his preparation for the championships, Mein ran in the 880 yards at the joint Hibernian FC and Edinburgh Harriers meeting on 17th June, finishing third off 25 yards, behind D McCrae (Maryhill, 42 yards), and T Flanagan (Shettleston, 52 yards).    In the championship the following week, held at Powderhall, Mein finished second to  Duncan McPhee in an estimated 2:03.6 and this earned him selection for the International at Hampden where, running for Scotland this time, he was again out of the medals.   The race was won by Edgar Mountain in 2:01.0 of England and the results included CB Mein and his fellow Scot JCS Ponsford among the four ‘also rans’.

 Back in action at the Rangers Sports on 5th August, off 22 yards he was third in the invitation half mile behind Morrison and McCrae of Maryhill (30 and 40 yards respectively) with the race being won in 1:54 4-5th sec.   There were three yards between first and second, and a similar distance between second and third.   There being no invitation half mile or relay, he was not present at the Celtic FC Sports the following week.   The season was to all intents and purposes finished.

In 1923 on 2nd June CB Mein was again in action at Hampden in the Queen’s Park Sports and running in the inter-city relay.   Edinburgh was beaten by Glasgow and Mein faced Duncan McPhee on the half mile. stage.   With Eric Liddell running only a furlong, the Edinburgh team was beaten by six yards.   On the Saturday before the championships (16th June), Mein turned out in the joint Hibernian FC and Edinburgh Harriers Sports in the 880 yards off 15 yards to Charlie Freshwater (Clydesdale Harriers, 35 yards) who won in 2:01 with Duncan McPhee out of the prizes.   In the championship itself, held at Parkhead, McPhee won in 2:01 from CS Brown with CB Mein in third place.    Mein’s time was estimated at 2:01.8 and all three were selected for the Irish International.   The following week, he favoured neither the Glasgow Police Sports nor the joint meeting in Edinburgh.   He did turn out in mid-July (11th) at West Meadows  in both 440 yards and 880 yards, winning both in times of 53.8 seconds and 2:06.0.

 The triangular contest between Scotland, Ireland and England was on the 14th July and although selected as half mile reserve he did not actually run.

1924 would be another good year for Mein and it was the year in which the Scottish Board of Control recognising his record over the half-mile distance, made him a scratch man for the purposes of handicap racing.   It maybe made life a bit more difficult for prize-winning purposes but was a mark of the progress that he had undoubtedly been making as a runner and of the esteem in which he was held.   He started the season at Daniel Stewart’s College Sports at Inverleith in Edinburgh by winning the open mile handicap in 4:37.4, running off 65 yards he had overtaken the field by the end of the second lap.   He also ran 2:04.8 half mile from scratch at the same meeting.     The Queen’s Park FC meeting was held on 7th June and the club had organised the ‘Olympic Trials’ as an addition to the programme – however they turned out to be almost a fiasco because of the “absence of such prominent runners as EH Liddell, WR Milligan, CB Mein, A Valentine and Duncan McPhee.”    

The SAAA Championships in 1924 were held on 14th June at Hampden Park.   Two of those named above as by-passing the race at Queen’s Park Sports lined up in the half-mile and the finishing order was 1.   D McCrae (2:00.8), 2.  CB Mein;  3.  WR Milligan.   Mein’s time was estimated at 2:2:01.4.   At the very end of June there was an 880 at West Meadows which he won in 2:05.0.   On 12th July, in a half-mile from scratch he was beaten by JF Donaldson (off 58 yards) in 2:01.5 at the Edinburgh Inter-Works Meeting at Craiglockhart.   Just four days later, he ran in the Mile Medley Relay at Inverleith as part of the winning team but the following day he was chosen as part of a Scottish team to meet Canada at Cappielow, the Greenock Morton FC ground.

Mein was part of a three man group of Scottish half milers who were sent to the AAA’s championships that year – Duncan McPhee and Donald Macrae being the others.   Mein ran 1:59.2 to finish second , three yards behind Cecil Griffiths, the holder, in the first of four heats but with only six going through to the final, the four heat winners and the two fastest losers, he  was unlucky not to make the final.   He did however get a AAA’s standard medal.

The other representative in the half-mile against Canada was Donald Macrae, and Mein was also listed as a reserve for the Medley Relay.   Mein represented Scotland in the half mile in international against the Canadians at Cappielow on 26.07.1924.    1924 was Olympic year and in consequence there was no Irish or triangular international but the Canadian match was a more than adequate substitute!   Scoring in the international was by the simple method of comparing the number of victories by each country.   Canada won by five events to four, but the outstanding Scot was Eric Liddell who ran in the 100, the 440 (which he won easily) and the relay.   Mein did his bit by winning the 880 yards from Macrae  in Second in 2:04.1 but Macrae was the chosen half-miler for the one mile relay  which was won by Scotland.   He finished off his season at a midweek meeting at Ibrox on 6th August where he was second in the 880 yards in an estimated 2:00.2 off 20 yards.

CB Mein winning a handicapMein winning the mile handicap at Stewart’s College in 1924

He started the 1925 season a bit later than usual with a double win at Goldenacre  on 2nd June – a 440 yards in 54.6 and an 880 yards in 2:14.5.   Neither of those would stretch him but he returned to serious competition at the end of that same week.   On 6th June, he returned to the QPFC Sports at Hampden as part of an Edinburgh team that not only won, but also set a new record for the mile medley relay.   The report read:   “Glasgow’s chance was hopeless here from the completion of the first section as CB Mein defeated RB McIntyre by three yards and FB Wardlaw and AF Clarke gave so little away in the two furlongs that Macrae, the Glasgow man, was asked to concede a yard to Liddell when the quarter was entered upon.   McIntyre’s failure was unexpected in view of his recent good form, but he had run previously in the invitation half which he won in comparatively slow time, and apparently this effort had taken too much out of him.   At least Mein had no difficulty in shaking off his challenge when the pair settled down to race.”    The winning time was 3:30.8 – 0.2 better than the previous best set by Edinburgh University in 1922.

But on 20th June, when the Glasgow Police Sports were a great success before a big crowd in good weather, Mein chose to run at Powderhall at an Edinburgh Southern Harriers Meeting, He set a new Scottish record.  “Further distinction was lent to the meeting by the creation of a new record, CB Mein cutting three-fifths off the previous best native time for the half-mile. ”     He ran 1:57.8 from scratch and finished second.    Alex Wilson comments: “Mein broke the Scottish native record jointly held by R Burton and J T Souttar. It stood until 16.08.1932 when it was broken by Bobby Graham and Walter Calderwood at Helenvale (both 1:55.8)”    Four days later  –  his third race in eight days – he won the East District half-mile championship, which was included in the programme of the Edinburgh Pharmacy Sports,  in 2:06.4 at Powderhall.    In the East District Relay Championships. Mein gave his side a good lead on the opening half mile leg in the mile relay, but with Eric Liddell on the final leg, EUAC romped home by six yards from Edinburgh Northern and Edinburgh Harriers.

Then just three days later – 27th June, 1925 – in the SAAA Championships at Hampden, he won the national title.   The ‘Glasgow Herald’ report read:

“In the half-mile Donald Macrae, the holder, was never prominent and the real fight was between CB Mein and RB McIntyre.   The west man set a pace at the bell which he was not able to maintain and passing the stand it was clear to see that Mein had the race in hand.   He passed the tape in 2 min 3-5th sec, six yards ahead of WH Graham, the Inter-University champion, who came  with a fine burst of speed in the finishing straight to deprive McIntyre of second place.   It was the best race Graham has done in public and he was timed as doing 2 min 2 sec.”   Mein and Graham were both selected for the triangular match on 12th July but they did not run well and were both unplaced.

His first race in July however was in the joint meeting with Heart of Midlothian where he won his heat of the half-mile (2:03.2) and then did not run in the final because ‘he did not feel well enough to run again’.   His last race of the year was the triangular contest on 12th July, mentioned above, and he missed subsequent meetings such as the Rangers Sports and the Celtic Sports that he had previously attended.

It had been a superb season for the man who served in the War, saw active service and collected an enemy bullet before he was 20 years old; who then resumed his studies, ran internationally for Ireland and Scotland, and who in 1925 set a Scottish record for the half mile, won the SAAA championship and won the international against Canada.

He had also crammed a series of races into a very short period that encompassed his record and title races, and 1926 was to see little if any let up from that furious competition.   He started on 2nd June at Inverleith in Edinburgh, as he had done two years earlier, by winning the half-mile in 2:10.4 before heading to Hampden on the 5th June for the Queen’s Park FC Sports.   Mein had dropped out of the inter-city relay due to stitch and he was ‘clearly defeated’ on the first stage of the relay by Tom Riddell who had been second in the invitation 880.   Three days later it was back to Goldenacre where he won the 440 and 880 in 53.5 seconds and 2:13.2   –  four races in seven days.   On 12th June he ran in the half-mile at Corstorphine Sports, making it five races in ten days, but perhaps unsurprisingly was unplaced in the handicap.

On On Tuesday, 15th June, the first Eastern District Championships were held at Powderhall and Mein was the winner of the half-mile again in 2:06.8.   A District title sounds good but there were only two runners forward for the 880 and Mein won ‘by fully 25 yards’.   But to use a modern expression, there was a new kid on the block in Edinburgh and Scotland as far as half-miling was concerned and that was Hugh Maingay who had arrived a Edinburgh University.   In the East District championship medley relay, Maingay was reported as having held his own with Mein on the opening leg, with  Edinburgh University AC winning comfortablyOn 23rd June, 1926, at the Edinburgh Pharmacy AC meeting, Mein gave Edinburgh Harriers a good lead on the opening leg over D McCrae (Motherwell) and H Maingay (EUAC) but it was not good enough and the University squad emerged triumphant with Maryhill Harriers second.   The SAAA Championships were held at the end of the week at Hampden on 26th June and Mein was entered in the half-mile.   The result was a win for WR SEagrove from Tom Riddell.   The defending champion, Mein, ‘was never concerned with the issue’ and actually gave up 20 yards from the finish.   The following Tuesday however, he ran in his club’s own meeting and won the half mile race in 2:05.0.

The meeting was a contest between his club, Edinburgh Harriers, and Edinburgh Southern Harriers, Edinburgh Northern Harriers and Heriot’s Cross-Country team.   Edinburgh Harriers was the oldest club in the capital, having been founded in 1885, second only to Clydesdale Harriers as Scotland’s first open athletics club, but it was not the only club in the area by a long chalk and in the long term Edinburgh Southern retained their identity longest as a separate club.   After a series of mergers, several clubs (Braidburn, Edinburgh Eastern and others) linked together to form Edinburgh AC in 1962.   In the twenty first century, both EAC and ESH linked up to form City of Edinburgh.   When Mein was running however the battle was between ESH and EH for strongest club in the city.

The selectors had chosen WR Seagrove and DG Love to represent Scotland in the half mile at the triangular contest 10th July, with Mein as reserve.  Seagrove finished second but neither Love nor Mein turned out – the second string for Scotland was the unplaced WH Graham.

1926 was Mein’s last season competitive season.  He had had a good career and done well in and for the sport but like many good athletes, he stayed on in the sport as an official.   This led to his ‘last season’ being not quite his last season.

The following year, on 4th June, acting as an official at the Queen’s Park FC meeting at Hampden Park, he stood in for the absent Hugh Maingay in the inter-city relay race.   The report spoke of the disappointment at the withdrawal of HC Maingay from the Edinburgh team, and said “CB Mein who sportingly stepped into the vacancy, was obviously not fit and accordingly quite unable to hold RB McIntyre who ran the half for Glasgow.”   He couldn’t have been too unfit as the race was only won by 12 yards.

What happened next?   Alex Wilson tells us that Mein subsequently moved south to York and took up an actuarial post at the Yorkshire Insurance Company, where he remained until his retirement.   He died in York in 1967 after a long battle with abdominal illness.

 

 

Hugh C Maingay

Hugh C Maingay

Hugh C Maingay was born in Scarborough in 1906, graduated in medicine at Edinburgh University in 1930 and died in Norwich in September 2001.   His obituary says:

He was the son of a GP surgeon.   His love of athletics, fostered at Sedbergh School, developed at university, where he was Scottish half mile champion for three years.   As an Olympic trialist he trained with Eric Liddell and ran in a Paris international match.

After house jobs in Norfolk and Suffolk, he combined general practice with part time anaesthetics before joining the navy.   He saw service in the West Indies on merchant cruisers.    Discharged in 1944 because of shortage of Norfolk doctors, he obtained the rank of colonel in the Home Guard.    He served as president of the Norfolk and Norwich Medico-Chirurgical Society, and was very active in BMA affairs.

An enthusiastic but self professed mediocre golfer, he insisted that frequent visits to the rough encouraged his hobby of ornithology.    He subsequently officiated as captain, and later president, of the Royal Norwich Golf Club. 

Following retirement, his interest in athletics centred on the development of the East Anglia University athletic track and vice presidency of the Norfolk Olympiad Athletic Club.”

That encapsulates his career and also contains many interesting pointers to his running.   “Scottish half mile champion for three years:,   “Olympic trialist”  and  “trained with Eric Liddell.”   You could dine out for years on any one of these!     Further to his time in the Navy, he started his Naval time in HMS Chitral, an armed merchant cruiser,  but spent  most of his naval career in HMS Despatch, a Danae-class light cruiser,and latterly at Seaforth naval hospital in Liverpool. He was unusual in the later years of the war. in being both a RN Surgeon Lt Commander, and also a colonel in the Home Guard!

Hugh Courtney Maingay was born in Scarborough on 03.03.1906, son of Harry Maingay, House Surgeon at Scarborough Hospital.    His father was also mainly a GP, a successful one, who kept his patients so healthy that the undertaker across the road abandoned his business, and went into the manufacture of sailplanes!   It seems to have been a privileged upbringing in a house with nurse, a cook and a housemaid.    He and his brother attended Sedbergh School – a highly regarded boarding school – from 1919 to 1925 before going on to study medicine at Edinburgh University.   Sedbergh had several links with Scotland and formal dress on Sundays was suit or kilt.  He took part in athletics at school before going on to Edinburgh University.   Taking athletics fairly seriously, he was one of the founders of the Atalanta Club, which was a kind of Scottish version of the Achilles Club in England, founded in 1920.  Where the latter was confined to students and graduates of Oxford and Cambridge Universities, Atalanta covered the four ancient Scottish universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Aberdeen.    His time at the University did overlap very slightly with that of the more famous Eric Liddell who had started there in 1920.

He first appears at the Edinburgh University sports at Craiglockhart on 5th June, 1926, where he was second in the half-mile to RB Hoole who won in 2:06.  The mile medley relay race was a major feature of most meetings and at the Border Common Riding meeting on 12th June, the Edinburgh University team won with a squad of RB Hoole (440 yards), RD Allison, RD McDonald (both 220) and Maingay (880 yards) and it was supposed that the same four would contest the National championship.   In the Inter-University Sports at Aberdeen on 19th June, Maingay ran in the Mile as well as the half-mile: finishing third in the half behind Graham (Glasgow) and Hoole (Edinburgh), he was second in the Mile 30 yards behind Murnell of Aberdeen who won in 4:33.2.   Unplaced in the half-mile at the SAAA Championships  (noted as an ‘also competed’) he was a member of the team which won the relay by 15 yards from Maryhill Harriers gaining him his first SAAA gold medal.   The team was as noted above with Maingay running first over the 880 yards distance.   His next appearance in reports was on 31st July in the Atalanta Scottish Universities v Achilles match.   I quote: The match took place at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on Saturday afternoon in fine weather and before an estimated attendance of 5000.   The representatives of the Scottish club did not win a single event, being defeated by 25 points to 8, but despite the disparity in in the respective strengths, several of the events were keenly contested. ”     Maingay was second in the half mile to Douglas Lowe who won in the scratch time of 1:57.4, 20 yards ahead of Maingay.   Achilles turned out athletes such as DGA Lowe and Lord Burleigh and were more than firm favourites from the start.

In 1927, the relay at Queen’s Park Sports on the first Saturday was expected to produce a tense battle between RB Hoole and JD Hope on the final (440) leg but “… the withdrawal of HC Maingay from the Edinburgh team robbed this promised trial on even terms in the quarter and and also that of RD Allison and R McLean in the furlong …”   His place on the half mile stage was taken by his predecessor CD Mein, who had run this first stage for several years for the University before Maingay came along who they reported, was not fit.   Second year at the University and Maingay was already a key man.   The Scottish |Inter-Universities Sports were held on 18th June at Craiglockhart and Maingay competed in the 880 yards, which he won by 10 yards in 2:02.4, and the relay which was won by Edinburgh, McDonald, Macpherson and Hoole making up the rest of the team.

He did not run as an individual in any event at the SAAA Championships on 25th June, but ran the first stage in the relay where Maryhill Harriers defeated the University’s regular quartet by three yards.   He did compete in the first of the Atalanta v Irish Universities matches on 28th June however.   This was an important match – at a time when representative events were few and far between and the universities provided a large percentage of the international team, this addition to the Universities calendar mattered a lot.  The Achilles club in England was already established with matches between Achilles and the AAA on an annual basis, as well as meetings such as Oxford v AAA and Cambridge v AAA.   The official report on the match against the Irish read:

The inaugural athletics match between Irish Universities and the Atalanta Club, the combined Scottish Universities Select team from Edinburgh, Glasgow, St. Andrew’s and Aberdeen, took place on the sports grounds of University College Dublin in Terenure. The Irish Universities team was selected by the Irish Inter-University Committee which organised and ran the Intervarsity Championships. This new international event in the athletic life of both countries was mooted as a fixture that would strengthen the ties between Ireland and Scotland. The Scottish team included R.D. Allison, the Scottish Universities 100y and 220y champion and ex-440y champion, A.F. Clark, Scottish 120y hurdles champion, R.B. Hoole, the Scottish 440y champion, and Dr A.P. Spark in shot putt and discus who was a member of the British Olympic Team in Paris in 1924. Based on Irish, British and world records, the Irish Times had commented the day before this contest on the backward condition of athletics in Ireland in that there were few men capable of holding their own with the front rankers of other countries. The newspaper welcomed the inauguration of the international inter-universities contest as “an important and marked advance in the development of athletics in Ireland”. In its report on the contest the Irish Times further commented: “Athletics and various other branches of sport have always received a considerable amount of attention in our universities and colleges, which have given to sport athletes whose feats of skill, courage and endurance have reflected credit on their institutions… The successful launching of the [international inter-universities] contest should act a great stimulus to all who have the welfare of athletics in Ireland at heart… Thus we have in this inter-universities contest a strong incentive for our ‘Varsity athletes to redouble their efforts on the training ground... And who can at the moment doubt that out of this modest beginning may emerge a regular international University contest.” The outstanding performance of the Irish Universities team was that of Sean Lavan in winning the 220y and 440y, placing 2nd in the discus and anchoring the one-mile relay team to victory. The Irish and Scottish teams were entertained to supper. While the contest was scored on number of wins across the 11 disciplines, had the contest been scored as 2 for a win and 1 for the runner-up as in the next contest in 1929, Ireland would still have won by 18 pts to 15 pts.”   

How did Hugh Maingay do in this match?   He was second in the 880 yards, ten yards down on the winner but only the winner’s time was given.

The second match was against English Universities, excluding Oxford and Cambridge.  Maingay did not appear in the first two in any event and was not in the relay team either, but the comments in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ about Atalanta read as follows:   During their short life the Atalanta club have shown considerable enterprise.   A year ago they introduced the famous Achilles club to the Glasgow public, their first ambitious effort as a club, and this season, having found their wings, they fixed up a programme which comprised three fixtures.    The first, against the Irish Universities, took place at Dublin; the second, at Ibrox Park on Saturday afternoon, when a team from the IUAB, as the combined athletics strength of the Universities of England and Wales, outside Oxford and Cambridge is termed; while the third, with the Achilles club, will take place in August.   All this pioneer work is bound to have its effect on University athletics in Scotland, as there is nothing which tends to improve the standard more than matches in which the contestants compete on a level footing.” 

Maingay leads 1928 WSGMaingay leading the final of the World Student Games, 1928.   Paul Martin, 242, won 

Maingay won three consecutive SAAA half mile titles.   The first of these was in June 1928, a season that started on 9th May at the Glasgow University OTC’s meeting in which Main gay ran the opening leg of the inter-university relay and won comfortably.   Then on 12th May in the Edinburgh University championships at Craiglockhart with a very good time of 1:58.   “Maingay’s running in the half-mile was easily the most outstanding performance at the meeting, as he was timed as covering the distance in 1:58, better than anything previously recorded at these meetings, and only one fifth outside CB Mein’s Scottish record.   The grass track at Craiglockhart is fast but nevertheless the performance coming as it does so early in the season, is a very fine one.   During last season, Maingay was troubled by a leg injury, but never had he approached this time in any of his public appearances, and if he intends to specialise at this distance, as he evidently does – he did not defend his title in the Mile – there is every hope that he will even improve on Saturday’s figures.   These were accomplished against moderate opposition and he had to make his own running for most of the distance.”  The Press were noticing Hugh Maingay.    He was in action a week later, on 19th May,  with a victory in the Inter Varsity Athletic Board Sports in Sheffield.   He won the half mile in the slower time of  2:03.4.

He was then first in the Scottish Universities Championships were held on 2nd June at Westerlands in Glasgow and Maingay had a headline and a paragraph or two about the half mile.   Under the heading “A Fine Half-Mile” it waxed eloquent about the race.   “Everything in the flat events paled, however, before the running of HC Maingay in the half-mile.   At Craiglockhart three weeks ago he covered the distance in 1 min 58 sec, after making all his own pace, and under exactly similar circumstances, he repeated that excellent time on Saturday.   Maingay ran so easily that the announcement of the time – a new Inter-University record – came as a surprise, and we are now looking forward to see what he can do with a really good field of half-milers.   Given good conditions there should be nothing to hinder him improving on these times.”   

In the Hawick Common Riding meeting on 9th June the Edinburgh University team ‘had no difficulty’ in retaining the relay title that they had won the year before.   A week’s rest before the Scottish championships on 23rd June at Craiglockhart and he was ready to go.  He won the 880 yards in 2:01.4 and “justified all the good things expected of him by his appearances at University meetings.”   Second was Donald McLean of Maryhill who was reported as letting Maingay get too far ahead at the start of the race.   However in the Mile medley relay, Maryhill Harriers won gold from Edinburgh University who had Maingay running the opening leg.   Still, a gold and silver at the championships was a good day’s work.

The relay team was more successful the following week at the meeting organised at Tynecastle by Hearts FC, Edinburgh Northern Harriers and Edinburgh Harriers.   That they won was due to the ten yards lead handed over by Maingay (from WH Calderwood of Maryhill Harriers) on the first half-mile leg.

The World Student Games were held at the start of August and Maingay was chosen to run in the 800 metres.    He ran well enough to figure in the final and actually showed at the head of the field as can be seen in the photograph above.   The race was won by Paul Martin of Switzerland in 1:57, with Fredy Muller of Germany second (1:58.4e) and Francis Galtier (France, 1:58.6e).   It was nevertheless a great experience for Maingay who had had a very good season: one which started with Edinburgh University Championships, took in the Scottish University championship, the Inter University Championships, the Scottish Championship  and a trip to the World Student Games in Paris.  There was one more representative match before he had his well-earned end-of-season rest: on 22nd August in a match between the SAAA and the Canadian Olympic team, Maingay was our top man in the 880 yards.   “the half-mile saw Maingay depart from his usual custom of forcing the pace and he was unable to cope with either B Little or A Wilson, the two Canadians, and was a good 13 yards away.

What would 1929 bring?

EUAC 4 x 440, 1929EUAC 4 x 440 relay team, 1929: Maingay on the left

The Inter University Competition was held at St Andrews on 1st June 1929 and Maingay was initially expected to break the meeting record for the half-mile but was beaten by the slow track and the report added “HC Maingay, although not so convincing as usual, was yet too good for his opponents in the half-mile.”   He won in 2:01.4.   A week later at the Hawick Common Riding meeting he ran in the individual handicap 880 yards for the first time and ran an estimated 1:59.6 to be second.   On 17th June he appeared at the Glasgow Police Sports for the medley relay: “The Edinburgh students returned 3:37 in the relay, which is 3 sec faster than their championship time of 1922, when Eric Liddell was a member of their team.    This accomplishment was mainly due to the fine running of HC Maingay in the half-mile and DC Paton in the first of the furlongs, but both RL Howland and FP Reid contributed their quota. …. Maingay clearly showed that he had lost none of his running since last year, and that in his public appearances this year he has been running well within himself.   Opposed by J Calder of Beith, who has shown himself to be the best of the Western half-milers, Maingay let himself go and was timed as doing 1:59.”   

“BRILLIANCE OF MAINGAY”

was the headline in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ after the SAAA Championships on 22nd June, 1929.   “In the half-mile Maingay made our other runners look a very ordinary lot indeed.   Running the first quarter in 56 seconds, he had thoroughly demoralised his field, and although in the later stages he was not moving as strongly as usual he broke the tape in 1 min 58 1-5th sec, fully 30 yards ahead of his nearest rival, PJ Gaffney of the St Peter’s club, who ran a much better judged race than some of the more fancied competitors.   The Yorkshire man is a good champion and his time has only been equalled once in the history of the race.   That was when WR Seagrove, the Glenalmond master was opposed by Tom Riddell in 1926”   He also won a gold in 1926 as part of the winning mile relay team.   Two races and two more for the collection.

 On 29th June Maingay travelled to Manchester to represent the Atalanta Club against the IVAB (the Combined English and Welsh Universities) and for the first time since its formation, the club won.   Of Maingay, it was said that he had not run as freely as usual but was consistent in that he was again under two  minutes for the half-mile.   In fact he was timed at 1:59.8 and won by 15 yards.   The mile medley team won too to make it a very good meeting for the Atalanta club – and HC Maingay.

The Atalanta v Irish Universities meeting had been such a success in 1927 that a repeat was held in 1929.   This time Atalanta was the host club and the meeting was held on 3rd July at Westerlands.   The Irish report read:

“The second meeting between Irish Universities and Scottish Universities was an evening event hosted in Hampden Park, the biggest terraced stadium in the world at that time with a 130,000 capacity, extended by 1937 to 183,000, and only to be surpassed in 1950 by the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. A heavy shower about one hour before proceedings started possibly affected the attendance adversely, but the weather was fine during the contest. For several of the Irish track athletes this was their first experience of running on a cinder track. Dr Pat O’Callaghan and Michael Moroney made a clean sweep of the field events O’Callaghan failed by a couple of feet to throw the hammer clean off the grass onto the cinder track. The “Flying Scotsman” H.C. Maingay ran away with the half-mile in an excellent time. While the result of the contest was never in doubt by the time of the last event on the programme, the meeting closed with an epic battle in the mile relay with Patrick C Moore (IU) and Ian H. Borland (Atalanta) on the final leg fighting stride for stride down the home straight all the way to the tape, Moore winning by inches.”

His winning time was 1:58.6 which was a meeting record.   Then it was on to another representative match.   As Scottish champion he had been selected for the team to compete in the Triangular match against England and Ireland, to be held at the Athletics Grounds in Cork on 12th July.   Maingay was third in the half mile behind Cyril Ellis and Reg Thomas.   Ellis, an Englishman, ran in two Olympic Games (1924 and 1928), won the AAA’s mile title three times and had a pb for 880 yards of 1:53.3; while Thomas was a Welshman who won gold (mile) and silver (880y) in the Hamilton Empire Games, turned out in two Olympics (1928 and 1932) but was prevented from competing in the 1934 Empire Games by an English protest.   So Hugh was running in very good company indeed.   They met up again in France on 29th July in a match between France and a British team captained by Lord Burghley.   The half-mile was won by Thomas in 1:53.6 – well beyond Maingay’s capabilities at that time – and Maingay (according to the French publication “Athletisme”) finished sixth.

 The Inter Universities meeting was at Aberdeen in 1930 and Maingay again won the 880 yards comfortably – “HC Maingay had his usual practice spin, which he won without being stretched in 2 min 2 3-5th sec”.    The winning margin was 10 yards this time.   On 16th June the students from Edinburgh competed in the big inter-club meeting that was the St Peter’s Sports at Celtic Park.   It was a big meeting with many relays – 4 x 110, 4 x 220, 4 x 440, 4 x 880 and a medley on the programme; at different times it included a 4 x 1 mile and even a 4 x 440 yards hurdles relay.   Maingay made the headlines again with “MAINGAY’S FINE RUNNING    The finest race of the afternoon was by all accounts the Two Mile Relay (ie 4 x880)in which Maingay was head to head with Donald McLean of Maryhill over the last half-mile.   McLean took over 30 yards up on Maingay – “the Scottish champion however was not dismayed.   He went  after McLean in fine style, caught him in the back straight of the concluding lap, and entered the straight a yard or two ahead.   The effort, however, had taken too much out of him, while McLean had something in reserve, and Maingay was beaten in the final burst by three yards.  Maingay was timed as doing 57 1-5th for the quarter, and 1 min 59 1-5th for the full distance.”    He was back in Glasgow a week later for the Glasgow Police Sports but this headline remarked that Maingay had disappointed.   “Either he was under form or he had underestimated the finishing powers of J Hood, the Shettleston runner, for he was content to remain in the ruck until the finishing straight, and when he did go out, he was unable to peg back Hood’s lead, being beaten by five yards.  Maingay’s big swinging stride   demands plenty of room, and had he gone into the lead straight away there would have been a different story to tell.   He was obviously cramped, moving away from the head of his field.    Hood’s time for the half mile was 2 min 2 sec, and only last week at the St Peter’s meeting Maingay was returned as doing 1 min 59-1-5th.”   

In the Scottish AAA Championships on 28th June at Hampden, Maingay won his third 880 yards title in 2:00.6 after spread-eagling the field with a first lap inside 55 seconds!    But the “what if …” question dealt with the question “what if Tom Riddell (who had won the Mile) had also contested the half mile?”   An inkling of the answer, said the reporter,  was to be found in the relay where Riddell ‘decisively defeated’ both Maingay and WH Calderwood.

On July 5th at the Lochwinnoch Games Maingay ran the first stage of the Mile relay which he won easily – it was his only race of the afternoon and his main opponent J Hood had already run two fast half miles.

A week later (12th July) he competed in the Scotland v Ireland v England at Hampden where he faced Tommy Hampson.   Hampson, an Oxford graduate, was the English winner of the 880 yards at the 1930 British Empire Games in Canada, and winner of the 880 yards in the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where he set a new world record of 1:49.7, becoming the first man to run  inside 1:50 for the distance.   In the half-mile at Hampden he won in 1:58.0 with Maingay back in fifth place prompting the ‘Scotsman’ to say:

“Although it had hardly been expected that HC Maingay would have much chance against record breaking T Hampson, the time of 1 min 58 sec is one which Maingay has several times accomplished, and it was disappointing that he could finish no better than fifth well behind the leader.  He seemed to be struggling all the way.”

On 31st July at Bedford in the UAU Championships he won the half mile in 2:03.3.   He was one of six Scots then selected to compete in the World Student Games at Darmstadt between 7th and 10th August.   The final was won by Fredy Muller of Germany in 1:58.2 from Francis Galtier of France (1:58.3) with Maingay sixth.

Reg Thomas, Colombes, 28.7.29Reg Thomas winning the 800m at the Stade Colombes in July 1929

The summary of Maingay’s subsequent career and war service at the top of the profile covers his medical career but also mentions his service in the second great war.   It is however pleasing to note that he maintained an active interest in the sport in Norfolk throughout his life.

As a student he had been a popular President of the Union and also served as secretary of the University Athletic Club.   As an athlete he competed at every level other than the Olympic; he represented his school, his university, Scottish Universities, Scotland, Great Britain and British Universities.   He ran in small meetings (such as Lochwinnoch) and in grand international Games.   He ran against club and university athletes as well as Olympians such as Thomas and Hampson.   And, although an Englishman he did it all under the banner of Edinburgh University Athletic Club.   We were lucky to have him.

I should like to thank Alex Wilson for help with results, with passing on information and for all the photographs of Maingay as a student athlete.   Thanks, Alex.

 

Douglas McNicol

Douglas McNicol

This excellent profile of the little known Scottish Miler Douglas McNicol comes from Alex Wilson who has done several such pen portraits of noted Scottish runners of the past and this one is as good as any he has done so far.  Alex writes:

In previous posts we’ve encapsulated the careers of John McGough, who was Scotland’s No. 1 miler from 1902 until 1910, and Duncan McPhee, who held a similar position of supremacy between 1913 and 1923. The missing link, as it were, is the Anglo-Scot Douglas McNicol, who emerged from McGough’s shadow in 1910 to dominate Scottish miling for few short years. Known as “Little Mac”, he was very short, barely over five feet tall, but big on talent.

Douglas Frank McNicol was born in Chelsea on September 11, 1885 to Kate and Colin McNicol, a Scot with roots in Dalry.

McNicol burst onto the scene in 1905 when he finished fifth in the South of Thames CC Championship, leading Thames Valley Harriers to silver medals in the team contest. In his first track season the young accountant produced a flurry of outstanding performances and looked all the part like a man with the potential to challenge the indomitable Alf Shrubb. On 27th April, competing for his second-claim club Islesdon Harriers, he won the 2 miles inter-team race in the South London Harriers sports at Kennington Oval in a superb 9:36.0, defeating a quality field including George Pearce, Joe Deakin; and Albert Aldridge, the reigning AAA 10 miles champion. A 4:34.0 mile at Richmond on 11th May hinted at his considerable potential over this distance. In the AAA championships at Stamford Bridge on 5th July, however, he tackled the 4 miles and made a medal-winning debut by finishing second in 21:34.6, the favourite Shrubb dropping out. The next month he showed his stamina and versatility by taking second in the half mile and winning the 3 miles in an excellent 14:56.4 in the Norwich and Norfolk sports on 5th August. In retrospect, his 1:56.6 half-mile in Norwich was unofficially a Scottish amateur record, but of course his Scottish eligibility had yet to be ascertained despite the suspicious surname.

McNicol then disappeared off the radar for a year and re-emerged in 1907 as a member of Polytechnic Harriers. Here he came under the tutelage of Sam Mussabini, who, like McNicol in some ways, was a small man with big ideas. Mussabini was a pioneer in his field, certainly one the greatest athletics coaches who ever lived, and best known for his work with Olympic champions Albert Hill and Harold Abrahams. Mussabini firmly believed, for example, that the mile would one day be run in under four minutes, a notion which in those days was scoffed at.

McNicol opened his account that year by winning their mile championship at Paddington on 19th June in 4:38.0. This led to his second appearance in the AAA championships on 6th July at Fallowfield where he finished sixth in the 4 miles. His time of 20:55.0 earned him a standard medal for beating 21 mins. Other highlights of an otherwise quiet season were a 4:23.0 mile off 40 yards at Exeter on 31st August and a 1:56.0 half mile off 26 yards at Exmouth on 2nd September.

The enigmatic Scot was again conspicious by his absence during the 1908 season, which is particularly puzzling considering that the Summer Olympics were staged in his home city that year. Be that as it may, he made another successful return to track racing in 1909. In the first of two matches between Polytechnic Harriers vs. Stade Francais at Stamford Bridge on 8th May he threw away his chances of winning the mile by – somewhat embarassingly for an accountant – miscounting the laps and launching his finishing sprint a lap too early. French runner Quilbeuf made up 30 yards on the last lap to win by six yards from McNicol in 4:37.4. However, McNicol made up for his faux pax in the return match in Paris three weeks later. After thrashing Quilbeuf to take the mile in 4:28.4, he won the three miles in a French record of 15:02.4. The following month, some five years after taking up athletics, he finally availed himself of the opportunity to compete in the Scottish championships. On 26th June, three days after retaining the Polytechnic Harriers’ mile championship at Paddington in a record 4:32.2, McNicol made his long-awaited SAAA championships debut at Ibrox Park. He contested the mile, which proved to be one of the highlights of the meeting. Harry Jamieson in tight finish prevailed by two yards from John McGough in 4:29.2, with McNicol another two yards behind in 4:29.6. A sub 4 min. 30 sec. performance would usually have been good enough to earn selection for the Scotland vs. Ireland match in those days, but only the first two were selected, so he missed out. However, McNicol had by coming up to Scotland and competing in the national championships made a strong case for consideration in the future. A week after the SAAA championships he competed closer to home in the AAA championships at Stamford Bridge, where he contested the mile. He was in the thick of the action until the closing stages when Eddie Owen, Broughton Harriers, got away to win by two yards from Arthur Robertson in 4:23.0. McNicol was close behind in sixth and inside the 4 min. 30 sec. standard, although his exact time was not reported. In any case, in an inter-club contest at the same venue on 13th July he returned a world class time of 4:24.6 to comfortably win the mile. Of Scots, only John McGough (4:24.0) ran faster that season.

1909,  Paris, mile, Douglas McNicol right

The lineup for the mile in the 1909 Poly H. vs. Stade Francais match won by Douglas McNicol 

By 1910 McNicol was on the cusp of becoming Scotland’s top miler, although there was little to choose between himself and the incumbent John McGough. This became apparent when McNicol made his second appearance in the SAAA championships at Powderhall on 25th June and came within a whisker of wresting the mile crown from McGough. It proved a humdinger of a race with McNicol leading virtually from gun to tape only to lose by the width of McGough’s singlet, the Bellahouston harrier edging ahead in the last few strides to claim a record seventh title in 4:32.8. It was so close, in fact, spectators actually thought McNicol had won, and both men were given the same time. Three days later McNicol made a successful defence of the Polytechnic Harriers’ mile championship at Paddington, and, in so doing, lowered his own championship record to 4:29.6. The AAA championships at Stamford Bridge on 2nd July witnessed McNicol trying the difficult half-mile/mile double, particularly as the half also included a preliminary heat. He finished third in the half mile, crossing the line only 2 ½ yards behind Ireland’s James Hill in 2:01.7. Later in the afternoon he occupied the same position in the mile, finishing eight yards behind Emil Voigt (Manchester AC) in 4:27.6. One wonders if he would not have been better off devoting his energies to the mile, but, that said, Voigt was the reigning Olympic five miles champion and a hard man to beat in the best of circumstances. A 4:25.8 mile four days later in winning the London Championship at Stamford Bridge saw McNicol ranked second in the UK that year behind Voigt’s world-leading 4:19.8. On 9th July he capped his season with a great performance in the Scotland v Ireland match at Ibrox Park, where he produced a terrific sprint in the home straight to snatch victory from Ireland’s James Bill by inches in 4:26.0. He also defeated his great rival John McGough, who was run out of it and gave up in the home straight. Scotland achieved their biggest ever margin of victory, with 9 wins to Ireland’s 2. On 23rd July McNicol wrapped up his season with a 4:28.2 mile win in the Polytechnic Harriers vs. Herne Hill Harriers match. On the whole, it had been a very successful campaign.

John McGough pips Douglas McNicol in 1910 SAAA

John McGough pips Douglas McNicol for the 1910 SAAA mile championship at Powderhall.

In the run-up to the 1911 SAAA championships McNicol scored a series of early season wins including notably a 15:05.6 for three miles at the Geneva A.C. sports at Stamford Bridge on 21st April, a 4:26.8 mile at the Kinnaird Trophy meeting at Stamford Bridge on 27th May and a 1:59.6 half mile at the LAC summer meeting at Stamford Bridge on 21st June, not to mention a half-mile/mile double in the Midland Championship.

On Saturday 24th June McNicol continued his good run of form in the SAAA championships at Hampden Park, where Anglo Scots caused consternation by accounting for five out of eleven events. The mile delivered the most meritorious performance of the day courtesy of McNicol. Despite strong winds, he took the lead on the first lap and front ran his was to victory by half the length of the home straight from J.T. Soutter, Aberdeen University AC, in 4:26.4. The Glasgow Herald wrote: “Considering the weather and track conditions, this is a brilliant effort, and we hope it is but a prelude to a still greater effort at Stamford Bridge in the English Championships this week”.

In the AAA championships the following week McNicol did not disappoint before 16,000 spectators in fine weather. The mile, which nineteen contested, proved to be one of the best races of the day. Again McNicol was in the thick of the action. He was only fourth entering the home straight, but then uncorked a fine finish which carried him past his rivals and onward to victory by a couple of yards from the Canadian Jack Tait, who, in turn, was a yard ahead of the Northern champion Eddie Owen, Broughton Harriers. With a personal best of 4:22.2, he became only the second Scot after Hugh Welsh to win the AAA mile.

Four days later, McNicol returned to Stamford Bridge for the LAC sports and won the London Championship in another personal best of 4:21.0. Among Scottish amateurs, this ranked him fifth of all time behind Hugh Welsh, 4:17.2 in 1898; Charles Henderson-Hamilton, 4:17.8 in 1905; John McGough, 4:19.2 in 1906; and Henry Acland Munro, 4:20.4 in 1895.

AAA 1m 1911

The 1911 AAA mile, entering the last lap. Philip Baker leads from Eddie Owen (12) and Jack Tait (19) with the diminutive McNicol tucked in behind Owen.

A McNicol in this form would surely have no trouble retaining his mile title in the annual Scotland vs. Ireland match at the RDS Showgrounds, Ballsbridge, on 15th July. In fact, the mile turned out to be a procession. McNicol was a class apart and won by 40 yards from J.T. Souttar in 4:25.0, thus helping Scotland to victory by 7 wins to 4.

On his return from Dublin McNicol made a detour via his ancestral home of Ayrshire and won the 1000 yards handicap from scratch at the Ayr United FC sports in 2:20.2.

Having discovered a rich vein of form, McNicol made his first appearance at the annual sports of Rangers FC before 10,000 spectators at Ibrox Park on Saturday 5th August. The feature of a varied programme was the win of Harry Gissing, New York, in the invitation half mile handicap in a 1:56.2, just a fifth of a second outside Mel Sheppard’s all-comers record. McNicol, off 10 yards, did well to take second a couple of yards behind the American in 1:56.5, despite being badly spiked in the second lap. His afternoon was not over, however, because, despite his injury, he also ran in the open half mile handicap off 10 yards, winning his heat in 1:58.6 and the final in 1:58.0. The Glasgow Herald commented upon McNicol’s marvellous exhibition of stamina thus: “There are not many runners in Britain capable of equalling this threefold effort of the Polytechnic Harrier.” Two day’s later McNicol returned to Ibrox Park for the additional Monday evening meeting. Like on the Saturday, the feature of evening was the running of Gissing and McNicol, but this time it was in the 1000 yards handicap. Thirty three started, but interest centred on the scratch men, McNicol doing most the pace-making work. In the home straight the canny American had more in reserve and won by inches in a new Scottish all-comers’ record of 2:16.6. McNicol finished a close third and had the satisfaction of setting a new Scottish native record, his time of 2:17.0 being eight-tenths of a second better than Adam Turnbull’s record made in 1909.

After the Rangers sports followed the annual sports of Celtic FC on 12th August, which at that time was the biggest meeting in Scotland with an attendance of around 30,000. Again, McNicol (15 yards) faced Gissing (scratch) in the half mile handicap. Again the Scot did all the donkey work, and again the American won by two yards in 1:58.0 to 1:58.3 for McNicol, a troublesome wind mitigating against fast times.

On 17th August McNicol wrapped up his domestic programme with a 4:27.4 mile to retain the Polytechnic Harriers Club Championship at Stamford Bridge.

His final outing that season was in Berlin, Germany, where he represented his club in a match against Berlin Sports Club. McNicol ran in the 1500 metres, where he faced, among others, none other than 1906 Olympic champion Jim Lightbody. Despite the loose track, which was not to the Polytechnic Harrier’s liking, a big crowd witnessed a fast race with the American winning by 5 metres in 4:06.2. McNicol’s time in second of 4:07.0 was the fastest ever by a Scot, being just inside the 4:07.2 credited to fellow Anglo Scot Arthur Robertson at Stockholm in 1908. Thus concluded a memorable season brimful of highlights, wins and records. In recognition of his achievements McNicol was elected a life member of Polytechnic Harriers.

1912 was again, of course, an Olympic year, and, following the bountiful medal hauls in 1906 and 1908, Britain’s elite athletes once again focussed their energies on qualifying for Stockholm. With this in mind, the AAA staged Olympic trials at Stamford Bridge on 18th May, the flat races being run over metric distances. McNicol, running in the 1500 metres, won the first heat in a fast 4:09.0. In a close-run final McNicol took second in the same time, finishing a yard behind Bill Cottrill (Hallamshire Harriers), winner in 4:08.8, and 3 yards ahead of dead-heaters Charles Ruffell (Highgate Harriers) and Alec Hare (Herne Hill Harriers). The performance was good enough to assure McNicol a berth on the boat for Stockholm. In all, no fewer than ten Polytechnic Harriers gained an Olympic nomination.

After retaining the club half mile championship at Stamford Bridge, McNicol won the mile in the annual match between Polytechnic Harriers and Stade Francais at Paris on 27th May in 4:37.0. He followed this with mile wins in the Inter-Poly Championships at Chiswick on 8th June and in the London Championship at Stamford Bridge on 13th June in 4:32.0, auguring reasonably well for a successful defence on his SAAA championship title at Ibrox Park on Saturday 15th June. McNicol did not disappoint, cutting loose on the last lap, but was given a harder race than expected by James McFarlane (Glasgow University AC), who got to within three yards of the London Scot at the post. The first quarter was done in 63.4, the second in 2:16.0, the third in 3:26.2, and the full distance in 4:31.8.

However, there was now a question-mark over McNicols’s form. Would it be good enough for a successful defence of his AAA crown? Some had their doubts. These proved to be right when McNicol was dropped 200 yards from home and finished fourth, a few seconds inside the 4 min. 30 sec. standard, Eddie Owen winning by 3 yards from Ireland’s Bob Hales in 4:21.4. As to this, the Glasgow Herald remarked: “D. McNicol never looked like winning from half-distance, and all the rumours that he has gone back since last season would seem to be confirmed by this second-rate effort.”

Although qualified, McNicol did not make the journey Stockholm the following month. The Polytechnic Magazine states only that he was unable to go “for business reasons”. One wonders if his poor form was perhaps a factor in his decision to pass up what many an athlete would regard today as the opportunity of a lifetime. In his absence, in any case, Arnold Jackson claimed gold for Britain in an Olympic record of 3:56.8.

On 20th July McNicol had another below-par showing in the Scotland vs. Ireland match at Powderhall, where he again came up against Bob Hales and again came off second best, trailing home 35 yards behind the Irishman, who won as he pleased in 4:27.8.

However, as the season drew to a close, McNicol rediscovered his old form and came within two-tenths of his Scottish 1000 yards record at the Ayr FC sports on 3rd August. On the whole, however, he was below his best in 1912.

1912 Poly Harriers team

The 1912 Polytechnic Harriers Olympic team, with McNicol seated front right.

McNicol kicked off his 1913 season by retaining his club championship in the half mile at Stamford Bridge on 22nd May in 2:02.4. He confirmed his form in the Kinnaird Trophy meeting the following weekend by winning the mile in 4:29.4, and at the Inter-Poly sports at Paddington on 7th June, where he won the mile in 4:32.4. In all during gis career, McNicol won the Poly mile championship six times and the half mile championship three times.

In the SAAA championships at Celtic Park on 28th June McNicol boldly went for the double, and made a successful start by winning the half mile in 2:04.8. In the mile, however, he was beaten on the tape for the second time in three years. On this occasion, he was denied by the up-and-coming Duncan McPhee, Clydesdale Harriers, both men being given 4:34.0.

McNicol was to make few competitive appearances after the 1913 Scottish championships. In his absence, Duncan McPhee became his successor by winning the half mile and mile at the SAAA championships, as well as taking the mile in the first Triangular International Contest between Scotland, England and Ireland.

The outbreak of WW1 in 1914 would have ended McNicol’s career anyway, as he enlisted for military service not long after war was declared.

Having moved from London to Nottingham, he served in the rank of private in the 12th Battalion Notts. & Derbyshire Sherwood Foresters.

The next we hear he is dead, aged only 29. A brief obit in Polytechnic Magazine records the circumstances surrounding his untimely demise:

“It is with very deep regret that we have to record the death of Douglas McNicol, our Studd Trophy Champion and National Mile Champion of 1912. When the war called for men Douglas was one of the first to respond and Joined Kitchener’s Army. He was located at Shoreham where he apparently caught a cold and died of pneumonia in Brighton Hospital on Friday, October 30th, and was buried at Wealdstone on Tuesday, November 3rd. Douglas McNicol’s sincerity and kindliness had won for him a host of friends and no enemies. We deeply sympathise with his parents in their loss, but what could a man do more than give his life for his country. Douglas as truly gave his life for his country as if he had been shot in the firing line in France. A keener athlete never lived”

That was career of Douglas McNicol. Like McGough before him and McPhee after him, he was a highly decorated athlete who did everything in threes.   Even his first SAAA title was third time lucky!   In total, he claimed three SAAA titles. He arguably set three Scottish records, including a native 1000 yards record. He represented Scotland against Ireland on three occasions and twice won the mile. He also hauled in a full set of AAA championship medals over three distances: the half mile, mile and four miles. The highlight of his career was of course his victory in the blue riband event of British athletics, the AAA Mile Championship, in 1911. He would have been an Olympian, too, but for business reasons he was unable to make the journey to Stockholm. McNicol was an all or nothing kind of man – an uncompromising and courageous front runner who only competed when fit and made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

Ian Lapraik

John Neilson Lapraik

There are those who say that distance running and marathon running teach people how to  put up with pain: well, put them in the dentist’s chair and see how much the marathon running helps put up with what follows.   It’s maybe more true to say that marathon and distance running bring out or display characteristics that within the man and which stand them in good stead later in life.   In the case of John Neilson Lapraik I would suggest that this is the case.   Good athlete that he was, there will possibly be more on his career after his athletics days were over than race details.

Born on 13th September, 1915, at Boroughmuirhead in Edinburgh, he lived most of his younger life in Glasgow and because he suffered from tuberculosis of the knee from the age of seven years, he was effectively crippled for five years, two of which were spent with his legs in plaster.  Many of us associate tuberculosis with the lungs but it can and does affect other parts of the body including hips and knees.   Treatment almost always used to, maybe still does, involve immobilising the joint, traction and possibly even surgery.   He was educated at the High School of Glasgow between 1927 – 34 before going up to Glasgow University.   Even at University he was thought to be too fragile for vigorous sports but he had built up his strength and was one of best men in Both the Athletics team and the Hares & Hounds squads.   He captained the Hares & Hounds in 1936-37, 1937-38 and 1939-40, and got his Blue in 1937.    It is on this period that we will concentrate and look at season 1935 to start with.

On 11th May, 1935, Glasgow University AC held their club championships at Westerlands and Ian Lapraik (known to other athletes as ‘Tod’) had three second places: in the half-mile he was beaten by J Dornan with only a yard and half in it, the winning time being 2:05.7;  in the mile he was second to AW MacAuley whose time was 4:43 (Lapraik 4:45) with eight  yards in it, and he was second in the Three Miles where a new University record of 15:32.4 was set by AW MacAuley, who was maybe better known as a steeple chaser.   He seemed to go into hibernation at this point and was not on the card for  any of the annual meetings, nor at any of the inter-university fixtures in May and June.

On 2nd May 1936, in the Atalanta v St Andrews University he won the half-mile, running for Atalanta, in 2:06.2 and also ran in the relay where he was second on the half-mile stage.   Later that month – on the 23rd May – he won the invitation two miles handicap at Coatbridge off a 150 yard mark beating H McPhee.   The report read: “Glasgow University One Mile and Three Miles champion JN Lapraik, with 150 yards to help him along, won the two-mile short limit handicap from H McPhee (Springburn Harriers).   He had to call on all his reserves to head the Springburn man who had won the three previous races.   Only two yards separated the men at the finish.   McPhee did very well to give 45 yards to Lapraik and only fail.”   Noted beforehand as a runner in the Atalanta v SAAA (Western District) on Monday 1st June, he did not in the event turn out.  At the Glasgow High School Sports on 6th June he ran as scratch man in the half-mile handicap race where he ran a well-judged race to win on the tape from  R McLean in 2:08.6.   This set him up for the annual contest between the four Scottish Universities on 13th June at Westerlands, where he was timed at 15:14.8 to win the Three Miles.   The report this time read: “In the Three Miles, JN Lapraik (Glasgow University) returned 15 min 14 8-10th sec to get 3 2-5th sec inside the 13 year old record of CH Johnston who was also a Glasgow man.   In this effort Lapraik was forced to keep going at a smart gait by IH McDonald (Edinburgh), and gradually the pair drew clear of the field.   To clock 4 min 52 and 10 min 4 sec for the one and two miles, Lapraik was in the running for the record.   McDonald was nursing him well, but during the third mile he felt the strain and allowed the Glasgow man to open up a gap.   Over the last lap, McDonald made a valiant effort to get on terms, and Lapraik had a few anxious moments, as he tried to look round as he entered the straight.   McDonald could not maintain the pace he had set for himself round that lap, with the result that he eased well up the straight to allow Lapraik to win with about eight yards to spare.”   

1937 was in many ways Lapraik’s best as a runner.   Starting as usual in May, he was at St Andrews on the first of the month to contest the 880 yards and the Mile in the Atalanta v St Andrews fixture.   The Mile provided a victory in 4:52.0 and he was second in the half, won in 2:06.   The following Saturday, in Aberdeen for another Atalanta team which defeated Aberdeen University, he won ‘the best race of the afternoon’ – the mile – in  4:39.2.   “For the first two laps, LW Carson, Aberdeen, set a strong pace.   On entering the third lap, AWC Lobban, Aberdeen, and JN Lapraik , Atalanta, went to the front and ran neck-and-neck in the last lap.   Lapraik gained a lead of four yards, and a closing burst by Lobban in the last 100 yards just failed.”   

The Glasgow University championships were held at Westerlands on 23rd May and Lapraik ran in three events –  880 yards, Mile and Three Miles.   The hero of the day was JAH Lees who won the half-mile in 2:02.6  from Lapraik and also defeated him in the Mile in 4:35.8.   He had won the 880 by 13 yards and won the Mile ‘easily’.   As far as the half mile was concerned, the report commented that ‘Ian Lapraik did not attempt to take the sting out’ with a fast first lap.   In the Three Miles, he won ‘easily’ for the second consecutive year in 15:47.6.   On Monday 1st June in the Atalanta v SAAA (Western District), Lapraik was forward in the Two Miles event where he finished third behind Emmet Farrell and Willie Donaldson of the SAAA’s.   The winning time was 9:50.0 and he was clocked at 9:55 for third place.    Being beaten by these two was no disgrace for any Scots athlete and Lapraik now had good times for 880 yards, Mile, Two Miles and Three Miles to his credit by 1st June.

Although Lapraik did not race at the Scottish championships, there was an announcement in the Press on Monday 28th June under the heading SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES’ SELECTION the report read  At a meeting of the representatives of the four Scottish Universities held in Glasgow, the following team was chosen to represent them in Paris on August 22nd to 28th in connection with the Students Olympic Games.   100-200 metres:   FP Seymour (Edinburgh), DM Pearson (Glasgow), GRRW Caise (Aberdeen);   400 metres:   RB Wylde (Edinburgh), JK Watson (Aberdeen);   800 metres: JH Lees (Glasgow);  1500 metres: JAH Lees (Glasgow), GM Carstairs (Edinburgh);   5000 metres: GM Carstairs (Edinburgh), JN Lapraik (Glasgow).   

His own race was towards the end of the meeting – 27th August – and he was timed at 15:49.4 when he finished fourth.    It had been a good summer for Ian Lapraik but he still had two years of competition left to him before graduation.

May 1937 saw him start his track season on 7th May in a match between Glasgow University and Queen’s, Belfast, with two seconds – the 880 yards and the Mile.   Two weeks later the Glasgow University Sports took place at Westerlands and Lapraik had a good effort at retaining his Three Miles title but could only finish second, 40 yards down on JD Binning who won in 16:03.   He again finished second in the Mile which was won in 4:35 by J Muir who had a lead of 20 yards at the tape.   On 21st May in a triangular fixture between Glasgow, Aberdeen and St Andrews Universities at the University grounds at Garscadden, Lapraik turned out in the half-mile which he won despite being second across the finishing line – J Anderson of Aberdeen won by 20 yards in 2:02.9, but the judges decided that he had benefited from “pace-making” by the Aberdeen team captain who had run alongside Anderson down part of the finishing straight.   Lapraik got the verdict and the points for his win in 2:05.   The annual match featuring Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St Andrews Universities took place in Aberdeen on 13th June and Lapraik was out in the Three Miles – that meant facing GM Carstairs (Edinburgh) who was in outstanding form at this point and he could only finish third behind Carstairs and JW Martin (also of Edinburgh) with the winning time being 15:20.5 and Lapraik 50 yards behind the winner.   That championship seemed to finish his summer’s racing – he never seemed to appear at any of the open sports meetings, or at the SAAA Championships although he would probably have done well at them.

As for cross-country racing, the GUAC history records for the late 30’s and up to 1941 are missing and there seems to be only a note saying that the running of Ian Lapraik was outstanding during the late thirties.   Again, his name does not appear in the Scottish or District championships and the Glasgow University team did not run in the Edinburgh to Glasgow.

In May 1939  he started his season in the match between Glasgow University and Queen’s University, Belfast, on Monday 8th May in the Mile where he finished third in a race won in 4:36.2.   The University championships were held on the following Saturday (13th) and Lapraik regained his Three Miles titles in the absence of Binning in 15:58.3, and finished second to Muir in the Mile, won in 4:37.0.   He had two races the following weekend in University fixtures and after a Three Miles in 15:59.0, he raced to 2:05.0 the following afternoon.

On 27th May, in the Glasgow University  v  Trinity College, Dublin, at Westerlands, he won the Three Miles by 120 yards in 15:59.0 from another Glasgow runner, TL McGlynn.   He was not in action at the Scottish University championships on 10th June at Craiglockhart.   The World Student Games (the Universiade) which were to be held at Amsterdam, were switched to Monaco where, in the febrile atmosphere of a Europe on the verge of war,  GM Cartsairs won the 5000m in  15:20.2.

Lapraik’s athletics career, like so many others came to a sudden halt with the outbreak of hostilities but the real John Neilson Lapraik came to the fore and the personality characteristics which helped him overcome his childhood medical problems and become one of Scotland’s best athletes, produced a genuine hero.

I quote from the ‘Herald’ of 13th June, 1998:  On the day war was declared against Germany (September 3, 1939), he enlisted in the Highland Light Infantry, and after attending the Officer Cadet Training Unit at Dunbar (renowned for its toughness) he was commissioned into the Cameron Highlanders. Posted to the Middle East he soon volunteered for the Commandos where he observed that in 51 Commando, which contained both Jews and Arabs, the two races worked in perfect harmony. Soon afterwards he was sent to Malta to train small parties of canoeists in coastal raiding. However, he was soon leading raids along the North African coast and the Aegean islands. His physical development proceeded apace: his chest expanded from 37 inches to 43. He once paddled a canoe from Malta to Sicily, a distance of 70 miles, and on one occasion even managed to control a canoe in a force-nine gale. Successful raiding depended on daring, luck, initiative and quickness. In their flimsy craft the canoeists were always liable to be blown out of the water and were well aware that they were usually miles inside enemy-held territory from which no-one could rescue them, and their survival depended on their own efforts. “

The GU history simply says:

“Ian Tod Lapraik was an outstanding athlete in the Hares and Hounds during the late thirties .   Ian Lapraik ( a law student) organised red gowns for the trips to Dublin and kilts for the journeys south of the Border, often a chilling experience!   Tod Lapraik was known as ‘The Black Scot’ and carried out on his own acts of sabotage behind the enemy lines.”

He even has a Wikipedia page which briefly describes his war service.

Lapraik enlisted in the Highland Light Infantry on 3 September 1939, the day that war was declared against Germany. After training at the reputedly tough Officer Cadet Training Unit at Dunbar, he was commissioned in the Cameron Highlanders in 1941.   In the same year he saw action with 51 Commando in Ethiopia, then known as Abyssinia, and won the Military Cross and the Ethiopian Lion of Judah.

In June 1943, he joined the newly formed Special Boat Squadron (SBS), based near Haifa, commanded by Lord Jellicoe. In 1943 he commanded an SBS unit operating from bases in Turkish waters. Notable among his successes was an attack with the Greek Sacred Squadron on Symi, when the German garrison was decimated and all their installations destroyed. For this and other actions, he was awarded a bar to his Military Cross.

In 1944, the Squadron was expanded to Regimental status, though still part of the SAS group.   The unit was now styled the Special Boat Service, and the three operational Detachments were likewise expanded into Squadrons: Major Lapraik commanded M Squadron.   In 1945, he was awarded the DSO, in recognition of his courage and leadership.

He was then attached to the Greek Sacred Regiment Sacred Squadron, which had also been expanded from its original Squadron status, and remained with them until the end of the war.    This was a very difficult period in Greek history and his service was further recognised by the award of Officer of the Order of the British Empire from Britain, and the Order of the Phoenix from Greece.   He also received the Greek War Cross, 2nd Class (Β’ τάξεως) for his earlier operations.

His skill in watermanship was legendary.    He once paddled a canoe from Malta to Sicily, a distance of 70 miles, and on one occasion even managed to control a canoe in a force-nine gale.

He was six times mentioned in despatches;

wounded six times;

captured three times but always escaped.

After the war, the SAS and the SBS were disbanded from the regular establishment, but in 1947 the SAS returned, as a unit of the Territorial Army.    This unit was 21 SAS (V) and Major Lapraik now commanded B Squadron, whose senior ranks were composed mostly of veterans of the SBS. Between 1973 and 1983, Ian Lapraik was the Honorary Colonel of 21 SAS.

In his civil life, Ian Lapraik worked in publishing. He died in Buckinghamshire on 15 March 1985.

 Jock Lapraik

That is all very impressive, but to get the measure of the tasks he carried out we should look at one of the operations he was involved in.   The Raid on Symi took place from 13th to 15th July in 1944 as part of the Mediterranean Campaign.   Two allied Special Forces were involved – the British SBS and the Greek Sacred Band.   who raided the German and Italian garrisons on the island of Symi in the Aegean Sea.   During the raid, the German and Italian forces were overwhelmed and the Allies forces evacuated Symi as planned.   In detail –

100 British men were involved and the Commanding Officer was Ian ‘Jock’ Lapraik.   We can go back to Wikipedia for further description:

The British and Greek forces from ten motor launchers and supported by schooners and caiques landed unopposed and by dawn all three forces were overlooking their respective targets. As soon as light took effect the attack began, firstly on the harbor defenses with mortar and machine guns; the German garrison was taken by surprise. Two German barges which had followed the British boats came into the harbour only to be overwhelmed by gunfire, after which they were sunk.

The other objective was the high point known as Molo Point; SBS men took the hill without much opposition but they were counterattacked by a German force retreating from the main town. Running up the hill the Germans soon encountered heavy small arms fire and grenades. A Greek platoon below cut them off and as a result they surrendered

The last objective was the castle just above the harbor and fire was concentrated with Vickers machine guns  and mortars opening up on the battlements. Whilst crossing a bridge SBS men became pinned down and had to stay there for a while.  Fighting was bitter here and the majority of the casualties were taken in this area but mortar fire was concentrated on the castle.  A captured German officer and a Royal naval Lieutenant seconded to the SBS called out for the castle to surrender and after three hours of further fighting an Italian Caraninieri unit walked out and surrendered.

Further in land the other German position in a Panormitis Monastery was attacked and the men driven out and only surrendered when they came to a promontory by the sea. The island was thus secured and mopping up was done on other possible strong points on the island.

With the consolidation the SBS began planting demolition charges, this included gun emplacements, ammunition, fuel and explosive dumps. Even the harbor wasn’t spared, altogether nineteen German caiques, some displacing 150 tons were destroyed. During this time the Luftwaffe made a number of attacks on the island but to little effect.

With all the objectives taken it was decided to evacuate the island and so the Greeks and the SBS withdrew with the booty and prisoners. A small section of SBS remained on the island until the last possible moment.   Two German motor launches attempted to land but the SBS opened fire setting the two ships on fire as they tried to withdraw. The last of the men to leave on a barge ran into an E Boat  but with enough captured weapons and ammo they were able to open fire and sink the vessel for no loss.”

That’s word for word from the encyclopedia and gives a good idea of what his war service was all about.   There were also many acts of individual bravery – such as the sabotage mentioned in the GUAC history.   He was a much decorated soldier and his principal honours and awards are noted below – note that these are the principal awards and the list is not exhaustive.

Honours and Awards:

*Distinguished Service Order, awarded 18 October 1945;

*Officer of the Order of the British Empire, awarded 9th August 1945

*Military Cross, 19 August 1941, and Bar 3 February 1944

*Territorial Efficiency Decoration, 14 September 1956

*Mentioned in Despatches, 25 January 1945

*Lion of Judah (Abyssinia)

*War Cross (Greece), 2nd Class, 14 October 1949.

There is really nothing to add to the story of Ian Lapraik other than to say, go and read more about him!

George CL Wallach

George WallachGeorge Wallach

George Wallach was one of the best ever Scottish distance runners but is one of the least known.   He ran in nine world cross-country championships (and would certainly have been more but for the interruption caused by the 1914-18 War) and won silver and bronze.  On the track he won the SAAA Four Miles championship in 1911 and 1913, the Ten Miles in 1913 and 1914, twice setting Scottish records for the distance.   He represented Scotland in the Four Miles in the Irish international in 1911, winning the event.   Despite being a Scottish internationalist and medalist, Wallah was half German: his father was Hermann Louis Waldemar Wallach and he was a Prussian tinsmith who travelled to Kirkcudbright  where he married a local girl.   Janet Wallach was Scottish through and through..

George Curtis Locke Wallach was born in Scotland, in Castle Douglas on March 20th, 1883 and died on April 2nd, 1980 (Aged 97.013) in Manchester, Greater Manchester, Great Britain. He moved to England in 1905 to take a job in Lewes, Sussex where he joined Brighton & County Harriers. The following year he moved to Lancashire to work for the Manchester Evening News and continued his running with Preston Harriers and lived the rest of his life in England.   He often came up to Scotland for championship meetings and was said to be very popular with the spectators.

Colin Shields thought that Wallach’s best international appearance may well have been his first one:  “Arguably his finest run was in his first international championship in Belfast in 1910.  Having achieved 2nd place in the English championships in 1910, he was selected by Scotland to run in Belfast. Approaching the final run in at Belvoir Park, Wallach was forcibly removed from the international race by the police while in first place. Police officers had noticed that his shorts had been substantially torn while negotiating the barbed wire fences of the course and on grounds of public decency, removed him. He was forced to watch Wood of England and Essex Beagles run past and win the individual title, a result that cost him the title and the Scottish team a certain second placing in the team contest.”   Yes, a policeman removed him from the race and ‘he acquiesced’ and stood stock-still watching the field stream past t the finish.   It was a ‘dnf’ for Wallach in the international.   In his book “Whatever the Weather”, Shields observes that “It is difficult in these days of appearance money and sponsorship for athletes when large sums of money depend on the performance of athletes in major international championships to realise how calmly Wallach accepted the police action which deprived him of almost certain victor.   It is more than possible that nowadays an international athlete in the same circumstances would tear himself free and run on to victory.   The enhanced publicity about the torn shorts and resistance of arrest would give him an enhanced monetary valuefor future competitive appearances and result in fame and fortune.   Who can say which is the better state of affairs?”    Later that year – on 2nd April at Hawkhill Grounds in Edinburgh, Wallach won his first SAAA track medal when he finished third in the Ten Miles Track Championship behind Tom Jack and Alex McPhee.

Although unplaced in either Scottish or English National Championships, Wallach was selected for the international to be held in Wales in 1911.   He finished third – the first of six occasions when he was in the first eight of the race.   The Scots were the third team.   In the track championships on 24th June, he won the Four Miles fairly easily – reports say that he won by 24 yards but could have easily extended that lead.   Scotland won the international against Ireland in Dublin in July and Wallach played his part by winning the Four Miles in 20:27.   The event was decided on which team had most individual winners and Scotland had seven to Ireland’s four.

1911-12 was to be one of the best years in his career.   The international cross-country championship of 1912 saw him finish fourth and lead the Scottish team to second place behind England.   Came the summer season and in the SAAA Championships he finished second to Tom Jack who was by now the SAAA President.   Jack hadnot wanted to run but had been talked into it – and won by 16 yards from Wallach.   The ‘Glasgow Herald’ reported on the race:   “1.   Tom Jack, Edinburgh Southern Harriers; 2.  GCL Wallach, Greenock Glenpark Harriers;  3.   JC Thomson, Edinburgh Harriers.   Harry Hughes, West of Scotland Harriers, Angus Kerr, Bellahouston Harriers, JD Hughes, Edinburgh Harriers.   Five laps from home Kerr dropped out.   Meanwhile interest was chiefly centred on Wallach and Jack.   Both were moving sweetly, particularly Jack, who, in making his final effort drew away from the Bolton Harrier and won by 16 yards, Thomson being an indifferent third.   First Mile being 4:54.4 , second mile 10:13.8 , third mile 15:33.6 and fourth mile 20:45.” 

Jack, Wallach and Kerr were selected for the international the international to be held at Powderhall in July.    However before that he was selected to compete in the inaugural Olympic 10000m in Stockholm.   Competing on Sunday, 7th July, he dropped out in Stockholm.   He was not the only GB representative to fail to finish in this new event – the 5000m and the 10000m were inserted into the programme instead of the Five Miles which had been held in 1908 – as George Lee, Charles Ruffell,  Frederick Hibbins and Thomas Humphrey also failed to complete the distance.   The preview of the Scoto-Irish match on 20th July noted that he ‘ did not seem to have taken too well to the airs of Stockholm and may be off-colour.’   In fact he did not run at all in the match – many of the Olympians called off including JT Soutter and WA Stewart.   It’s fair to point out that Ireland lost the services of JJ Flanagan who had also been competing at Stockholm.

That winter he finished fourth in the North of England championships and in the first ten in the English National, and was selected for the Scottish team in the international held in Paris.  France’s Jean Bouin won for the third consecutive year and Wallach in eighth led the Scots team home for the third successive year – he was to be first Scot across the line for his country in six of his nine appearances.   In summer 1913 he won the SAAA 10 miles track race at Celtic Pard in a new Scottish record of 53:01.   Colin Shields tells us that this time was “far outside his personal best of 51:36 set a few weeks earlier in England, despite a most unusual and unsettling preparation for the race.   Having to work as a printer with the Manchester Evening News on the night before, he caught the morning express train on the day of the race, arriving in Glasgow just a couple of hours before the race started.   He displayed what a fine distance runner he was by lapping the entire field except for Archie Craig who finished runner-up  just outside 54 minutes in a time beaten on only four occasions since the race was first held in 1886.  He set records en route for 8 miles (42:13.2)  and 9 miles (47:39.2).

Shields considers Wallach’s outstanding achievement was his second place in the international cross-country championships of 1914.   He finished third in the English National and made his first appearance in the Scottish National winning from Archie Craig.   In the international, held in England, it was a genuine cross-country trail with hills, plough and many obstacles.   Taking the lead on the second lap, until after the final stretch of plough he fell badly at a water jump and allowed A Nichols of England to draw clear.   He was second, 26 seconds down on Nichols – which was the best ever performance by a Scot in the event up to that point.  Shields summarises Wallach’s career up to that point at which he could have been expected to go on to much greater things but for the War which intervened after his two brilliant years of 1913 and 1914.  He says:

“Newspaper reports of the era  always referred to GCL Wallach when reporting details of his many athletic triumphs.   Born in Castle Douglas, the twelfth of eighteen children he died aged 96 years in 1979.   He lived and worked for most of his life in England, competing extensively in English races.    He was a remarkable cross-country runner who represented Scotland nine times in the international race and finished as first Scot home on six of these occasions.   He was a typical Harrier, tough, rugged and determined – a hard man of athletics who was renowned for his pace and race judgment, with hs strength and staying power being his forte, rather than his finishing speed which was always judged to be lacking for the international class runner that he was.  

His achievements were uniquely recognised by the NCCU General Committee who minuted their special appreciation of his performance in the 1922 international at Hampden by noting:   ‘Reference to the international would hardly be complete without commenting on the running of GCL Wallace who was again first man home for Scotland in fourth place, an excellent performance for a man who has passed 40 years of age.   Wallach’s performance was truly remarkable and well worthy of the many eulogising press comments   and his overall record is testimony of his consistency in the international event.’

He won the National in 1914 and 1922, representing Greenock Glenpark Harriers and the first world war must have robbed him of the opportunity of many more victories.   In those times the majority of roads were surfaced with sets of cobbles which were extremely painful to run on, causing bad blistering, and in the evenings there was only limited street lighting to to illuminate the poor road surface.    Wallach trained mainly on the track in the evenings, and from New Year onwards, utilised Belle Vue track in Manchester where he lived and worked.   Admission to the track cost 4d  (1.5p) with the changing rooms being in a dilapidated wooden structure open to all the winds that blew with doors that never shut properly.   Wallach changed by the light of a candle and once on the track there was only the glow from the adjacent street lights to distinguish the grass verge from the cinder track.    Baths, showers or adequate toiled facilities were undreamed of luxuries at Belle Vue but Wallach took all the difficulties that would horrify modern athletes in his stride.   

His durability, twice gaining international selection when past 40 years of age, is remarkable when one considers that the average life expectancy was 45 years in 1900 rising slowly to the late fifties by 1932.    The training carried out by harriers placed them far above the general level of fitness of the ordinary population, as is borne out by the fact that during the First World War, two thirds of all men examined were considered unfit for active service.’

That passage is typical of the excellent work done by Shields in his book ‘Whatever the Weather’ which is thoroughly researched, well written and very informative.

 We are however starting to get a bit ahead of ourselves as far Wallach’s career profile is concerned and need to go back to the 1914 track season which started well with a win in the SAAA 10 miles track championship in Edinburgh on 4th April.   The report was quite detailed.

“Ideal conditions favoured the twenty sixth annual championship over the distance which was run at Hawkhill Grounds, Leith, on Saturday afternoon, and the running was in keeping with the occasion.   The holder, GCL Wallach (Greenock Glenpark Harriers and Bolton United Harriers) was opposed by a field of seven which included SS Watt (Clydesdale Harriers), the 1911 champion, G Cummings (Bellahouston Harriers), AG Ledingham (Waverley Harriers), the Eastern District cross-country champion, and CP Abbott (Gala Harriers), but he outpaced them all and set fresh Scottish native records from seven to ten miles inclusive, his own last year’s record at Celtic Park being beaten by 12 2-5th seconds.   

Abbott led at a fast pace for half a mile, but Wallach then went past him  and was not again headed.   He lapped Abbott at six miles and Cummings and Ledingham a mile later, and Abbott was again overhauled before the finish.   In the end Wallach won by about 700 yards from Cummings who was 40 yards ahead of Ledingham.   Times:

1 Mile 4:58;   2 miles 10:13.4;   3 miles 16:27.4;   4 miles 20:44;   5 miles 25:59.4;   6 miles 31:20.6;   7 miles 36:42.2;   8 miles 42:04.4;   9 miles 47:32;   10 miles 52:48.6.     Cummings  55:11.4;   Ledingham 55:20.2;   Abbott 58:03.6.   J Duncan Waverley retired through injury after going only half a mile, Watt in the thirteenth lap and DK Wilson (Edinburgh Northern Harriers) at five miles.   Cummings and Ledingham gained standard medals for completing the distance inside 57 minutes.   Officials: Judge, Mr J Quigley; referee, Mr T Jack;   starter, Mr JR Hogg; timekeepers, Messrs J Bartleman, G Bruce,   Taylor and DS Duncan.”

On 16th May 1914, at Belle Vue, Manchester, he retained the English Northern Countries 10 miles championship in 55:31.8

Later in the summer, keeping up the routine of attending championships Wallach ran in the Four Miles at the SAAA Championships on 27th June when he finished second to James Wilson, another Anglo who competed in the colours of Greenock Glenpark Harriers who won in 20:30.   The report read: “Perhaps the most surprising result of the afternoon’s proceedings was that of the four miles race, in which Wallach was unexpectedly beaten by James Wilson.   Eleven turned out and the pace was made by Wilson, Wallach following.   The champion took the lead at the first mile and retained the position most of the way.   Half a lap from home, Wilson drew level  and in a strenuous finish Wallach found himself unable to hold Wilson who crossed the line with a five yard lead.”

Unfortunately for Wallach, and many others of course, the outbreak of War later in the year meant that a huge hole that could never be repaired was torn in his career and when the War ended he was 35 years old.   Nevertheless he was back in harness after the War and with the first running of the international at the end of the 1920/21 season there was a target for all Scottish distance runners.   Wilson missed the race but Wallach was forward for the race in which J Hill Motion (Eglinton Harriers) was the victor with Wallach second.   In the International, held that year in Newport, Wallach was yet again first Scot home when he finished in eighth place.   A year later and he regained the Scottish cross-country title defeating Archie Craig (Bellahouston)and J Riach (Maryhill) and qualifying for the international at the age of 40.  He finished fourth and first Scot yet again.   Not finished yet, he took part in the international again in 1923 and 1924!      In 1923 he was twenty second and in 1924 twenty third.   Each time he was a counting runner.    In 1924, his final representative honour, he had just celebrated his 42nd birthday.

Wallach was a remarkable athlete and one who should be more celebrated than he currently is.

John McGough

John McGough – The Flying Postman

By Alex Wilson

John McGough

This excellent profile of one of Scotland’s best ever milers was written by Alex Wilson and must be the definitive coverage of the man’s career as an athlete.   Alex also provided all the photographs, except for the 1907 AAA’s championship and the Olympic trial which are courtesy Kevin Kelly.

It’s almost an understatement to say that Celtic athletes were prominent in international track and field athletics in the late 19th and early 20th century. The names of Tom Conneff, Walter Newburn, John Flanagan, Paddy Ryan, Denis Horgan, Tom Kiely, Peter O’Connor, Tim Ahearne and the brothers Con and Pat Leahy are among the early Irish T&F greats who created world records and won Olympic medals across a range of events. Many more among the Irish diaspora competed with distinction under the flags of Great Britain, USA, Canada and South Africa. The Scoto-Irish middle distance runner John McGough is a classic example, a son of Erin fostered by the Scottish harrier system.

John McGough saw the light of day on January 20 1881 in the hamlet of Annagleve, a farming community located about two miles SSW of Castleblayney in County Monaghan. He was the eldest child of Thomas and Bridget McGough, who, to escape poverty, emigrated to Scotland and settled in Glasgow when McGough was an infant. McGough grew up in the Gorbals district, the heart of Glasgow’s Irish community, and later became the town postman. Little could Thomas and Bridget McGough have known that their boy would blossom into a wonderful athlete whom John W. Keddie described in “Scottish Athletics” as the “dominating force in Scottish middle distance running in the first decade of the new century”.

In a “Scots Athlete” piece entitled “A potted history of Bellahouston Harriers” by W.R. McNeillie it is gleaned that the club “was formed in 1892 in and around Govan, having as their earlier headquarters, Govan Baths, the nucleus of the club being postmen to whom it must have been just a quick step from walking to running.” As a postman, McGough had an important duty to discharge, letters being the principal means of long distance communication in the early 1900’s, as ordinary families couldn’t afford telephones. People expecting news would wait for the postman, who was easily recognisable by his navy blue uniform and peaked hat. A town postman had a lot of walking to do, covering at least ten miles a day and sometimes even double that, carrying a heavy mailbag slung over his shoulder or pushing a cart laden with parcels. The volume of mail in those days was such that a postman did several rounds a day, serving each household only once, and worked six days a week. “There is nothing like delivering letters on a long round for developing the leg muscles and producing real champions,“ said a Post Office official. “People sometimes claim that postmen are slow, but our list of record holders shows that in reality they are about the the speediest class of worker in the country. Postmen often claim that they walk thousands and thousands of miles in the course of their duties, and our list proves that they have speed as well as stamina. Healthy recreation was always encouraged in the Civil Service.” The list of famous G.P.O. athletes is a long one and, apart from John McGough, includes such names George Dunning, London G.P.O., the national cross country champion of 1881 and 1882 and long-time holder of the world 25 mile record; Bobby Bridge, the Chorley postman who broke every walking world record from eleven to sixteen miles in 1914; and Alf Shrubb, who was the postman at Horsham from 1901 to 1904 and broke every world record from 2000 yards to the hour.

In the early years the Bellahouston Harriers were solely a cross country club. Training was done work permitting and typically limited to a couple of runs a week through the Pollok estate from the Govan Baths in Summerton Road. The harriers did not hold their first summer championship until 1900, when the winner, according to McNeillie, was one J. McGough. A novice at the time, McGough won his first open race in July of the following year at the Clydesdale Harriers sports at the Exhibition Exhibition Sports Grounds in Gilmorehill. The Glasgow Herald reported that “a comparatively unknown man in J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers, 40 yards, won the half mile”. The race brought out a big field and in the final heat McGough won by six yards from A. Grant, Edinburgh University, in 2:00.2. The following month, he was once again in the frame at the Celtic FC sports, where he finished second in the mile handicap off 60 yards. That season he won seven prizes, chiefly firsts. It was already clear that Bellahouston Harriers had an emerging star in their ranks.

1902 season 

McGough came out late in the season and was immediately successful, winning a two mile team race at the West of Scotland Harriers’ sports at Ibrox Park on 14th June in 9:54.6. A week later he caused a sensation by lifting both the one and four mile titles at the S.A.A.A. championships at Hampden Park on June 21st. The report in The Scotsman: “One mile – 1, J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers; 2, W.H. Mill, West of Scotland Harriers. Three ran and W.R. McCreath made all the running. At the bell, however, McGough went to the front, and running away from his opponents, ultimately won by twenty yards. McCreath stopped 200 yards from the tape. Time, 4 mins 33 3-5 secs. Four miles – 1, J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers; 2, A. Wright, Wellpark and Maryhill Harriers; 3, J. Ranken, Watson’s College A.C. Six turned out, and Ranken, McGough and Wright were left to finish. When the bell rang it was seen that the first-named had no chance of winning, and the other two went ahead together. A great race was ran between this pair. Wright, who was second to Mill last year, challenged the leader, but McGough stuck gamely to his advantage, and was a popular winner. Time, 20 mins. 51 3-5 secs.”

After claiming double gold in the Scottish championships McGough suddenly found himself running off scratch and heavily handicapped. That, however, did not deter him from winning the two miles flat handicap at the Clydesdale Harriers sports at Hampden Park on Thursday 26th June in 9:43.4, a time just two seconds shy of the Scottish native record.

As Scottish champion he was automatically selected by the S.A.A.A. General Committee to represent Scotland in both the mile and four miles in the annual international contest between Scotland and Ireland at Ballsbridge, Dublin, on July 19th. The contest, then in its eighth year, was the world’s first regular series of international matches and, at the time, the season highlight for both Irish and Scottish athletes alike. Scotland, the holders, were without several of their stars, notably Jack Paterson and Duncan Mill, winners respectively of the one mile and four miles in 1901, and found themselves on the receiving end of a 9-2 drubbing by the Irish. The running of McGough, beaten into second in both the mile and four miles by J.J. Daly, was symptomatic of the Scots’ overall showing. The Edinburgh Evening News: “Both these events were regarded as certainties for our youthful champion, J. McGough, and the defeat carried consternation into the Scottish camp. Daly’s sprinting of the last lap of the shorter distance took McGough completely by surprise. When Daly darted ahead at the bell, and prematurely took McGough’s ground, the latter made no effort to hold him, under the impression that the big Irishman would come back to him, but amidst wild “hurrors” from the spectators, Daly ran in a strong winner by twenty-five yards in 4 min. 27 4-5 sec., a time which nobody deemed him capable of. He is one of the ugliest runners we ever saw, lurching along with giant strides, but “handsome is as handsome does” all the world over, and Daly must rank as one of the best milers Ireland has yet produced. In the four miles McGough was looked upon as likely to turn the tables, and excitement rose to a high pitch when the pair alone remained on the track with half a mile to go. In the back straight of the second last lap McGough on the inside made an attempt to draw away, whereupon Daly swooped down upon him, and fouled him so badly as to cause him to reel. Before McGough recovered Daly was 20 yards in front, but with a great effort McGough began to close up the gap 300 yards from home. At the foot of the straight Daly was palpably in extremis, but try as McGough liked he was still three yards to the bad when the Irishman broke the worsted in 20 min. 42 3-5 secs. McGough was distinctly unlucky to lose, and on a cinder track we are confident that he would beat the Irish champion. The last mile was run in 5 min. 0 2-5 secs., and the intermediate mile times were: one mile, 5 min. 3 1-5 secs., two 10 min. 24 2-5 secs., three 15 min. 42 1-5 secs.”

A fortnight later, in a meeting at Barrhead, one of many that had to be postponed that summer due to the Coronation of King Edward, McGough delivered one of the best performances of the day in the half mile handicap off 8 yards. “He ran as he always does, with rare judgement, and it goes without saying that his triumph was well received,“ the report read.

At the Celtic FC sports the following Saturday he produced another excellent performance in the mile handicap in front of a bumper crowd of 25,000 spectators. The race fell to A. Duncan, of the Olympic Harriers, 120 yards, in 4:21. McGough just failed to get up to win the race, but managed to get the better of his Irish rival Daly, both men running from 40 yards, the one getting second and the other third.

Thus concluded a season in which McGough had gone from being a relative unknown to the new face of Scottish athletics. In all, he added 19 prizes to his trophy cabinet. More importantly, from a broader perspective, he was the only Scottish middle distance runner then who was capable of filling the big boots left by Jack Paterson and Duncan Mill. Even though still in the early stages of his athletic career, he was, it seemed, carrying not only the mail but also the hopes of a nation on his shoulders.

1902 Celtic FC 12 McG 7 Binks

At Celtic Sports, 1902: McGough 12, Joe Binks 7, Rimmer 9, Daly 5

 

1903 season 

A winter of stamina-building pack runs and inter-club runs saw McGough emerge from the winter of 1902/3 an improved athlete. He kicked off his track season at Parkhead on May 11th at the annual sports of the North Cycling and Motoring Club, where he won the half mile handicap off 8 yards. “In the half mile flat handicap,” reported the Glasgow Herald, “J. McGough, Bellahouston Harriers, ran splendidly getting through about 40 runners, and winning easily. Time: 2 min. 2 3-5 sec.“

A few days later he was matched against fellow Scoto-Irishman Pat McCafferty over four miles in the West of Scotland Harriers sports held at Ibrox Park on Thursday 14 May. It wasn’t much of a contest, though, because McCafferty retired at two miles and McGough finished alone. His time of 20:21.8 was another personal best and brought him to within 11 seconds of the Scottish native record.

Four days after that, McGough tested himself against English cracks Sid Robinson, Northampton, and Jack Rimmer, Southport, in a two miles handicap at the Glasgow Merchants Cycling Club sports at Parkhead. In view of his good early season form, it’s maybe a little surprising that he was given an 80 yard start on his English rivals, who were the backmarkers. Not surprisingly, neither Robinson nor Rimmer figured prominently, while McGough cut through the field like a hot knife through butter and came home the winner by 15 yards in 9:26.4. As was a common practice in those days, it had been arranged that the Bellahouston Harrier would run on for another 80 yards to complete the full distance. His time of 9:37.0 was a new Scottish native record, four seconds inside the old figures that had been held by Andrew Hannah, Clydesdale Harriers, since 1894. “Record breaking,” wrote a Herald columnist, was an “infallible test of athletic excellence”

His appetite for record-breaking whetted after making his first incursion into the record books, McGough then set his sights on the three miles native record – 14:57.2 by William Robertson, of Clydesdale Harriers – in a handicap race at the Edinburgh Harriers sports at Powderhall Grounds on June 6th. The report read: “This was one of the tit bits which the promoters of the sports had arranged. Additional interest was added to it by the appearance of Daly and McGough at scratch. The entries numbered twenty-seven, and twenty-one competed. The absence of P.J. McCafferty, W.S.H. (125 yards) and W. Robertson, C.H. (140 yards) was regrettable, as between them and the scratch men a good race was expected. For some time neither of the scratch men made much ground, but as some of the competitors with the large starts dropped off and the field was thinned, they began to draw in the remaining men. With five laps to go, after having covered seven, Daly dropped off, but McGough held on his course. It was unfortunate that he got no assistance in the way of pacing. Many of the runners dropped off, leaving him to cover the large gap between him and those with the big starts. If he had had a strong runner in front of him he certainly would have made a great show, as he finished only 4-5th secs. outside record time. The winner finished apparently fresh after a sprint for the tape. McGough on coming into the straight was loudly cheered for his sprint home. His time was 14 mins. 58 secs.” Clearly the record was at McGough’s mercy, given good conditions and a good race.

Next on the agenda was the S.A.A.A. championships at Ibrox Park on June 20th, when the main feature was McGough’s bold attempt to pull off an unprecedented triple in the half mile, mile and four miles. The Edinburgh Evening News takes up the story: “Hugh Welsh was the first man to win both the half mile and the mile, a feat he accomplished in 1896, ’97 and ’99. His ambition, unfortunately, did not turn in the direction of triple honours. J. Paterson, who began as the four miles champion, and worked down to the lesser distances, in 1900 won the half mile and mile, and he might have forestalled McGough had he possessed the stamina of the Bellahouston man. Paterson was actually a three distance champion in 1900, he having won the ten miles championship in April, but it has been reserved for McGough to be the first to win three distance races in one day. He was fortunate in the respect that he had his easiest undertaking first; had Cowe met him at four miles after a gruelling mile, the chances are that the Berwick man would have been champion instead of runner-up. But McGough well deserved his laurels. He beat a prettier runner in Roxburgh over half a mile in the capital time of 2 min. 1 3-5 sec., in the mile he pulled out Ranken and made the Watsonian do the best time of his career – as a matter of fact, Ranken’s 4 min. 30 1-5 sec. has only two or three times been beaten in the championship – and in the last race of the day he wore down a strong and plucky runner in J.B. Cowe, winning in 20 min. 30 1-5 sec., the fastest time on record in an S.A.A.A. championship, and not 20 sec. outside Duffus’ Scottish “native” record time for the distance in the S.A.A.U. championships of 1896. The times alone stamp McGough as one of the greatest runners we have ever had in Scotland. He was in distress in one portion of of his race with Cowe, who has a lot to learn in the matter of tactics, but in each case his strong sprint pulled him through, and his capabilities were not bottomed at any distance on Saturday.”

The feat of winning all the distance events at a single one-day championship is one of such singular difficulty, it has never been repeated since. McGough being postman, it was of course a red letter day in the annals of S.A.A.A. history. Here is the account of all three races as published in The Scotsman:

Half mile: 1, John McGough (Bellahouston Harriers); 2, William Roxburgh (Hamilton Harriers). The winner went to the front from the crack of the pistol and was never overtaken. Roxburgh made his effort coming round the last bend, by which time Smith had dropped well out of the race, but McGough shook off the challenger, and, finishing strongly, won by about eight yards. Time 2 mins. 1 3-5 secs. One Mile: 1, John McGough (Bellahouston Harriers); 2, John Ranken (Watson’s College A.C. and Edinburgh Harriers). McGough won the second championship in easy fashion by about a dozen yards in the good time of 4 mins. 27 3-5 secs. The lap times were 66 1-5 secs., 2 mins. 15 ½ secs., 3 mins 24 1-5 secs. Four Miles: 1, John McGough (Bellahouston Harriers); 2, James B. Cowe (Berwick Harriers). J. Ranken dropped out with a mile gone in 4 mins 55 4-5 secs., and Robertson retired at two miles, which took 10 mins. 5 3-5 secs. McGough was leading when three miles had been covered in 15 mins. 23 secs. With two and a half laps to go, Cowe went away with a spurt, and it looked for a minute or two as if the champion was going to give in, but he soon pulled up and took the lead again. With the ringing of the bell McGough forced the pace, and it was at once seen that Cowe could not finish like a champion, and continuing to go strongly round the last lap, amid enthusiastic cheering, McGough won his third championship of the day by about twenty yards. Time 20 mins 30 15 secs.

The S.A.A.A. entered McGough for the A.A.A. championships at Northampton on Saturday 4th July. In his first event, the half mile, he made the mistake of trying to win from gun to tape, for despite his best efforts, he was unable to get away from experienced campaigners Bert Blunden and Albert Barker, and ultimately ran himself to a standstill, giving up 200 yards from the finish. He was also entered for the mile, which the peerless Alf Shrubb won easily in 4:24.0, but heeded the advice of his friends to “stand down”.

He was selected for both the half mile and the mile in the Scoto-Irish contest at Powderhall on July 18th. The half mile was one of the doubtful events, for he was up against Irish speed merchant James Finnegan, winner of the half mile in the previous two encounters. However, McGough left very little hope for the Irishman by going away at a cracking pace and, leading from start to finish, won by ten yards in 2:03.4, a good time considering the sodden track and bleak and miserable weather. The mile was a more tactical affair, in which McGough avenged his previous year’s defeat at the hands of J.J. Daly, powering through a 61 sec. last quarter to win by 12 yards from the burly Irishman. Overall, though, Scotland lacked the strength in depth, and again Irish eyes were smiling when they retained the team contest.

On Wednesday 22nd July McGough made another appearance in Edinburgh, in the Leith Shamrock Cycling Club sports at the Hawkhill Ground. Alongside the American sprint ace, Arthur Duffey, he was the main attraction of the evening. Running from scratch in the mile handicap, he threaded his way through a big field, and was cheered home the winner by eight yards in a new personal best of 4:26.6.

In Rangers F.C. sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday 1st August he ran in the mile handicap. A big crowd of 12,000 spectators cheered as worked his way up through the field and got up to second, six yards short of catching W. Watson, Edinburgh Southern (80 y), in 4:28.4. When the meeting continued on a wet and cold Monday evening the Scottish champion started from the scratch mark in the two miles handicap, and, taking the lead after 1 ¼ miles, breasted the tape in a new Scottish native record of 9:36.4, three-fifths of a second inside his own figures.

He concluded his track season a week later at the Celtic F.C. sports, but did not have the freshness in his legs needed to make up some big starts in a field of 53 runners and retired before the finish. “McGough,” wrote the Glasgow Herald, ”made a plucky effort to get through the labyrinth of competitors, but did not succeed, and he, along with J. Daly, the Irish crack, gave up on entering the finishing straight.“ Handicaps with large fields, were great crowd entertainment, but had their obvious drawbacks for the backmarkers, who were additionally handicapped by the sheer weight of numbers, being forced to constantly dodge and weave through slower runners and run wide on the bends and in the straights.

Thus ended a memorable season during which he had amassed 24 prizes and created S.A.A.A. championship history by winning all three distance titles in one day, not to mention scoring a “double” in the Scoto-Irish contest and setting a couple of native records.

1904 season

McGough was no cross country runner and derived little pleasure from heavy going or ploughed fields. Bearing this in mind, he showed loyalty beyond the call of duty by turning out for his club in the 1904 Scottish Cross Country Championships at the Agricultural Grounds, Scotstoun. After leading in the early stages, said the report, he slipped down the field upon entering the open country and, though we don’t know his finishing position, he presumably finished well down the order. However, the work he put in during the winter showed when he opened his track 1904 campaign with a bang in the West of Scotland Harriers sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday 21st May. The meeting was actually a team competition for the Connell Cup, and four teams took part, including the ultimate winners, South London Harriers. One of the highlights of the meeting was the appearance in the one and three miles of English champion Alfred Shrubb, who had only just recently smashed the world five mile record. The neatly moustached Englishman had swept all before him since 1902, but had yet to make acquaintance with the Glasgow postman, who, after finishing runner-up to E.H. Montague (SLH) in the half mile, faced Shrubb in the mile. “The mile was a specially interesting race, in which the respective champions of Scotland and England fought out the issue. Going off at a fast pace – the first quarter was covered in 58 sec. – Shrubb speedily scattered the field, and at mid distance only the Scotch champion remained seriously to consider. Drawing slowly on the South Londoner, the Scot closed up the gap, and the pair ran stride for stride till 300 yards from home. Then a ding-dong finish was witnessed, lasting round the final bend and into the straight, where McGough gained an advantage, which attended him to the tape. Shrubb ten yards from the tape easing up, seeing pursuit hopeless. Shrubb was beaten by two yards in 4 min. 26 sec., and the merit of McGough’s win all the greater because prior to the mile McGough had run a close second in a scratch half mile to E.H. Montague, a club-mate of Shrubb’s.” McGough’s victory over the indomitable Shrubb was, of course, something of a novelty and, wrote The Scotsman, caused “a scene of excitement which is seldom witnessed at an athletic meeting in Glasgow.” The Glasgow Herald: “Some have it that the Scottish champion does not always show sound judgement, but, be that as it may, he gave a flawless display on Saturday.”

When the meeting continued on the Monday, McGough turned out in the three mile handicap against Shrubb,  amongst others, and served up the highlight of the evening by knocking more than 13 seconds off the Scottish native record. In spite of running such an impressive time, bad handicapping saw him finish unplaced, the winner being J.R. Moffatt, of Larkhall Harriers, who with the benefit of a liberal 450 yards start broke the tape in the then fanciful time of 14:12.4. The Scotsman reported: “A. Shrubb, English champion, was at scratch, and the handicap was framed with a view to record-breaking. The Englishman, however, gained nothing on McGough after the first half mile, and retired after running two miles. McGough, who ran in rare style, maintained a steady pace throughout, and although only fourth in the handicap, completed the full distance in 14 mins. 44 3-5 secs.” Shrubb, who had also run the three miles at the Saturday meeting in 14:59.4, was clearly not at his best and stale from his heavy racing schedule, but this does not in any way diminish the quality of McGough’s performance, particularly when it is considered that the three miles was a distance he rarely attempted.

McGough was among the entries for the 1000 yards handicap at the Clydesdale Harriers sports on Saturday 28 May, but was called upon to give 57 yards to S. Carson, and this task was five yards too much for him. He ran fairly well, but could do no better than 2:21.4. The following week, at the annual athletic gathering of the Edinburgh Harriers at Powderhall Grounds, he was in better fettle, breaking the two minute barrier in the half mile for the first time with a time of 1:59.6. Being rather heavily handicapped, however, he was unable to get among the first three, William D. Anderson, of Olympic Harriers, winning off 20 yards in 1:58.0. Later in the same afternoon, he turned out in the two mile handicap where, despite a sterling 9:41.4 performance, he was unable to get anywhere near the leaders, Sam Stevenson, Clydesdale Harriers, taking advantage of a 180 yard allowance to win comfortably in 9:22.0.

On June 11th he again confronted Alf Shrubb in a mile handicap at the West of Scotland Harriers meeting at Ibrox Park, where earlier in the afternoon the Londoner had electrified the crowd by smashing the world two mile record to win in 9:09.6. In spite of his exertions, the Englishman conceded McGough 15 yards in the mile. It proved to be a great race, McGough and Shrubb running neck and neck on the last lap. Then the Englishman edged ahead in the home straight and won by a yard amid tumultuous scenes with the clock stopping at 4:23.8.

McGough was conspicuous by his absence when the meeting resumed on the Monday evening, when, once again, the undisputed star of the show was Alf Shrubb, who served up a world four mile record of 19:23.4. In spite of the record-breaking exploits of Alf Shrubb and his face-off with John McGough at the Saturday function, the overall attendance at both meetings was disappointing (a mere 6,000).

A fortnight later McGough had no difficulty in retaining his half mile and mile titles in the S.A.A.A. championships at Powderhall Ground, the former by a couple of yards from William Anderson in 2:01.8 and the latter by 30 yards from Sam Kennedy, Garscube Harriers, in 4:36.4. By winning the mile for the third time McGough made the 25 guinea silver challenge cup his to keep. To be allowed to keep an S.A.A.A. challenge cup in any event, you had to win the title either three times in succession or four times in total.

On July 2nd McGough renewed his rivalry with Alf Shrubb in the mile flat race at the A.A.A. championships at Rochdale. Shrubb, as expected, took the lead early on and, setting a fast pace considering the stormy weather, held it until 300 yard from home, when Joe Binks, the British record holder, went ahead. Shrubb, however, came again, and won a desperately close race by a yard, just managing to hold off McGough, whose late charge carried him past Binks and into the silver medal position. McGough’s time of 4:22.2 was faster than he had ever previously run in public and some consolation for narrowly failing to win this, the blue riband event. Among Scots (amateurs), only Hugh Welsh had run faster. In 1906 Shrubb would describe this race as the hardest battle he had ever had.

Fresh from his medal-winning run in the A.A.A. championships, McGough took full advantage of favourable weather and track conditions at the Bellahouston Harriers sports at Ibrox Park on Saturday 9 July to erase not one, but two, Scottish native bests from the record books. Running from scratch, he finished fourth in the 1000 yards handicap, recording a personal best of in 2:18.8 – a 1.2 sec. improvement on the previous figures for the distance which had stood to the credit of James Rodger, of Maybole, since 1895. Later in the afternoon he turned out in the two miles handicap, and, taking the lead with a lap to go, stretched away to win comfortably in a time of 9:36.0, four tenths of a second inside his own figures. The setting of two native records in two separate distance races in the space of a single afternoon was a Shrubb-esque feat and, accordingly, the Glasgow Herald’s editorial reads like a laudatio: “It is not too much to say that John McGough has made the Bellahouston Harriers. For years he has taken a great pride in the club, and in turn the members have taken a great pride in him. By his brilliant achievements he has given Bellahouston Harriers a name which is now a household word in athletic circles everywhere, and that name he enhanced on Saturday , on the occasion of their first open sports, by creating two fresh records in the 1000 yards and the two miles, taking 1 1-5 off the former and 2-5 sec. off the latter. He was the winner of the longer distance, but in the 1000 yards he was unplaced , which is to be regretted, as his running was worthy of being crowned with first honours. McGough is an extraordinarily fine runner ; as a matter of fact, he comes next to Hugh Welsh, of the Watsonians, whose running must still be fresh in the minds of many.”

The record-breaking double at Ibrox obviously augured well for the annual Scoto-Irish contest, held a week later at Ulster Cricket Club, Belfast, where, as Scottish champion, McGough was nominated for the half mile and the mile. The weather was fine and there was a large attendance, but the playing field was anything but level, literally, and so not conducive to fast running. In the half mile McGough looked to have the trace sewn up, but was denied when Ireland’s James McKenzie came with a storming late run to win by four yards in 2:03.6. However, he made amends in the mile, which he won easily from Ireland’s Michael Hynan in 4:27.6. Once again, though, Scotland lost the contest with only four wins to Ireland’s seven.

After the international match McGough continued to show good form throughout the remainder of July and August, when the big sports meetings of Glasgow Rangers FC and Celtic FC traditionally rounded off the season, even if the handicappers were not on his side. In the Edinburgh Northern Harriers’ sports at Powderhall Ground on July 30th he was too heavily handicapped to have any hope of winning the half mile from scratch, and first prize went to John Clelland, of Edinburgh Harriers, 50 yards, in 1:57.0. Despite running two minutes dead, fifth place was the best he could do. His next engagement was in the Rangers sports on Saturday 6 August, when 12,000 spectators turned out in uninviting weather and were rewarded with some excellent T&F fare including a record hammer throw of 51.71 metres by Tom Nicholson and a popular evens win for James P. Stark, of the West of Scotland Harriers, in the 100 yards handicap off 2 ½ yards. McGough was running in the mile, the final event on the programme, and again conceded some formidable starts to his fellow competitors including 15 yards to Darlington’s George Butterfield, whom he had only just managed to beat in the A.A.A. mile. He got into frame by finishing third, but was unable to do anything about Butterfield, who gleefully sprinted to victory in 4:24.2, more than making up for his 15 yard start in the process. McGough returned to Ibrox on the Monday evening, when he again he faced Butterfield in the two miles handicap, both men running from scratch on this occasion, and the 6,000 spectators witnessed a terrific race. Butterfield ran magnificently, sprinting away from McGough a furlong from home to win by fully ten yards from A. Wright, of the Wellpark Harriers, in 9:28.4. There was a separate watch on McGough, who in finishing third was timed at 9:32.4, an improvement of 2.6 seconds on his own native record.

McGough ran his last race of the season five days later at the last important athletic meeting of the Scottish season, the annual sports of the Celtic Football Club at Parkhead. The sky was overcast, and during the progress of the sports there was occasional showers. Notwithstanding the weather there were 20,000 spectators present, which was the biggest attendance of all the fixtures held that season. In the one mile handicap, Wright of Wellpark Harriers took full advantage of a 55 yard allowance to win a close contest in 4:23.4. However, the interest in this race centred chiefly around the scratch men McGough and Butterfield. Towards the end of the race McGough left the Englishman several yards behind and it looked like he was going to avenge his earlier defeats. With an astonishing sprint, however, Butterfield overtook McGough ten yards from the line and finished a yard in front, both men clocking 4:25.

Thus ended another fine season in which there had been little to fault, save for a tactical error that cost him victory in the A.A.A. mile championship. Earlier in the season he had run his best race to date when he showed English distance-running maestro Alf Shrubb a clear pair of heels in the mile at the West of Scotland Harriers sports. He had defended his Scottish half mile and mile titles, and, by winning the latter for the third time in a row, had claimed the valuable silver challenge cup. He had also defended his mile crown in the Scoto-Irish contest. And, most importantly, he had shown continued improvement by setting a string of personal bests and Scottish native records over distances from 1000 yards to three miles. He had gained 26 prizes in all, this being made of 10 firsts, 12 seconds and 4 thirds. It was all good stuff, but the best was yet to come.

 

1905 season 

McGough kicked off his 1905 campaign with a four miles match against Hugh Muldoon in a sports gathering at Belfast on May 20th, winning by 20 yards in 21:12.4. This he followed a fortnight later with a double start in the Edinburgh Harriers sports at Powderhall, where he took second in the 1000 yards handicap in 2:23.4 before carving up the field to win the two miles in 9:37.0. A 4:30.4 handicap mile victory at the Edinburgh Pharmacy AC sports on June 7th and a 9:43.0 win in the two miles team race at the West of Scotland Harriers meeting at Ibrox Park on June 10th set him up nicely for an attack on the Scottish 1000 yards record at Ibrox on the Monday evening. The weather was good, but a strong wind prevailed. He set off in good style and, running strongly, made up all the handicaps and broke the tape first in a time of 2:18.2, which bettered his own Scottish native record by six tenths of a second. McGough‘s “fine running was the feature of the meeting”, said the Herald.

The following weekend, he scored the easiest of wins in the one mile handicap at the Bellahouston Harriers sports at Ibrox Park in 4:24.2. This was a perfect tune-up for the twenty-third S.A.A.A. championships held at the same venue on June 24th in fine weather. The attendance at the national championships, however, was disappointing, and not more than 2000 people were present. But if the number of spectators was small, the sport was of the highest order. One native record was broken, this being in the half mile. It was also one of the best races of the day. In addition to McGough himself, it featured that peerless Army runner Wyndham Halswelle and William D. Anderson, now a fellow Bellahouston Harrier having switched his allegiances from Olympic Harriers. The pace was fast as W. Roxburgh (W.S.H.) led the field through the quarter in 58.8 sec., and the finish culmimated in a “magnificent struggle” with Anderson just getting home ahead of McGough in a new native record time of 1:58.8. By so doing Anderson was eligible for a second, special gold medal, in addition to the winner’s gold medal. McGough finished a mere yard adrift, recording a personal best of 1:59.0, and Wyndham Halswelle was two yards behind McGough with 1:59.4. It was the first time in championship history that the first three men had finished inside 2 mins. Sadly, the mile championship took place in the absence of Charles Henderson-Hamilton. The Edinburgh-born Oxford University student, who had won the mile in the varsity match on 31st March in a sensational 4:17.8, was unavailable as he was reading for his Army exams. John Ranken, Watson’s College AC, took on the pace-making duties and led until a furlong from home, when McGough accelerated away to win title No. 4 by fourteen yards in 4:24.2. In his wake, fast times were returned by A.M. Matthews, Edinburgh University AC, second in 4:27.4; and Ranken, third in 4:28.0.

July was just around the corner again, and that traditionally began with the A.A.A. championships. On Friday week McGough travelled south to Stamford Bridge in hopes of making amends for his narrow defeat at the hands of Alf Shrubb in the mile a year earlier. He was still smarting over the tactical blunder that, he believed, had cost him the title. This year, at least, there was no Shrubb to contend with; he had pulled out of the mile rather than confront McGough and Butterfield. “It is no use killing myself,” was his eloquent argument. Nevertheless, a strong field of eleven runners lined up in sunny weather. First George Butterfield and then Joe Deakin, of Herne Hill Harriers, set the pace. James Roberts, of Sefton Harriers, went ahead in the third lap, and at the bell it was Roberts leading, followed by Butterfield and McGough. So it remained until halfway round the final bend, when Butterfield showed what a brilliant tactician he was by suddenly hustling past Roberts and streaking to victory by four yards in 4:25.2. McGough immediately gave chase, but he could not close the gap, and for the second year in a row he finished runner-up in the British championship.

A week later, McGough put in an appearance at the St. Bernard’s F.C. sports at the Gymnasium Grounds, Edinburgh, where he was the main attraction alongside Wyndam Halswelle, who stirred up the 2,000 strong crowd with a 32.6 sec. victory in the 300 yards handicap off 2 yards. McGough turned out in the mile, in which 26 ran, conceding starts up to 125 yards. He also gave spectators something to cheer about as he gradually reeled in all his opponents, producing a grandstand finish to get home first by a yard in 4:25.2. Earlier in the day, there had been skullduggery afoot in the heats of the 120 yards handicap, where one of the competitors, looking to set himself up for a big win in the final, was disqualified for running with lead weights sewn into the soles of his spikes.

After collecting his silverware, he hurried back to Glasgow to catch the mail steamer from Greenock to Belfast, where he competed next day in the one mile handicap and in the three miles championship of the Gaelic Athletic Association, the G.A.A. being the older of Ireland’s two rival governing bodies. In the latter event, he defeated Hugh Muldoon by 20 yards to win his first Irish title, albeit in a slow time of 16:18.8.

The Emerald Isle clearly had a special place in McGough’s heart as witnessed by his affiliation to the G.A.A., and the fact that he aspired to winning titles not only in Scotland and England, but now, also, in his country of birth. There was, however, never any question of him switching his allegiance to Ireland at this time, and he dutifully turned out in the colours of Scotland in its encounter against Ireland at Powderhall Grounds on July 15th.

The meeting took place in the presence of 5,000 spectators and ended in a very decisive victory for the Scots, by eight points to three. “A feature of the day’s sport,” wrote The Scotsman, “was the running of the new quarter mile champion, Lieutenant Halswell, and J. McGough, who won the quarter and the mile respectively very comfortably from their Irish opponents.” As to the actual race, “A.M. Matthews, Edinburgh University, paced the champion for the first two laps, with the Irishmen in very close company, and at the third round McGough assumed the lead. On the last lap, G.N. Morphy, Dublin, challenged McGough, and led him five yards at the bend. McGough, however, came up the straight in great style, and won by a yard and a half, J. Fairbairn-Crawford, M.C.C., and Matthews being half a dozen yards behind.” The weather was fair, but the presence of a fairly stiff breeze showed its effect on the time sheets, which credited McGough with 4:30.2.

A fortnight later McGough was once again headed south where he would be representing his employer in the inaugural British Postal Service championships. The event was promoted by the St. Martin’s (G.P.O.) Harriers and held at Putney Velodrome and attended by athletes from postal services throughout the United Kingdom. McGough was the class act in an otherwise modestly contested meeting where the showcase event was the mile championship for a gold medal and the Dewar Challenge Shield presented by Sir Thomas Robert Dewar, M.P., the name behind the world-famous Scottish whisky and a leading sporting patron. After comfortably winning this in 4:36.6, McGough ran the last leg for his team (Glasgow P.O.) in the inter-office relay race and left his opponents standing, winning by 80 yards.

“Alfred Shrubb doubly defeated”     “run off his legs”

Racing in London on the Saturday might not have been the ideal preparation for his next engagement, the West of Scotland Harriers’ sports at Ibrox Park on Monday 31st July, but McGough possessed surprising recuperative powers. The preview in that day’s edition of the Glasgow Herald read: “J. McGough may not be at his best, as he has travelled from London overnight, but he is a runner of great resource, and rarely fails to give a good account of himself on the Rangers ground.” This assessment was to prove dead on. The principal event of the evening was a three-way mile and a half scratch race between Alf Shrubb, the English ex-champion in the mile, George Butterfield, the present mile champion of England, and McGough, the Scottish mile champion. F.J. Spencer, South London Harriers, also took part, presumably as a pacemaker, and led for the first quarter of a mile, which he covered in 59 sec. He then retired leaving Shrubb first, Butterfield second, and McGough third. In this order they passed the half mile post (2:09.0), three-quarters of a mile (3:22.6), mile (4:37.0) and mile and a quarter (5:49.6). Then the real racing began. “When the bell rang for the last lap”, reported the Herald, “half a yard covered the three competitors. Three hundred yards from home McGough got up on Shrubb, and then Butterfield came away. A hundred yards from the post the three men were abreast of each other. Butterfield was the first to show in front, but McGough made a splendid effort, and a magnificent race took place between the two men, the Scottish champion winning by inches, with Shrubb fully two yards behind. McGough had a flattering reception on retiring to the pavilion. Time: 6 min. 52 3-5 sec.” It was a brilliant piece of tactical running against two of the world’s pre-eminent runners, and possibly his single best race to date. The Herald: “McGough…came out as a tactician in this race, which is rather a new role for him.” Another paper described the race as “one of the finest seen in Scotland for some time”. The time constituted a Scottish amateur record, but it was inferior to the best mark on record by a Scot. That stood to the credit of professional Bob McKinstray, Maybole, who set a then world record of 6:50.0 at Manchester on February 23, 1867.

McGough was back at Ibrox Park on the Saturday for the Rangers F.C. sports, where he again clashed with George Butterfield in the invitation mile handicap. Once again, he got his nose in front of the Darlington man, winning by half a yard in 4:27.0, a good time on a heavy track and in windy conditions. The Herald: “McGough, for the second time in six days, got the better of Geo. Butterfield, who in the mile on Saturday, as in the mile and a half on Monday last lost first place by inches only. It was a strenuous effort on the part of both, and the one was as cordially applauded as the other on retiring to the dressing room.”

There was no time to recover, though, for the next day McGough continued his winning streak by claiming a second G.A.A. title over two miles at Dundalk, where he was credited with a dubious near-world-record time of 9:15.0.

Another three-way mile and a half race at the Celtic F.C. sports before 25,000 spectators on August 12th saw Butterfield back to his glorious best. The darling or Darlington won by three yards from Alf Shrubb, who in turn beat McGough by a yard. Given that a stiff breeze was blowing, the winning time of 6:55.4 represented exceptional running. The supplementary meeting of Celtic F.C. on the Monday was to be the scene of yet more record-breaking in a special four miles handicap featuring once again the talents of Shrubb and McGough. There were twelve entrants and Shrubb, scratch, was giving away 100 yards to McGough and 470 yards to the limit man. The Herald picks up the story from here: “The amateur athletic sports of the Celtic Football Club were continued last night at Parkhead in fine weather and before a large attendance, attracted by the entry of several English cracks. Principal interest centred in the four miles flat race handicap, in which Shrubb, Butterfield and McGough met. An exciting race was witnessed. The London runner was in grand form, and starting at once to draw in his men succeeded in passing McGough when two miles had been covered. Half a mile short of that distance Butterfield had retired, owing to the muscles of one of his legs stiffening. After he had taken the lead of the Bellahouston man Shrubb went straight ahead, and got into the first place at the end of two and three-quarter miles. He won in 19 minutes 34 seconds by fully 100 yards from McGough, who completing four miles put up a record for a Scottish runner of 20 min. 6 1-5 sec., the previous best being 20 min. 10 3-5 sec. “ The management of Celtic FC subsequently decided to present McGough with a special medal for breaking the Scottish four miles record.

A few races later he wrapped up his season at the Salford Harriers Autumn sports at Belle Vue on 9th September. His head-to-head against Butterfield in the half mile scratch race was one of the highlights of the meeting, a real crowd-pleaser. McGough had a slight advantage on Butterfield as they entered the home straight, but could not hold off his fast-finishing rival, who roared to a two yard victory in 2:00.2 , with McGough returning 2:00.5.

Overall, this had been the Bellahouston man’s best season yet, with only a few minor blemishes on an otherwise perfect record. He had appropriated the Scottish mile title for a fourth time in a row, but had been denied a second title in the fastest half mile championship in S.A.A.A. championship history. Later he had stamped his authority on the mile in the Scoto-Irish contest, winning for a third time in succession, and, for good measure, had also claimed the Postal Service mile championship and two Irish G.A.A. titles, not to mention finishing runner-up in the A.A.A. mile. He had erased three Scottish records from the history books that season, namely the 1000 yards, the mile-and-a-half and the four miles. He had captured 20 firsts, 5 seconds and 5 thirds, or 36 prizes in all, that season, bringing his grand total in four seasons to over 100 prizes. As to this, the Herald commented: “Other athletes may have won as many prizes; but few, if any, in Scotland, in recent years at least, have had their victories embroidered, so to speak, with record tinsel to the same extent as this crack Bellahouston Harrier. It is when one bears in mind that McGough has not the time to give to special preparation that his performances are all the more creditable, and the very natural assumption is that with sustained training on systematic and scientific principles he might easily succeed in placing some of the Scottish records in a more exalted position than they occupy now.“ 

1906 season : Onward to ancient Olympia

1906 Oly Final Lightbody McG

1906 Olympic Final: Lightbody (USA) from McGough (GB)

The 1906 Intercalated Games, celebrated in Athens, Greece, were an abberration, the only Games in Olympic history to break the quadrennial sequence. There was no UK selection process per se. Eligible athletes were invited to notify the A.A.A. of their definite intention to compete on the understanding that they would do so at their own expense. Only a small number of entries were received from British athletes, owing to the prohibitive cost of travelling to Athens and back, and the sheer amount of time involved in making the trip. They included several Oxbridge students and Lieutenant Halswelle, the great Scots hope. With Ireland competing under the British flag, given that it did not have a national Olympic committee, the two feuding Irish amateur athletics federations, the Irish Amateur Athletic Association (I.A.A.A.) and the Gaelic Athletic Association (G.A.A.), raised subscriptions to send three of their athletes. The roster also included the Bellahouston pair of John McGough and William Davison Anderson, whose participation was, presumably, paid for by a subscription and/or by a grant from the special fund of £208 that the Greek government had given to the English A.A.A. Notable absentees included Alf Shrubb, who had turned professional after being suspended; and George Butterfield, a busy hotelier.

The five-day itinerary would see the British team journey by boat from Dover to Dieppe and by train across Europe via Paris, Turin, Brindisi and Bari, then by boat to Corfu and Patras, and finally on to Athens. The three-day rail journey was something of an odyssey as food was in short supply and rumbling stomachs were the order of the day. It was not until the athletes boarded the steamer in Bari that they had their first square meal since leaving Britain. On their arrival in Athens the visiting teams were billeted at the Zappeion, where catering was provided by the organisers, but the Americans, among others, were unhappy about the arrangements and the food, and moved out and checked into a hotel. McGough had four days to settle in and acclimatise to the hot conditions before taking part in the 800 metres. With only the first two to progress to the final, he was eliminated in the fourth heat, won by the American Paul Pilgrim, the eventual gold medallist in this event, in 2:06.6. The relatively modest times posted throughout the games were accounted for by the slow running track in the Panathenaic Stadium, an elongated horseshoe-shaped 400 metre circuit with long straights and bends so tight they were virtually turn-arounds. To make matters worse, the surface was of loose sand and ashes, which, without an underlying layer of clay, made the going soft and heavy. Later that afternoon McGough turned out for the final of the five miles, where he was one of twenty-five starters. A blistering pace was set from the gun as the runners from the various nations vied for pole position. England’s Henry Hawtrey, the favourite, took command in the second half of the race, and lived up to his billing by pulling clear of the field to win by 50 yards in 26:11.8 – a fast time given the circumstances. Ireland’s John Daly was third past the post, but was disqualified the next day for bizarrely obstructing the Swede Edward Dahl in the home straight by running zig-zag, owing, he claimed, to exhaustion. McGough finished, but was outside the first eight. His outings on 25th April, though fruitless, gave him the invaluable opportunity to tune up for his main event and get to grips with the peculiar track. The 1500 metres heats were decided on the afternoon of 27th April and preceded by a spot of tourism unthinkable in elite track and field athletics today. The British team had, namely, begun the day by visiting the Acropolis! That wasn’t a problem for McGough, of course, who was well used to putting in a full day’s work before donning his spikes. The trouble with the afternoon programme was that there was no timetable. In any case, protocol dictated that competition not commence until the arrival of the King and the royal family, who attended the games every day and even helped out with officiating field events. McGough and his fellow athletes had no option but to hang around waiting for their turn. The first of two heats fell to 1904 triple Olympic champion Jim Lightbody (USA) in 4:19.4, with Kristian Hellström (Sweden) second, James P. Sullivan (USA), third and Greg Wheatley (AUS) fourth. McGough won the second in 4:18.8, with Reginald Crabbe (GB) second, George Bonhag (USA) third and Harvey Cohn (USA) fourth. Both qualifying rounds were relatively close affairs, and there was not much to choose between the eight finalists. In the final two days later the pace was set by George Bonhag, with Greg Wheatley (AUS) second, Cohn third and Lightbody, the holder, fourth entering the last lap. McGough was sitting at the back of the pack, as he had done throughout the race together with Crabbe. Bonhag was moving along at a great lick and had the field strung out behind him in more or less single file, but had no response when Hellström made his bid for glory approaching the last bend. For a moment, the big Swede looked all over a winner, but Lightbody quickly covered the move and unleashed a devastating burst of speed which saw him open a gap on the field. McGough, who was badly placed when he hit the home straight, summoned a great finish which carried him past all of his rivals bar one to clinch the silver medal. There was, however, no denying the fair-haired University of Chicago student, who won with five yards to spare, arms raised aloft in celebration. The winning time was worth only about 4 min. 30 sec. for the mile, but on this track it was a brilliant piece of running.

            Result: 1, James Lightbody (USA) 4:12.0; 2, James McGough (GBR) 4:12.8; 3, Kristian Hellström (SWE) 4:13.6

McGough’s compatriots did well, too. William Anderson qualified for the 400 metres final after winning the repechage race in 53.0, the equal fastest time of the Games, but was out of sorts in the final two days later and wound up eighth and last. Wyndham Halswelle was decorated with silver in the 400 metres and bronze in the 800 metres, being the only British double medallist if you exclude Irish jumpers Con Leahy and Peter O’Connor, who were forced to compete under the British flag. Though eclipsed by Halswelle, McGough has the distinction of being the first Scottish athlete to win an Olympic medal. The first Scot to win an Olympic medal in any sport was, incidentally, golfer Walter Rutherford, who won silver at Paris in 1900.

 

1906 OG GB team 1 McGough 2 Halswelle 2 Anderson 3 (1)

British Olympic Team:  McGough 1, Halswell 2, Anderson 3

When McGough arrived back to Scotland a few weeks later the national track season was just getting under way. Both McGough and Anderson, revealed the Glasgow Herald, spoke highly of the treatment they received while at Athens. A few days after his return McGough turned out in the National A.C. meeting at Parkhead and won the half mile handicap at a canter in 2:06.2. The Herald reported: “The feature of the meeting was the running of John McGough in the half mile handicap, which he won pretty much as he liked. The going was again heavy, otherwise he would have put in an even better performance. The trip to Athens has done McGough some good, and there are substantial grounds for assuming that his reputation will be vastly enhanced this season.”

The pick of McGough’s other early-season outings was a 600 yards flat race invitation handicap against rivals Halswelle and Anderson in the Clydesdale Harriers sports at Parkhead on May 26th. Halswelle had given starts of 15 yards to McGough and 10 yards to Anderson, and, despite being baulked twice, took the lead a furlong from home and won a brilliant race by 4 yards from McGough in a Scottish record time of 1:12.8 for this rarely-run event. After that McGough put in a series of fast races over his preferred distance, the mile. He started with a 4:27.6 at Powderhall Grounds on June 6th, and followed that up with a 4:24.8 at Parkhead on June 18th and a 4:25.0 at Powerhall Grounds on June 20th, still finding the time in between to take second in a mile and a half handicap at Ibrox Park on June 16th.

This of course augured well for the S.A.A.A. championships, decided at Powderhall Grounds in favourable weather before 6000 spectators on Saturday 23rd June. The half mile, in which McGough faced, among others, Wyndham Halswelle, the Olympic bronze medallist in this event, went pretty much by the form book. McGough led the field of four until entering the home straight, when the holder, Anderson, retired, leaving Halswelle and McGough to fight it out. Halfway up the straight the Lieutenant burst ahead and streaked to victory by seven yards in 2:00.4. McGough just held off club-mate, 21 year old Jimmy Vallance, a fellow postman, to take the silver medal in 2:01.5. An aspect of early S.A.A.A. championships was that medals were awarded to only the first two in each event, bronze medals being given to all those who, not taking the first or second place, reached the standard fixed by the General Committee. This was the case with Jimmy Vallance, whose 2:01.8 was comfortably inside the 2:03.0 standard. In the mile, A.M. Matthews, Edinburgh University AC, made the pace for three laps, then McGough drew level and kicked away to win easily by 12 yards in 4:32.6, thus extending his stranglehold on the event to five wins in a row. The most noteworthy feature of the meeting, though, was the running of Wyndham Halswelle, who amassed four titles, a feat unprecedented and unmatched in the annals of the Scottish championships. In addition to winning the afore-mentioned half mile, he was first in the 100 yards in 10.4, the 220 yards in 23.2 and the quarter mile in 51.4.

A fortnight later McGough lined up for AAA mile championship at Stamford Bridge, alongside a strong field including George Butterfield and Olympic five miles champion Henry Hawtrey. A sixty-second opening quarter quickly saw the field strung out, Hawtrey among others finding the pace too hot, but some half a dozen men were still together when the bell rang, with McGough sitting at the back of the pack. F.A. Knott , of South London Harriers, led until a furlong from home when Butterfield surged into an eight yard lead. A few seconds later McGough came out of the ruck in hot pursuit, but though he managed to make up a little ground, it was a case of “too little, too late”. A sub sixty second last lap saw Butterfield streak home the winner by four yards in a superb 4:18.4. McGough recorded a personal best of 4:19.2 in finishing second, eight yards ahead John Lee, of Heaton Harriers. The race was one of the fastest in A.A.A. championships history, the winning time not far outside the British record of 4:16.8 set by Joe Binks in 1902. Alongside Halswelle’s emphatic 48.8 sec. win in the quarter mile it was the outstanding performance of the championships. McGough would have taken some consolation in becoming only the third Scottish amateur after Hugh Welsh and Charles Henderson-Hamilton to break 4 mins. 20 secs., but the overriding feeling would probably have been one of frustration over finishing a close runner-up for the third time in a row. “From a Scottish point of view the most disappointing result was the mile, in which John McGough for the third time had to be content with second place – twice to George Butterfield and once to A. Shrubb. While the race, from the time aspect, was the best the Bellahouston Harrier had yet accomplished, it was, in tactics, absolutely the poorest in which he had performed for some time. For some inexplicable reason he lagged far behind till the last lap, or thereabout, and when he did make his effort it was too late. Still, he was finishing faster than Butterfield, and with another twenty yards he would have won. If only the feet had Butterfield’s head, he would be invincible over the mile. “ If any criticism could be levelled at McGough, then it was his poor tactical judgement, sentiments echoed by John Keddie in “Scottish Athletics”: “He had a habit of hanging back in a race, which presented few problems in domestic competitions, but often meant in International events that he gave himself too much to do in the closing stages”. In fact, he was about to make his worst-ever tactical mistake.

The 1906 Scoto-Irish International, the twelfth meeting between the two countries, was held the following weekend at the Ulster Cricket Club, Belfast, in an atmosphere of acrimony between the G.A.A. and the I.A.A.A., whose long-standing working relationship had broken down earlier in the year. McGough had competed at a Celtic FC meeting in Belfast under G.A.A. rules two days earlier, winning the two miles and finishing third in the one mile handicap, off 15 yards, in an excellent time of 4:20.0 worth about 4:23 for the full mile. Little did he know that his actions would have consequences, but more on that later. In the international match on July 14th he was teamed with A.M. Matthews in the mile, and the Scottish pair made the pace closely tracked by the Irish runners Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford and George Morphy. This is how it remained until the last lap, when McGough slipped away and looked to have the race sewn up before inexplicably snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. With a terrific sprint, Morphy caught McGough napping just before the finish line and beat him by a foot in 4:33.2. The Glasgow Herald made no bones about it, his defeat was down to bad tactics: “The surprise in Belfast was the defeat of John McGough in the mile. Over-confidence no doubt was to blame, for, however good a runner G.N. Morphy may be, he is not in the same street as the Bellahouston Harrier. All the same, it must be admitted that McGough is not a good performer in scratch races.” This was harsh criticism given that McGough had, within the space of five seasons, accounted for nine Scottish track titles, two Irish titles, three Scotland v Ireland titles, three A.A.A. silver medals and an Olympic silver medal.

McGough subsequently ran a couple of low-key races, winning them all, including a fast mile at the Abercorn F.C. sports in Paisley on July 21st. The Herald: “The best races was the one mile handicap, which John McGough won in 4 min. 25 1-5 sec., which is a very fine performance, considering the size and condition of the track. The S.A.A.A. champion has had a very successful handicap season, it is only in scratch races that he had failed to rise to the eminence of his powers.”

He had a week to sharpen up for the West of Scotland Harriers meeting at Parkhead, where he and George Butterfield, both off 5 yards, were the backmarkers in a specially framed half mile invitation handicap. The crowd was not disappointed when both men, despite the miserable weather, scorched round the track and carved up a good field, Butterfield winning by a yard and a half from McGough. The times were outstanding:1:57.2 to 1:57.4. McGough would have bettered the native record had he run through to the full 880. Be that as it may, by running 875 yards he had, unbeknown to anyone, run the fastest ever 800 metres by a Scot!

Though this was his longest season to date, the good performances just kept on coming. “John McGough”, wrote the Glasgow Herald, “appears to be in irresistable form”. When the W.S.H. meeting continued on the Monday evening, McGough turned out in the pouring rain for the mile and a half handicap. Despite conceding big starts, he caught the last of his rivals at the bell and won with the greatest of ease in 7:00.0. Two days later, in a Wednesday evening meeting at Larkhall, he took the one mile handicap in 4:27. Then, on Saturday 4th August, he put in an appearance at the Glasgow Rangers F.C. sports, held of course at Ibrox Park before 12,000 spectators in unsettled weather. In the final of the half mile handicap, after a close race, he was first off 5 yards and ran on to complete the full distance in 1:59.4. Earlier in the day, in the third heat, he had done the full distance in 2:01.0. When the meeting resumed on the Monday evening, McGough and Butterfield, for a change, kept out of the way of each other. Butterfield, though unplaced, delivered the best performance of the meeting by setting a Scottish all-comers record for the 1000 yards of 2:16.6. McGough, for his part, provided the other highlight in the mile and a half handicap. In his sixth race in just nine days, he finished second in 6:54.6, only two sec. outside his own record for the distance.

The following weekend it was the other half of the Old Firm’s turn to hold their annual sports. Celtic F.C. were, certainly at the time, the mecca of the Scottish athletic world, their meeting drawing together an impressive assemblage of 30,000 people in excellent weather. Wyndham Halswell was the magnet, the Lieutenant duly turning out in three events – the 100 yards, the quarter mile and the half mile. His victory in the 440 yards handicap was the feature of the meeting. In spite of a heavy handicap and the soft track, the “epochmaker”, as he was labelled, won by six yards and lowered his own Scottish native record by six tenths to 49.0 sec. “Halswelle’s 49 sec. here,“ opined the Herald, “is equal to 48 sec. in England, and the magnificence, as well as the significance of the performance can only be appreciated by those who are in a position to contrast the conditions in Glasgow with those in the South of England.” Not to be outdone, McGough produced a tremendous effort in the one mile handicap to get within six yards of catching A.B. Hepburn, who won in 4:20.8 off 115 yards. His time from scratch was a Scottish native record of 4:21.6, clipping two seconds off the former record which had stood to the credit of Hugh Welsh since 1898. Later in the afternoon he again toed the line in a special half mile invitation race against rivals Butterfield and Halswelle. Though he had been given a five-yard start, he was, understandably, running on tired legs, and was just run out of it, Butterfield winning by a foot from Halswelle in two minutes dead. As to his performance in the mile, the Glasgow Herald wrote: “This is his second best public effort, the best being his 4 min. 19 sec. at the A.A.A. Championships last month. We have been expecting a new record from him for some time back; indeed, all his performances since the West Harriers meeting when he did the mile and a half in 7 min., have led up to this brilliant effort, and like every clever article, he keeps the best till last. Being closely associated with the Celtic Football Club, McGough is naturally proud that Parkhead shares with him the glory of the record.” One may ask as to what exactly is meant by “closely associated”? As far as is known, McGough was a follower of Celtic F.C. and gave the club his services as an expert masseur during the winter months when he was not competing.

McGough returned to Parkhead when the Celtic F.C. fixture resumed on the Monday evening and uncorked a powerful finish to claim the one mile handicap from John Lee, Heaton Harriers (25 yards), and arch-nemesis George Butterfield. His winning time of 4:23.2 was, relatively speaking, a superior performance to his record run on the Saturday considering the sodden track. Again, though, he stood in the shadow of Wyndham Halswelle, who showed off his prodigious versatility by running second in the 110 yards sprint and then winning the 1000 yards handicap from scratch in 2:19.0. As the Glasgow Herald put it: “Another light, a little less replendent than the Lieutenant, is John McGough, of the Bellahouston Harriers.“ Although McGough and Halswelle came from very different backgrounds, they had lot in common – they were about the same age, both were Catholic, they shared the experiences of the Athens adventure and came home Olympic medallists, they were the leading lights of Scottish athletics, they were sometime rivals; and, last but not least, they were both coached/advised by former professional miler Jimmy Wilson, the popular trainer of Rangers Football Club.

For McGough, it had been a long five months since embarking on his expedition to Athens, but his season was not over yet. There was still the small matter of defending the British G.P.O. mile title, which he had taken at Putney the year before. To that end, he again had to travel all the way south to London. The 1906 Postal Service sports were held under the auspices of St. Martin’s Harriers at Herne Hill Velodrome on Saturday 15th September. Presumably to make the journey worth his while, McGough competed in three events. He was the virtual scratch man in the half mile, off 5 yards, conceding starts even to the likes of Jack George, a real speed merchant. The South London Harrier had, that year, run superb times of 50.2 sec. for the quarter and 1:57.8 for the half. Inevitably, off 11 yards, George won comfortably. McGough didn’t stand a chance, but completed the half mile by running 5 yards beyond the winning post in a personal best of 1:58.2. Though six tenths of a second inside William Anderson’s Scottish record, the mark did not find its way into the record books of the S.A.A.A., which recognised only native best performances achieved in Scotland. In a mile relay race (won by the Glasgow P.O. team) he ran the half mile in 2:01.8. Finally, he stamped his authority on proceedings in the mile championship of the Postal Service, taking only 4 min. 38.8 sec. to retain the title of “fastest postman in Britain”.

McGough‘s final race of the season on September 26th required that he journey to the other end of the country, having been selected to represent the Rest of Scotland in a match against Scottish Students in Aberdeen to commemorate the quartercentenary of the university. The athletics events were decided on the grass track at King’s College Recreation Ground before a large gathering. In the mile McGough defeated Edinburgh University student A.M. Matthews, his sole opponent, by two yards in 4:30.8. This win was actually one of three by the Bellahouston Harriers, who contributed six points to an 18 points to 12 triumph for the Rest of Scotland team, R. Kitson taking the 220 yards in 24.4 and Jimmy Vallance the quarter mile in 54.2.

The Glasgow Herald encapsulated his 1906 season thus: “Next to Lieutenant Halswelle, there is no more interesting personality in athletics circles than John McGough, of the Bellahouston Harriers. The S.A.A.A. champion is one of ourselves in the sense that he is a product of the Glasgow school of athletics, and that, no doubt, accounts largely for his popularity in and around the city. McGough has had a very successful season – in fact, the most successful in his career. He may have won more prizes last season, but his racing has touched a higher level this season, and that, after all, is the greater account than the accumulation of silver plate. His best performance was in the English championships in July, when he ran second to George Butterfield in the mile in 4 min. 19 sec. McGough should have won this race, as at the finish he was comparatively fresh, while the Darlington runner was all out. McGough did the mile at Belfast in 4 min. 20 sec., which is his next best performance; while his Scottish record at the Celtic sports comes next, though possibly it will be remembered long after the others are forgotten owing to the fact that it is enhanced in the official records of the S.A.A.A.“ The naked figures for the season were 14 firsts, 9 seconds and 2 thirds. But, of course, they do not tell the full story.

As hinted at earlier, McGough was inadvertently caught in the maelstrom of Irish political in-fighting during the early part of the season, when he was suspended by the I.A.A.A. for competing in a meeting held under G.A.A. rules in Armagh. Prior to the falling-out, athletes had competed with impunity in the promotions of both governing bodies, and McGough had, perhaps naively, availed himself of this freedom. The spirit of goodwill having evaporated amid the widening rift, he found himself being made an example of. Fortunately, he was later reinstated after arguing that he taken part in the proceedings purely for charitable purposes. As one might imagine, a champion runner like John McGough was a coveted asset and, hence, possibly more eligible for clemency than, say, lesser mortals.

1907 season 

 

1907 Ibrox w J Vallance

With James Vallance (Bellahouston) at Ibrox, 1907

 

McGough kicked off his 1907 season by making an appearance in the I.A.A.A. championships on May 20th at the RDS Showgrounds in Dublin, where his participation might be seen as a conciliatory gesture to the I.A.A.A. after its decision to rehabilitate him several months earlier after he had flouted their rules. Entered as “John McGough, Castleblayney & Bellahouston Harriers” he was unplaced in the half mile, but later turned out to win the mile by inches from George Morphy in 4:48.0. Of course, the opportunity to compete in Dublin also gave him the pretext to represent Castleblayney, where he still had family. The McGoughs, like many an Irish family uprooted by poverty, kept close ties with their ancestral homeland.

As was his usual modus operandi, McGough did several tune-up races prior to the Scottish championships beginning with a 4:27.2 mile in the Bellahouston Harriers meeting at Ibrox Park on June 1st. “The mile flat handicap”, reported the Herald, “witnessed a fine effort from John McGough, who finished second in 4 min. 27 1-5 sec., which on a sodden, heavy track, shows what he might have accomplished under more favourable conditions.” The vagaries of the Scottish climate have always had a major bearing on T&F performances during the summer season, even more so in the days of grass and cinder tracks, which were typically not well drained and, thus, at the mercy of the elements. When the meeting continued on the Monday evening McGough took on George Butterfield in a special one mile match, which, however, was as disappointing as the attendance, McGough winning by 15 yards in 4:36.0 before a mere smattering of spectators. As a result of the low overall attendance, the sports were a financial failure and Bellahouston Harriers incurred a big loss which could have threatened their existence were it not for some new-fangled accounting.

The going was also “extremely sticky” at the Queens Park FC sports on June 15th at Hampden Park where McGough delivered the outstanding performance of the meeting in the one mile handicap losing by just a few inches from scratch in 4:24.8 – a time the Herald’s athletics expert reckoned to be worth around 4 min. 20 sec. in good conditions.

Heavy and blustery conditions again greeted the competitors in the 25th annual Scottish championships held at Powderhall Grounds on June 25th. With the holder Halswelle unable to defend his title in the half mile after picking up a thigh injury in the 220 yards sprint, McGough had no trouble securing his third title in this event in 2:06.8. His winning margin of half a yard over Jimmy Vallance belied the ease with which the victory was accomplished. With William Anderson taking third, Bellahouston Harriers scored an historic 1-2-3 clean sweep. McGough had even less difficulty defending his crown in the mile, which he won by 10 yards from A.M Matthews in 4:34.2. As the Herald put it, “John McGough captured the half and mile events without turning a hair.” By winning his sixth consecutive mile title, he took possession of the 25 guinea challenge cup for this event for the second time. Also celebrating his sixth successive title was hammer thrower Tom Nicholson, who would go on to win the Scottish hammer title an amazing 19 times in a row, in addition to amassing 14 shot put titles.

Scottish hopes in Scoto-Irish International held at Ibrox Park on June 29th in front of 6,000 spectators in fine weather suffered a blow when Wyndham Halswelle pulled out on account of the injury he had sustained at the Scottish championships. The Scottish team without Halswelle was well below strength, and as a upshot of this lost narrowly by 5 points to Ireland’s 6. McGough had been selected to run in both the half mile and the mile, but only took the latter event seriously. The “half” was a tremendously fast race, Ireland’s Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford front-running his way to an impressive victory in an all-comers’ record of 1:57.2. Finishing close behind was Jimmy Vallance, who ran a blinder to clock 1:59.0 for second place. McGough gave up early in the second lap, as did George Morphy, both men evidently saving something for the mile. In the mile, with A.M. Matthews out injured, John Ranken set the pace until a lap from home. Then McGough went to the front and launched a long sprint which took the sting out of Morphy’s finish and carried him to victory by 20 yards. McGough would have been delighted by his fast time of 4:22.2, but perhaps even happier about avenging his defeat by the Irishman in Belfast the year before. Ireland were without a second string since McGough, I.A.A.A. champion, and Scottish champion, had been selected by both sides! “sportsman” had this to say: “McGough did not seem to be more than stretching his legs in the half mile. That was only natural, as, with the mile in view, he wanted to harness his reserve energies for the latter event. He certainly ran a good race over the longer journey, and his sprint at the finish was longer sustained than usual. McGough’s 4 min. 22 1-5 sec. was as smart a bit of running for a mile as he has shown this season.“

McGough’s strong performance in Glasgow again saw him pegged as one of the favourites for the A.A.A. mile championship to be decided on July 6th at the Manchester Athletic Ground in Fallowfield. He was still searching for his first win in this event after finishing second for three straight years. Unfortunately, a strong wind kept down the attendance and a sodden cinder track prevented any new records being accomplished. A field of eight runners faced the starter in the mile. W. Cottrill, of Hallamshire Harriers, led the first lap in 59.8 sec., but soon fell back, having shot his bolt. Then Deakin, of Herne Hill, took command, closely followed by McGough, Butterfield and Lee, and held that position until the end of the third lap. As the bell rung out Lee made his effort early and opened up a gap of three yards, but Butterfield’s strength told over the last furlong into the wind. The Darlington Harrier charged past the Heaton Harrier in the home straight and ran to the tape a winner by 3 ½ yards in 4:22.4, a last quarter of 63 sec. doing all the damage. Behind him, Deakin got up to snatch second place away from Lee by a foot. McGough was run out of it on the last lap, and retired, presumably after having realised the race was a lost cause. The Herald’s analysis: “George Butterfield’s 4 min. 22 2-5 sec. for the mile must be considered in some respects his greatest achievement, and in the light of that fact, which will scarcely be disputed, it is easy to account for the defeat of John McGough, not that the Bellahouston Harrier, up to a certain point, ran indifferently by any means, but the Darlington man happened to excel himself.” In spite of McGough’s failure, Bellahouston Harriers rejoiced in an A.A.A. title courtesy of 32 year old ex-soldier Tom Kirkwood, who retained the shot put title he had won the previous year whilst serving in the Liverpool Scottish Volunteers. Jimmy Vallance also picked up a standard medal after finishing fourth in the half mile in 2:01.0.

 

1907 AAAs McG centre

AAA’s Mile, 1907, Robertson 8, McGough, Deakin 9 and Butterfield behind Deakin

The following weekend McGough made his way down to London and, representing Glasgow G.P.O., comfortably defended his title in the One Mile Championship of the Postal Service at Herne Hill Velodrome, winning by 25 yards from C.S. Read in 4:42.4. By winning the mile championship for the third time in succession, under the rules then in place, the Dewar Challenge Shield was his to keep. Afterwards he ran an excellent race from 15 yards in the one mile handicap, doing about 4:22.4 for 1745 yards, although hampered by a big field.

What happened next is unclear, but it appears that McGough was badly spiked in a low-key race at Liverpool, as a result of which he suffered an injury that impacted the remainder of his campaign for that year. The month of August 1907 was certainly one he would have wanted to forget in a hurry. He was below par for weeks on end and failed to finish a string of races, but to his credit, at least he attempted to honour his engagements. It took until September for the injury to clear up, by which time, however, the British track and field season was effectively over. Keen to get a few races in before hanging up his spikes for the year, he obtained permission from the A.A.A. to run at meetings in Kristiania (Oslo) and Stockholm. His first race was a 5000 metres at Kristiania on September 14th , but misfortune struck and he missed the start owing to the late arrival of his boat. The following day, however, he got to the stadium on time and lined up for the 1500 metres and came home second behind Austrian internationalist Felix Kwieton in 4:22.0. Then it was on to Stockholm for a three-day international meeting where Britain was represented by McGough and three A’s 100 yards champion John Morton (South London Harriers), each competing in three events. Morton was in blinding form, winning the 100 yards in 10.2 sec., the 100 metres in 11.2 sec. and the 150 metres in 16.7 sec. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for McGough in the middle distance events where the standard would have been well within his compass had it not been for the fact that he was still nothing like at his best. In his first outing, a 1500 metres on September 20th, he was beaten into third place, trailing home some 30 yards adrift of the winner, Sweden’s Edward Martin Dahl, in 4:16.8. In the 800 metres on the following day he could finish no higher than fourth, but showed improvement by returning a reasonably good time of 2:01.6. The third day of the meeting saw him finish unplaced in a fast 3000 metres, in which Dahl again stamped his authority on the race with an impressive 8:55.0 clocking. Having enjoyed the sightseeing and the hospitality of his Scandinavian hosts, which would have gone some way to atoning for his underwhelming performances, it was back to Glasgow where the mail was no doubt piling up after his week-long absence.

It had been a season for mixed fortunes for McGough, capped by an impressive victory in the all-important Scotland vs. Ireland fixture in an excellent time just outside his own native record. Other highs were his victory in the I.A.A.A. mile championship and his half/mile double at the Scottish championships, where he took ownership of the mile challenge trophy for the second time after winning the event for the sixth time in a row. The Dewar Challenge Trophy also became his absolute property after winning the British G.P.O. mile title for the third time in as many years. Lows were, of course, his disappointment in the A.A.A. championships and the spiking-related injury which he suffered at Liverpool, ruining the remainder of his season at home and scuppering his chances of setting any records at the August meetings in Glasgow. Consequently, for the first time in several seasons, McGough was not his club’s most successful performer, that particular honour going to Jimmy Vallance. A late-season tour of Scandinavia produced a mixed bag of results, but at least it gave him another taste of international competition, and the chance to end the season on his own terms.

1907 Ibrox  v Ire

John McGough, Ibrox, 1907, Scotland  v  Ireland

1908 season 

From the outset, the 1908 season was dominated by the Olympic Games which were to be held in London. The 1908 Olympic Games had originally been scheduled to be staged in Italy, but after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906 the overwhelmed Italian government relinquished the right to host the games, whereupon the British stepped into the breach at short notice. Lord Desborough, chairman of the British Olympic Committee and the driving force behind the British effort, persuaded the organisers of the Franco-British Exhibition in London to build a multi-purpose stadium, the largest in the world with a seating capacity of 68,000, at no cost to the B.O.C. in return for three quarters of the ticket and programme sales. The White City Stadium was truly built on a Olympian scale, the giant cinder track measuring just three laps to the mile. The news that Britain would be hosting the Olympic Games in 1908 generated unprecedented home interest across all sports, the competition for the generous allotment of starting places in the track and field events being particularly intense. The S.A.A.A., as one of the regional associations eligible to enter a contingent, arranged for several trials to be held over metric distances at concurrent meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow on June 6th. The “1500 metres S.A.A.A. Olympic Trial” was decided in conjunction with the Bellahouston Harriers sports at Ibrox Park imparting a “dash of novelty” to the programme, although the attendance (1,500) was a little disappointing in view of the fine weather conditions. With just a couple of low-key races under his belt, McGough was raring to go, even if he only had just one opponent in the shape of Sam Stevenson. The Clydesdale Harrier had narrowly beaten McGough in a mile handicap at Wishaw a couple of weeks earlier, but was not expected to trouble the Bellahouston Harrier in a race on level terms. Nevertheless, a spirited contest was witnessed by the diminutive crowd, both men duelling it out through the vast emptiness of Ibrox Park before McGough turned on the speed on the last lap to win by 30 yards in a Scottish record of 4:10.2. For good measure, McGough turned out in the one mile handicap later in the proceedings and produced an excellent run from scratch to get within a yard of Robert Magura, Glenpark Harriers (115 yards), in 4:25.4 – his fastest in over ten months. For these performances McGough was nominated alongside 11 others to wear the British colours in the 1500 metres at the London Olympics.

On the surface, it looked as if McGough was rounding into form with the Olympics just over a month away, but by the following week it was public knowledge that he was nursing an ankle injury after he pulled out of the Irish championships. Contrary to expectations he turned out in a mile handicap at Saughton on June 17th, but failed to do himself any justice and retired well before the finish. It was the same story at the Queens Park Rangers sports held on June 20th at Hampden Park, where he was unplaced in the one mile handicap. “John McGough,“ wrote the Herald, “was not seen at his best; as a matter of fact, it was obvious to all that he was running under physical disabilities. With the championships so near he should have been resting on Saturday instead of aggravating his infirmities.“ His subsequent absence from the S.A.A.A. championships the following weekend spoke volumes. The injury, reportedly a “weakened tendon achilles”, was evidently worse than first thought and bad enough to seriously derail his Olympic preparations. In his absence, Rob Burton, Berwickshire Harriers, won the S.A.A.A. half mile in 2:02.0 and the old Watsonian Harry Jamieson, Edinburgh University AC, took the mile in 4:33.8.

John McGough with trophies (SAAA challenge cups)John McGough with SAAA Challenge Cups

On July 8th, five days before the heats of the Olympic 1500 metres, the Evening Telegraph revealed that McGough had taken “a quiet week in Ireland with a view to his complete recovery from the minor mishap which prevented his running in the championships.”

Two days prior to the games, McGough finally tested his strapped-up foot and his form by turning out for Scotland at the annual Scoto-Irish contest. The encounter took place at the Scottish National Exhibition Grounds in Saughton, Edinburgh, the Scottish equivalent of the Franco-British Exhibition in London. Features included a sports ground complete with a quarter mile cinder track, which, however, was loose and heavy after recent rainfall. In the mile, the Irish champion Morphy made the mistake of watching McGough rather than Harry Jamieson, who stole a march early on and led by 20 yards at halfway. Neither Morphy nor McGough was able to make up the deficit the lanky Scottish champion, who was no stylist but very effective, winning by 3 yards from Morphy in 4:39.0, who, in turn, was just ahead of McGough. It was no the confidence-building performance he would have hoped for in the run-up to the Olympics but at least he was, for want of a better phrase, back on track.

The qualifying rounds of the 1500 metres were decided on July 14th, the second day of the track and field programme. There were eight heats, and with only the winner advancing to the final. They were unevenly seeded and consequently a string of “big guns” fell at the first post. There was a shock in the very first heat, when reigning champion Jim Lightbody was eliminated. Then, in the second heat, McGough’s great rival George Butterfield was unceremoniously knocked out. In the third heat, the Italian champion Emilio Lunghi failed to progress to the final despite smashing the Olympic record. McGough was next up, drawn in heat 4 alongside Vincent Loney (GB), Harry Coe (USA), Stylianos Dimitriou (GRE) and Joseph Dreher (FRA). The Official Olympic Report noted that McGough’s left ankle was bandaged and that he “set a lively pace until just before the bell“. Handicapped by his injured achilles tendon, however, he was unable to respond when first Loney and then Coe shot past him on the last lap, Loney winning by 3 yards from the American in 4:08.8. A disconsolate McGough trailed home third some 50 yards adrift in 4:16.4 and took no further part in the proceedings.

His outright Scottish 1500 metres record of 4:10.2 was to be short-lived, Arthur Robertson improving it to 4:07.2 in Stockholm in September 1908.

For McGough, it had been a cruel twist of fate to suffer injury at the time of the Olympics because he was back to something like his best within a few weeks of his early exit from the 1500 metres. He had something to prove when he turned in in the Rangers Sport on August 1st, a week after the conclusion of the track and field programme at the White City stadium. The meeting featured a mouth-watering billing that included several Olympic medallists and international stars, attracting a big crowd of 15,000 spectators, who were treated to some excellent sporting fare despite the windy conditions. Emil Voigt, Manchester, the Olympic five miles champion, was sublime in the four miles, winning by 30 yards from another gold medallist, the Scot Arthur Robertson, in an impressive time of 19:40.0. The newly crowned Olympic 400 metres champion Wyndham Halswelle was a whisker outside his own Scottish all-comers’ record in the 300 yards handicap, where he finished second in 31.4 sec. In the 100 yards dash Olympic 100 metres champion Reginald Walker, of the South African Olympic team, took advantage of the wind at his back to clock a brilliant 9.8 sec. in his heat, this being the first ever sub-ten performance witnessed on Scottish soil. The mile handicap saw McGough drawn alongside Olympic 1500 metres silver medallist Harry Wilson, Hallamshire Harriers, and his old adversary George Butterfield on the scratch mark. Unfortunately the starts were too much for even these fine athletes and the race was won by R.S. Sinclair, Glenpark Harriers, who had the limit. McGough was fifth past the post in about 4:28.0 and surprised many, perhaps even himself, by defeating Wilson by several yards. His performance would, no doubt, have elicited mixed emotions – delight that he had beaten the Olympic silver medallist tempered by frustration over his recent tribulations. In the supplementary meeting two days later, he started in two races, devoting his main effort to the half mile, where finished third behind the Olympic 800 metres champion Mel Sheppard (USA) and Butterfield in two minutes dead after pacing Sheppard to a Scottish all-comers’ record of 1:56.0.

McGough concluded his Scottish campaign on August 19th when the represented the S.A.A.A. select in a match against the Irish Americans at the National Exhibition Grounds and was outsprinted by teammate Harry Jamieson in a tactical mile race in which both Scots had the satisfaction of beating the American couple. McGough, it was noted, “whose strong point used to be finishing, could not respond to Jamieson’s challenge.” A topsy turvy season indeed.

1909 season 

1909 was to be a relatively quiet year by McGough’s prolific standards, starting relatively late in the season and ending early. This year he was probably less conspicuous by his absence than would usually have been the case, as Scotland was in the grip of a marathon craze, the event having been popularised at the 1908 Olympic Games by Dorando Pietri, the tragic hero who staggered across the line first after a dramatic finale only to be disqualified. Meeting promoters were incorporating marathon races into their programmes, because, due to their novelty appeal and theatrics, they were a sure-fire crowd-puller. For the first time in his career, he went into the S.A.A.A. championships without having run a single race, foregoing even the chance to compete in the Irish championships in late May. The big question was, therefore, whether he had been able to re-capture form he had shown in 1907. In the week preceding the national championships, the Glasgow Herald was hedging its bets as to the outcome of the mile: “If in form John McGough will be a hard nut to crack in the …mile, though in the latter H. Jamieson, the holder, who is now residing in the North of England, will not part with his honour without a desperate struggle. Jamieson has never done the “times” that McGough has to his credit, but the latter went off last season and it is not public property whether he has regained his distinguishing qualities of 1907.” The S.A.A.A. championships were held at Ibrox Park on Jun 26th before a crowd not numbering many more than 3,000, who witnessed one of the best meetings on record as far as keen contests and close finishes were concerned. As was expected, the mile was one of the finest races of the day. McGough was eager to recover his lost laurels after injury had forced him to reliniquish his title to George Watson’s College student Harry Jamieson the year before. The Scotsman takes up the story: ”Ten of the eleven entrants competed, and the excitement began when the last lap was entered on. The holder (Jamieson), McGough, McNicol (Polytechnic Harriers), and T. Welsh were all together. Later it was a duel between Jamieson and McGough. It was a great finish. First Jamieson went to the front, but McGough passed him, and coming down the straight the western man looked a winner, but Jamieson had something in reserve, and, amid great excitement, won a splendid race in the excellent time of 4 mins. 29 1-5 secs.“ There was less than a yard between Jamieson and McGough, with Douglas McNicol and Tom Welsh also beating the standard time of 4 min. 33 sec. By securing second place, McGough was of course assured of selection for the Scoto-Irish contest. The tone of the Glasgow Herald’s commentary was upbeat: “The defeat of John McGough in the mile was a disappointment to his Ibrox admirers, but the fact of him running so well should be some compensation, as it shows that with a little more practice he will get back to his form of two seasons ago.”

Whether or not McGough could rediscover his form of 1907 remained to be seen, but the Herald was not far off the mark in predicting further improvement. A fortnight after the Scottish championships McGough put in an appearance at his club’s annual sports on July 10th at Ibrox Park, where he finished second in the one mile handicap in a season’s best of 4:26.8. His performance was the feature of a fixture somewhat spoiled by inclement weather. “All things considered,” wrote the Herald, “the racing at Ibrox, on Saturday under the auspices of Bellahouston Harriers of John McGough disclosed vivid signs of his old form in the mile.”

Next up was the fourteenth annual encounter between Scotland and Ireland, which took place at the RDS Showgrounds, Ballsbridge, on July 17th before 4,000 spectators. The result was an easy win for Ireland by eight events to three, thanks in no small part to the appearance of the Olympic 200 metres champion John Kerr, an Irish-Canadian, who set an Irish record of 22.2 sec. in the 220 and equalled the existing record of 10.2 sec. in the 100. For Kerr the chance to represent Ireland was, it was said, the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition. McGough, judging by his close Irish ties, may have harboured similar thoughts, but his loyalty to Scotland in the athletic field was unwavering. In the mile race, one of the most competitive events of the contest, McGough came close to securing a point for Scotland. A strong finish disposed of the Irish champion Ivo Fairbairn-Crawford and the Scottish champion Jamieson, but George Morphy, buoyed by a partisan home crowd, overtook him in the home straight and won by a yard in 4:33.6. Both Fairbairn-Crawford and Jamieson failed to finish. Jamieson, whose full name was Henry Tonkinson Jamieson, was born in Edinburgh on November 30 1885. A chartered accountant, he retired from athletics after the Scoto-Irish contest owing to limited opportunities for training. In 1911 he secured an appointment in Canada and lived there until his death in 1983 at the ripe age of 98.

Uncharacteristically, McGough ran only one low-key race during the next three weeks. Perhaps he had decided he needed to conserve his resources, be it to stay injury free or to be at the best of his ability. In any case, his next major race was at the Rangers F.C. sports, held on Saturday August 7th in fine weather and before a full house at Ibrox Park. The meeting featured many outstanding performances, including, notably, a 9.8 sec. by the South African Reginald Walker in the invitation 100 yards handicap and a Scottish all-comers’ record of 13:57.2 in the two miles walk handicap by Ernest Webb, of Herne Hill Harriers. The mile handicap was no less competitive, Eddie Owen, the scratchman, just getting the better of Clydesdale’s Alex McPhee (45 y) and McGough (15 y) in a thrilling contest. The Broughton Harrier, 1908 Olympic five miles silver medallist, was all smiles after notching up a lifetime best of 4:20.2. McGough ran on to complete the full mile in 4:24.0, which, noted the Herald, was his best showing in a couple of seasons. It was on this high note, however, that he decided to end his season. He did not turn out when the meeting resumed on the Monday evening, and so was spared having to see two of his native records erased from the books. No fewer than seven new records were created at this meeting within the space of just two and a half hours, including two native records that had previously stood to McGough’s credit. In the 1000 yards flat race Adam Turnbull, of the Clydesdale Harriers, knocked two fifths of a second off his record figures, while in the mile and a half handicap Arthur Robertson, Broughton Harriers, not only bettered McGough’s native record but also the all-comer’s record with a time of 6:48.4. Records are made to be broken, as they say, and in those days Ibrox was the place to do it. In good weather the Ibrox was, without doubt, one of the fastest tracks in Britain. With one or two exceptions, all Scottish records had been set there.

1910 season 

1910 McGough pips McNicholThe Finish of the 1910 SAAA Mile Championship: McGough wins from McNichol

In view of McGough’s sparse racing programme in 1909, one could be forgiven for thinking that his enthusiasm was waning, but in fact this was not the case – he still had unfinished business to attend to. Although a little past his prime, his 4:24 mile at the Rangers F.C. sports in August had shown that he was still a force to be reckoned with. The Scottish mile title, which had eluded him for two seasons, would have been firmly in his sights for 1910, especially after the retirement of his recent nemesis Harry Jamieson. Sticking to the light racing schedule he had favoured the previous year, he ran only one race ahead of the S.A.A.A. championships – on June 11th, when he dutifully turned out for his club in its annual sports and finished second in the one mile handicap in 4:29. The star of the show, however, was not McGough, but rather his fellow Bellahouston Harrier Richard Quinn, who strode to a Scottish mile walk record of 6:45.6.

The Scottish championships were held on June 25th at the Powderhall Grounds, which on this day were bathed in brilliant sunshine and promised an equally brilliant afternoon of athletics. Few if any of the events decided that day, however, could rival the mile for sheer show-stopping excitement. The Scottish Referee gives a good account of the race: “The one mile was a mile which recalled those of the late A.E. Tysoe and Hugh Welsh on the same ground, or of Andrew Hannah, W. Robertson , or S. Duffus, or of John McGough himself and Murphy in the ‘National at Belfast. The record-holder of the mile was in spanking form, but he caught a tartar in D.F. McNicol, of the London Polytechnic Harriers., an old Edinburgh lad of Duncan [D.S. Duncan] build and heart, who led the champion in grand style to the tape, which he was only prevented bursting first by McGough’s breast, amid breathless excitement. Many imagined that McNicol had actually won, so close was the finish. McGough had the judges’ just verdict, however. The loser forced too much, and should have waited a little longer before making his effort. Champion McGough regained the honour he last held in 1907, and robbed Edinburgh and holder Jamieson of his title. The winner’s quarter miles were: First, 1 min. 7 2-5 sec.; half mile, 2 min. 20 1-5 sec.; threequarters, 3 min. 30 3-5 sec.; and mile, 4 min. 32 4-5 sec.”

This gutsy victory brought McGough’s tally of S.A.A.A. mile titles to seven, equalling the record number of wins in a single running event held by Andrew Hannah, of Clydesdale Harriers, who amassed seven wins in the 10 miles championship between 1889 and 1896. As can be seen from the splits, the race was a tactical affair and only really came alive in the last quarter. In the past McGough had often let himself down through poor tactical judgment, but on this occasion he timed his effort perfectly to defeat such formidable an opponent as Douglas McNicol. The Polytechnic Harrier, who had been born in Chelsea of Scottish parents in 1885, was a rising force in Scottish athletics and destined the following year to win the prestigious A.A.A. mile championship that had always eluded John McGough.

The team to oppose Ireland in the international athletic contest at Ibrox Park was chosen at the conclusion of the championship gathering in Edinburgh. McGough was selected for the ninth time in as many years, which, in those days at least, was remarkable consistency.

The following week McGough ran third in a mile handicap at Beith, where there was much bumping and barging, and it was reported that he “was twice interfered with …or he might have won”. Nonetheless, his time of about 4:27.2 was a season’s best and stood him in good stead for the match against Ireland in a week’s time. On the Wednesday evening, while McNicol was running a mile a season’s best of 4:25.8 at Stamford Bridge, McGough won the mile in a sports meeting held by St. John’s Young Men’s Catholic A.C. at Ibrox. A devout Catholic, he was, revealed the Glasgow Herald, “the means of establishing this club, and that it is a popular denominational institution goes without saying. It has very large membership, and is on excellent terms with all the athletics clubs in the district.“ Another item in the same paper referred to McGough as “the controlling spirit” of St. John’s Young Men’s Catholic A.C. Over and above his demanding day job, his side job at Celtic, his training regimen and his racing schedule, he evidently still had the time and energy to engage in voluntary work in the local community! Adjectives like “indefatiguable” spring to mind.

The sixteenth annual international athletic contest between Scotland and Ireland took place at Ibrox Park on Saturday July 9th. Only 2,000 spectators turned out in sunshine to witness the struggle for supremacy, which ended in a record win for the Scottish team by nine points to two. The mile race, featuring McGough and McNicol representing Scotland and Frank O’Neill and James Bill representing Ireland, promised to be one of the most competitive races of the afternoon – and it did not disappoint. A punishing early pace proved too much for O’Neill, the Irish four miles champion, who dropped out after about half a mile had been covered, leaving McNicol, Bill and McGough to fight out a thrilling battle on the final lap. The Irish mile champion Bill looked to have the race sewn up 40 yards from home, but then McNicol uncorked an amazing finish, which brought a roar from the crowd and victory in the last strides. Both men were given the same time (4:26.0). McGough, unable to get back on level terms, gave up in the home straight. He, too, would have beaten 4 min. 30 sec., but with only the winner counting, there was no point in continuing.

The following weekend, McGough turned out in the annual meeting of the Ayr Football and Athletic Club at Somerset Park, a popular fixture reckoned by some to be the best provincial meeting in the country. In the one mile handicap, McGough, running from scratch in a field 40 runners, put in some excellent work get up to third place. His time was returned at 4:32.0, which, adjudged the Herald, was “a creditable performance for grass.” His clubmate John Templeman, an up-and-coming talent whom he had conceded 30 yards, won in 4:30.2.

With the start of the football season now just a few weeks away, there were only a few more good competitive opportunities left before the domestic athletics season was over, these being the Rangers FC sports on August 6th, the Edinburgh Northern Harriers sports on August 10th and the Celtic FC sports on August 13th.

The Rangers FC sports once again drew a big crowd of 10,000 spectators, but the conditions weren’t great. A stiff breeze was blowing, and while it helped the sprinters, it was very much against the longer distance runners. The mile race, traditionally one of the centrepiece events, attracted a massive entry of 81. There were in fact 69 runners at the start, which was still a big field for a mile race, but that number decreased to 40 within half a mile as runners with starts were overhauled and dropped out. The backmarkers, Eddie Owen (scratch), Harold Wilson (scratch) and Douglas McNicol (15 yards), all ran disappointingly, and not one of the three finished. McGough, with pride at stake after being conceded 20 yards, went out hard and showed his rivals from England a clean pair off heels. Frank Stoddart West of Scotland Harriers (105 y), was leading by 20 yards on entering the straight, and though McGough made a plucky attempt to pull him in, he ran out of track, there being a “good six yards” between the two at the post, while W.F. Taylor, Bellahouston Harriers (135 y), was a couple of yards behind the Scottish champion. McGough’s time off 20 yards of 4:21.6, worth about 4 min. 25 sec. for the full mile, was his best performance of the season, unfavourable weather conditions notwithstanding.

On the Wednesday evening McGough put in an appearance at the fifteenth Edinburgh Northern Harriers sports at Powderhall Grounds. One of the features of the meeting was the running of Rob Burton in the 1000 yards handicap, the Scottish half mile champion winning with ease from Eddie Owen, with whom he started from scratch, returning an excellent 2:19.0 in windy conditions. The mile handicap was another fine race, in which McGough (15 yards) again faced Douglas McNicol (also 15 yards) and the Broughton Harriers pair of Eddie Owen (scratch) and Bill Scott (30 yards). The Scotsman reports: “The first lap was rattled off in 59 sec. which was a trifle too fast to permit of record-breaking, and at the end of the second the time was 2 mins. 6 secs. At this point all the backmarkers; Owen, Scott, McNicol and McGough, were together and well placed. And so they ran until coming round the first bend for home – the race was run left hand in. First Owen looked like a winner, and then fell back, and next McGough appeared to have an excellent chance, with McNicol dropping back, but well in the straight Scott, who was ahead, put on a spurt, and McGough could not respond and was comfortably beaten, with Scott easing up. Time: 4 mins. 24 secs. Owen’s time off scratch was 4 mins. 25 2-5 secs., and McGough’s for the full mile was 4 mins. 27 secs.” This was another very solid run from McGough, who, though in his thirtieth year, which was well past the usual retirement age in those days, looked like he could go on churning out high-calibre performances ad infinitum. In fact, it was to be the last track race he would finish.

Although he turned out in the one mile handicap at the Celtic FC sports three days later, he did not have the legs to overhaul another big field for the third time in eight days and dropped out. It was, perhaps, not exactly the way he would have wanted to bow out, but bow out he did. The first mention found of his retirement is in an early 1911 edition of the Glasgow Herald, a brief notice/eulogy that reads: “We have the best authority for saying this. John McGough has resolved to retire from the running path, which he has adorned for the last ten years. He feels he has had a full share of the pleasures of the track, and thinks the time has become to make room for others. Mr. McGough has had a wonderfully brilliant career. His first notable success was at the Glasgow Exhibition in 1901, and in 1902 he captured the mile championship, which, with the exception of 1908 and 1909, he has held all these years. Few have done more to raise the tone of the running path than John McGough, who from that and other points of view will always hold a cherished place in the record of amateur athletics in Scotland.”

McGough’s retirement left the way clear for Douglas McNicol, who “ruled the roost”, as it were, for a few seasons. The anglo Scot delivered one of the finest performances of the 1911 S.A.A.A. mile championship, where he front-ran his way to a emphatic 50 yard victory, returning 4:26.4 in heavy conditions. He was, in the opinion of the Herald, a “worthy successor to John McGough, whose record …will take some beating.” After retaining the mile championship in 1912, he was beaten in 1913 by Duncan McPhee, who, in turn, would dominate the event well into the 1920’s.

After his retirement McGough continued to work as a postman until he was appointed to the position of assistant trainer to Bob Davies at Celtic FC, thereby following in the footsteps of many a well-known footracer. His tenure at Celtic ended in 1914, when he went to Manchester to assist Bob Davies with the training of the Manchester United players. After the suspension of league football due to the outbreak of WW1, he returned to his native Ireland and became a farmer in Annagleve. Sadly, there was to be no reunion after the war with his former rivals Wyndham Halswelle, George Butterfield, Douglas McNicol, William D. Anderson, John Ranken and Tom Welsh, all of whom perished in the hostilities.

After his return to Annagleve, he became involved with Gaelic football and was, for example, the masseur of the Cavan G.A.A. team which won the All-Ireland final at the New York Polo Grounds in 1947.

Attempts at his remaining Scottish native records for one, two and three miles would be a feature of athletics meetings throughout the 1920’s. His two miles record held firm until 1927, when Donald McLean lowered it to 9:31.0 at the Maryhill Harriers sports. His mile record withstood all challenges until 1930, when Tommy Riddell improved it to 4:21.0 at the Rangers FC sports. They were still chasing his native three miles record until 1931, 27 years after it was set, then Jimmy Wood knocked four tenths off it in a four miles handicap featuring the great Paavo Nurmi at Ibrox Park.

John McGough was not a wealthy man by any stretch of the imagination, but he was a man of noble spirit and generosity. During the writing of this piece, the gold medal he won in the 1904 S.A.A.A. mile championship came up for sale on ebay. What was remarkable about this medal was the inscription “TO W. LAW”. He had evidently gifted it to clubmate William Law, who in 1904 was an aspiring young sprinter. The gesture must have worked its magic because Law would win his own S.A.A.A. medal, a silver, in the 220 yards final of 1908. Many years later Bellahouston Harriers made a perpetual trophy of a valuable silver cup handed back to them by John McGough. The aptly-named “McGough Trophy” was awarded to the winner of the 17 mile Stewarton to Pollokshaws road race promoted by Bellahouston Harriers between 1943 and 1946.

As far as record breaking goes, he was nothing if not prolific. At one time he held every native record from 1000 yards to four miles. The native half mile record eluded him, although his 1:58.2 at Herne Hill in 1906 was, at the time, the fastest on record by a Scottish amateur. As mentioned earlier, records are there to be broken, but it took until 1931 to finally erase his name from the record books. His record of six successive victories in the Scottish mile championship was equalled by Tommy Riddell in 1935 and finally surpassed by Graham Everett when he won his seventh straight title in 1961. However, one record that has never been equalled, let alone broken, is his amazing three titles in one afternoon in the distance events. He was, in view of these rare accomplishments, perhaps a little unlucky to be overshadowed throughout most of his career by the incomparable and utterly brilliant Wyndham Halswelle, who was listed No. 1 in a list of all time greatest Scottish sporting heroes in the Glasgow Herald in an article preceding the 2004 Olympics. John McGough was listed as number 19. He will, though, always hold a special place in the annals of Scottish Olympic history as the first athlete to win an Olympic medal. Regrettably, he is still the only Scot ever to have garnered Olympic honours in a middle distance event. To date, only one other Scot apart from himself has ever appeared in a Olympic final at 800 metres or 1500 metres, that being Frank Clement, fifth in the 1500 metres at Montreal in 1976. Interestingly, Clement also wore the colours of Bellahouston Harriers, albeit not actually at the Olympics like John McGough!

Here is a list of his best performances at each event by year

800m Half mile 1000 y 1500m Mile 2 miles 3 miles 4 miles
1902 4:32.0e 9:43.4 15:42.4+ 20:43.2e
1903 2:01.6   4:26.6 9:36.4 14:58.0 20:21.8
1904 1:59.6 2:18.6 4:22.2e 9:32.4 14:44.6
1905 1:59.0 2:18.2 4:24.2 9:37.2 16:18.8 20:06.2
1906 1:57.4 1:58.2 4:12.8m 4:19.2
1907 2:01.6m 2:06.8 4:16.8m 4:22.2
1908 2:00.0e 4:10.2m 4:25.4
1909 4:24.0
1910 4:27.0

Alex would like to thank athletics historian Kevin Kelly for his generous assistance in compiling the profile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Soutter

www.rastervect.com

1912 AAA’a Half Mile: James Soutter

James Soutter (22) in the 1912 AAA’s half-mile

Leading runner may be the German, Hans Braun

Picture from Alex Wilson

James Tindal Soutter was born in the Church of Scotland Manse in Echt, Aberdeen, on 1st January, 1885.    He was a pupil at Aberdeen Grammar School who went on to become an apprentice engineer.    Deciding after four years that he wanted to become a minister he went to Aberdeen University where he enrolled in 1897 and graduated MA in 1910.   It was at this point that he decided to take his athletics seriously – and with tremendous effect.

Although he had done some running before 1910, that was his first  year of taking the sport seriously.  He was 25 years old at the time and he won the Scottish Universities 880 yards championship on 18th June in 2:02.4.    Exactly a week later, on 25th June, he was second to Robert Burton, also born in Aberdeen, in the SAAA Championship in half-mile.   His early season running had won Soutter a selection for the International match against Ireland on 9th July at Ibrox, Burton and Soutter were first and second in the 880y Burton in 1:58.8 and Soutter in 1:59.4 with Scots winning by 9 events to 2.   This was notable for Soutter because it was his first run under the magic 2 minutes.   On 5th August, again at Ibrox, this time in the Rangers Sports he equalled Burton’s Scottish record with 1:58.4

Soutter’s second year in the sport (1911),  was spent partly in London running for Blackheath Harriers in order to develop his athletics.  There are not many records of Soutter running in the Mile or 1500 metres but Alex Wilson has provided a cutting from the Scotsman of 19th June, 1911, with a report of the annual Scottish Universities championship.    It was held ay Anniesland and on a rainy day Soutter won both half and mile events: the half in 2:00.2 after leading all the way, and the Mile in 4:36 after making all the running.   He had a very good day at the AAA championships that year which was reported in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ as follows.   “JT Soutter, of Aberdeen University AC, went South after the Scottish championships, and had a week’s training in London.   He ran a punishing heat in the quarter, which he did not win; in the half-mile he ran the race of his life so far,  was hard luck that he was not the winner of his heat.   Soutter erred in not confining himself to one event.   The quarter mile effort must have prejudiced his chances  in the half mile to some extent, and in view of the fact that he was only beaten by a foot in 1:57, one regrets that he did not leave the quarter-mile alone.   While the half-mile final was a memorable race in some respects, it was a little disappointing in others.    It did not produce great time, although possibly that would have materialised had Braun, the German, been subjected to a keener finish.”   Soutter howeverran 1:57.4 in Heat – second to Canadian Mel Brook after coming through 440 yards in 54.2 seconds.    He was a member of the Blackheath team that won the AAA’s medley relay in 1911 and was second in 1912.   Running the lead off leg, he is credited with a 1:56.4 split in 1911.   The week before the AAA’s, he had won the SAAA championship ahead of Burton in 2:00.2 and was ahead of him again in the Irish International at Hampden in 1:59.4.    He was also part of another Scottish 1-2 in the international when he was second to DF McNicol in the Mile.

In 1912 on  18th May in the Scottish Olympic Trials at Celtic Park, he won the 400 metres in 52.0.   The Olympic Trials were held at various venues to assist the selectors in choosing the team for Stockholm.   The trouble with that notion is that weather conditions vary from one venue to the other.   Trials were held on this particular date in Glasgow, at a meeting organised by the West of Scotland club, and at Stamford Bridge.    The weather at Parkhead was described as being very windy to the point of making the meeting a farce as far as fast times were concerned.   There were Olympic trials for 100m,  200m,  400, 800m and marathon.   Soutter was entered in both 400m and 800m and won the 400 from George Dallas of Maryhill – “Though Soutter was on the outside, he early got into position, and maintaining the lead, won by three yards.”   In the 800m he was second to Burton who won in 1:59.6 – “There were only two out of six who finished, and the race in consequence was a little disappointing.   George Dallas who was running well at the time, had the misfortune to get badly spiked, thus ruining any chance he had, whilst WM Crathie and KE MacDougall could not stand up against the breeze.   Soutter made the pace at the end of the first quarter, Unkles leading up to that point.   Burton was close behind the Aberdonian, and on entering the finishing stretch both made their effort, the Berwick man excelling every step and winning hands down in 1:59.6.”     The equivalent times at Stamford Bridge were 49.2 and 1:57.6.

In June, at St Andrews in the Inter-Varsity sports he won the 220 yards (22.8), 440 yards (53.6) and 880 yards (2:03.6) – a remarkable treble which showed some of the form he was in at the time.  Later in June, on the 15th, at the SAAA Championships he won the 440 yards (51.8) and 880 yards (2:01.8).   “Another double winner in the flat events was Soutter of Aberdeen University AAA.    He had the better of R Burton for once in tactics in the half-mile, while in the quarter-mile he ran the most “brainy” race that stands to his credit.   Burton it appears had been off-colour all week, and it is just possible on that account Soutter had an easier task than he would otherwise have had.   All the same, the Aberdonian had two very popular victories.”   That “brainy” quarter-mile?   Lindsay and Soutter, although occupying outer positions, soon got to the front at at halfway it was obvious that the fight would be confined to the two of them.   Lindsay in the straight made a brave effort to retain the championship, but Soutter who displayed excellent judgment all the way, drew to the front and won by a yard and a half, Dallas being three yards behind Lindsay.”   

 On 22nd June at the AAA’s he was running in the third heat of the 880 yards and the report read: “The Scottish champion ran very nicely and won by a couple of yards, easing up, in 1 min 59 1-5th.”   It was maybe a bit ominous that the first heat was won by Hans Braun – “The German merely toyed with the others and running with perfect movement won easily in 1 min 58 4-5th sec.”   The second heat was won by FE Mann of Polytechnic Harriers in 1 min 58 2-5th sec.   Into the final and “at half -way Braun was in the front, from which position he was never deposed.   He won by a couple of yards and Soutter beat Mann by a foot.   Time: 1 min 58 2-5th sec.    The Scotsman must have been doing equal to 1 min 58 and a half seconds, which is excellent travelling, and is just short of his best effort by a fraction.”   

Selection for the Olympics was well-deserved on his running but the actual events selected for was a mixed blessing – 400m, 800m and 4 x 400m.   These involved at least six races between July 6th and July 15th, at times with two races on the same day.   There were 28 nations competing and with no Olympic village (that idea was born with the Commonwealth Games and appropriated by the Olympic movement in the 1930’s), the British team stayed in a 2 star hotel on the outskirts of the city.   Soutter was first in action on 6th July in the 800m.   He was in the seventh of ten heats and won from a man that Glasgow crowds would know well – Mel Sheppard – in 2:00.4.   That was on the Saturday and the second round was the following day with the result that James Soutter refused to run – a stand similar to that taken twelve years later by Eric Liddell.   The Presbyterian divinity student still had two events to contest and in the morning of 12th July he stepped on to the track for the tenth of fifteen heats.   He was second to Edward Lindberg of America who won in 50.6 seconds.   The semi-finals were the same afternoon and the Scot could do no better than third in the fifth and last semi-final which was not good enough to see him through to the final.   There were five in the final – 4 Americans and Braun – Braun was second to Charles Reidpath who set a new Olympic record of 48.2 for the event.

Came the 4 x  400m on 14th July and the GB team won the first heat with a team of George Nicol, Ernest Henley, Soutter and Cyril Seedhouse in a new Olympic record of 3:19.0.   Things looked good for the final but unfortunately he had injured his ankle in the heat and could only limp pain fully round on the third stage in the final.   The GB team finished third in 3:23 while the winning American team set a new world record of 3:16.6.   Nevertheless Soutter, after only three years of concentrating on his athletics had won an Olympic medal. 

In 1913 he forsook the track for missionary work in Africa after an athletics career that won him three SAAA championships, one English championship, an Olympic medal and two Scottish records.   All in three years in the sport.

Immediately after the 1912 Olympics he had a short spell as assistant minister at St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen before going to Africa where he was the first minister in the Church of St Andrew in Nairobi.   In 1914 he was appointed chaplain to the British East African Expeditionary Force, which post he held until he returned to Scotland in 1916.   From 1917 he was serving as chaplain to the Royal Scots Greys in France  where his activities earned him the accolade of being Mentioned in Dispatches.     He was also involved in the Second War when he was part of a network intended to be Britain’s last line of defence  in the event of a German invasion.   They were based in underground bunkers – Soutter’s was in Smeaton House – they had been organised on the instructions of Winston Churchill no less.   His role was that of a ‘runner’ – making ‘dead letter drops’ leaving messages for other members of the network, for instance.

After the War he returned to Aberdeenshire where he was the minister at Advie until he retired to Edinburgh in 1956.   In 1940 he had married – for a second time – to Freda Pattinson.   Back in Edinburgh, however, his wife’s health began to deteriorate and by 1959 she was admitted to a nursing home.   Then a strange thing happened.   On 7 August 1959, Soutter left his home at 17 Howe Street to visit his wife. He had his passport in his jacket pocket.  He did not arrive at the nursing home, nor was he ever seen again.

An article in ‘The Scotsman’ in July 2012 reported that his photo and description were widely circulated.    A few days later, a lady in Cowie, Stonehaven, thought she had seen someone resembling him outside her house eating sandwiches but the sighting was never confirmed.   For some time previous to his disappearance Soutter had apparently been learning German. It was thought he may have been suffering from depression because of his wife’s condition. Despite extensive enquiries throughout the United Kingdom and Europe no light has since been shone on the mystery.   In 1967 after a statutory application to the Court of Session in Edinburgh James Soutter was formally declared dead, having been missing for over seven years.

James Soutter’s athletics career had been good enough to earn him a place in any Scottish athletics Hall of Fame – but how he ended his life is a mystery – and a tragedy.

[One of the sources for this profile was one in the excellent “The Past is a Foreign Country” by Arnold Black & Colin Shields – it’s an interesting article in a fascinating book.]