Andrew Watson: Scotland's first black footballer

A 6 -1 victory over England is something that Scotland fans dream of these days, but back in 1881, that was very much a reality for our National team. And the man who captained them? A black player named Andrew Watson.

Even if you're familiar with Andrew Watson, I'm sure you'll agree that he's not quite the household name that he should be.

Not only was he the first black footballer to Captain the Scotland team, but the first black international football player in the world, the first black player to win a national football trophy, and the first black football administrator. Quite a feat for any player but when you consider the lack of diversity in Scottish football even today, it's even more impressive to know that Andrew Watson achieved all of this in the 1800s.

Watson was born in Georgetown, Demerara in 1856. His Father, Peter Miller Watson, was a wealthy Scottish sugar plantation owner, and his mother, Hannah Rose, was a local Guyanese woman.

Andrew moved to Britain with his Father and sister at around five years old. Originally living in England, Watson moved to Glasgow when he was nineteen to attend University.

In 1874, he signed for Glasgow based football team, Maxwell FC, before moving on to Govan team Parkgrove. He invested a lot of his own wealth, which he inherited from his Father, into the team and became match secretary.

Local Counsellor Graham Campbell, who chaired the Andrew Watson Memorial Amateur Football League, stated that part of the reason that Andrew Watson may have been forgotten to history is because his club, Parkgrove FC, no longer exists but also because of the era that he played in.

"He should have been much better known" he tells our reporter Andrew Maclean "He's an incredible guy, a legend of the game. Obviously he was from a time before there was cinema, before there was film footage...if we'd seen him play then perhaps he would've been a lot more famous and not forgotten."

With so many achievements under his belt so early in our history, it's a wonder why it took Scottish Football so long to become more diverse. After all, it was 120 years after Andrew Watson lead the Scotland team to victory that Nigel Quashie became the second black player to play for the Scotland National team.

Graham Campbell speculates on why there wasn't more players in the time after Andrew Watson's success

"He was an educated gentleman. His advantages of class probably trumped his racial origin in the end. I think that's why you didn't see many black people after that, because most black people who live in the British Empire were working class...they would've been excluded by not being gentleman from accessing that world."

Of course, Andrew Watson wasn't the only black player of his time. He goes down in history along with the likes of Robert Walker, who played alongside Andrew Watson at Parkgrove FC, who was the first black footballer to play in a national cup final; John Walker, who played for Leith Athletic and Heart of Midlothian, who was the first black player to receive a transfer fee; and Willie Clarke, the Scottish footballer who became the first black player to score in the English Football League in 1901. All of these players helped to pioneer the game, and it's important to remember their place in history, as Graham Campbell explains

"Racist heckling from the sideline wouldn't be tolerated as much as it has been if people understood the origins of their own game; If they understood what role black players like Andrew Watson played in creating the game that they loved. We have a right to be there because we've been there right from the beginning, and that's the important thing to say to players and managers, coaches, referees - 'you've always been in the game. You've every right to be here and no expectation should be on you to accept any form of racist abuse, or indeed institutionalised discrimination that stops you progressing your career in this sport.'"

Andrew Watson is remembered in a mural in the South Side of Glasgow at Hampden Bowling Club, the original site of Hampden Park, where he lead Scotland to a 5-1 victory against England in 1882.

You can find out more about Andrew Watson in the Scottish Football Museum Hall of Fame at Hampden Park.

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