J. S. Thomson

J.S. Thomson
Birth name John Shaw Thomson[1]
Date of birth (1845-08-09)9 August 1845[1]
Place of birth unknown[2]
Date of death (1925-05-22)22 May 1925[1]
Place of death St Giles, London[1]
School Glasgow Academy
University St Andrew's University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
- Glasgow Academicals RFC
University of St Andrews RFC		 ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
- Glasgow District ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1871 Scotland 1 (0)

John Shaw Thomson was a rugby union international who represented Scotland in the first international rugby match in 1871.[2]

Early life

Thomson's father owned a clothing manufacturing business, Laird & Thomson, located in the Mile End area of Glasgow which employed around 450 people. In acknowledgement of their roots the street was named St Marnock Road[3] ( the company had started in Kilmarnock). George Thomson's business prospered and the family lived in the prestigious Monteith Row[4], but as the industrialisation of Glasgow continued a pace, the Thomsons like many others moved from the grime and dirt of the east end to the leafier suburbs of Glasgow's West end, in the Woodlands area.

J S (John) Thomson became a pupil at the Glasgow Academy and is recorded as having played for Glasgow Academicals in 1871[5][6][7][8] and 1872.[9] At that time the club did not have open membership and had only been formed three years previous as a club for old pupils of Glasgow Academy. Some records suggest he also played for St Andrews University[10][11] and therefore may have attended that university also.

Rugby union career

J.S. Thomson was selected to play in the first international rugby match in 1871 between Scotland and England. This was played on 27 March 1871 at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh and won by Scotland. Certain records for the match indicate that he played for Glasgow Academicals[5][6][7][8][9] at the time, whilst others suggest that he was a University of St Andrews RFC player.[10] It is possible that he was not exclusive to one or the other and therefore may have played for both.[11] In Francis Marshall's 1892 publication, Football; the Rugby union game, he is listed as playing for St Andrews as well, although on one occasion he is referred to as J Thompson in a picture of the 1871 Scotland side[12] and on another occasion he is referred to as W Thomson.[13]

In 1872 J S Thomson was also part of another historic first rugby encounter when he was selected as part of the representative side of Glasgow District, to face a representative side from Edinburgh District.[9] This was the inaugural inter-city match between Glasgow and Edinburgh, that today is known as the 1872 Cup and has the distinction of being the oldest inter-city rugby competition in the world.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "John Thomson - Rugby Union - Players and Officials - ESPN Scrum". ESPN scrum.
  2. 1 2 "John Thomson - Rugby Union - Players and Officials - ESPN Scrum". ESPN scrum.
  3. ↑ "Mile End - East End Glasgow History". www.glasgowhistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  4. ↑ "Monteith Row - East End Glasgow History". www.glasgowhistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  5. 1 2 Nigel Trueman. "Rugby Football History".
  6. 1 2 St Andrews Alumni rugby club
  7. 1 2 Allan Massie, A portrait of Scottish rugby, (Polygon), 1984
  8. 1 2 Glasgow (Scotland). Academy, The Glasgow academy: the first hundred years, (Pub. for the Glasgow academy by Blackie), 1946
  9. 1 2 3 The balance inclines to the city possessing a successful and dominating club team. at Glasgow Hawks.com detailing the first 1872 Cup match
  10. 1 2 [E. H. D. Sewell, Rugby football up to date, (Hodder and Stoughton, limited), 1921
  11. 1 2 Glasgow Hawks records Thomson as having played for both, though gives his initial as W not J S Archived 2009-04-21 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ Marshall, Francis, Football; the Rugby union game, p201, (1892) (London Paris Melbourne, Cassell and company, limited)
  13. ↑ Marshall, Francis, Football; the Rugby union game, p144, (1892) (London Paris Melbourne, Cassell and company, limited)
  14. ↑ Glasgow Accies official site - 1872 and all that
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