George Buchanan McClure was a Scottish rugby football playerBath, p137 and along with his brother James Howe McClure, has the distinction of being the first twin to be capped in international rugby.

Early life

George Buchanan McClure, also known as Joe, was born on 8 July 1851 in the Barony district of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, the son of James Howe McClure and Grace (née Buchanan). He was one of two brothers; James Howe McClure is thought to have been the first to be born. They were James and Grace's fifth and sixth children. His father remarried in 1872 to Charlotte Russell, sister of the Welsh entrepreneur James Cholmeley Russell.

Rugby career

George played his club rugby for

West of Scotland FC West of Scotland Football Club is a rugby union club based in Milngavie, Scotland. Founded in 1865, West of Scotland are one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world, and one of the founding members of the Scottish Rugby Union. West have enjoy ...

. He was capped once for in 1873 in the third match between Scotland and England. This was played at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow and ended in a 0–0 tie. His twin brother, James Howe McClure, was also capped for Scotland in the previous year, making them the first twins to be capped in international rugby – the only other twins to be capped for Scotland are

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and Jim Calder.Bath, p139 Both George and his brother retired at the end of the 1875 season. They were great Club men and both held office for West of Scotland FC.

Personal life

Six years after his rugby retirement, in 1881, he was still living at home at 13 Windsor Terrace with his brother. George was a member of the Glasgow stock exchange. In 1884 he married Helen S Thomson in the Blythswood district of GlasgowGeneral Register of Scotland Data reference 644/07 0338 and they went to Australia.MacHistory – site dedicated to the McClure family
In

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they had at least two sons, James Howe McClure in 1885 and George Buchanan McClure II in 1887. In the Great Western Railway Shareholders Register he is listed as having died on 11 July 1888, at the age of 36. He is also listed in the Register with addresses in Scotland and

. His executor were his brother James Howe McClure and his stepmother's brother James Cholmeley Russell.

References

* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ) 1851 births 1888 deaths Glasgow District (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Glasgow Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players Scottish twins Twin sportspeople {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub