The Glasgow Academical Football Club is the third oldest rugby football club in Scotland. The club was also a founder member of the

Scottish Football Union The Scottish Football Union was a football league competition that existed from 1906 till the outbreak of the First World War. It was formed after the collapse of the Scottish Football Alliance. Initial membership of the Union was: Alloa Athl ...

(the future SRU) in 1873.

History

Glasgow Hawks

In 1997 the decision was made to combine the first XV's of Glasgow Academicals and close rivals

Glasgow High Kelvinside Glasgow High Kelvinside , often abbreviated to GHK, is an amateur rugby union club in Glasgow, Scotland. They currently play in Scottish National League Division One. History Glasgow High Kelvinside was formed in 1982 by the merger of Kelvins ...

(themselves a fairly new club having been formed when the struggling Glasgow High FP and Kelvinside Academicals clubs combined in 1982), something that was predicted would happen only after "hell freezes over". The combined team was named the

Glasgow Hawks Glasgow Hawks is an amateur rugby union team in Glasgow, Scotland. They were Premiership Division One champions for three consecutive seasons from 2003–04 to 2005–06. History In Paris on 27 August 1995 a meeting of the International Rugby ...

. The Hawks won the second division championship and the Scottish Cup in their first year and have since continued in the first division - winning the league in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and the Cup again in 2004 and 2007.

Glenn Metcalfe Glenn Hayden Metcalfe (born 15 April 1970 in Auckland)Glenn Metcalfe player statistics< ...

together with Derek Stark and

Gordon McIlwham Gordon McIlwham (born 13 November 1969) is a retired Scottish rugby union player for the amateur Glasgow Hawks, the professional teams Glasgow Rugby (now Glasgow Warriors), Bordeaux-Begles and Munster. He played as a Prop A prop, formally ...

became Scottish Internationals while

Mike Beckham Mike Beckham (born 22 May 1970, in Auckland, New Zealand) is a Cook Islands former international rugby union player for Glasgow Warriors at the Loosehead Prop position. He was signed by Kevin Greene, the Glasgow coach, in 1997. Previously the ...

and Tommy Hayes played for the Cook Islands.

Glasgow Academicals

With the advent of the Hawks, the Glasgow Academicals lost many of their strong first XV but made the decision to continue as a league side for the following year - which under SRU rules meant that they had to rejoin the lowest league of Scottish rugby. In 1998 the club competed in Glasgow District division 3. The club raced back up through the leagues, being promoted as league champions five years in succession. In 2016, their 150th year, they won West Regional League Division One giving them promotion to

Scottish National League Division Three The Scottish National League Division Three (known as Tennent's National League Division 3 for sponsorship reasons) is the fourth tier of the Scottish League Championship for amateur rugby union clubs in Scotland. Geographical Location The Scot ...

for 2016/17, after only losing one league game all season. Of the 157 clubs in the National and Regional leagues in 2015–16, only three had a winning % record which bettered Accies. Success came on the 9 April 2016 with a 26–7 win over Allan Glens at the Bearyards. Days after winning the league, the 150th year of the club was celebrated in April 2016, with a 1st XV match against a team mainly principally from

West of Scotland F.C. 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 ...

but including representatives from the other six clubs who, along with Accies and West, had founded the SRU in 1873. In recent years, the club has toured overseas to destinations including

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

(defeating leading province

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambe ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

( Carolina),

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, in the 150th year

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, and most recently

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

in 2017. In 2017 the club finished third. They did win 13 games in a row, including a 163–10 defeat of Livingston, followed up by 95–0 against Greenock Wanderers the following week. The final “points for” tally in the league was 930 from 22 games – the highest in the national leagues – with a points difference of 600. In April 2018, Accies secured promotion to National 2 with an 8-try win at Murrayfield Wanderers.

Glasgow Academicals Sevens

The club run the Glasgow Academicals Sevens. Their first Sevens tournament was in 1908 to raise funds to pay for their pavilion, but their Sevens was re-started in 1969 as an annual tournament.

Honours

Scottish Unofficial Championship The Scottish Unofficial Championship was the top league of Scotland's best amateur rugby union clubs. The Championship was 'unofficial' as the Scottish Rugby Union held that the sport should remain amateur and at the time did not sanction competit ...

**Champions (14): 1871–72, 1872–73, 1873–74, 1875–76, 1876–77, 1882–83, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1912–13, 1921–22, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1929–30 *

Scottish National League Division One The Scottish National League Division One (known as Tennent's National League Division 1 for sponsorship reasons) is the second tier of the Scottish League Championship for amateur rugby union clubs in Scotland. The division was established in it ...

**Champions (2): 1983–84, 1985–86 *

Scottish National League Division Two The Scottish National League Division Two (known as Tennent's National League Division 2 for sponsorship reasons) is the third tier of the Scottish League Championship for amateur rugby union clubs in Scotland. The division was established in it ...

**Champions (3): 1979–80, 1995–96, 2003–04 *

** Runners-Up (1): 2017-18 *Glasgow District 3 **Champions: 1998-99 *Glasgow District 2 **Champions: 1999-2000 *Glasgow District 1 **Champions: 2000-01 *Scottish National League Division Five **Champions: 2001-02 *Scottish National League Division Four **Champions: 2002-03 *BT Shield **Runners-up: 2003-04 * West League **Champions: 2015-16 * Glasgow Academicals Sevens ** Champions: 1971, 1992 * West of Scotland Sevens ** Champions: 2018, 2019 * Lochaber Sevens ** Champions: 1993 * Kelvinside Academicals Sevens ** Champions: 1976 * Arran Sevens ** Champions: 2017 * Hillhead HSFP Sevens ** Champions: 1969 * Glasgow University Sevens ** Champions: 1941, 1962, 1964, 1969, 1982, 1999 * Clarkston Sevens ** Champions: 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969 * Bearsden Sevens ** Champions: 1977 * Strathendrick Sevens ** Champions: 1992, 1993 * Allan Glen's Sevens ** Champions: 1977, 1982, 1986 * Ayr Sevens ** Champions: 1966, 1969, 1984 * Greenock Sevens ** Champions: 1976 *

Hawick Sevens Hawick Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Hawick RFC, in Hawick, Scotland. The Hawick Sevens tournament started in 1886 and is the third extant oldest Sevens tournament in the world; behind Melrose Sevens (1883) and Gala Sevens (18 ...

** Champions (1): 1939 *

Gala Sevens Gala Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Gala RFC, in Galashiels, Scotland. The Gala Sevens was the second of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated in 1884, just behind the Melrose Sevens in 1883. Held around the start of ev ...

** Champions (1): 1939 * Kilmarnock Sevens ** Champions: 1942 * Helensburgh Sevens ** Champions: 2022 * Dundee City Sevens ** Champions: 2022

SRU presidents

15 Glasgow Academicals have been President of the SRU: * 1874-75 Albert Harvey * 1878-79 George Raphael Fleming * 1880-81 David Watson * 1882-83 William Cross * 1884-85 Malcolm Cross * 1886-87 James S. Carrick * 1903-04

Robert Greig Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian pol ...

* 1911-12

William Andrew Walls William Andrew Walls (29 December 1859 – 19 February 1936) was a Scotland international rugby union player. He became the 38th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. Rugby Union career Amateur career He played as a forward for Glasgow Acad ...

* 1924-25 Robert Campbell MacKenzie * 1933-34 John MacGill * 1953-54

Malcolm Allan Malcolm Allan (6 April 1900 – 1974) was a Scottish rugby union player. He became an international referee and the 67th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. Rugby Union career Amateur career Allan was captain of Glasgow Academy in 1915–1 ...

* 1956-57 Max Simmers * 1963-64 Herbert Waddell * 1969-70 George Crerar * 1977-78 Frank Coutts

International players

Eighty-four players have played for ,''Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football''p41 with five also playing tests for the . The team has also provided internationalists for and . * JW Arthur (''first capped 1871'') *

William Davie Brown William Davie Brown (29 May 1852 – 24 March 1876) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a full back. He played for Glasgow Academicals, one of the top teams in Scotland at the time. He was called up to the Gla ...

(''first capped 1871'') - Scotland captain in 1874-75 *

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...

(''first capped 1871'') * William Cross (''first capped 1871'') - scorer of the first ever international conversion! SRU President 1882-83 *

Daniel Drew Daniel Drew (July 29, 1797 – September 18, 1879) was an American businessman, steamship and railroad developer, and financier. Summarizing his life, Henry Clews wrote: "Of all the great operators of Wall Street ... Daniel Drew furnishes t ...

(''first capped 1871'') * John Shaw Thomson (''first capped 1871'') All six of these players played in the first ever rugby international - on 27 March 1871 - when Scotland beat England by 1 goal (2 tries) to nil (1 try). *

James H. McClure James Howe McClure (9 October 1939, Johannesburg, South Africa – 17 June 2006, Oxford, England) was a British author and journalist best known for his Kramer and Zondi mysteries set in South Africa. Early life and career James McClure was ...

(''first capped 1872'') - with George - the first ever twins to be capped! * Henry William Allan (''first capped 1873'') * Charles Chalmers Bryce (''first capped 1873'') * George B. McClure (''first capped 1873'') - with James - the first ever twins to be capped! * Gilbert Heron (''first capped 1874'') *

John Kennedy Tod John Kennedy Tod (11 September 1852 – 2 June 1925) was a Scottish-American merchant banker. In his youth he was a Scottish rugby union international who represented Scotland in the 1873–74 Home Nations rugby union matches and 1874–75 Ho ...

(''first capped 1874'') * Allan Arthur (''first capped 1875'') * Malcolm Cross (''first capped 1875'') - SRU President 1884-85 * George Raphael Fleming (''first capped 1875'') * James S. Carrick (''first capped 1876'') - SRU President 1886-87 *

John Junor Sir John Donald Brown Junor (15 January 1919 – 3 May 1997) was a Scottish journalist and editor-in-chief of the ''Sunday Express'' between 1954 and 1986, having previously worked as a columnist there. He then moved to ''The Mail on Sunday''. ...

(''first capped 1876'') * David Watson (''first capped 1876'') - SRU President 1880-81 * Sir Robert C. McKenzie KBE CB (''first capped 1877'') - SRU President 1924-25 * Stewart Henry Smith (''first capped 1877'') - 2 caps * James A. Campbell (''first capped 1878'') * John Alexander Neilson (''first capped 1878'') *

Gussie Graham Gussie Graham (16 April 1856 – 17 October 1922) was a Scotland international rugby union player. Rugby union career Amateur career Graham played with Edinburgh Academicals. Provincial career He was capped by Edinburgh District in 1874. H ...

(''first capped 1878'') *

Duncan Irvine Duncan Irvine was a Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, p137 Rugby Union career Amateur career He played for Edinburgh Academicals; and Aberdeen Rangers. He was staying in Old Machar, Aberdeenshire in 1881 census. Provincial car ...

(''first capped 1878'') *

George Macleod George Fielden MacLeod, Baron MacLeod of Fuinary, (17 June 1895 – 27 June 1991) was a Scottish soldier and clergyman; he was one of the best known, most influential and unconventional Church of Scotland ministers of the 20th century. He ...

(''first capped 1878'') * John Blair Brown (''first capped 1879'') * Edward Ewart (''first capped 1879'') * David McCowan (''first capped 1880'') * Bryce Allan (''first capped 1881'') * James Fraser (''first capped 1881'') *

George Robb George Robb (1 June 1926 – 25 December 2011) was a footballer who played outside left for Tottenham Hotspur and England. Robb represented Great Britain at the 1952 Olympic Games. He also had a career as a schoolteacher. He died on Christmas ...

(''first capped 1881'') *

(''first capped 1882'') - SRU President 1911-12 * David Kidston (''first capped 1883'') 2 caps * John Mowat (''first capped 1883'') * J. French (''first capped 1886'') * Flowerdew Macindoe (''first capped 1886'') * Hugh Ker (''first capped 1887'') * Alexander Woodrow (''first capped 1887'') * J. G. McKendrick (''first capped 1889'') *

(''first capped 1893'') - SRU President 1903-04 * David D. Robertson (''first capped 1893'') - 1900 Olympic bronze medal for GB at Golf! * James Bishop (''first capped 1893'') * Bill Donaldson (''first capped 1893'') * Alexander H. Anderson (''first capped 1894'') * Robert S. Stronach (''first capped 1901'') * Lewis MacLeod (''first capped 1904'') * William Milne (''first capped 1904'') * Harold McCowat (''first capped 1905'') * Douglas G. Schulze (''first capped 1905'') * William L. Russell (''first capped 1905'') * Tennant Sloan (''first capped 1905'') *

Louis Greig Group Captain Sir Louis Leisler Greig, KBE CVO (17 November 1880 – 1 March 1953) was a Scottish naval surgeon, rugby player, courtier and a friend of King George VI. Rugby union Greig was a successful rugby player, and was capped for ...

(''first capped 1905'') - 3 tests for British Lions (SA 1903) * William Campbell Church (''first capped 1906'') ''† killed in WWI (Gallipoli)'' * J. A. Brown (''first capped 1908'') * Jimmy Dobson (''first capped 1910'') - 1 cap * Robert "Bertie" B. Waddell, uncapped by Scotland, toured in 1910 with the "Combined British" squad to Argentina, retrospectively classed as a British Lions tour. * Alexander Stevenson (''first capped 1911'') * John Dobson (''first capped 1911'') - 6 caps * Jack Warren (''first capped 1914'') - 1 cap * Eric Templeton Young (''first capped 1914'') - 1 cap ''† killed in WWI (Gallipoli)'' * Robert A. Gallie (''first capped 1920'') - 8 caps *

Eric MacKay Eric MacKay (5 August 1899 – 23 July 1966) was a Scottish former international rugby union player who played for Glasgow Academicals. He was a Wing. Rugby Union career Amateur career MacKay played for Glasgow Academicals The Glasgow ...

(''first capped 1920'') - 2 caps * George M. Murray (''first capped 1921'') - 2 caps * J.C. "Jimmy" Dykes (''first capped 1922'') - 20 caps. *

Andrew Stevenson Andrew Stevenson (January 21, 1784 – January 25, 1857) was an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. He represented Richmond, Virginia in the Virginia House of Delegates and eventually became its speaker before being elected to the United S ...

(''first capped 1922'') - 4 caps * Ronald C. Warren (''first capped 1922'') - 5 caps * Robert S. Simpson (''first capped 1923'') - 1 cap * Herbert Waddell (''first capped 1924'') - 15 caps for Scotland and 3 tests for British Lions (SA 1924). - SRU President 1963-64 * James Gilchrist (''first capped 1925'') - 1 cap * Jimmy Nelson, (''first capped 1925'') - 25 caps *

William H. Stevenson William Henry Stevenson (September 23, 1891 – March 19, 1978) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin for the years 1941–1949, he served as a Republican. William Stevenson was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin ...

(''first capped 1925'') - 1 cap * Max Simmers, (''first capped 1926'') - 28 caps - SRU President 1956-57 *

Edward G. Taylor Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

(''first capped 1927'') - 2 caps for Scotland and 3 tests for British Lions, 1927 "unofficial" tour to Argentina - Argentina's first ever test matches *

Harry Greenlees Henry Dickson Greenlees known as Harry Greenlees (31 July 1903 – 23 May 1969) was a rugby union fly-half who played 153 games for Leicester Tigers and 6 games for Scotland between 1926 and 1932. The Greenlees family was in the footwear trade ...

(''first capped 1927'') - 6 caps * Thomas M. Hart (''first capped 1930'') - 2 caps - also capped twice for Scotland Cricket - 1933-34 * James Forrest (''first capped 1932'') - 3 caps * Andrew Dykes (''first capped 1932'') - 1 cap * Ronald O. Murray (''first capped 1935'') - 2 caps * Laurie Duff (''first capped 1936'') - Scotland 6 caps and British Lions (1938 SA Tour - 2 tests, 2 tries!) * C. Robert Bruce (''first capped 1947'') - 8 caps * Frank Coutts (''first capped 1947'') - 3 caps - SRU President 1977-78 * J. Hamish" C. Dawson (''first capped 1947'') - 20 caps *

Brian Simmers Brian Maxwell Simmers (born 26 February 1940, Glasgow) is a former Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, p139 Rugby Union career Amateur career He played for Glasgow Academicals. Provincial career He played for Glasgow District ...

(''first capped 1965'') - 7 caps - scorer of two dropped goals in one international (v Wales, 1965) - a record for Scotland held jointly with, among others, John Rutherford,

Craig Chalmers Craig Minto Chalmers (born 15 October 1968) is a former Scotland international rugby union player and coach. He represented Scotland, the British Lions and the Barbarians at international level. He made 60 international appearances as a player ...

and

Dan Parks Daniel Arthur Parks (born 26 May 1978) is an Australian-born former international rugby union player and now coach. His primary playing position was at fly-half. Parks played professionally for Pro12 sides Glasgow Warriors, Cardiff Blues an ...

* Mike A. Smith (''first capped 1970'') - 4 caps * John Beattie (''first capped 1980'') - 25 caps for Scotland and 2 tests for British Lions (NZ 1983, Rest of the World 1986); member of Scotland's 1984 Grand Slam squad *

Marty Berry Martin Joseph Berry (born 13 July 1966) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A Rugby union positions#Backs, utility back, Berry represented Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union, Wairarapa Bush, Wellington Rugby Football Union, Wellington an ...

(''first capped 1986'') - 1 cap - Glasgow Accies' first All Black *

Glenn Metcalfe Glenn Hayden Metcalfe (born 15 April 1970 in Auckland)Glenn Metcalfe player statistics< ...

(''first capped 1998'') - 40 caps - our most-capped internationalist; member of Scotland's 1999 Championship winning XV *

Johnnie Beattie John William Beattie (born 21 November 1985) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A number 8, he played for Glasgow Warriors, Montpellier, Castres and Bayonne. Background Beattie is the son of former Scotland number 8 John Beattie and b ...

(''first capped 2006'') - 38 caps - our most-capped former pupil; scorer of the 2010 6 Nations Try of the Tournament against Ireland * Andreas Nilserius (''first capped 2015'') - Swedish cap from Glasgow Accies' 2015-16 Championship-winning squad * Chris Nilserius (''first capped 2016'') - Swedish cap from 2015 to 2016 Championship-winning XV, currently playing in Glasgow Accies' 2016-17 1st XV * Phillip Axelsson (''first capped 2016'') - Swedish cap currently playing in Glasgow Accies' 2016-17 1st XV * Robert Beattie (''first capped 2016'') - won his first cap for Scotland 7s in the Cape Town Sevens in December 2016

References

* Massie, Allan ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; )

External links

*http://www.glasgowacciesrfc.com/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20090421091136/http://www.glasgowhawks.com/cms/history *http://www.accies.ukf.net/Rugby/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Glasgow Academicals Rfc Rugby clubs established in 1866 Scottish rugby union teams Rugby union in Glasgow 1866 establishments in Scotland Sports teams in Glasgow