Andrew Watson (footballer, Born 1856)

Andrew Watson (24 May 1856 – 8 March 1921) was a Scottish footballer who is widely considered to be the first black person to play association football at international level. He played three matches for Scotland between 1881 and 1882. Arthur Wharton was previously commonly thought to be the first black player, as he was the first black professional footballer to play in the Football League, but Watson's career predated him by over a decade. There is evidence that Watson was paid professionally when at Bootle in 1887, two years prior to Wharton becoming a professional with Rotherham Town; however, the Merseyside club did not play in the Football League at the time Watson played there.

Early life and education

Watson was the son of a wealthy Scottish sugar planter Peter Miller Watson (1805–1869) (the son of James Watson, of Crantit, Orkney, Scotland) and a local British Guianese woman named Hannah Rose. He came to Britain with his father, and his older sister Annetta, and they inherited a substantial amount when their father died in London in 1869.Watson, Andrew (1856–1921)
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2014; accessed 13 March 2015

He was educated at Heath Grammar School in Halifax, West Yorkshire and then from 1871 at King's College School, in Wimbledon, London, where records show he excelled at sports including football. He later studied natural philosophy, mathematics and engineering at the University of Glasgow when he was 19, where his love of football blossomed. He played in the full-back position, on either the right or the left flank.

Early life, marriages, children

Watson left Glasgow University after one year and in 1877 became a partner in Watson, Miller, and Baird, a wholesale warehouse business in Glasgow. In November 1877 he married Jessie Nimmo Armour (1860–1882), the daughter of John Armour, a cabinet-maker. Their son Rupert Andrew was born in 1878, and a daughter Agnes Maude in 1880. Watson moved to London with his family in the summer of 1882 for work reasons. His wife died in the autumn of 1882 and their two children returned to Glasgow to live with their grandparents.

He returned to Glasgow and married for a second time, to Eliza Kate Tyler (1861–1949) in February 1887. She was the daughter of Joseph Tyler, East India merchant. Later that year he moved to Liverpool, where he worked on ships and sat exams to qualify as a marine engineer. Watson and Eliza had two children, a son Henry Tyler in 1888 and a daughter Phyllis Kate in 1891.

Through his father he was related to William Ewart Gladstone, who served four terms as British Prime Minister during the late 19th century,Andrew Watson: The 'most influential' black footballer for decades lost to history
, Andrew Aloia, BBC Sport, 12 October 2021 and likely also related to the 21st-century English poet Malik Al Nasir through his mother.

Football career

Club career

After first playing for Maxwell in 1876, Watson signed for local side Parkgrove, where he was additionally their match secretary, making him the first black administrator in football. At Parkgrove he played alongside another black player, Robert Walker.

Watson also took part in athletics competitions, winning the high jump on several occasions.

On 14 February 1880, Watson was selected to represent Glasgow against Sheffield at Bramall Lane, an annual fixture played between 1874 and 1960; Glasgow won 1–0. He was also selected for a tour to Canada in the summer of 1880 which was cancelled after the death of William Dick, secretary of the Scottish Football Association.

In April 1880, Watson also signed for Queen's Park – then Britain's largest football team – and became their secretary in November 1881. He led the team to two consecutive Scottish Cup