Andy Mitchell
@andymitchellmedia.bsky.social
Scottish football historian. Edinburgh. www.scottishsporthistory.com
So, will the Herald be brave and sacrifice those 121,000 followers?
January 13, 2026 at 9:48 AM
So, will the Herald be brave and sacrifice those 121,000 followers?
Yes, planning to be there!
January 8, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Yes, planning to be there!
They'll need a ladder if they do! That's not a challenge, by the way...
January 8, 2026 at 2:17 PM
They'll need a ladder if they do! That's not a challenge, by the way...
If you want to visit it, the plaque is on a wall on North Meadow Walk, next to the tennis courts. The wall is due to have a mural painted soon, to cover the graffiti.
January 8, 2026 at 1:55 PM
If you want to visit it, the plaque is on a wall on North Meadow Walk, next to the tennis courts. The wall is due to have a mural painted soon, to cover the graffiti.
It was taken by George Campbell, not Thomson.
January 2, 2026 at 1:20 PM
It was taken by George Campbell, not Thomson.
That's it for 2025, I hope to have more sports history for you in the coming year. And meanwhile you can read several hundred other stories on my blog, which started way back in 2012 www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
December 31, 2025 at 4:16 PM
That's it for 2025, I hope to have more sports history for you in the coming year. And meanwhile you can read several hundred other stories on my blog, which started way back in 2012 www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
And to end the year in South America, the story of how a silver cricket buckle from Glasgow opened up the story of Hugh McColl, who founded the first football club in Chile. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
A buckle with a story: Hugh McColl, Scottish football pioneer in Chile
Many years ago I bought this attractive belt buckle at an antique fair, engraved for presentation to Hugh McColl junior by the members of West End Cricket Club for the highest bowling average in...
www.scottishsporthistory.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:14 PM
And to end the year in South America, the story of how a silver cricket buckle from Glasgow opened up the story of Hugh McColl, who founded the first football club in Chile. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
And also from Denmark, news that the harrowing wartime experiences of Carl Hansen - a Rangers player in the 1920s - have just been translated. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
Carl Hansen's wartime experiences have just been translated
Over a decade ago I wrote a blog about the biographies of Danish footballer Carl Hansen , who had played in Scotland for Rangers in the 1920s. Better known as Carl Skomager ('shoemaker'),...
www.scottishsporthistory.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:11 PM
And also from Denmark, news that the harrowing wartime experiences of Carl Hansen - a Rangers player in the 1920s - have just been translated. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
The same month, the story of a Scottish football striker who had a big impact in Denmark in the 1880s. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
The Scottish football pioneer who made his mark in Denmark
One of the pioneers of Danish football was a man from Dundee who was top scorer in the country's first football league. James Young Smart , a player and administrator with Strathmore FC, went to...
www.scottishsporthistory.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:10 PM
The same month, the story of a Scottish football striker who had a big impact in Denmark in the 1880s. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
In November 2025, how I found a historic football trophy and returned it to Musselburgh www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
A historic Musselburgh football trophy returns
One of Musselburgh's earliest football trophies, the Simpson Shield , has come home after turning up at auction recently. I was lucky enough to be the winning bidder and have sold it on to...
www.scottishsporthistory.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:08 PM
In November 2025, how I found a historic football trophy and returned it to Musselburgh www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
In October 2025, I examined the question as to whether Edinburgh should be recognised as a 'home of football'. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
Edinburgh should be recognised as a 'home of football', thanks to its 19th century pioneers
Next time you hear someone singing Football's Coming Home , ask them where they think 'home' is. They might answer London, Sheffield or Cambridge; maybe even Glasgow. They would be wrong, as...
www.scottishsporthistory.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:07 PM
In October 2025, I examined the question as to whether Edinburgh should be recognised as a 'home of football'. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
August 2025 saw the 150th anniversary of Hibernian Football Club, and it was a pleasure to write about one of the club's founders, Pat Cavanagh, and the permanent mark he left on the city. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
Hibs founder who left his mark on Edinburgh
One of the pioneers of Hibernian Football Club , which was founded exactly 150 years ago today, has literally left his mark on the city's streets. But you have to look carefully to find him. ...
www.scottishsporthistory.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:04 PM
August 2025 saw the 150th anniversary of Hibernian Football Club, and it was a pleasure to write about one of the club's founders, Pat Cavanagh, and the permanent mark he left on the city. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
In June 2025, another talk, this time for Footycon, the Football History Conference, held in Belfast (it will be in London in 2026). I looked back at the impact - good and bad - of The English Game in Netflix. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
Five years on ... The English Game on Netflix
At this year's Football History Conference in Belfast, I gave a talk on the Netflix Series The English Game , which came out five years ago. I was interested in exploring whether and how the series...
www.scottishsporthistory.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:02 PM
In June 2025, another talk, this time for Footycon, the Football History Conference, held in Belfast (it will be in London in 2026). I looked back at the impact - good and bad - of The English Game in Netflix. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
A week later, I covered the birth of rugby in Edinburgh. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
The birth of rugby in Edinburgh
Today I gave the second of my talks on early sport in Scotland's capital, with The Birth of Rugby in Edinburgh . It covers the origins of the handling game, from medieval beginnings through the...
www.scottishsporthistory.com
December 31, 2025 at 4:00 PM
A week later, I covered the birth of rugby in Edinburgh. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
May 2025, I gave a couple of talks for the Edinburgh 900 celebrations. The first was an in-depth look at the birth of football in Scotland's capital. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...
The birth of football in Edinburgh
Today I gave a talk on The Birth of Football in Edinburgh , describing the early development of the sport in Scotland's capital up to the formation of the city's first association football clubs in...
www.scottishsporthistory.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:59 PM
May 2025, I gave a couple of talks for the Edinburgh 900 celebrations. The first was an in-depth look at the birth of football in Scotland's capital. www.scottishsporthistory.com/sports-histo...