Duncan Brodie
Duncan Brodie
A. Player

born in Scotland

Duncan Brodie was born on Tuesday, 23rd April, 1878, in Lugar, East Ayrshire.

The forward signed for Thistle on Friday, 9th September, 1898.

Aged 20, he made his first known appearance on Saturday, 10th September, 1898, in a 3-0 defeat at home to St Bernard's in the SFL First Division.

There were no known goals for Duncan during his spell with Thistle.

He played his last known game for the club on Saturday, 29th October, 1898, in a 3-1 defeat away to Clyde in the SFL First Division, having appeared for the Thistle on at least 5 occasions.

His club-list included Partick Thistle, Lugar Boswell, Glossop, Lanemark, Abercorn and Barnsley.

Duncan died on Thursday, 10th June, 1915, in Kirkconnel, Dumfries and Galloway, aged 37.

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Bio Extra

This left-sided forward from Ayrshire was suddenly catapulted into the big-time in September 1898 when he was given a run for Partick Thistle who were playing their second season of top-flight football in Scotland. It was a thankless task really, as Thistle were really struggling to find some form and unknowns without pedigree were sure to find it hard to be accepted. Brodie divided opinion, one Partickonian going so far as to write a scathing letter to the paper criticising the committee for their selection. Thistle lost the first eleven games of the season and Brodie played in four of them. The first win came on matchday 12 - a 3-2 League win at St Bernard's - and Brodie had been dropped by then. Surprisingly, he was picked the following week for the trip to Shawfield but Thistle lost by 3 goals to 1. Brodie may have scored that day (according to the Scotsman) but it made little difference and he never played for the club again, having played 5, lost 5. It's a results-driven business as they say!

Thistle were eventually relegated that season but Brodie didn't hang around to bear witness and headed back to the Ayrshire game. Little is known about the fine details of his playing career, but historian John Litster has him down south at Second Division Barnsley by season 1904-05.

Alas, poor Duncan was accidentally killed at Fauldhead Colliery in Kirkconnel in the summer of 1915, aged just 37. He was laid to rest at Auchinleck Cemetery. See our 'Scrapbook' tab above for more information on this, and see our 'Gallery' tab for a picture of his headstone.

(WS/JK)



Historian's note: JL reports that this player moved from "Cumnock" to Barnsley sometime in 1904/05. BM's database tells us Cumnock (the senior side) existed 1875-1891 and Cumnock (the juniors) were formed in 1912. BM's clublist also has Cumnock Celtic (juniors, 1901-1902) or Cumnock Northern (juniors, played in the late 1890s). So who were this Cumnock that Duncan Brodie played for? With the uncertainty, we've made no listing for the potential club connection. If you can shed any light then please do get in touch.

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