The Thistle Archive

Hugh joined Thistle from Yoker Athletic in October 1944. He started his war service in the Royal Navy, and was also an Army footballer. This curtailed his initial appearance rate for the club, and it wasn’t until May 1945 that he appeared more frequently on the Thistle teamsheet. Hugh initially started in the left half position, but moved to inside right, then right half. Late in his Jags’ career he even played as a centre forward, and when he played in England with Torquay United and other clubs, this was the position he played! It sums Hugh up perfectly that he was able to play in such a variety of positions. Hugh took over from guest Bill Shankly, when he left Bishopbriggs after his lengthy RAF service. In his first season with Thistle in 1944-45, Hugh played in all of the Summer Cup matches, and in the final where the Jags beat Hibernian 2-0 at the end of June 1945. A steady player until his final season, his last match in Thistle colours was the Glasgow Cup final on 25 September 1950, with Thistle and Celtic playing out a 1-1 draw at Hampden in front of a 56,500 crowd. The replay wasn’t played until 26 March 1951 (yes – six months later!) with Thistle winning the trophy by 3 goals to 2. Hugh though, had moved on by then. He made 147 appearances in his time at Firhill. He moved on to Torquay United, and played for the club on 55 occasions, before retiring. During his career he was awarded 3 Scotland caps, alongside an SFL appearance. He passed away in Surrey in July 1994, aged 72.

On account of his service during WWII, Hugh is included in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle returned →.

Hugh is also included in our feature piece, The Definitive Who's Who Of The Partick Thistle Internationalists →

1945 - SUMMER CUP

1948 - SFL DIVISION A

1951 - GLASGOW CUP