The Thistle Archive

On 21/8/1909, the scene was set for Thistle's first home game in over a year. The new ground (Firhill) was visited by the City's Deputy Master of Works on the day before and again on the morning of the match. At 1.00 pm he announced that the game with Queen's Park could not go ahead, objecting to the steepness of the banking on the eastern side of the ground. Unfortunately, by this time, 15,000-20,000 people had turned up - as had a specially invited party of officials for the opening ceremony. 150 policemen were called to maintain order but they were not needed. The crowds "quietly dispersed" (the "Scotsman") leaving Thistle to carry the costs, the embarrassment and the loss of a bumper crowd bringing in much needed revenue. The" Dundee Courier" on 26/11 reported that the SFL had set up a "special commission" to adjudicate on Queen's Park's claim for compensation against Thistle. They speculated that Queens were still vexed about an earlier SFL decision that they must play Thistle on 1/1/1910 instead of leaving the date clear to arrange a lucrative (and traditional) friendly against an amateur team. The SFL met in private on 3/2 and accepted the Commission's report but the details were never published. The match was rearranged for the last game of the season and only around 4,000 attended.

	An original Thistle Archive publication, 07-Sep-2020.
	Latest edit version 02-Jun-2020.