The Thistle Archive

• 4 books, 1927-1986, details per individual entries. Click on any cover image to read or download your own copy.

”The History Of The Partick Thistle Football Club” by R. M. Connell, 1927

First published in November 1927 (see press ad.), this wee hardback book, the first official history of the club, measures 185mm x 122mm. There's every chance there was a paper cover, but we've never seen one on the extremely rare occasions when a copy surfaces at auction. The book was published by GW May of London, who, as historian Andy Mitchell tells, produced a series of similar volumes on football clubs and cricket counties. In Scotland, they commissioned the veteran journalist RM Connell to write the text, and he was able to draw on his considerable experience to provide an informative look back.

As well as Thistle, the other clubs featured in the series were St Mirren, Raith Rovers and Queen's Park. Robert Morrison Connell (1864-1940) was also known by his pen name 'Bedouin'. He was the first president of the Scottish Junior FA and wrote quite a number of booklets, invaluable for researchers.

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“Partick Thistle Souvenir Pictorial” by Galbraith Publications, 1948

Published for the start of season 1948-49, 36pp, A4. Heavily padded with adverts and not much to it. Even the match photo captions are frustratingly vague. In an attempt to cash in on the post-war boom in Scottish football, a few small publishers (Argyll Publishing Company, Galbraith Press & Simmath Press) produced a number of booklets and brochures, mainly focused on individual clubs. In 1948, Galbraith began to issue a wide range of souvenir pictorials, under the banner of the 'British Football Annual' (Airdrieonians, Ayr United, Clyde, Dunfermline Athletic, Elgin City, Falkirk, Hearts, Hibernian, Manchester United, Morton, Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South, St Mirren, Stirling Albion, Third Lanark and Lanarkshire League).

Mainly these sold for a shilling each, although a couple of the later issues were sixpence. As historian Andy Mitchell tells: “Having been so prolific in 1948-49, perhaps the financial reality was not so rosy for Galbraith. Sales must have been disappointing as I can find no record of them producing any other publications, and indeed their office in Renfield Street was used to sell vacuum cleaners and washing machines.”

Scottish Sport History blog

“The Jags: The Centenary History Of Partick Thistle Football Club” by Ian Archer, 1976

Described by Molendinar Press (the publisher) as “a well-illustrated official centenary history of Scottish club Partick Thistle FC, 19 x 15 cms, softback or hardback, 96 pages”. A press conference was held at Firhill on Friday 24th September 1976 to herald the launch. The book was available directly from the club as well as newsagents and booksellers across Scotland, and officially went on sale on Monday 27th September 1976, priced at £1.25.

A popular sports pundit of the day, Ian Archer, a life-long Jags man, wrote mainly for the Scottish Daily Express and the Glasgow Herald. In the book he explores the club's history and pays tribute to the greats down the years, but shares his frustrations of life as a Thistle fan. As he put it in one post-book interview: “To put it bluntly, Partick Thistle stretches my patience almost beyond endurance - frequently - but I will keep coming back. It's a love affair.”

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“Partick Thistle: The People's Club” by Colin Menabney & Janet Darling, 1986

The Woodside & North Kelvin Local History project group was set up in 1986 with the purpose of preserving the history of the area through a series of books and exhibitions, and was keenly supported by the Maryhill Community Hall, which helped to secure funding. Thistle fans Janet Darling and Colin Menabney got involved with a view to contributing the Partick Thistle story:

The book is written in the words of those who feel this affection for the club. Players past and present, supporters and club officials tell of their past memories and high points in the club's history, and pick out the aspects that make Partick Thistle special.

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• 38 editions, 1921-1981.

• 3 editions, 1950-1952. Produced by the PT Supporters Association, the magazine was edited by A. Orr, General Secretary. The PTSA had formed in August 1945 and, by the time of the first edition (October 1950), the three affiliated branches were Partick (400 members), Maryhill (300 members) and Whiteinch (almost 100 members). Milngavie had recently dropped out due to a lack of support and Possilpark had become independent! Fairly priced at a shilling (5 pennies), the magazine typically offered around 50 pages of content. The first edition almost entirely reproduced RM Connell's 1927 book “The History Of Partick Thistle” which was good news for fans, but failed to credit the author (deceased in 1940) so that was a bit of a black mark. As well as the early history, there were a number of fine articles, including two by ex-players-turned-journalists Jack Harkness and Stewart Calderwood, and some evocative press photos.

• 8 editions, 1971-1977.

• 7 editions, 1990-1992.

• 2 editions, 1990-1991.

• 28 editions included here, 1992-1999

Programme collector Miles McClagan has very generously been scanning his vast collection and uploading it to flickr for everyone to view. The huge majority of the Partick Thistle selections below are thanks to Miles.

To get a flick through any of the 49 fully scanned programmes below, simply click on any of the flickr site links listed. Clicking on any date will take you to the match hubs here on the Thistle Archive, where you can also find the programme covers and links. Enjoy!