1874 The World’s First Black Footballer

Andrew Watson was born in Demerara, Georgetown British Guyana in 1857. He went to school in England and then returned to his father’s home city of Glasgow.

He first played for Maxwell FC and Parkgrove FC before being asked to play for Queens Park FC of Glasgow in 1879. He was known as a powerful and skilful defender. It would appear Watson was the mainstay of the Parkgrove team, for they appeared to fold soon after he left.

At the time QPFC were the biggest team in the world. When they came knocking you opened the door. Their fame meant that Andrew Watson was soon picked to play for Scotland. He gained three caps in 1881 and 1882 against England (6-1), Wales (5-1) and England (5-1) again. In his debut game for Scotland he was nominated captain: a great honour for a debutant.

Watson was also Secretary of QPFC for six months 1881-2 but job commitments kept him from working full time for the Club. This was an extremely prestigious and honoured position at the time.

Watson Plays in England

Andrew Watson played for other sides when he was away from Glasgow. He is therefore the first black player to appear in the English FA Cup: playing for London Swifts in 1882. Such was his fame, the elite English amateur team Corinthians asked him to play on their tour of Lancashire and Yorkshire in the winter of 1884-5.

The Corinthians had been founded by Pa Jackson of the English Football Association to try and train the English amateur elite to compete against professionals and the Scotch Professors, of whom Watson was one of the greatest.

In his career for Queen’s Park 1879-1887 he won four Glasgow Cups and two Scottish Cups in only 36 competitive games. However, with his football skill, his influence on others, and his managerial intelligence Watson is clearly the most important black footballer of all time.

Not only did he claim so many firsts, his level of skill and organisational abilities place him in a group all on his own.

Ged O’Brien Former Director of Scottish Football Museum, Hampden Park

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