Alex Raisbeck

Today we take a trip back nearly 102 years to look back at not just a game from Partick Thistle’s archive but also a player who played a massive role during a pivotal period in the Club’s history. 

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Alexander Galloway Raisbeck was born in Wallacetown, just outside Polmont, on Boxing Day 1878. While it doesn’t appear that Alex played for any team in home town his memory in Polmont lives on to the present day with the staging of the Alex Raisbeck Trophy which is contested on an annual basis.  In August 2014 Linlithgow Rose became the first winners when they defeated Polmont AFC by five goals to two.

Linlithgow Rose with the Alex Raisbeck Trophy

Alex’s playing career began with Larkhall Thistle and Royal Albert before he joined Hibernian in 1896 spending two seasons at Easter Road before heading down south to join Stoke City.

It was while playing for Stoke City that Raisbeck came to the attention of Liverpool. Indeed he had played just a handful of matches for Stoke when Liverpool paid £350 for his services in May 1898.

Raisbeck was an almost instant hit at his new club with the official Liverpool website outlining his contribution to the club, which was just 6 years old when he joined them, in glowing terms.

“Alex Raisbeck is regarded as the club's first star player.”

The centre back made his Liverpool debut against Sheffield Wednesday in September 1898 and although relatively small in stature for a player in that position his influence on the pitch was such that he would become Liverpool captain. It was under Raisbeck’s captaincy that Liverpool lifted their first Championship title at the end of the 1900-1901 season.

Raisbeck in Liverpool Colours

His importance to Liverpool was such that the club supplemented his wages by giving him another role at the club that of bill inspector whereby he was responsible for looking after the public hoardings and notice boards advertising future Liverpool fixtures. He repaid that loyalty shown to him by remaining with Liverpool despite their relegation in season 1903-04. He remained as captain as Liverpool won an immediate return to the top flight and was still skipper when they marked their return by winning the First Division title.

While at Liverpool Raisbeck came to the attention of the international selectors and he was capped by Scotland on eight occasions, five of them as captain.

In 1909, and after 341 first team appearances for Liverpool, Raisbeck’s time as a Liverpool player was at an end and he returned to his native Scotland with Partick Thistle the lucky club to secure the services of the 30 year old who had plenty of good years of football ahead of him.

Raisbeck as a Jag

That Thistle, in the process of setting up home in Maryhill, were able to sign a player of Raisbeck’s calibre was considered something of a coup with Raisbeck himself, in an article published some years after his retirement, describing how the move came about.

"Maurice Parry, who had been a great pal of mine at Anfield, was not being retained, and it was while I was doing a good turn for him that I found a berth for myself. Officials from Partick Thistle were in Liverpool in connection with Parry. Knowing Mr George Easton, the secretary, very well I was asked my opinion of Parry. I gave him a good recommendation as I had always liked Maurice’s play, although this wasn’t the opinion of many. When I heard that Partick Thistle were removing from Meadowside to their present home, Firhill, and that the officials were anxious to get together a strong side, I casually remarked to friend Easton that I shouldn’t mind a shift myself. The Partick secretary did not at first believe me, but when he learned that I was serious on the matter he lost no time in getting into touch with the Liverpool officials, with the result that I was transferred soon after the season closed.”

Alex’s first impressions of his new club and their new ground were far from favourable.

“Early on in the close season of 1909 I ran up against Director Lindsay, who, it will be remembered, was present when I became a Partick player. I was doing nothing special at the time, I had no where in particular to go and so when asked by Mister Lindsay to go and have a look at their new enclosure I was only too willing to accept his invitation. My first impressions of Firhill I shall never forget them. When I entered what was supposed to be the playing field I could not help but smile and remark to Director Lindsay, “Are we going to play here this August or next?”

You ought to have seen it. One half of the playing field was not so bad. It was kin’ o’ level, but oh! the other half! Tons of rubbish were heaped up here and there and one would have been lucky to find a blade of grass. I tell you I nearly had a fit when I saw what I had come to after the beautiful enclosure of Anfield. And I may just as well tell the truth - I was at the time sorry that I had left Liverpool. That was my first impression but not a lasting one I am pleased to say."

Thistle’s time at their new Firhill home did have an abortive start with the ground not passed fit in time for its scheduled opening against Queen’s Park but it was open for business for the very first time on September 18^th 1909 when Thistle defeated Dumbarton Harp 3-1 in a Scottish Cup tie.

By that time Raisbeck’s influence on the pitch was already being felt. Naturally assuming the role of captain, Alex made his Partick Thistle debut on August 16^th 1909 away to Morton. Sadly though he wasn’t part of a winning Thistle side as Morton ran out 2-1 winners as Thistle started to rebuild after an awful and homeless previous season.

There was no lack of praise of Raisbeck from the newspapers of the day but as time moved on the impact of a long career began to catch up on himwith an increasing number of games missed through a variety of niggling injuries.

The end of his playing career came on December 20^th 1913 when Thistle defeated Raith Rovers 2-0 at Firhill with Alex approaching his 35^th birthday. In truth the end really came a few weeks earlier in a match against Dundee, also played at Firhill. It was during that game that Raisbeck picked up the knock that would signal the end of his playing days as he himself explained;

“Dundee was my unlucky club. During my five seasons with Partick I received many disappointments when opposed to the Jute Men. I believe I was only once on the winning side against Dundee and we met on well over a dozen occasions. It was while playing Dundee in the League that I received the injury which finished my career as a player. It didn’t look as if it would turn out to be serious but it is often the simple-looking injuries which cause so much trouble.

"I thought little of the knock I received on my hench-bone although I was pained for the moment. I was not forced to leave the field and felt no ill effects until I was in the dressing-room at the finish. I was not satisfied that all was well and asked the club doctor to examine me. He told me that the injury was only slight but it could develop into appendicitis. I wasn’t barred from playing. I think I played in half-a-dozen games before I was forced to give up the game for the time being and undergo an operation.

While I was playing I felt little the worse although at times I suffered much pain, especially on the days following a match. I could walk about and run a little but when I made an effort to reach anything with my leg a bug lump would appear on the injured limb only to disappear when I took matters easy.

I grew a bit uneasy at this swelling and was far from satisfied that I was doing the right thing in playing. As I was living out of Glasgow it was not always convenient for me to see the club doctor so he advised me to consult my own physician in Larkhall. I was advised by him to consult a professor.

When I called on the professor he told me that I might play for twenty years without doing myself any injury but if I received a knock on the injured part it might prove dangerous. He advised me to undergo an operation and I wasted little time after receiving his advice. It was afternoon when I called at his consulting rooms and I was in bed in McAlpine’s Home in Glasgow that same evening by eight o’clock after marking the journey from Larkhall. I was operated on the following morning, which happened to be Christmas Day. It was certainly the strangest Christmas I have ever spent. It was a wise course I was advised to take for my health has improved ever so much since."

It was while in the nursing home that a benefit match for Alex was arranged by the club. A date, January 6^th 1914, was very quickly arranged with an international select providing the opposition.

Advert for the Benefit Game

Despite the wintery conditions; the pitch was, according to the ‘The Daily Record’, ‘covered from end to end with snow an inch or two deep’, a crowd of 10,000 assembled at Firhill to generate takings of £300 for Raisbeck who was still recovering from his operation and unable to attend in person. He did, however, send a telegram to James Brownlie of Third Lanark, who was to keep goal for the international select, saying:

“Please convey thanks to players for their kindness. Sorry can’t be with you.”

While Raisbeck couldn’t be at the game his manager from Liverpool, Tom Watson, was showing the high regard the former Liverpool captain was still held in on Merseyside. Indeed ‘The Liverpool Echo’ was just one of the many newspapers to cover the fixture within their pages.

There was no shortage of action to report on either with the International select eventually running out 7-5 winners despite Thistle having led 3-1 at the interval.

Teams

Thistle: Campbell, Adams, Bulloch, Morrison, Hamilton, Harris, Gowans (guesting from Petershill), Hynd, Marshall, Harris, McIntyre.

International Select: Brownlie (Third Lanark), Gordon (Rangers), T McGregor (Celtic), A McGregor (St Mirren), Allan (Partick Thistle), May (Morton), Paterson (Rangers), Bennett (Rangers), Parkinson (Liverpool), Croal (Falkirk), McNeil (Hamilton)

Alex embarked upon a managerial career at the end of his playing career firstly with Hamilton Accies, where he also sat on the board, then Bristol City where he won the Third Division (South) title in 1923. After he left Bristol City, Raisbeck managed Halifax Town, Chester and Bath City before returning to Anfield and Liverpool as a scout in 1939.

Alex passed away in Liverpool on March 12^th 1949 at the age of 70 his influence on both Liverpool and Partick Thistle huge.

Sources

LFCHistory.net: http://www.lfchistory.net/Articles/Article/3783

Linlithgow Rose Website: http://www.linlithgowthistle.co.uk/

Official Liverpool FC website: http://www.liverpoolfc.com/history/past-players/alex-raisbeck

http://partickthistleahistory.wikifoundry.com/page/Alex+Raisbeck+1914

Partick Thistle Legends – Niall Kennedy and Tom Hosie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Raisbeck

http://www.fitbastats.com/hibs/player.php?playerid=130

Thistle on the Brink: Part One

No Thistle will need reminding, or at least they shouldn’t, that the club very nearly disappeared from existence during the course of season 1997-1998. It was due in no small measure to the efforts of the Thistle fans, through the ‘Save the Jags’ campaign, that the club stayed alive although there remained some incredibly tough times on and off the pitch ahead.

That near death experience wasn’t the only time, however, that Partick Thistle has flirted with an extinction event. Indeed the club’s history is littered with occasions where the mention of Partick Thistle is immediately followed by the words “cash crisis”. Season 1997-98 aside the nearest that the club came to becoming a footnote in the history of Scottish football came 15 years earlier in the latter months of 1982.

On May 15^th 1982 a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Dundee United meant relegation and the end of a six year stay in the Premier League for Thistle. At the time of relegation manager Peter Cormack made some defiant noises about a swift return to Scotland’s  top flight and a record points haul. The reality though was somewhat different despite Thistle retaining a sizeable proportion of the relegated squad. Thistle just about squeezed through a League Cup section including East Stirling, East Fife and Brechin City with none of the crowds in the three home games topping the 1,500 mark. There was no financial windfall in a quarter-final meeting with Celtic either. The combined attendance for the two legs, which Celtic cantered to a 7-0 win in, totalled just 14,408. There wasn’t much joy to be found in the opening months of the league season either with, an admittedly injury hit, Thistle side  suffering defeats at home against Queen’s Park and Clydebank and reverses on the road at Ayr United, Falkirk and Alloa. 

With back to back home games as October slipped into November against the top two, Hearts and St Johnstone, not all was thought to be lost but for Thistle to harbour any serious promotion aspirations in the second half of the season then points would have to be collected on an altogether more regular basis.

Against Hearts things started well enough with Alex O’Hara giving Thistle the lead after 11 minutes after Smith had saved an Ian Jardine shot. Thistle created, and missed, several chances to extend that early lead but their attacking thrusts were blunted by the early withdrawal, due to injury, of Donald Park. With just three minutes of the 90 remaining a young man by the name of John Robertson popped up to net an equaliser for Hearts leaving the Thistle fans frustrated in the extreme. Despite the improved performance the league table did not make for enjoyable reading for Thistle fans.

1. St Johnstone      18
2. Hearts               17
3. Clydebank         16
4. Raith Rovers      15
5. Airdrie               14
6. Alloa Athletic      14
7. Dumbarton        13
8. Partick Thistle    11
9. Hamilton            10
10. Ayr United          9
11. Dunfermline        9
12. Queen’s Park       8
13. Falkirk                8
14. Clyde                  6

If that made uncomfortable reading for Thistle fans there was worse, much worse, to come in ‘The Evening Times’ of Friday November 5^th 1982.

On that date Thistle fans didn’t have to turn to the back pages in the hope of some snippets of news. The front page boldly declared ‘FIRHILL FOR SALE – THREE MONTHS TO SAVE THISTLE’ with the accompanying story revealing the full extent of the problems facing Partick Thistle.

Negotiations are in progress for the sale of Firhill, home of Partick Thistle.

The shock news was given today by the trouble-torn Glasgow Club’s chairman Miller Reid.

The move comes after the Bank of Scotland gave the club a breathing space to solve their cash crisis.

Tomorrow’s First Division match with St Johnstone at Firhill was given the go-ahead only after the bank gave the club an extension of credit at a top-level meeting earlier this week.

It is understood that after the breathing space the club’s position will then be reviewed. The sum involved is believed to run into six figures.

So, in effect, Thistle have until the end of January to put their house in order. If there is no solution by then, they could go to the wall.

In his statement today, Mr Reid (36) said: “the directors of Partick Thistle are pleased to announce that a loan has been negotiated with the Bank of Scotland. As a result, the club will continue to operate.”

But the statement warned: “The future of the club depends largely on the performance of the manager and players. Good performances will encourage greater support, and it is hoped that many of our armchair supporters will turn up. For the future, negotiations are in progress for the sale of the stadium with lease-back facilities to enable to operate efficiently.”

Cormack (left) and Reid in happier times

Mr Reid refused to comment on what other parties were involved in the sale negotiations.

But he said of Firhill: “It’s a big investment which, if ever lost to the city, would cost millions to replace. I am sure there must be other uses to which it could be put.”

Twenty four hours later Thistle were reported to be “cautiously optimistic” that a buyer could be found for Firhill but precisely who that buyer might be was unclear with both Glasgow District Council and Strathclyde Region distancing themselves from a possible purchase.

Glasgow District Council were at least relatively diplomatic with their comments saying;

“Partick Thistle have made an approach, but that is as far as it got. There are no negotiations or discussions.”

Strathclyde Region meantime were unequivocal with regard to their position stating;

“We have no interest in Firhill, and it is unlikely we would show an interest in it.”

Player sales were another way in which much needed money could be brought into the club and Thistle very quickly made it clear that each and every player was available for transfer. Alan Rough, who just a few months earlier has been playing in the World Cup for Scotland, was the most saleable asset and a £75,000 transfer fee was placed on him with clubs in Britain and, perhaps strangely, North America notified of his availability. Other players thought of as possible sales included Brian Whittaker and under 21 international Jamie Doyle.

‘The Evening Times’ article attempted to place the club’s financial problems into some kind of historical context claiming with justification that;

The Club’s decline has been hastened by their relegation last season from the Premier League.

Even there they were finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, and First Division crowds won’t pay the weekly wage bill, far less the running costs.

In recent years Thistle have spent £600,000 on ground improvements, many forced on them by the Safety of Sports Ground Act.

Last season it cost £200,000 to put a team on the park in the Premier League, and Thistle returned a loss of £130,000.

Even in the First Division it costs £5,000 a week to run the club, and that type of money does not come through the turnstiles.

The news of the club’s problems prompted comment from the usual sources. 

The then Maryhill MP Jim Craigen said;

“it’s a difficult job for all our clubs these days, but Thistle have tried to invest a lot over the years and it would be very sad if things have reached this stage.”

Meantime Jim McGilvary, the vice-chairman of the Thistle supporters’ association was keen to see what help his organisation could offer the club.

“We will discuss with the club anything we can do together to save the situation.”

On the day of the St Johnstone game chairman Miller Reid, who was due to step down from his position the following week, made an impassioned plea to the Thistle fans ahead of the match.

“I hope the fans will stay loyal to us and turn out to support their team. We need a gate of 5,000 fans a week and ay the moment we are only getting between 2000 and 3000. I hope the fans will do everything they can to help by turning out and coming to today’s game and matches in the future.”

Manager Peter Cormack, who must have known that his own future was on the line, simply said;

“We are all aware on the playing side of what is required.”

Chairman Miller Reid didn’t get his wished for 5,000 crowd for the visit of league leaders St Johnstone but the 3,159 crowd was still the biggest home league gate of the season to that point and well up on the average league crowd that crept just above the 2,000 mark.   

It was strange then that ‘The Evening Times’ in their Saturday’s Sports edition chose to describe the crowd as “sparse” and on the back page include a picture from the game looking out at the least populated section of the stadium.

On the pitch for the second week in a row Alex O’Hara gave Thistle an early lead. This time though Thistle were able to build on that lead. An own goal early in the second half helped Thistle on their way with Maurice Johnston adding a third goal with 3 minutes remaining. A consolation goal from St Johnstone’s John Brogan scarcely mattered as Thistle recorded a much needed 3-1 win.

Despite improvement on the pitch, off it the future for Partick Thistle looked to be far from certain. The next few weeks would be vital in the quest for survival.

To be continued…………