1888 Great Britain Tour

The 1888 Great Britain Tour was a series of association football matches played between a touring team from Canada organized by the Western Football Association, and several clubs from across the British Isles. The Canadian team finished their tour with 9 wins, 5 draws, and 9 losses in 60 days.[1] In 2003, the team was inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame for their accomplishments.[2]

WFA roster edit

Name Nation
Harry Bewell   CAN
Harry P. Bingham   CAN
Walter W. Bowman   CAN
Solomon Brubacher   CAN
Dr. William Burnet   CAN
Alexander Noble Garrett   CAN
Alex Gibson   CAN
Tom Gibson   CAN
Dr. Edward Payson Gordon   CAN
Fred Killer   CAN
Charles (Carl) Kranz   CAN
Tom W. Murray   CAN
Dr Wilfred Pirt Mustard   CAN
Dr. Henry Hempton “Harry” Pirie   CAN
Dr. Walter Proudfoot Thomson (c)   CAN
E.W. Webster   CAN
David Forsyth   CAN /   SCO

Results edit

Statistics edit

Competition First match Last match Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Irish opponents 1 September 5 September 4 3 1 0 13 7 +6 075.00
Scottish opponents 8 September 18 September 5 1 1 3 5 12 −7 020.00
English opponents 22 September 30 October 14 5 3 6 21 22 −1 035.71
Total 23 9 5 9 39 41 −2 039.13

Last updated: 30 October 1888
Source: Matches

Matches edit

All match records were retrieved from research done by Colin Jose.[1]

1 September 1 County Antrim   2–6   WFA team Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • Peden  
  • Gibb  
  • Charles Krantz   
  • Walter Thomson   
  • Alex Gibson  
3 September 2 Distillery F.C.   3–2   WFA team Belfast, Northern Ireland
4 September 3 Clarence Athletic Association   3–2   WFA team Belfast, Northern Ireland
5 September 4 Y.M.C.A.   1–1   WFA team Belfast, Northern Ireland
8 September 5 Rangers   1–1   WFA team Govan, Scotland
  • R. Hotson  
  • Walter Tomson  
Stadium: Ibrox Park
11 September 6 Queen's Park   3–1   WFA team Crosshill, Scotland
  • ?  
  • Andrew  
  • Berry  
  • Alex Gibson  
Stadium: Hampden Park
13 September 7 Ayr   4–0   WFA team Ayr, Scotland
  • Ross  
  • Alex Campbell  
  • Cunningham  
  • ?  
15 September 8 Hearts   0–3   WFA team Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Walter Thomson  
  • Alex Gibson  
  • Tom Gibson  
Stadium: Tynecastle Park
18 September 9 Scotland XI   4–0   WFA team
  • McCall   
  • ?  
  • ?  
Note: The Scotland XI were not the national team. They were a team made up of Scottish league players from Cowlairs, Queens Park, Rangers, Renton, and Vale of Leven football clubs.
22 September 10 Sunderland   0–3   WFA team
  • Tom Gibson  
  • Thomson   
26 September 11 Middlesbrough   2–3   WFA team
  • Tom Gibson  
  • Thomson   
29 September 12 Lincoln City   1–3   WFA team
1 October 13 Sheffield   1–1   WFA team
Note: It is unclear which particular Sheffield team played in this match (e.g. Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, etc.).
4 October 14 Notts County   2–0   WFA team Nottingham, England
Stadium: Trent Bridge Ground
6 October 15 Newton Heath   0–2   WFA team
8 October 16 Blackburn Rovers   4–1   WFA team
  • Tom Gibson  
13 October 17 Swifts   2–2   WFA team
15 October 18 Northampton County   2–3   WFA team Wellingboro, England
  • E.W. Webster  

David Forsyth  

  • Harry Bingham  
17 October 19 Oxford University   1–1   WFA team
  • Charles Kranz  
20 October 20 Old Carthusians   1–0   WFA team
  • Surgess-Jones  
22 October 21 Aston Villa   4–2   WFA team
  • ?  
  • ?  
  • ?  
  • ?  
  • Henry Pirie  
  • Walter Thomson  
27 October 22 West Bromwich Albion   1–0   WFA team
?  
31 October 23 Swifts   1–0   WFA team London, England
Stadium: Kennington Oval

References edit

  1. ^ a b Jose, Colin. "Overseas Tours by Canadian Teams: Great Britain Tour, 1888". Canadian Soccer History. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Teams & Organisations of Distinction". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 5 June 2023.