Part 1
Finlay Ballantyne Speedie was born in Dumbarton on 18th August 1880, and the town would remain dear to his heart all his days. He was an excellent sportsman, and in particular a fine young footballer, starting his playing career at just 15 years old with Arniston Thistle in 1895. His teenage football career saw him move from club to club on a frequent basis. From Arniston he joined Clydebank Juniors the following year, and after another 12 months he was on the move again, this time as an amateur player for his home town club Dumbarton. He never played for their first team in his short spell there, before signing for Duntocher Hibs in 1898. He finally turned professional the following year, signing a contract with Strathclyde.
Speedie was a versatile player, most at home at inside forward, and several impressive displays at inside left for Strathclyde attracted the attention of William Wilton at Ibrox. The Rangers manager had assembled the best team in the land at the turn of the 20th century, and in October 1900 Wilton signed him for the Scottish champions. At just turned 20, Speedie may have thought it might take time to get his first team chance, but Wilton was convinced the player was ready for the first team, and on October 20th 1900 Finlay Speedie made his Rangers debut at inside left against Dundee at Ibrox in the First Division. Rangers won the match 4-2 to maintain a 100% home record in the league for the season, with the legendary centre forward RC Hamilton hitting a hat trick.
So impressed was Wilton with his new signing, that he moved club stalwart John McPherson from inside left to inside right so he could accommodate them both. In just his third appearance for the club, Speedie found himself playing in a cup final, and he took home a winners medal as Rangers defeated Partick 3-1 in the Glasgow Cup. The following Saturday he scored his first Rangers goal in a 3-1 victory at Morton in the league as Speedie’s dream introduction to life at Ibrox continued. He scored important goals against both Kilmarnock and Queens Park, which set up a potential title party against Celtic on New Years Day 1901. A win over their fiercest rivals would guarantee Rangers a third successive title. There were 30,000 at Ibrox to see young sensation Finlay Speedie open the scoring after an hour, before a second goal by McPherson in the last few minutes settled any nerves. A late consolation by Celtic seemed irrelevant, as Speedie and his teammates celebrated being Kings of Scotland again. He started in 11 of the 20 league games that season, earning himself a first league medal.
His debut season wasn’t perfect, however, as he had to endure 2 painful cup defeats by Celtic in the Scottish Cup and the Charity Cup. But by the close season in 1901, Finlay Speedie was now an established Rangers regular.
Season 1901/02 saw Rangers retain their title, but it was a season overshadowed by tragedy in April 1902 when 25 spectators died at the stadium during a Scotland v England international match due to the collapse of a temporary stand. Speedie was now a virtual ever present, and he won a second Glasgow Cup medal in the strangest of circumstances when Celtic declined to take part in a final replay after it was ordered to be played at Ibrox after a drawn match at the same venue. Celtic pushed Rangers all the way in the title race, Speedie scoring an important goal against them at Ibrox in a 2-2 draw in October, and played his part in a vital 4-2 New Year win at Parkhead. Celtic took this defeat particularly badly, lodging a protest with the SFA over the referee’s handling of the match, which the SFA dismissed. Speedie then scored against both St Mirren and Dundee in the last 2 matches of the league season, which won the title by just 2 points.
Rangers and Speedie failed to reach the Scottish Cup final again, this time it was a defeat to a very good Hibs team in the semi final that ended his hopes. And Hibs also knocked Rangers out the Charity Cup after extra teams were included in the competition to raise funds for the families of those affected by the disaster.
Finlay Speedie played for Rangers for another 4 years, but he wouldn’t win another Scottish championship. The club were forced into selling many of their players and cutting costs to maximise money available to compensate families and to rebuild the stadium. Speedie played in 18 of the 22 league games in season 1902/03, scoring 4 times. These included a double in a 2-1 win over Hearts, but it was Edinburgh rivals Hibs who won the league, with Rangers third. Speedie scored his first Rangers hat-trick in the 7-0 Scottish Cup first round win over Auchterarder Thistle, and also starred in a comfortable 3-0 win over Celtic at Parkhead in the third round. Rangers reached the final, where Hearts were the opponents. It took 3 games to find a winner, with Speedie playing in all 3 matches. On April 25th 1903, Finlay Speedie became a Scottish Cup winner when goals by Alec Mackie and RC Hamilton won the trophy. This was despite him being forced to play for more than half the match at left back due to Jock Drummond leaving the field with an injury, and the team playing with just 10 men.
Speedie won 3 Scotland caps, all of them in 1903. He scored the only goal of the game on his international debut, a 1-0 win in Wales, and he then played in a 2-0 defeat to Ireland before his third and final Scotland cap in April 1903 against England. He scored Scotland’s first goal in an impressive 2-1 win at Bramall Lane, Sheffield.
Third Lanark were league champions in season 1903/04, with Rangers again ending the campaign in third. Speedie started in 23 league games in the now expanded First Division, and hit 16 goals in all competitions. These included a New Year’s Day derby goal at Parkhead in a highly entertaining 2-2 draw and a hat-trick against Port Glasgow in the Scottish Cup. But it was 2 cup finals at the end of the season against Celtic that lived longest in the memory, for very different reasons. On April 16th 1904, a crowd of 63,000 attended the Scottish Cup Final, and Finlay Speedie scored twice early on to give Rangers a healthy lead. But things unravelled and a Quinn hat-trick gave Celtic an unlikely 3-2 win. Then on May 14th, the teams met in the Charity Cup final, and Speedie was again on the scoresheet when he scored a 79th minute penalty. This was Rangers’ 5th goal of another very eventful match, which saw Celtic down to 10 men for a lengthy period when Quinn had to leave the field injured. The final score of Rangers 5 Celtic 2 gave Speedie his first winners medal in the competition as well as some revenge for the Scottish Cup heartbreak.
Speedie appeared in three more major finals in season 1904/05, but none provided him with a winners medal. Celtic would end the season as league champions, and they were his opponents in the Glasgow Cup final in early October 1904, an RC Hamilton goal not enough to prevent a 2-1 loss. Speedie scored against them in a fine 2-0 win in the semi final of the Scottish Cup (a game marred by serious crowd disorder from the Celtic fans who forced an early end to the match), but a replay defeat to Third Lanark in the final meant a second successive runners-up medal for him. The third final he played in was a league championship playoff against Celtic, after both teams ended the season on level points. These days, Rangers would have been champions on goal difference, but the rules in 1905 demanded a playoff, which Celtic won 2-1. Despite winning no trophies, this was Finlay Speedie’s most productive season in Royal Blue, scoring 20 times in 41 appearances, 13 of these goals in league games.
Despite this, Speedie lost his place in the team at the start of season 1905/06, manager Wilton preferring Archie Kyle, Jimmy Spiers and RS McColl in his previous inside forward position. Finlay Speedie was restricted to very few starts, playing just 3 times in the entire season and all of them after mid-March. He started the first game of season 1906/07 in the league against Falkirk then promptly was dropped again. Becoming increasingly frustrated, he made it clear to manager Wilton he saw his future away from Ibrox, and he played his last game for the club in a drawn Glasgow Cup match against Queens Park on 8th September 1906. Within a week, Newcastle United of the English First Division announced his signing for a fee of £600, and at 26 years old Speedie moved south. His Rangers career saw him play 167 times for the club and score 65 goals.
Finlay Ballantyne Speedie was born in Dumbarton on 18th August 1880, and the town would remain dear to his heart all his days. He was an excellent sportsman, and in particular a fine young footballer, starting his playing career at just 15 years old with Arniston Thistle in 1895. His teenage football career saw him move from club to club on a frequent basis. From Arniston he joined Clydebank Juniors the following year, and after another 12 months he was on the move again, this time as an amateur player for his home town club Dumbarton. He never played for their first team in his short spell there, before signing for Duntocher Hibs in 1898. He finally turned professional the following year, signing a contract with Strathclyde.
Speedie was a versatile player, most at home at inside forward, and several impressive displays at inside left for Strathclyde attracted the attention of William Wilton at Ibrox. The Rangers manager had assembled the best team in the land at the turn of the 20th century, and in October 1900 Wilton signed him for the Scottish champions. At just turned 20, Speedie may have thought it might take time to get his first team chance, but Wilton was convinced the player was ready for the first team, and on October 20th 1900 Finlay Speedie made his Rangers debut at inside left against Dundee at Ibrox in the First Division. Rangers won the match 4-2 to maintain a 100% home record in the league for the season, with the legendary centre forward RC Hamilton hitting a hat trick.
So impressed was Wilton with his new signing, that he moved club stalwart John McPherson from inside left to inside right so he could accommodate them both. In just his third appearance for the club, Speedie found himself playing in a cup final, and he took home a winners medal as Rangers defeated Partick 3-1 in the Glasgow Cup. The following Saturday he scored his first Rangers goal in a 3-1 victory at Morton in the league as Speedie’s dream introduction to life at Ibrox continued. He scored important goals against both Kilmarnock and Queens Park, which set up a potential title party against Celtic on New Years Day 1901. A win over their fiercest rivals would guarantee Rangers a third successive title. There were 30,000 at Ibrox to see young sensation Finlay Speedie open the scoring after an hour, before a second goal by McPherson in the last few minutes settled any nerves. A late consolation by Celtic seemed irrelevant, as Speedie and his teammates celebrated being Kings of Scotland again. He started in 11 of the 20 league games that season, earning himself a first league medal.
His debut season wasn’t perfect, however, as he had to endure 2 painful cup defeats by Celtic in the Scottish Cup and the Charity Cup. But by the close season in 1901, Finlay Speedie was now an established Rangers regular.
Season 1901/02 saw Rangers retain their title, but it was a season overshadowed by tragedy in April 1902 when 25 spectators died at the stadium during a Scotland v England international match due to the collapse of a temporary stand. Speedie was now a virtual ever present, and he won a second Glasgow Cup medal in the strangest of circumstances when Celtic declined to take part in a final replay after it was ordered to be played at Ibrox after a drawn match at the same venue. Celtic pushed Rangers all the way in the title race, Speedie scoring an important goal against them at Ibrox in a 2-2 draw in October, and played his part in a vital 4-2 New Year win at Parkhead. Celtic took this defeat particularly badly, lodging a protest with the SFA over the referee’s handling of the match, which the SFA dismissed. Speedie then scored against both St Mirren and Dundee in the last 2 matches of the league season, which won the title by just 2 points.
Rangers and Speedie failed to reach the Scottish Cup final again, this time it was a defeat to a very good Hibs team in the semi final that ended his hopes. And Hibs also knocked Rangers out the Charity Cup after extra teams were included in the competition to raise funds for the families of those affected by the disaster.
Finlay Speedie played for Rangers for another 4 years, but he wouldn’t win another Scottish championship. The club were forced into selling many of their players and cutting costs to maximise money available to compensate families and to rebuild the stadium. Speedie played in 18 of the 22 league games in season 1902/03, scoring 4 times. These included a double in a 2-1 win over Hearts, but it was Edinburgh rivals Hibs who won the league, with Rangers third. Speedie scored his first Rangers hat-trick in the 7-0 Scottish Cup first round win over Auchterarder Thistle, and also starred in a comfortable 3-0 win over Celtic at Parkhead in the third round. Rangers reached the final, where Hearts were the opponents. It took 3 games to find a winner, with Speedie playing in all 3 matches. On April 25th 1903, Finlay Speedie became a Scottish Cup winner when goals by Alec Mackie and RC Hamilton won the trophy. This was despite him being forced to play for more than half the match at left back due to Jock Drummond leaving the field with an injury, and the team playing with just 10 men.
Speedie won 3 Scotland caps, all of them in 1903. He scored the only goal of the game on his international debut, a 1-0 win in Wales, and he then played in a 2-0 defeat to Ireland before his third and final Scotland cap in April 1903 against England. He scored Scotland’s first goal in an impressive 2-1 win at Bramall Lane, Sheffield.
Third Lanark were league champions in season 1903/04, with Rangers again ending the campaign in third. Speedie started in 23 league games in the now expanded First Division, and hit 16 goals in all competitions. These included a New Year’s Day derby goal at Parkhead in a highly entertaining 2-2 draw and a hat-trick against Port Glasgow in the Scottish Cup. But it was 2 cup finals at the end of the season against Celtic that lived longest in the memory, for very different reasons. On April 16th 1904, a crowd of 63,000 attended the Scottish Cup Final, and Finlay Speedie scored twice early on to give Rangers a healthy lead. But things unravelled and a Quinn hat-trick gave Celtic an unlikely 3-2 win. Then on May 14th, the teams met in the Charity Cup final, and Speedie was again on the scoresheet when he scored a 79th minute penalty. This was Rangers’ 5th goal of another very eventful match, which saw Celtic down to 10 men for a lengthy period when Quinn had to leave the field injured. The final score of Rangers 5 Celtic 2 gave Speedie his first winners medal in the competition as well as some revenge for the Scottish Cup heartbreak.
Speedie appeared in three more major finals in season 1904/05, but none provided him with a winners medal. Celtic would end the season as league champions, and they were his opponents in the Glasgow Cup final in early October 1904, an RC Hamilton goal not enough to prevent a 2-1 loss. Speedie scored against them in a fine 2-0 win in the semi final of the Scottish Cup (a game marred by serious crowd disorder from the Celtic fans who forced an early end to the match), but a replay defeat to Third Lanark in the final meant a second successive runners-up medal for him. The third final he played in was a league championship playoff against Celtic, after both teams ended the season on level points. These days, Rangers would have been champions on goal difference, but the rules in 1905 demanded a playoff, which Celtic won 2-1. Despite winning no trophies, this was Finlay Speedie’s most productive season in Royal Blue, scoring 20 times in 41 appearances, 13 of these goals in league games.
Despite this, Speedie lost his place in the team at the start of season 1905/06, manager Wilton preferring Archie Kyle, Jimmy Spiers and RS McColl in his previous inside forward position. Finlay Speedie was restricted to very few starts, playing just 3 times in the entire season and all of them after mid-March. He started the first game of season 1906/07 in the league against Falkirk then promptly was dropped again. Becoming increasingly frustrated, he made it clear to manager Wilton he saw his future away from Ibrox, and he played his last game for the club in a drawn Glasgow Cup match against Queens Park on 8th September 1906. Within a week, Newcastle United of the English First Division announced his signing for a fee of £600, and at 26 years old Speedie moved south. His Rangers career saw him play 167 times for the club and score 65 goals.
Last edited:
