What it says: some more results – sent to us by John MacKay – for comparison with those on the main Nigel Barge Race page.
1959
1962
1963
1964
1965
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Category: Uncategorized
Some McAndrew Results
1962
1963
1964
1984
Some VPAAC Pictures
This page started as a birthday card for the club on their 90th anniversary on 4th April 2020 and has been slightly altered and added to as an addition to the club page on the website.
NEW GLASGOW CLUB FORMED
At a meeting in the Unionist Rooms, Partick, a new club was formed under the title Victoria Park AAC. A constitution and rules were adopted, and the following office-bearers appointed:- Hon President Jas K Crawford; President: Peter Morrison; Vice-president; R Johnstone; Treasurer: Jas Totten; Secretary: D McKenzie; Captain: DK Thomson; Vice-captain: KA Smith; Application is to be made to the SAAA for membership.
Glasgow Herald, 7th April, 1930
Scotstoun as most of us remember it. It was a very attractive venue altogether with a good track, well maintained and, almost as important, the outer perimeter that was used for training sessions, for warm ups and, in the very beginning, as part of the annual cross-country race trail.
SS Beattie: The club’s first SAAA Champion and record holder
Sam Beattie was Victoria Park’s most successful track athlete of the 1930’s winning his first track title, the 100 yards, in 1939. He also won the club’s first field events titles too with gold in the long jump in 1936, ’37 and ’38, and also in the Triple Jump in 1937 and ’38. There were also silvers in the 100 yards, Broad Jump and Triple Jump. Read about him here
This photograph, taken in April 1950 at Mountblow Recreation Ground in Dalmuir, was sent by Craig Rayment whose father Albert Charles Rayment is on the right in the front row. Label from the back is below.
He was not the last sprinter to be produced by the club: the squad from the 1950’s was quite outstanding and was as good as, if not better than any similar squad in the land at any time. Some pictures below.
Willie Jack
Bobby Quinn
Mike Hildrey
You can read all about these sprinters and several others from Willie McFarlane’s groups that totally dominated Scottish sprinting in the 1950’s and early 60’s at this link . The championships and trophies won by this group has probably never been equalled by any club in s similar time span. If you are interested in Victoria Park, or just Scottish sprinting, you really should look at this.
The 50’s were not just a period when the club dominated the sprints – their middle distance and particularly long distance runners were quite outstanding. Their top man joined the club and ran with some success in the 1930’s but really came good after the war – I’m talking about Andy Forbes, pictured below.
An inspiration to many all over Scotland he went on to be a very good runner as a veteran: read about his wonderful career at this link .
Victoria Park became the first club outside England to win the team title after a close race the Scottish team came out on top with some good packing. Silver medals went to Bolton United Harriers and bronze to Manchester A. and C.C. The names above are all Victoria Park legends and some are national legends – Names like Ian Binnie, John McLaren, Andy Forbes, Alex Breckenridge are all known outside Scotland. For individual profiles, click on the name of your chosen athlete.
The sprinters won many a medley and 4 x 440 yards title because of the quality of the club’s top middle distance runners.
Hugh Barrow leading the great Gaston Roelants
The top middle distance runner in the club in the 60’s was the talented Hugh Barrow – the only Scottish miler ever to hold a world record. Some of Hugh’s honours:
* Scotland and SAAA teams in many forms from 1962 to 1971
* Rest of Britain v England Indoors 1963 * Rest of Britain v Olympic Team 1964
* GB 1967 World Mile Record Holder at 16 – the only Scot ever to hold a world mile record.
His complete profile can be read here . Pictured below with the VPAAC record breaking medley relay team.
In case you think that the club distance running tradition had ended with the 1950’s, their road runners in the 1950’s and 60’s, you had better think again. We’ll finish this quick look at the club’s record with two superb distance and marathon runners.
Pat Maclagan was a quiet but concentrated and determined athlete who, because of his unassuming personality never quite received the attention he deserved. It probably didn’t worry him. His record as an athlete was superb and his profile can be found at this link. He won his first ever marathon (at Shettleston) and went on to win the Scottish title.
One of the best races on the calendar was the McAndrew Relay run every year on the first Saturday in October. With some effort, the original trail for the race is seen on this photograph.
Alastair Johnston (53) leading the field at the start of the 14 mile road race at Babcock’s Sports
Alastair Johnston was another of the same vintage who was a top class athlete and popular with other runners. Alastair was a top class performer on all surfaces and a sub 2:20 marathon man whose career was effectively ruined by a tragic accident at Meadowbank. You can read about him by clicking on his name above.
Clubs do not live by competitors alone – they need administrators and officials. One of the best of these came to Victoria Park from Edinburgh and has been a pillar of other athletics groups such as the Scottish Athletics League for decades as well as of the club itself. I speak of Hugh Stevenson – Hugo – and his profile can be found by clicking on this link.
Finally, club president Gordon Innes combined the old and the new showing club HQ (Scotstoun) as it is and as it was: an excellent idea, beautifully executed.
And finally a quest for information: can anyone name these three runners doing their best for the club?
Video Links: 1
One of the features of 21st century life is the availability of video recordings of races and runners of yesteryear – people and events that we saw and knew. We can see them again, some of us for the first time, and hear their voices and ponder over their opinions. We start the page with two videos of one of the best liked, most respected and most missed of runners – Jim Dingwall.
Jim Dingwall Interviews:
A Golden Era that we did not recognise as such – Stewart and McCafferty Memories:
One of the most read profiles on the site is that of Tom McKean, here are three of his races:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viVhFMUcGbU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4QebWBKOcM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxe3vKJDZmM
Frank Clement was one of my favourites and a real credit to the sport and the country. Start with his finish in the Olympics:
But Youtube seems to concentrate on his running in the finishing straight –
The newest link is from Joe Small again and is of the 1972 cross-country international – Ian Stewart prominent – at
More to come ….
Obituary: Alan Dunbar
Obituary: Alan Dunbar, drama teacher, athlete and theatre director
Alan Dunbar, drama teacher, athlete and theatre director.
Born: 26 February, 1934, in Stranraer.
Died: 1 July, 2011, in Edinburgh, aged 77
ALAN Dunbar for ten years brought to the drama department at Queen Mary College (QMC) a drive and enthusiasm which is fondly remembered to this day. He had a passion for drama which he communicated to his students with an infectious energy.
That, with his broad experience of teaching, ensured the drama course became widely known for its excellence. In a wide-ranging career Dunbar was also a champion athlete – he won the Scottish 100 yards title in 1955 and 1956, having gained a Blue at Glasgow University in 1954 – and went on to become a respected sports journalist and broadcaster, especially well known as a presenter on BBC Scotland television in the 1980s.
Alan Sisson Dunbar was educated locally at Stranraer, and in 1952 began three years of study at Jordanhill College of Education. He also attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama where his fellow students included Mary Marquis, Fulton Mackay, Andy Stewart and John Cairney. Dunbar was keen to pursue his interest in athletics so turned to teaching and in 1956 embarked on a seven-year stint as a lecturer in drama, firstly at Langside College and then at Central College, both in Glasgow. The lifestyle worked well – drama school through the week and running on Saturdays.
In 1970 Dunbar moved to Edinburgh and lectured on communication at Napier College before, in 1979, being appointed senior lecturer in communication and drama at QMC. It was a post to which he was ideally suited, and his dedication to teaching and drama much enhanced the department’s reputation. Dunbar decided to retire in 1989, and his description of that decision typified his nature: “I decided to chuck the job and take a chance.”
It was indeed a brave move yet it paid off quicker than he expected. He was offered a post lecturing at Edinburgh University in presentation skills and worked as a freelance journalist. He had already contributed to the Evening Citizen in Glasgow and The Scotsman on athletics in the 1960s and later was heard on both Radio Clyde and Radio Forth. From 1980 to 1987 he was a sports presenter on BBC Scotland, and he became involved with the Edinburgh Acting School (EAS), where he was a guest director and a member of the company for 20 years.
Dunbar did some exceptional productions for EAS, particularly on the Edinburgh Fringe where he directed Joe Corrie’s Hogmanay, Willy Russell’s Stags and Hens, and two particularly demanding plays which proved very successful, John Byrne’s The Slab Boys and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
Anna Tinline, principal of EAS, remembers his work there with much affection. “Alan directed many shows with great enthusiasm, expertise and intellect.The students loved working with him and he encouraged self-discipline, team work and professionalism at all times. I can honestly say that not once did I ever hear him raise his voice or speak to anyone in an angry tone, even though his patience was tested on many occasions.”
Dunbar was a member of one of the outstanding Victoria Park relay teams that were victorious at many of the Scottish meetings in the 1950s. He represented Scotland in the 1958 Empire Games in Cardiff but was knocked out in the second round. It is thought that a muscle injury stopped Dunbar being chosen for the Great Britain team that competed at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He was fondly remembered at the Victoria Park Club as a fine athlete and was one of their youngest presidents.
In 1957 Dunbar took a principled stand against the ruling authorities in Scottish athletics when he withdrew from the national 220 yards final at New Meadowbank – the principal athletics venue in Edinburgh prior to the stadium built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games. Dunbar protested at the condition of the cinder track, and more than 50 athletes signed his petition objecting to it. His efforts proved unsuccessful in the short run.
Dunbar was a born enthusiast and faced up to the lengthy illness at the end of his life with typical good-hearted resolution. He brought that commitment and zest for life to all aspects of his life – professional and personal. Anna Tinline recalls: “Alan rejoiced when various members of EAS did well, and when his beloved grand-daughters won poetry competitions. He was a wonderful storyteller and shared his knowledge and skills so generously.”
He is survived by Margaret, his wife of more than 50 years, two daughters and two sons.
- The above obituary appeared in the Scotsman of 18th July, 2011.
Ronnie Whitelock: Obituary
Sprinter;
Born: October 13, 1932; Died: December 7, 2012.
Ronnie Whitelock, who has died aged 80, was one of the best loved and respected life members of Victoria Park Athletic Club (now Victoria Park City of Glasgow AC). An exceptionally talented sprinter, he was part of an era when the Scotstoun club held its own with the best clubs in Britain.
Whitelock joined Victoria Park at Scotstoun as a junior in 1947 and was quickly promoted to the senior squad where he was coached by the late double Powderhall New Year Sprint champion Willie McFarlane.
This was long before full-time athletes had been thought of and Whitelock served his apprenticeship at John Brown & Company, Clydebank, before securing his long-term future in the drawing office. It was there his colleagues fashioned a set of starting blocks from a 4×4 block of wood and two off-cuts of aluminium. Those same starting blocks were used throughout what was to become an illustrious athletics career.
In his early days, he enjoyed success at the Rangers Sports, the Glasgow Police Sports and a variety of Highland Games at the then venues of Ibrox Stadium, Hampden Park, Helenvale and Westerlands.
In 1956 he was part of the winning Victoria Park 4×110 yards relay team at the Scottish AAA Championships at Meadowbank. The team was Alan Dunbar, Bobby Quinn, Harry Quinn and Whitelock. This group became lifelong friends who continued to meet regularly and rib each other about past glories – and there were plenty of them. His best year on the track was probably 1957, winning gold at the Scottish Championships over 100 yards with a time of 9.8 seconds, winning gold in the 4×110 yards relay, competing for Scotland and competing for Great Britain against Russia at White City, the latter success earning him life membership of Victoria Park.
Known for his lightning quick starts, he went on to win two more Scottish sprint titles in 1959 and 1962 and was a member of the winning Victoria Park 4×110 yards relay teams on four occasions and represented Scotland in at least four international matches.
Once his successful career as an athlete was over he continued to coach and many younger athletes benefited from his experience. Always keen to be involved in his sport, he became a track referee, a track judge and a marksman, officiating for many years at all levels including being the track referee at Bute Highland Games. He also made a name for himself as a track referee for disability athletics.
He was still officiating last winter indoors at the Kelvin Hall and was present at Victoria Park Glasgow’s last but one AGM.
His last trip to Scotstoun was in October to see the club’s newly completed display cabinet. Thanks to his generosity, the centrepiece is the starting blocks made for him in the 1950s, with his handmade leather running shoes in situ.
He is survived by his wife Irene, son Donald and daughter Elspeth
- The above obituary appeared in the Herald of 1st January, 2013
Ronnie is second from the right in the photograph of the West District Championships at Scotstoun in 1959. The photograph was supplied by Graham McDonald. Details below the photograph.
Grangemouth: Last Post
It was a good day for the Scots and we reproduce here Sandy Sutherland’s report on it.
Hugh’s Gems 5
Hugh’s photographs and cuttings see a steady stream of visitors – let’s face it, most of us like pictures on the internet, but the mix of topics and the historical rarity of many of the items make them a real joy to see. We start with Herb Elliott and Percy Cerutty running together illustrate perfect Percy’s dictum of “You might run faster but you don’t run any harder!” Others have said so since but Percy was the first.
Then the Victoria Park London to Brighton team from the 1950’s
From Singers Sports in Clydebank: Ian Binnie in the black, possibly Bob Steele from Vale of Leven leading
Spot Ian McCafferty in this pro race from Carluke
No prizes for recognising Rangers Sports at Ibrox
Before any of our times: Edinburgh University team from 1872
Herb Elliott leading Mike Rawson
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Typical Fixture Lists
.The athletic seasons used to have a rhythm to them – on the track there were the early season fixtures which led to the National Championships at the end of June, then they tailed off in a host of highland games, sports meetings and invitation extravaganzas which usually included events for domestic athletes. On the road there was the build up to the SAAA Marathon Championship.
In each case the build up was just that – on the track there were Club, County, District, SAAA and AAA Championships in that order with other meetings of varying sizes where athletes could get the races that their programme demanded, or which were used at times to amend perceived deficiencies – eg if a runner felt that the season wasn’t going as planned, he could find a shorter race or two fr sharpening purposes; like wise if he needed to strengthen a bit there were over distance races to help him do that. This season is shown in the Victoria Park AAC racing programme for 1958. Many of these have disappeared from the calendar including the Big Two of Rangers Sports and Edinburgh Highland Games.
On the road, the Scottish Marathon Club had been formed in 1944 and organised a summer programme that led to the SAAA Marathon Championship at the end of June. The value of the SMC to road runners cannot be over estimated. They had their own championship consisting of races at 12 miles, 16 miles and 20 miles which all led to the marathon. They worked hard at persuading meetings with no road races to include some road race in their programme, and where one had a road race, the club tried (usually successfully) to have it over a distance that would help the progression to the full distance. Often these races came after the championship so that people reluctant to step up the distance could have a go at it when the spotlight was not shining with a view to running the marathon the following year.
Compare the programme below with races between 10 and 45 miles with current fixture lists which seem to go from 5K to 10K to 10M to half marathon with a jump from there to the event itself.
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