Scottish Football Reminiscences and Sketches

Goalkeepers, backs and dribbling forwards receive close attention in David Drummond Bone's account of Scottish association football. Published in 1890, the collection draws on the author's long experience watching and discussing the game. His preface explains that several sketches first appeared in sporting journals and were revised for this volume. The contents range from early football and the formation of clubs to famous players and a recent cup final.

Bone's player portraits show how a spectator judged technique: a clearance through a crowded goalmouth, a well placed pass, patient defending or a forward's control of the ball. In the supplied match discussion, he weighs individual strengths while describing the Third Lanark Volunteers against Celtic. These observations give present readers a way into the language and expectations of an earlier football culture, where club loyalties, international selection and the memory of a decisive goal sit close together.