Robert McDougall

The past is a long, long time, and sometimes people get forgotten: it just happens, more important things come along, and of course people die. I do not know if it is the job of us amateur historians to remember them, or even to remind people they existed, perhaps it is to make sure they are not completely forgotten ...

I was recently contacted by a chap about the details of a former Falkirk FC player who signed from Liverpool. It is not often we sign players from Liverpool [those poor players, playing for such a miserable team in a miserable city, I am shocked only that so few have not made the journey North].

The player in question was Robert McDougall and he had made his way to Merseyside from St Cuthbert's Wanderers as a nipper. The liverpuddlian scribes make it out as he never quite made the cut in Lancashire, however I like to think he dreamt of the Elysian Field that was Brockville Park.

Robert McDougall joined Falkirk FC in 1915 [now the more astute of you might make a connection that something else was occurring in Europe from 1914 to 1919, but that is a mere distraction]. He came nominally as a Centre-Forward [oh how little those southrons know] but Falkirk already had the mighty James Robertson, so Robert played on the wing, mostly Outside-Right, occasionally Outside-Left, and when Jimmy was off fighting [the Germans of course] now and then at Centre-Forward.

From Kirkudbright [and who would not want to get away from there] Robert was one of those many players whose career was blighted by the territorial intentions of Kaiser Wilhelm, never really getting a chance at Liverpool, the longest time he spent at a club was with Falkirk, and after the War he seemed to have wound down back in the South-East. Obviously never getting over the times he had the opportunity to pull on that hallowed Navy Blue jersey.

But he is sadly now often forgotten, he played a lot of matches for Falkirk in a time of strife, he is one of those players over whom circumstances got the better deal. He probably deserves better.

Robert McDougall

Debut – Saturday October 16th 1915 v Raith Rovers (H) Scottish League

Positions – Outside-Left, Outside-Right, Centre-Forward

Club Honours – Falkirk Infirmary Shield W 1919/20

Scottish League Division 1 Matches /Goals [92/13]

Scottish Cup Matches/Goals [4/-]

Scottish Victory Cup Matches/Goals [2/-]

Minor Cup Matches/Goals [3/3]

Total Matches/Goals [101/16]

Known Career – St Cuthbert Wanderers, Liverpool [1913/14-1914/15], Falkirk [1915/16], Partick Thistle [1918/19], Falkirk [1918/19-1920/21], Ayr United [1921/22-1922/23], Queen of the South [1923/24-1924/25], St Cuthbert Wanderers