A bit of History

By David Speed

Disrupted schedules and public safety concerns have confronted football club offi cials on many previous occasions, although these have rarely been as serious as the current Coronavirus situation.

Many Hearts supporters can still recall the winter of 1962-63. Due to freezing conditions and never-ending snow, there was major disruption and the team played only one match between 15 December and 6 March. This was against Forfar Athletic in the Scottish Cup and even then, only a few fans were able to complete a very hazardous journey to Station Park.

Extreme weather is a regular issue, but some challenges, similar to the present situation, are quite unique. One such problem was encountered on 3 September 1939 when war was declared on Germany. There was a real fear of air raids and an invasion of the British Isles. As a result, after only fi ve matches, the Scottish League was abandoned with Hearts lying third on goal average. After fi nishing runners-up in 1937-38 and fourth in 1938-39, an exciting and more experienced Hearts squad was expected to mount a strong challenge in 1939-40. The club’s fi nancial position was also sound and, for the fi rst time, a dividend was declared. In addition, with home gates averaging over 20,000 the club was actively exploring the possibility of a larger stadium in the west of the city. The war quickly overshadowed the feel-good factor.

When hostilities commenced, the Government ordered all places of entertainment to close, and the SFA suspended each clubs’ playing contracts. Footballers had to fi nd other employment or join the armed forces.

On 11 September 1939, the Government relaxed the initial ban on football, although any games arranged could not interfere with work of national importance and travel over 50 miles was not permitted. Wages were restricted to £2 per week plus travel expenses and players had to be in regular employment outside the game. No transfer fees could be paid and training had to be restricted, with Hearts opting for Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

The Home Offi ce also stipulated that football could only be played in safe areas and because Edinburgh was a target for enemy aircraft, Hearts hoped to secure a ground outside the city. The best-fi t was the 10,000-capacity Victoria Park at Newtongrange, but the stadium restriction was quickly amended and Tynecastle Park could be opened. In the interest of safety, crowds were limited to 8,000. Nevertheless, the City Police could authorise an extension if requested and fans attending games were asked spread out on the terracing. The Main Stand could not be fully used.

At the outset, friendly matches were played and Hearts faced Hibernian (2-4), Partick Thistle (4-2) and Celtic (5-2). Meanwhile, to meet the Government restrictions, the Emergency Committee of the League and the SFA formed two Regional Leagues of sixteen clubs for the remainder of the season. Hearts played in the East & North Division. With the “Old Firm” in the Western League, Hearts were expected to win the East & North group, but failed, due to constant team changes. Many players had been quick to join the forces and the departure of men such as Garrett, Dykes and Black affected performance, while others missed games due to work commitments. To compensate, guest players were allowed and Hearts recruited internationalist, Bobby Baxter of Middlesbrough and other notable players, such as Jackie Gillies, Bob McCartney, and the brothers, Frank and Hugh O’Donnell. The number of guests was restricted to those players who were working close to Edinburgh and also the cost of insurance which was normally required by their parent clubs. The SFA Insurance Scheme had been suspended and the cost could be prohibitive, particularly as football clubs’ advertising income and gate receipts almost collapsed during the war.

At the end of the season, Hearts were runners-up to Falkirk, despite some magnifi cent victories. These were matched by the “Bairns” who also did the double over Hearts and claimed the title by fi ve points. Falkirk won by 3-2 at Tynecastle and 7-1 at Brockville, and the maroons had little complaint. Despite many entertaining performances by Hearts, the demand for football was greatly diminished by national service, rationing, makeshift teams and depressing news from the combat zones. In addition, the winter of 1939-40 proved to be one of the most severe on record. Not surprisingly, the club’s average League gate was dramatically reduced to only 3,451 and a loss on the years business was £2,555.

The loss might have been much worse, but Hearts did fairly well in the Emergency Cup competition organized by the SFA. Hearts defeated St.Johnstone and Raith Rovers, before holding Airdrieonians to a 0-0 draw at Broomfi eld. The visitors won the Tynecastle replay by 4-3 and one local paper noted that, “Hearts wilted when things went against them, as they have done over the years.” Ouch!

For these games, the 8,000 crowd restriction proved totally inadequate. On 2 March 1940 in the First Round Second Leg against St. Johnstone, mounted police were called to disperse a crowd of 2,000 after the limit of 8,000 had been reached. An attendance of 7,974 was issued to the press, but before the gates could be closed, there were actually 8,943 in the ground. The City Police allowed 15,000 to attend the Second Round match against Raith Rovers and 9,551 watched the game. The limit was extended to 25,000 for the Third Round against Airdrieonians and 24,431 fans were in attendance.

Hearts manager Frank Moss returned home to Lancashire at the end of the season and the Directors ran the team which would now play in the new and more lucrative Scottish Southern Football League in 1940-41. This included the Glasgow clubs, but the problem of fi elding a strong side remained, and Hearts offered facilities to all players working in the Edinburgh area, or in the armed forces.

Nevertheless, football was low on the public’s priorities because, before a ball was kicked, in June 1940, nearly 350,000 Allied soldiers were evacuated from Dunkirk and the Channel Islands taken were taken by the Germans. On 10 July 1940, the Battle of Britain commenced and it would be a long haul back to anything like normal conditions.