Andrew Watson (footballer)

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Andrew Watson (born May 1857, Demerara, British Guiana; died in Sydney, Australia, date unknown) was the world's first mixed race International football player, capped three times for Scotland between 1881 and 1882 and considered one of the top ten most important players of the 19th century. He is on a notable black Briton due to his partial black heritage.

He was the son of a wealthy Scottish sugar planter Peter Miller and a local girl called Rose Watson, making him a British citizen of mixed race. He was educated at King's College School, where records show he excelled at sports including football. He later studied philosophy, mathematics and engineering at University of Glasgow when he was 19, where his natural love of football blossomed. He played in the side back position, on either the right or the left flank.

After first playing for Maxwell F.C., in 1876 he signed for local side Parkgrove F.C. where he was additionally their match secretary, making him the first mixed race administrator in football. On April 14th 1880, he was selected to represent Glasgow against Sheffield - Glasgow won 1-0 at Bramall Lane. After marrying in Glasgow, he soon signed for Queen's Park F.C. – then Britain's biggest football team – and later became their secretary. He led the team to several Scottish Cup wins, thus becoming the first mixed race player to win a major competition.

Soon Watson won three international caps for Scotland. His first cap came for Scotland v. England on 12 March 1881; Scotland won 6 - 1. A few days later Scotland played Wales where they won 5 - 1. Watson's last cap came on Scottish soil against England on 11 March 1882. This was a 5 - 1 victory again to Scotland.

In 1882, he was the first mixed race player to play in the FA Cup when he turned out for Swifts F.C.. In 1884 he was the first foreign player to be invited to join the most exclusive of football teams, a team that allowed only 50 members of high elite to join – the Corinthians – created to challenge the supremacy of Queen's Park and the Scottish national side. This included an 8 - 1 victory against Blackburn Rovers, who were at that time the English Cup holders.

While it is true that the first mixed race professional footballer was Arthur Wharton, we should note that Watson pre-dates him by 11 years. Wharton's historian concentrated on those players that earned a living from the game, not on amateurs such as Watson. Another is that there are no known written records or match reports that mention the colour of Watson's skin. One match report is more interested in Watson's unusual brown boots rather than the customary black boots of that time.

The colour of his skin was of no significance to his peers and there is no historical record of racism on the part of the Scottish Football Association. As written in the minutes, before one match where Watson was injured and unable to play, an SFA vice-president said if Watson had been fit he would have happily drugged a fellow Scottish international to give Watson his place.^{[citation needed]}

Watson's entry in the Scottish Football Association Annual of 1880-81 reads as follows:

"Watson, Andrew: One of the very best backs we have; since joining Queen's Park has made rapid strides to the front as a player; has great speed and tackles splendidly; powerful and sure kick; well worthy of a place in any representative team."

There is almost no record of his later life, though it is known that Watson later emigrated to Australia, as he died in Sydney and is buried there.

In 1926 the sportswriter "Tityrus" (the pseudonym of J.A.H. Catton, editor of the Athletic News) named Andrew Watson as left back in his all-time Scotland team – a remarkable endorsement of the talent of a footballer who had played at such an early date, from a man who had watched almost every England-Scotland international over the preceding 50 years.