On Saturday 14th August 1922, three young Blantyre lads, John King, John Hay, and William Wallace decided to have a game of football. Nothing strange there at the end of school summer holidays. However, it was their footie venue that caused a problem!
The boys who lived locally, went to Mr Thomas Watson’s field adjoining Huuthill Road, High Blantyre, along with twenty other boys and planned a big football game but not on a level, open field, they planned a variation of the sport, playing it in a field of corn!
Of course they all ended up damaging quantities of growing corn and were caught by the farmer, who raised the alarm to police. The 3 unfortunate boys who were caught kept their mouths shut and said they didn’t know they other boys.
The Fiscal said that that was kind of complaint they had been received frequently from farmers: crops being damaged by boy’s going into the fields and playing games. The field in the present case adjoined the houses where the accused lived, but although there was a recreation park within three minutes’ walk of the houses, the accused and others made a bee-line to the corn-field for the ‘added fun’! The Bench imposed a fine of 6d on each. The fines were all paid at the bar.
From “Blantyre Explained” by Paul Veverka (c) 2018
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