Thoroughly interesting conversation. The word 'invented' is the key one. No one can claim invention of football, but you can ask the question of which style of play do we watch today?
The Scotch Professors are the innovators of the passing and running game that we know today. If it been left up to England, we would today still have scrimmages and be playing a 1-1-8 system. Just like they did when England turned up in Glasgow on St Andrew's Day in 1872. Scotland on the other hand had been playing the passing and running game for centuries.
England had five attempts at creating international football, and failed. David Wotherspoon and Robert Gardner, of the mighty Queens Park, had one go, and they created the World's 1st Football International at Hamilton Crescent. Scotland played their 'box defence system of 2-2-6. The English were horrified when the Scots passed around them rather than dribbling until they were kicked off the ball. The English also considered practice as cheating and passing as cowardice.
Recently I managed to get the Scotland 1870s-1880s into the search for the Greatest International Team of all time. They came 3rd out of a 32 team knockout competition. Check out the twitter thread here:
https://twitter.com/TFHBs/status/1254464672968966150?s=19
The Hampden Collection mission is to get the #ScotchProfessors the recognition they deserve as the founders of world football. Without them you would have a game more like rugby.
Find out more here
www.hampdencollection.com
