07 Fleshers' Haugh: The Site of Rangers Football Club’s First Game
Fleshers’ Haugh is an area within the public park of Glasgow Green, the oldest public park in Europe, with the land gifted to the people of Glasgow in 1450.
The park is located just east of the City Centre, bounded by the River Clyde and the Gorbals to the south, and Calton and Bridgeton to the north and east.
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Rangers were founded by four young teenagers – Moses McNeil, Peter McNeil, William McBeath and Peter Campbell - who dreamed of starting a football team while walking through West End Park (now known as Kelvingrove Park) in March 1872. Their average age was sixteen years of age.
Rangers’ first game was held in May of 1872 against Callander on the pitches at Flesher’s Haugh, which resulted in a 0-0 draw.
Football at Flesher's Haugh in the 1950's.
Football at Flesher's Haugh today.
This game featured two Queen’s Park players, Henry McNeil and Billy Mackinnon, and two players from Eastern Football Club, John Hunter and William Miller.
Rangers played two matches in their first season, and their second match was a comprehensive 11-0 win over a team called Clyde (not the present Clyde Football Club).
Rangers played at Fleshers’ Haugh for three years before moving to their new ground at Burnbank.
From humble beginnings, Rangers grew into one of Glasgow's footballing titans, and is one of the biggest names in world football with a global fanbase.
View of Glasgow from Flesher's Haugh in the nineteenth century.