Begbie Isaac Image 2 Leith Athletic 1900

Description

Gorgie, Edinburgh born right half Isaac Begbie was a dominant figure in the great Heart of Midlothian teams of the 1890’s. His early career saw him play for junior teams Pentland and Western FC, and he played for Dalry Albert, from where he was signed by Hearts in 1888. He made his Hearts debut in a friendly against Mossend Swifts in August 1888, his competitive debut followed at the start of September in a Scottish Cup win at Bo’Ness. He continued to play for Hearts until March 1900 and scored 4 goals in 186 Scottish League and Cup matches during somewhat over a decade of playing for The Jambos, making well over 400 appearances in all competitions.

He was in the teams which won the Scottish Cup in 1891 against Dumbarton and in 1896 against Hibernian (in the only Scottish Cup Final to be played outside Glasgow), as well as winning the Scottish League in 1895 and 1897. He was club captain for several seasons.

His international debut for Scotland came when he was selected in a 4-1 victory over Ireland at Ballynafeigh Park, Belfast in March 1890. He went on to win 3 more Scotland caps through to April 1894, his final cap coming in a 2-2 draw against England at Parkhead. He was first selected for The Scottish League in a 4-3 defeat to the The Football League at Celtic Park in April 1893, and he won two further League representative caps over the following year.

He also played once for St Bernard’s in August 1892. At the end of his career he played briefly for Leith Athletic joining them in the 1900 close season and a year later he joined Bathgate where he played until retirement.

NB although this image was published in 1902, it is similar, if not the same image as Image 1 on the site from Heart of Midlothian c.1894.