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The Scottish Football League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League (SFL). Soon after the creation of the SFL in 1890, there was a desire on the part of its officials to test its strength against its older counterpart (English) Football League. A match between the Scottish League and The Football League XI was first played in April 1892 at Pike's Lane, Bolton and ended in a 2–2 draw. The Scottish League also played representative matches against the Irish League XI, League of Ireland XI, a Welsh League XI, a Danish Combination and the Italian league. They had also played four fundraising matches during World War I and six unofficial trial matches against Scotland between 1958 and 1964 – players involved in those matches are recorded separately.

A Scottish League team last played in 1990, to mark the league's centenary, in a match against the Scotland national team. The Scottish Football League ceased to exist in 2013, when it merged with the Scottish Premier League to form the Scottish Professional Football League.

Bobby Evans holds the record for Scottish League XI appearances, having played 25 times between 1948 and 1960. George Young attained 22 caps, and is the only other player to have won at least 20. Seventeen other players achieved at least 10 caps. Willie Bauld scored the most goals for the Scottish League XI, with his 15 goals coming in 13 appearances between 1949 and 1958. Lawrie Reilly scored 14 goals in as many games. As well as being the third highest scorer, Barney Battles, Jr. is also the most prolific, with his 13 goals coming from only five games (averaging 2.6 goals per game). Bobby Collins (12) and William Reid (10) also scored at least 10 goals for the team.

List of players

Inter-league matches

Of the 155 players who made at least four appearances for the Scottish League team, only eight never played for the full Scotland team, including John Stewart Wright whose career coincided with World War I and played in unofficial internationals, Bob Ferrier who was ineligible during his era due to being born in Sheffield, South African Johnny Hubbard, and goalkeepers Willie White and George Niven, the latter of whom is the Rangers player with most appearances for the club without a full cap, having missed out through injury on several occasions. The other players in that group are John McFarlane, Chic Geatons and Willie Rankin.

Barney Battles Jr. was capped for both Scotland and the United States, Joe Kennaway played for Scotland and Canada, and Patsy Gallacher featured for both Ireland teams.

Notes

1. ^ One more cap should be attributed to Jimmy McMenemy and one fewer to Alec McNair than listed at London Hearts due to an error in a 1908 match summary whereby McNair was counted twice, in place of McMenemy whom contemporary sources confirm did play.
2. ^ One more cap should be attributed to William Walker and one fewer to Jimmy Gordon than listed at London Hearts due to an error in a 1912 match summary whereby Gordon was counted twice, in place of Walker whom contemporary sources confirm did play.
3. ^ Includes one appearance as a substitute in 1976, not recorded at London Hearts.
4. ^ Includes one fixture not recorded at 'London Hearts' between the SFL and the Scottish Football Alliance in 1892.
5. ^ One more cap should be attributed to Bobby Neill and one fewer to Johnny Campbell than listed at London Hearts due to an error in a 1901 match summary whereby Campbell was counted twice, in place of Neill whom contemporary sources confirm did play.
6. ^ Was on wartime guest loan, never played for club in official SFL match.
7. ^ One more cap should be attributed to James Oswald and one fewer to Jimmy Oswald than listed at London Hearts due to an error in a 1900 match summary; contemporary sources confirm the player involved was the Leith Athletic goalkeeper.
8. Several sources attribute a 1907 Scottish League appearance to Tommy Logan, but this is extremely unlikely as he was a teenager with no top level experience at the time of the fixture in question; by contrast, his elder brother Alec Logan was an established forward at Falkirk and it can be assumed that he was the player involved, with records of 'Logan, Falkirk' being linked to Tommy in error after he became a prominent member of the same team within a few years.
9. Attributed by London Hearts to Harry Wilson who played for the same club (Partick Thistle) in the same era.
10. ^ One more cap should be attributed to John Jackson (Clyde) and one fewer to John Anderson (Falkirk) than listed at London Hearts due to an error in a 1912 match summary.
11. Was on wartime guest loan, did not officially join the club until 5 years later.
12. ^ One more cap should be attributed to Billy Campbell and one fewer to Robert Campbell than listed at London Hearts due to an error in a 1948 match summary whereby Robert was counted in place of Billy whom contemporary sources confirm did play.
13. ^ One more cap should be attributed to William Thomson and one fewer to James Kirkwood than listed at London Hearts due to an error in an 1895 match summary.
14. ^ One more cap should be attributed to Tommy Smith (Dundee) and one fewer to Tom Smith (Kilmarnock) than listed at London Hearts due to an error in a 1937 match summary.
15. Attributed by London Hearts to Willie Stewart who played for the same club (Motherwell) at the time.

Scotland trial matches / SFL Centenary players

• During World War I, no inter-league matches were played after the English and Irish leagues were suspended in 1915. The Scottish League continued to operate, and three post-season challenge matches were arranged in 1915, 1916 and 1917, with the proceeds going to charities and war fundraising; the SFL XI (including some players who were contracted to English clubs but had returned to play in Scotland temporarily as the league continued, while the English Football League was suspended) played against the title-winning club, which was Celtic on all three occasions. An additional match against a Military XI was also played in 1917 (again no Celtic players were selected as they played the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup final on the same day). In 1918, the Navy and Army War Fund Shield was played between clubs instead.
• Between 1958 and 1964, except in 1963, the Scottish League XI played an annual mid-season trial match against the Scotland (SFA) team (or an approximation thereof) in an attempt to judge the ability of players in both sides for possible selection for the national squad. A previous similar match took place in 1955 between Scotland and Scotland B. Due to the matches' potential importance for some of the players' careers, they were taken fairly seriously and were well attended, although some call-offs through injury and clashes with important club fixtures led to weaker teams taking the field than the original squads in some cases. As they were not inter-league fixtures, these six matches are counted separately from other SFL XI totals, likewise the Scotland appearances and goals are not official – some of the players selected never received a full cap. A few players featured for both sides, particularly when they had played for an SFL club but then moved to England so were no longer eligible. The trials did serve as a stepping stone to the Scotland team for some players on both the SFA and SFL teams, although in terms of improving the standard of international players, the experimental series could be judged not to have been particularly successful as Scotland made little impact on the first relevant tournament after the initial trial match (the 1958 FIFA World Cup) and failed to qualify for the next seven major competitions, their next being the 1974 FIFA World Cup. They did manage to win three editions of the British Home Championship outright in the 1960s.
• The 16-man SFL centenary match squad which faced Scotland's 1990 FIFA World Cup squad in August 1990 contained 10 players who were already full internationals. Boyd, Lambert, Robertson, Wright and McKinlay were later capped by Scotland (Boyd within weeks); only Dutchman van der Hoorn was never selected for his country.
• Flag icon in FIFA field shows the player gained a full FIFA-recognised cap for that nation.

Name	First	Last	Caps	Goals	FIFA
Peter Nellies	1915	1917	4	0
Andy Kerr	1958	1961	3	3
Alan Morton	1915	1917	3	0
Jock Simpson	1916	1917	3	1
James Bowie	1917	1917	2	2
Tommy Cairns	1916	1917	2	0
Alan Cousin	1960	1962	2	2
Jimmy Gordon	1915	1916	2	0
Joe Hogan	1960	1962	2	0
Bert McCann	1959	1961	2	1
Davie McParland	1961	1964	2	2
Bob Mercer	1916	1917	2	0
Pat Quinn	1961	1962	2	2
Alex Stewart	1916	1917	2	0
Willie Toner	1960	1961	2	0
Doug Baird	1959	1959	1	0
Jim Baxter	1960	1960	1	0
Frank Beattie	1964	1964	1	0
Jimmy Blair	1917	1917	1	0
Tom Blair	1917	1917	1	0
Pat Bonner	1990	1990	1	0
Tom Boyd	1990	1990	1	0
Bill Brown	1958	1958	1	0
Jimmy Brownlie	1917	1917	1	0
Bobby Carroll	1962	1962	1	1
Bobby Collins	1958	1958	1	0
Eddie Connachan	1962	1962	1	0
Bobby Connor	1990	1990	1	0
Bobby Cox	1961	1961	1	0
Alex Craig	1915	1915	1	0
Pat Crerand	1961	1961	1	0
Paddy Crossan	1915	1915	1	0
Jim Cruickshank	1964	1964	1	0
Bill Culley	1917	1917	1	0
Andy Cunningham	1915	1915	1	0
Neil Duffy	1964	1964	1	0
Alex Edwards	1964	1964	1	0
Bobby Evans	1958	1958	1	0
Hughie Ferguson	1917	1917	1	0
Jimmy Gabriel	1960	1960	1	0
Hans Gillhaus	1990	1990	1	1
Jimmy Goodfellow	1962	1962	1	0
Jimmy Gourlay	1915	1915	1	0
Matt Gray	1959	1959	1	0
John Greig	1964	1964	1	0
Billy Hainey	1964	1964	1	0
Johnny Hamilton	1960	1960	1	0
George Herd	1960	1960	1	0
Billy Higgins	1962	1962	1	0
Willie Hunter	1962	1962	1	0
Jim Kennedy	1962	1962	1	0
Gordon Kerr	1915	1915	1	0
Peter Kerr	1917	1917	1	0
Michael Kiernan	1917	1917	1	0
Andy King	1964	1964	1	0
Istvan Kozma	1990	1990	1	0
Miodrag Krivokapic	1990	1990	1	0
Paul Lambert	1990	1990	1	0
John Little	1960	1960	1	0
James Low	1915	1915	1	0
Dave Mackay	1958	1958	1	0
Duncan MacKay	1959	1959	1	0
Bert Manderson	1916	1916	1	0
Andy Matthew	1958	1958	1	0
George McCallum	1959	1959	1	0
Ian McColl	1958	1958	1	0
John McCormick	1962	1962	1	0
Jimmy McEwan	1959	1959	1	0
Jackie McGrory	1964	1964	1	0
Jackie McInally	1961	1961	1	0
Jim McInally	1990	1990	1	0
Bert McIntosh	1917	1917	1	0
Jimmy McIntosh	1958	1958	1	0
Billy McKinlay	1990	1990	1	0
Malcolm McPhail	1917	1917	1	3
John McTavish	1916	1916	1	0
Chris Morris	1990	1990	1	0
Jimmy Murray	1958	1958	1	1
Charlie Nicholas	1990	1990	1	0
George Niven	1960	1960	1	0
John Ogston	1961	1961	1	0
George Ormond	1917	1917	1	0
Willie Ormond	1959	1959	1	0
Andy Penman	1961	1961	1	0
David Provan	1964	1964	1	0
James Reid	1915	1915	1	0
Willie Reid	1916	1916	1	0
Frank Reilly	1915	1915	1	0
David Robertson	1990	1990	1	0
Walter Rutherford	1917	1917	1	0
Alex Scott	1960	1960	1	1
Bobby Seith	1962	1962	1	0
Bobby Shearer	1961	1961	1	0
Chris Shevlane	1964	1964	1	0
Eric Smith	1959	1959	1	0
Theo Snelders	1990	1990	1	0
Gary Stevens	1990	1990	1	0
Ian St John	1960	1960	1	0
Fred van der Hoorn	1990	1990	1	0
Jock Wallace	1959	1959	1	0
Jimmy Wardhaugh	1958	1958	1	0
John White	1959	1959	1	3
Tom White	1964	1964	1	0
Jock Wilson	1916	1916	1	0
John Stewart Wright	1917	1917	1	0
Keith Wright	1990	1990	1	0
Alex Young	1958	1958	1	1

Players for Scotland XI against SFL XI

• § = Player was never capped at full international level.

References

1. ^ (Bob Crampsey 1990, p. 245)
2. "Sat 29 Apr 1893 Irish League 3 SFL 2". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
3. (Bob Crampsey 1990, p. 251)
4. (Bob Crampsey 1990, p. 253)
5. Traynor, Jim (18 August 1990). "The Aberdeen connection". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
6. ^ On this day, back in 1990, a Scottish League XI beat Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park in the SFL Centenary match with the goal coming from then Aberdeen Football Club star Hans Gillhaus, Scottish Professional Football League via Facebook, 18 August 2016
7. ^ "Scotland FL Players by Appearances". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
8. ^ "Scotland FL Players by Goals Scored". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
9. "Ibrox custodian was club's rock during transition from 50s side to 60s". The Scotsman. 19 July 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
10. ^ Scottish League, 3; Irish League, 1, The Glasgow Herald, 7 November 1912
11. Under 9000 see Scots defeated, Glasgow Herald, 18 March 1976
12. League International: England v. Scotland, The Glasgow Herald, 2 March 1908
13. Saturday's Football. | Scotland V. England–League International Match, The Glasgow Herald, 18 March 1901
14. Saturday's Football. | Scottish v. Irish League., The Glasgow Herald, 19 February 1900
15. "Scottish League player Thomas Logan". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
16. "Scottish League vs English League 0-0". 2 March 1907. Retrieved 14 November 2018 – via Play Up Liverpool.
17. "Died in bus: Passing of former noted Falkirk F.C. player". Falkirk Herald. 8 April 1944. Retrieved 14 November 2018 – via Falkirk Football Historian.
18. SFL player Harry Wilson, London Hearts Supporters Club
19. Late Penalty Goal Saves Scottish League, The Glasgow Herald, 18 March 1948
20. Our Opening League Battle. | Grand Win For Scotland. The Scottish Referee, 4 February 1895, scan via London Hearts Supporters Club
21. "Re: Matchfacts 1891/92". Scottish Referee. SFQAs. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
22. "Football. | Scottish League V. Scottish Alliance". The Glasgow Herald. 31 May 1892. Retrieved 2 July 2021 – via London Hearts Supporters Club.
23. SFL player Willie Stewart, London Hearts Supporters Club
24. Association Football. Belgian Refugees' Fund, The Glasgow Herald, 17 May 1915
    Association Football. War Fund Games, The Glasgow Herald, 22 May 1916
    Notes on Sport. Football's Exit, The Glasgow Herald, 28 May 1917
25. Association Football. War Funds Match | The Army XI, 4; Scottish League, 3., The Glasgow Herald, 21 May 1917
26. Ronnie McDevitt (2016). Scotland in the 60s: The Definitive Account of the Scottish National Football Side During the 1960s. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 9781785312458.
27. Easter Road game should not have been played, Glasgow Herald (page 4), 22 February 1955
28. Scottish League v Scottish XI, 1959, David Stuart, The Scotland Epistles Football Magazine, 11 November 2016
29. Scottish trial match at Easter Road, Glasgow Herald, 4 February 1958
    The selectors still have problems, The Bulletin, 17 March 1959
    Selectors still have a problem, The Bulletin, 2 February 1960
    Herd excels in strong Scotland attack, Glasgow Herald, 31 January 1961
    Brown and White in good form, Glasgow Herald, 6 February 1962
    Scotland's victory over League, Glasgow Herald, 25 February 1964

Sources

• Bob Crampsey (1990). The First 100 Years. Scottish Football League. ISBN 0-9516433-0-4.
• A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players, John Litster, Scottish Football Historian magazine, October 2012 (all players involved denoted in statistical list)