| Roddy McLeod |
 Roderick McLeod was born on Tuesday, 13th December, 1870, in Glasgow. The 5' 6½ (11st 2lbs) forward joined Thistle in 1889, having most recently been with Westburn. Aged 18, he made his first known appearance on Saturday, 13th July, 1889, in a 4-1 neutral-venue defeat against Cowlairs in the Sir William Cunningham Cup. Roddy scored his first known goal for Thistle on Wednesday, 1st January, 1890, in an 11-0 friendly win away to Dundee Harp, netting a brace on the day. He scored the last of his 17 known goals on Saturday, 20th December, 1890, in a 6-1 friendly win at home to Summerton Athletic. He played his last known game for the club on Saturday, 3rd January, 1891, in a 3-2 friendly defeat away to The Wednesday, having appeared for the Thistle on at least 46 occasions. His club-list included Westburn, Partick Thistle, West Bromwich Albion, Leicester Fosse, Brighton United, Southampton and Brentford. Roddy died on Thursday, 3rd December, 1931, in London, aged 60. |
 Roddy joined Thistle from Westburn in 1889, and he'd be utilized in all 5 positions across the Jag’s frontline. His first known match was a Sir William Cunningham Cup fixture against Cowlairs in July 1889, which Thistle lost 4-1. This was the opening match of a season of friendly fixtures with the occasional cup tie. Thistle played 50 matches this season, which made it a lengthy one, with Roddy known to have made 23 appearances, with at least 9 goals scored. He did appear it the 10-1 away victory against Dundee Harp on 1st January 1890, at East Dock Street Park. The Dundee Courier and Argus reported “The Harp kicked off toward the South Goal, and the ball being collared by the Thistle forwards, McLeod succeeded in notching their first point [goal] before the game was many minutes old.” Roddy also scored the Jags’ 4th goal. The following day Thistle played Victoria United, a short-lived Aberdeen team, with Roddy and Willie Paul being credited with the goals in a 2-0 victory. In February of 1890, the Jags best Clyde 8-1 in a friendly at Inchview, with Roddy again scoring the opener, after Clyde had hit a Thistle post. The rout followed. 1890-91, Roddy's last season at Thistle, was also the last of the “Friendlies” seasons, just before the Alliance League became the new reality in 1891-92. In the match against Mossend Swifts, Watty Keay played number 10, with Roddy at number 11. This was the first known occasion on which the two played together, with Watty Keay getting at least a double, in the 6-3 victory. They were to make Southampton football history much later in their respective careers. On 3rd September 1898, Watty scored the first goal ever at the Dell, the club’s new stadium. Southampton beat near neighbours Brighton United, and Roddy scored Brighton’s goal in the 4-1 victory. The Southern Daily Echo described Roddy’s goal as “…a thunderbolt…” So the first goal, and the first away club goal at the famous stadium were scored by 2 former Jags’ teammates! Roddy played for Thistle on at least 22 occasions in the 1890-91 season. He moved on to West Bromwich Albion for a £50 fee in January 1891, and played around 150 matches for the Baggies, leaving them in 1897 for Leicester Fosse. Roddy was part of the 1892 FA Cup winning team wearing the number 8 jersey, when West Brom beat Aston Villa 3-0 in front of 32,810 at the Kennington Oval. He was at Brighton United in 1898-99, where he was released from his contract as the club had financial troubles. Southampton must have been impressed with his thunderbolt, as they signed him for the 1899-1900 season. He was described as “baby faced and small in stature, a splendid forward who had the ability to turn a game by using his deft footwork.” Southampton won the 1898-99 Southern League 1st Division with the player in the side. Roddy moved on to Brentford in August 1900, and again was a League winner, when the club won the Southern League 2nd Division. He retired from the game in 1906. He wasn’t successful outside football, and Southampton lobbied on his behalf for him to be employed as a warehouseman. He subsequently worked in a brewery, and then as a boiler mechanic, before passing away in Lambeth in December 1931 aged 60. |
| (DMAC) |
