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Sam Kennedy

• Sam Kennedy, 1905 (VIF) Samuel Watson Kennedy was born on Friday, 8th April, 1881, in Girvan, South Ayrshire. The forward signed for Thistle on Saturday, 26th July, 1902, having most recently been with Ayr. Aged 21, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 16th August, 1902, in a 2-1 win at home to Kilmarnock in the SFL First Division. That day, Sam became a member of our scoring debutant's club. He scored the last of his 97 goals on Saturday, 27th March, 1909, in a 4-2 defeat at home to Hamilton Academical in the SFL First Division, netting a brace on the day. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 25th September, 1909, in a 3-2 defeat away to St Mirren in the SFL First Division, having clocked up an impressive 248 appearances as a Jag. His club-list included Girvan Athletic, Ayr and Partick Thistle. Sam died on Wednesday, 31st August, 1955, in Stranraer, Wigtownshire, aged 74.

Every Goal

compiled from our All Games criteria.

21y, 4m, 8d		16.08.1902 Kilmarnock [h] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 1)
21y, 4m, 22d		30.08.1902 Morton [h] D1-1 (SFL First Division - game 3)
21y, 5m, 12d		20.09.1902 Port Glasgow Athletic [a] W3-0 (SFL First Division - game 5)
21y, 5m, 26d		04.10.1902 Morton [a] D3-3 (SFL First Division - game 8)
21y, 6m, 10d		18.10.1902 St Mirren [h] D2-2 (SFL First Division - game 9)
21y, 6m, 24d		01.11.1902 Hibernian [a] D2-2 (SFL First Division - game 11)
21y, 8m, 26d		03.01.1903 Port Glasgow Athletic [h] W4-2 (SFL First Division - game 21)
21y, 9m, 23d		31.01.1903 Motherwell [a] W2-0 (Scottish Cup 2nd Round)
21y, 10m, 20d		28.02.1903 Third Lanark [h] W1-0 (SFL First Division - game 22)
21y, 11m, 13d		21.03.1903 Queen's Park [a] L2-3 (Inter City League - game 3)
21y, 11m, 27d		04.04.1903 Rangers [h] W2-0 (Inter City League - game 5)
22y, 0m, 10d		18.04.1903 Albion Rovers [a] D2-2 (Friendly)
22y, 5m, 4d		12.09.1903 Morton [a] W3-1 (SFL First Division - game 5)
22y, 5m, 11d		19.09.1903 Port Glasgow Athletic [a] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 6)
22y, 6m, 23d		31.10.1903 Heart of Midlothian [a] L1-4 (SFL First Division - game 12)
22y, 7m, 13d		21.11.1903 Kilmarnock [h] W4-0 (SFL First Division - game 14)
22y, 9m, 22d		30.01.1904 Renton [h] W2-1 (Friendly)
22y, 9m, 29d		06.02.1904 Dundee [h] W6-1 (SFL First Division - game 22)
22y, 10m, 26d		05.03.1904 Motherwell [h] D2-2 (SFL First Division - game 25)
22y, 11m, 4d		12.03.1904 Airdrieonians [h] W3-0 (SFL First Division - game 26)
23y, 0m, 22d		30.04.1904 Queen's Park [h] D2-2 (Inter City League - game 7)
23y, 5m, 9d		17.09.1904 Morton [h] W3-1 (SFL First Division - game 4)
23y, 5m, 23d		01.10.1904 Heart of Midlothian [a] W1-0 (SFL First Division - game 6)
23y, 6m, 7d		15.10.1904 Heart of Midlothian [h] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 8)
23y, 7m, 11d		19.11.1904 Queen's Park [a] W4-1 (SFL First Division - game 13)
23y, 7m, 25d		03.12.1904 Third Lanark [h] W3-2 (SFL First Division - game 14)
23y, 8m, 2d		10.12.1904 Kilmarnock [h] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 15)
23y, 8m, 9d		17.12.1904 Celtic [a] D2-2 (SFL First Division - game 16)
23y, 8m, 25d		02.01.1905 Kilmarnock [a] L2-3 (SFL First Division - game 19)
23y, 8m, 30d		07.01.1905 Queen's Park [h] W3-1 (SFL First Division - game 21)
23y, 9m, 13d		21.01.1905 Dundee [h] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 23)
24y, 0m, 7d		15.04.1905 Celtic [a] D3-3 (Glasgow League - game 4)
24y, 0m, 14d		22.04.1905 Rangers [a] W4-3 (Glasgow League - game 5)
24y, 0m, 28d		06.05.1905 Royal Albert [a] D2-2 (Friendly)
24y, 1m, 7d		15.05.1905 Rangers [h] W5-0 (Glasgow Charity Cup Quarter Final)
24y, 4m, 11d		19.08.1905 Aberdeen [a] W1-0 (SFL First Division - game 1)
24y, 4m, 25d		02.09.1905 Falkirk [h] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 3)
24y, 5m, 8d		16.09.1905 Airdrieonians [a] L2-3 (SFL First Division - game 5)
24y, 6m, 13d		21.10.1905 Kilmarnock [a] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 10)
24y, 8m, 8d		16.12.1905 Queen's Park [h] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 16)
24y, 8m, 15d		23.12.1905 Port Glasgow Athletic [a] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 17)
24y, 8m, 29d		06.01.1906 Third Lanark [h] L2-5 (SFL First Division - game 20)
24y, 9m, 5d		13.01.1906 Kilmarnock [h] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 21)
24y, 9m, 12d		20.01.1906 Celtic [a] L1-4 (SFL First Division - game 22)
24y, 9m, 19d		27.01.1906 Leith Athletic [a] W2-1 (Scottish Cup 1st Round)
24y, 9m, 26d		03.02.1906 Heart of Midlothian [h] W4-1 (SFL First Division - game 23)
25y, 0m, 1d		09.04.1906 Celtic [h] L2-8 (Glasgow League - game 1)
25y, 0m, 6d		14.04.1906 Port Glasgow Athletic [h] W3-0 (SFL First Division - game 29)
25y, 4m, 17d		25.08.1906 Morton [h] W5-0 (SFL First Division - game 3)
25y, 4m, 24d		01.09.1906 Kilmarnock [a] L1-3 (SFL First Division - game 4)
25y, 5m, 14d		22.09.1906 Falkirk [a] D1-1 (SFL First Division - game 6)
25y, 5m, 21d		29.09.1906 Rangers [a] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 8)
25y, 7m, 16d		24.11.1906 Heart of Midlothian [h] W1-0 (SFL First Division - game 15)
25y, 8m, 25d		02.01.1907 Rangers [h] D2-2 (SFL First Division - game 21)
25y, 9m, 4d		12.01.1907 Motherwell [a] D2-2 (SFL First Division - game 23)
25y, 10m, 15d		23.02.1907 Third Lanark [h] W1-0 (SFL First Division - game 25)
26y, 0m, 19d		27.04.1907 Heart of Midlothian [a] L1-5 (SFL First Division - game 34)
26y, 5m, 6d		14.09.1907 Third Lanark [h] D1-1 (Glasgow Cup Quarter Final)
26y, 5m, 22d		30.09.1907 Clyde [a] W1-0 (SFL First Division - game 6)
26y, 5m, 27d		05.10.1907 Falkirk [a] L1-3 (SFL First Division - game 7)
26y, 6m, 4d		12.10.1907 Port Glasgow Athletic [a] W5-0 (SFL First Division - game 8)
26y, 7m, 8d		16.11.1907 Rangers [h] L1-2 (SFL First Division - game 13)
26y, 7m, 29d		07.12.1907 Third Lanark [h] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 15)
26y, 8m, 13d		21.12.1907 Clyde [h] W3-1 (SFL First Division - game 17)
26y, 8m, 20d		28.12.1907 Heart of Midlothian [a] W3-1 (SFL First Division - game 18)
26y, 9m, 10d		18.01.1908 Dundee [h] L1-3 (SFL First Division - game 22)
26y, 10m, 7d		15.02.1908 Raith Rovers [a] L1-2 (Scottish Cup 2nd Round replay)
27y, 0m, 3d		11.04.1908 Hamilton Academical [h] D1-1 (SFL First Division - game 30)
27y, 0m, 10d		18.04.1908 Motherwell [h] W2-0 (SFL First Division - game 31)
27y, 0m, 17d		25.04.1908 St Mirren [h] L1-2 (SFL First Division - game 33)
27y, 0m, 24d		02.05.1908 Celtic [a] L2-3 (Glasgow Charity Cup Quarter Final)
27y, 4m, 28d		05.09.1908 Dundee [h] D1-1 (SFL First Division - game 4)
27y, 6m, 16d		24.10.1908 Heart of Midlothian [h] W3-2 (SFL First Division - game 10)
27y, 7m, 13d		21.11.1908 Morton [h] W5-1 (SFL First Division - game 14)
27y, 7m, 20d		28.11.1908 Hibernian [a] D1-1 (SFL First Division - game 15)
27y, 11m, 19d		27.03.1909 Hamilton Academical [h] L2-4 (SFL First Division - game 28)

Every Penalty

compiled from our All Games criteria.

#
1	22y, 8m, 11d		19.12.1903 Celtic [h] L0-4 (SFL First Division - game 17)	saved @ 0-3, 2nd half
2	24y, 5m, 8d		16.09.1905 Airdrieonians [a] L2-3 (SFL First Division - game 5)	2-3, pen 2nd half

Sam Kennedy
1/2 ← success rate → 50.0%

Partick Thistle
560/801 ← success rate → 69.9%
@ 07-Aug-2024

Thistle Honours

1905 - GLASGOW CHARITY CUP Runner-up

the decisive game…

1905 - GLASGOW CHARITY CUP Sat-27-May-1905 [n] L0-2 Celtic (Glasgow Charity Cup Final) Ibrox. Celtic always had more to offer. In “a fast game, occasionally inclined to toughness” (GH), right-back Harvey had a nightmare. His miskick led to the opener then his mistake let in Celtic again for “a soft goal” (DET, but perhaps even an og by him). A drab 2nd half saw the ref speak to several players. George Easton

• Listed per out Honours list criteria.
• Players who have contributed an appearance in any given tournament are included.

Who put the ball in the Rangers net?

Sam featured at #5 in our Top 25 countdown here on The Thistle Archive →

SAM KENNEDY

29.09.1906 Rangers [a] W2-1 (SFL First Division - game 8)
Sam Kennedy (1-0, 1st half); Sam Kennedy (2-1, 2nd half)

Sam Kennedy, a plumber from Girvan, had been making headlines with Ayr in the second tier, and got his move to the Thistle in the summer of 1902. Aged 21, he scored on his debut in a 2-1 League win at home to Killie, and never looked back.

Thistle had been a bit of a yo-yo club 'til now, and this battering-ram of a centre played a big part in improving the stature of the club, finishing as top-scorer in each of his first four seasons, and again in his 6th season. Only Willie Paul has finished as top-scorer more often. With Sam leading the line, Thistle's all-time best League positions continued to rise in his first 4 seasons; 8th in 1902-03, 6th= in 1903-04, 5th= in 1904-05 and 5th in 1905-06.

In May, 1905, 2 goals from Sam helped Thistle on their way to a thumping 5-0 win over Rangers in the Quarter Final of the Glasgow Charity Cup - our record win against them which stands to this day. It was, in fact, Thistle's third consecutive competitive win over the Ibrox side, at the time another record for the history books, although it's since been equalled a few times. The one thing missing in all of this fine achievement was a League win. Thistle had now made 14 unsuccesful attempts to gain two SFL points against Rangers. That all changed at Ibrox on Saturday, 29th September, 1906…

On the day, Thistle “moved to better purpose” than their opponents and big Sam headed home a splendid centre by the sprinting John Wilkie, giving the Jags a half-time advantage. In the eyes of the home support, normal service was resumed as a reshuffled Rangers improved in the second half, and the scores were eventually levelled after some time. Much to their chagrin, the lead barely lasted 2 minutes. With bustle and trickery, our hero got away and, shouldering off last-ditch challenges from Campbell and Jackson, beat Newbigging with a rousing shot. It was backs to the wall from thereon as Rangers worked hard to divide the points, but Thistle held on for a famous League win over the light blues – at last!

With this win, Thistle moved to joint 2nd in the table, just 2 points behind the leaders. We were firmly established as a decent top-flight club. In the return fixture at Meadowside in January, Sam became the first Jag to do the League double over Rangers when he put Thistle 1 up in the first half, the match finally ending 2-2.

Sam was troubled by injury much later, and never really made it through to the Firhill era, but we've got a lot to thank him for, not least of which was his final tally of TEN goals against Rangers, all scored in competitive action.

When it comes to to putting the ball in the Rangers net, it's Sam Kennedy who stands proudly today as our King of Kings.

Gallery

click on image to enlarge (magnifiable if deemed necessary by your browser)

• Sam Kennedy, 1905. (VIF)

Historian's note: Find A Grave writes that Sam was interred on 31 August 1955. This suggests our date of death should be earlier, so further investigation is required. Sam was interred at Stranraer Glebe Cemetery, Section D, Grave 11.