| Spence |
 Spence (forename unknown) was probably born in Scotland, although his place and date of birth remain unknown to us. * The defender was possibly a guest player for Thistle at New Year time, 1894 going into 1895. He made his debut appearance on Saturday, 29th December, 1894, in a 4-1 friendly defeat away to Aberdeen FC. There were no goals for Spence during his short spell with Thistle. He played his second and final game for the club on Tuesday, 1st January, 1895, in a 2-1 friendly win away to Inverness Thistle. His known club-list included only Partick Thistle. We don't know where or when Spence died. *
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 Spence played in the first two games of Thistle New Year trip to the Highlands in 1894-95, both in the right back position. The tour began with a visit to the Chanonry Grounds on Saturday 29th December 1894 to take on Aberdeen FC. Played in several inches of snow, sleet and a gale, Thistle were outplayed by the home side, who had already hit the bar before taking a 2-goal lead at h-t. Thistle made little use of the wind in the 2nd half. They had a goal disallowed for off-side then an og reduced the lead but 2 more goals made for an emphatic win. Three days later, Thistle Park, Inverness, was the venue for a 12-noon kick-off with the local Thistle. The snow was cleared from the pitch but the game was a disappointment. “Partick Thistle, two goals; Inverness, one goal. A hard and well-contested game took place at Inverness” (SC). “The form of the Partick Thistle team was but little better than Inverness Thistle. The game was hard fought, if not brilliant” (IC). One theory is that 'Spence' could be goalkeeper John Couper Spence (who was possibly playing in our reserves as early as 1893) having a jolly in an outfield position. We also note that 'Cook' (a left back) exactly matched Spence's two games on the tour, so perhaps they were local boys who came as a package for a trial. |
| (WS/AFK) |
