| Tom Hyslop |
 Bryce Scouller (his real birth name) was born on Sunday, 20th August, 1871, in Auchinleck, East Ayrshire. The 6' 3 forward signed for Thistle in May, 1900, having most recently been with Rangers. Aged 28, he made his debut appearance on Wednesday, 15th August, 1900, in a 3-3 draw away to Celtic in the SFL First Division. That day, Tom became a member of our scoring debutant's club. He scored the last of his 9 goals on Saturday, 1st December, 1900, in a 6-2 defeat at home to Celtic in the SFL First Division. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 5th January, 1901, in a 2-1 defeat at home to Morton in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 26 occasions. His club-list included Elderslie, 2nd Scots Guards, Millwall Athletic, Sunderland, Stoke, Rangers, Partick Thistle, Dundee Wanderers, Johnstone, Abercorn, Philadelphia Thistle and Tacony. Tom died on Tuesday, 21st April, 1936, in Paisley, Renfrewshire, aged 64. |
 At 6 feet 3 inches tall Tommy Hyslop was indeed both physically and mentally an imposing character. The Auchinleck born striker played his first match for the Jags 5 days before his 29th birthday, a 3-3 draw at Parkhead against Celtic in the SFL First Division on 15 August 1900. He played for Thistle on 26 occasions during the 1900-01 season. He also opened his Thistle goal account by scoring in the Celtic match on 15 August 1900. In a Glasgow Cup tie against Normal Athletic, Thistle won 2-0, and match report reads “Goals by Paul in the 1st half (after good work by Hyslop) and Hyslop himself after the break saw Thistle (pretty much at full strength) through against amateur opposition who were pinned back in defence for long spells.” Tom though was no stranger to football by the time he became a Jag, and his long club list continued after he left the Jags for foreign fields. Not football though. He left to become a soldier again. In the Boer War! Tommy joined The Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders in 1888 using his birth name of Bryce Thomas Scoular. He would appear to have deserted from the army around a year later. He rejoined the army, this time the 2 Battalion Scots Guards in 1890 under the assumed name of Thomas Hyslop, Hyslop being his mother’s maiden name. He became a forward in the Scots Guards football team, bringing them success in the Army Cup on two occasions. He played for the Guards team from 1890 to 1892. Sunderland bought Tommy’s army contract, and he headed for Wearside. He played for Sunderland on 19 occasions between 1893-94, scoring 10 goals. He was part of the Sunderland team that won the English First Division in the 1894-95 season. Between 1896-98 Tommy was a Rangers player, helping them win 2 First Division titles. He then spent successive seasons with Stoke and Rangers again, before joining Thistle in 1900. Tommy was capped twice by Scotland, and the opponents on both occasions were England. His first cap was in 1896, with his second following a year later. Scotland won 2-1 on both occasions. In keeping with the man he was capped under his Tommy Hyslop name, not his real Bryce Scoular one. In March 1901 he joined up for a third time, and saw action in South Africa with The Scottish Yeomanry against the Boers in the Second Boer War. When he enlisted on this occasion he reverted back to his real name, Bryce Scoular! He returned to Scotland and played for Dundee Wanderers and Johnstone, before emigrating to Canada where he worked in the carpet industry. He also played for Philadelphia Thistle and Tacony Philidelphia, and retired from the game in 1907. When World War 1 came along, he enlisted (again) in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, using his birth name, but a false date of birth. He was sent to the European theatre, but thankfully didn’t see front line action. In 1922 Tommy returned to Scotland, and lived in Paisley, where he died in 1936 aged 64. There is an extended biography of Tommy’s life in 'The Men Who Made Scotland' by Andy Mitchell. On account of his service during WWI, Tom is included in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle Returned →. |
| (DMAC) |
