Earlier this year I published a Who's Who of Scotland football internationalists, so I can probably tell you quite a lot about the working lives of footballers in the Victorian era! Many Scots were tempted south with the promise of a well-paid job at their trade, together with added money to play football, and a lump sum up front to sign on the dotted line. Gradually the practice evolved into full-time football as the top clubs realised they needed to have the full attention of their players.
This is the entry for your ancestor:
Hugh Wilson
Born 18 March 1869 Bilboa, Mauchline, Ayrshire
Died 5 April 1940 Kilmarnock Infirmary, Ayrshire
Scotland v Wales 1890, 1902; England 1897; Ireland 1904.
Mauchline; Newmilns; Sunderland 1890-99 (Football League 1892, 1893, 1895); Bedminster 1899-1900; Bristol City 1900-01; Third Lanark 1901-07 (Scottish League 1904; Scottish Cup 1905); Kilmarnock Apr 1907-08.
Wilson won four caps over a 14-year period, gaining his first honour in 1890 at left half while with Newmilns. Later that year he turned professional with Sunderland where he really showed his class and took part in their glory years with three league championships in 1892, 1893 and 1895. Known as ‘Lalty’ he was famous for his long one-handed throw-ins, which apparently were responsible for a revision of the laws in 1895 to insist that throws must be two-handed. He was capped for a second time in Scotland’s impressive 2-1 win over England in 1897. He left Sunderland in 1899, aged 30, for the relative obscurity of the Southern League at Bedminster, which merged with Bristol City a year later. It might have indicated his career was winding down yet he was far from finished, and when he returned to Scotland in 1901 with Third Lanark he found a new lease of life. In six years at Cathkin, he was outstanding and won a Scottish League title, the Scottish Cup, two more Scotland caps and made an appearance for the Scottish League. His career finally ended in 1908 after a season at Kilmarnock, shortly before he turned 40. His son John was a noted left back with Hearts, Dunfermline and Hamilton.