Graham Findlay (10 November 1864 – 5 December 1924) was a Scottish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He later became an international referee and was the 23rd

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Findlay played for West of Scotland. He was still playing for the club in 1888 when he turned out for West of Scotland against Hawick and Wilton.

Provincial career

Findlay played for Glasgow District in their match against North of Scotland District on 2 January 1886.

Referee career

He refereed the inter-city match between Glasgow District and Edinburgh District in December 1894. He refereed the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

versus

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

county match on 23 November 1895. Findlay refereed the international matches between England and Wales on 4 January 1896; and England and Ireland on 1 February 1896. He also refereed in the

Scottish Unofficial Championship The Scottish Unofficial Championship was the top league of Scotland's best amateur rugby union clubs. The Championship was 'unofficial' as the Scottish Rugby Union held that the sport should remain amateur and at the time did not sanction competit ...

Administrative career

Findlay was the Honorary Secretary at West of Scotland in 1893 and remained so for the rest of his life. He was Vice-President of the

in 1896. He organised a charity

versus

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match when his selected side of Rugby Rovers met Queen's Park. The charity was the

Langside Langside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, and lies east of Shawlands, south of Queens Park, west of Cathcart and north of Newlands. The district is residential and primarily middle-class, ...

Dorcas society. Findlay became the 23rd

President of the Scottish Rugby Union The President of the Scottish Rugby Union is the figurehead of rugby union in Scotland. Origin In 1873, and directly after the Scotland versus England international match, representatives from eight Scottish rugby union sides came together in Gla ...

. He served the 1896–97 term in office.

Cricket career

Findlay played cricket for the

West of Scotland Cricket Club The West of Scotland Cricket Club is a cricket club based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club's home ground is Hamilton Crescent, located in the Partick area of Glasgow's West End. West of Scotland, traditionally, are one of the working class cricke ...

. He also helped the Earl of Eglington XI run his invitational matches at

Eglinton Castle Eglinton Castle was a large Gothic castellated mansion in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. History The castle The ancient seat of the Earls of Eglinton, it is located just south of the town of Kilwinning. The original Eglinton Castle w ...

, and he played as a wicket keeper for the Eglinton Castle Cricket Club side throughout the 1890s.

Outside of rugby and cricket

Findlay was a wine and spirit broker. He died of pnemonia at the age of 60.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Graham 1864 births 1924 deaths People educated at Kelvinside Academy Scottish rugby union players Presidents of the Scottish Rugby Union Scottish rugby union referees Scottish Districts referees West of Scotland FC players Glasgow District (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Glasgow Scottish Unofficial Championship referees