Staffordshire Frederick and Victoria
Month: January 2026
Toby the Sheep
In 1910-11 Morton had a sheep as team mascot. Source.
Dunfermline Athletic visit Cappielow. The Pars are fifth with 26 points, Morton seventh with 22.
Last weekend’s 3 – 2 loss to Partick was the first time since 1951 that Partick had won a league match at Firhill after being down 2 – 0 at the half.
Celtic have sacked manager Wilfried Nancy after only eight matches (two wins, six losses).
Sonny Hart has returned to Swindon Town. Dylan Corr has been loaned out to Kelty Hearts.
[Postponed.]
The other Championship matches:
Ross County (10th) 2 – 0 Partick Thistle (2nd) (yesterday)
Ayr United (4th) [1 – 1] Airdrieonians (8th)
Queen’s Park (9th) vs St Johnstone (1st) [postponed]
Raith Rovers (6th) [2 – 3] Arbroath (3rd)
Scottish Challenge Cup, R3 (January 6):
Queen’s Park (Ch) vs Forfar Athletic (L2) (postponed)
Stirling Albion (L2) vs Stenhousemuir (L1) (postponed)
Partick Thistle (Ch) vs Inverness CT (L1) (postponed)
Raith Rovers (Ch) 1 – 0 Queen of the South (L1)
Airdrieonians (Ch) 3 – 1 Montrose (L1)
Ayr United (Ch) vs Stranraer (L2) (postponed)
Arbroath (Ch) vs East Fife (L1) (postponed)
St Johnstone (Ch) vs Ross County (Ch) (postponed)
West of Scotland League Cup, R2:
Auchinleck Talbot (WP) vs Thorniewood United (W1) (postponed)
Cameron Keay has signed with Talbot.
Girvan (W3) [1 – 2] Petershill (W1)
West of Scotland League Cup, R3:
Benburb (W1) vs Cambuslang Rangers (W2) [postponed]
Yoker Athletic (W3) vs Muirkirk (W1) [postponed]
West of Scotland League Cup, R4:
Neilston (W1) vs Hurlford United (WP) (postponed)
St Roch’s (W1) vs Johnstone Burgh (WP) [postponed]
Thorn Athletic (W2) vs Lesmahagow (W2) (postponed)
Troon (WP) [0 – 0] Beith (WP) [Troon win on PK]
Football Times Cup, QF:
Clachnacuddin ‘A’ vs Golspie Sutherland (postponed)
Other matches:
Fraserburgh [4 – 1] Wick Academy
Cowdenbeath vs Clydebank (postponed)
Renfrew vs Largs Thistle [postponed]
Port Glasgow [2 – 2] Finnart
Coldstream vs Dalkeith Thistle (postponed)
Blantyre Victoria vs Greenock (postponed)
Tiago Coimbra of HFX Wanderers has been called up to the Canadian national team.
Historical matches:
1891/1/10 Morton 5 – 4 Whitefield
1931/1/10 Dundee 3 – 0 Morton
1953/1/10 Morton 1 – 1 St Johnstone
1981/1/10 Morton 0 – 2 Rangers
Cup results of the 1890-91 SFL clubs:
Third Lanark 1 – 1 Queen’s Park (Sc Cup R6)
Vancouver Goldeneyes at Ottawa Charge
Claire Thompson versus Sarah Wozniewicz. Source.
We join the 2025-26 PWHL season already in progress. The Vancouver Goldeneyes visit the Ottawa Charge. The two are seventh and eighth in the league with 12 points each.
This is the league’s third season, as well as Ottawa’s. In Year One they finished fifth and missed the playoffs. Last year they finished third and reached the playoff finals, but fell to Minnesota in a series that went to overtime in every game.
There has been a lot of turnover in the Ottawa squad. This year’s team has fourteen players in common with last year’s, and only five in common with Year One’s: Clark, Hughes, Isbell, Jenner and Mrázová. The Goldeneyes have four players from last year’s Ottawa squad: Bell, Maschmeyer, Schneider and Vanišová.
Rebecca Leslie is the only Ottawa Charge player who is actually from Ottawa.
Ottawa’s top scorer is Brianne Jenner with 10 points; Vancouver’s is Claire Thompson with 7.
The City of Ottawa and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, who own the CFL team and the Ottawa 67s, have cut a deal to rebuild the Lansdowne Park* north stand with a 5,850 capacity hockey rink inside. The Charge were out of this decision-making loop, but the PWHL brass have stated that the club will not play in a smaller rink than the one they have now. Whether that means relocating to the Palladium* in Kanata or to a big stadium in another city like Quebec remains to be seen. (*Rely on me to use the old names for things.)
The Goldeneyes play at the Pacific Coliseum, built in 1968 and the Canucks’ home until 1995. It seats 16,000.
[Ottawa 4, Vancouver 2.]
Frozen Solid
Virgil in a Basket
There’s a medieval legend in which the poet Virgil gets shown up for being a big letch by being left dangling in a basket below a lady’s window. Read about it here.
Maple Leafs at Senators, January 6, 1931
The Leafs visited the Ottawa Auditorium on this date in 1931. They were third in the Canadian Division with 21 points. The Senators were fifth (i.e., last) with 11.
1930-31 was the last season that the Leafs had the Mutual Street Arena as their home rink. They moved into Maple Leaf Gardens in November 1931. The Mutual Street Arena was built in 1912 and seated 7,500. After the Leafs moved out it continued as a multi-use venue and was not demolished until 1989. The Leafs played under the name Toronto Arenas in the 1918-19 season.
The Leafs’ roster was heavy on Ontario talent, with fourteen Ontarians, two Americans, and one each from Quebec and Manitoba. Charlie Conacher, Busher Jackson, Red Horner, Bob Gracie and Alex Levinsky had all played for the Toronto Marlboros. Ace Bailey and Joe Primeau were former Toronto St Mary’s players. Harold Cotton and Babe Dye had played for Toronto Aura Lee.
Conacher, Jackson, Bailey, Primeau, Horner, Dye, Hap Day and King Clancy all went on to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
King Clancy had played nine seasons for the Senators when he was traded to Toronto in 1930. He was a Leaf for seven seasons before moving up to coach the team. You may remember him as Harold Ballard’s sidekick in the 1980s. He played for St Brigid’s in his early days in the Ottawa City League.
The Leafs’ Rolly Huard appeared in only one NHL game, on December 13th, 1930, against Boston, but he scored a goal. He had played for the University of Ottawa and the Montagnards in the Ottawa City League.
First period: goal by Baldy Cotton (Toronto).
Second period: goals by Hec Kilrea (Ottawa), Danny Cox (Ottawa) and Busher Jackson (Toronto).
Third period: no scoring.
Overtime: no scoring. In those days the NHL had regular season overtime in the event of a tie, but if no one scored the tie stood.
Final score: Ottawa 2, Toronto 2.
Montreal Senior Group:
Game 15, December 22: McGill 0 – 1 Canadiens
Game 16, December 22: Montreal AAA 3 – 2 Victorias
Game 17, December 29: Montreal AAA 3 – 1 Canadiens
Game 18, December 29: Victorias 4 – 1 Columbus
Game 19, January 5: Victorias 0 – 3 McGill
Game 20, January 5: Montreal AAA 1 – 1 Columbus
Bolsheviks
The Brown Brothers
Glasgow, New York
Morton visit Partick Thistle. Partick are second in the division with 39 points, Morton seventh with 22. Both meetings so far this season have ended as draws.
Morton played to a scoreless draw against Partick Thistle on this date in 1920, and beat them 3 – 1 on this date in 1931. Morton’s record against all comers on January 3rd is 10 wins, 12 draws and 13 losses, according to Fitbastats.
Morton have scored 18 goals in league play entering this match. Twelve players have scored, and none of them has more than 3 league goals on the season. Partick’s Logan Chalmers has 6.
Ian Murray is the new Morton manager. He has previously managed Dumbarton, St Mirren, Airdrieonians and Raith Rovers. By my count he has 6 wins against Morton, 5 draws and 8 losses.
Morton chairman John Laird has resigned.
From the Scottish Sun style sheet: The words QUIT and SACKED must only be written in all-caps.
[Partick Thistle 3 – 2 Morton. Morton goals by Garrity and Brophy.]
The other Championship matches:
Aidrieonians (9th) [0 – 0] Raith Rovers (6th)
Ayr United (4th) vs Queen’s Park (8th) [postponed]
Dunfermline Athletic (5th) vs Ross County (10th) [postponed]
Ross County have hired Stuart Kettlewell as manager. Kettlewell managed County from 2018 to 2020, and was sacked by Kilmarnock last month.
St Johnstone (1st) [1 – 0] Arbroath (3rd)
Other matches:
Wick Academy vs Forres Mechanics [postponed]
Albion Rovers vs Clydebank [postponed]
Arniston Rangers vs Coldstream [postponed]
Golspie Sutherland vs Alness United [postponed]
Historical matches:
1931/1/1 Morton 1 – 1 Leith Athletic
1931/1/3 Morton 3 – 1 Partick Thistle
1953/1/1 Morton 2 – 2 Stirling Albion
1953/1/3 Hamilton Academical 3 – 0 Morton
1981/1/1 Morton 1 – 3 St Mirren
1981/1/3 Celtic 3 – 0 Morton
When was the last time each SPFL club beat Rangers?
2025/12/21 Hearts 2 – 1 Rangers
2025/11/2 Celtic 3 – 1 Rangers
2025/4/5 Rangers 0 – 2 Hibs
2025/3/1 Rangers 1 – 2 Motherwell
2025/2/22 Rangers 0 – 2 St Mirren
2025/2/9 Rangers 0 – 1 Queen’s Park
2024/10/30 Aberdeen 2 – 1 Rangers
2024/10/20 Kilmarnock 1 – 0 Rangers
2024/4/14 Ross County 3 – 2 Rangers
2022/11/6 St Johnstone 2 – 1 Rangers
2021/8/7 Dundee United 1 – 0 Rangers
2020/3/4 Rangers 0 – 1 Hamilton Academical
2018/9/30 Livingston 1 – 0 Rangers
2017/11/24 Dundee 2 – 1 Rangers
2017/2/24 Inverness CT 2 – 1 Rangers
2016/3/18 Falkirk 3 – 2 Rangers
2015/4/9 Queen of the South 3 – 0 Rangers
2015/2/8 Rangers 1 – 2 Raith Rovers
2014/12/3 Alloa Athletic 3 – 2 Rangers
2013/8/3 Forfar 2 – 1 Rangers
2013/4/20 Rangers 1 – 2 Peterhead
2013/3/9 Rangers 1 – 2 Annan Athletic
2012/10/6 Stirling Albion 1 – 0 Rangers
2007/1/7 Dunfermline Athletic 3 – 2 Rangers
1993/5/4 Partick Thistle 3 – 0 Rangers
1988/4/9 Morton 3 – 2 Rangers
1975/10/11 Ayr United 3 – 0 Rangers
1974/2/2 Rangers 2 – 3 Arbroath
1973/10/13 Rangers 0 – 1 East Fife
1972/10/4 Rangers 1 – 2 Stenhousemuir
1969/12/27 Rangers 0 – 3 Clyde
1894/12/1 Dumbarton 1 – 0 Rangers
The rest never.
Murray Street Fire, January 2, 1957
I worked on Murray Street for five years and never heard about this fire. It took out the entire block except for the buildings facing Sussex Drive. The Time Square Building occupies the Parent Street end now.
atonofsnow.com 