History Commons^™

Amateur Against Professional: The Changing Meaning Of Popular Football In Scotland, 1870-1890, Alastair G. Staffen

Major Papers

This paper argues that from the early 19^th century there existed a strong push by middle-class reformers to eliminate traditional regional pastimes and identities, and repurpose organised sport with the aim of reinforcing notions of respectability. Despite the initial success of the middle-class in popularizing association football in Scotland, these modernisers ultimately met with failure as the institutions that they created became increasingly subservient to economic realities of popular sport and to the demands of a working-class consumer base. Finally, the success of the middle-class in eliminating pastimes and the corresponding regional identities created the need for new sources …