Springburn Virtual Museum

Community life

Springburn Men's Cycle Club, 1885

Springburn Men's Cycle Club in 1885. The only member of the photograph who is known is Adam Lillie Smith, back row, right, who was aged 17 in 1885, when the photograph was taken. Adam Lillie Smith was a resident of Springburn. Whether the Club was organised in Springburn or Glasgow is not known.

Adam Lillie Smith was a member of the Glasgow Rangers football team in this same year, 1885, as verified by the records in the Scottish Football Museum. At that time Rangers were an amateur team. It seems plausible that some of these other men also played for Glasgow Rangers around that time.

The face of Adam Lillie Smith has been restored, using part of another photograph of him from the same period, as the original photograph was slightly damaged. The face of the man next to him is a composite and not historically accurate. However, images of all other men are true to the original photograph. Image and information provided by Adam Lillie Smith's grandson, Adam Smith, of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.

Source: Adam Smith