William Mauchan (1856 - 1927[1]) was a Scottish footballer, but mostly a referee, better known for showing the first-ever red card in Spanish football. He was part of the infamous group of Scottish workers that formed Escocès FC. William had six kids who made it into adulthood, all of which, except for his only daughter, were football players.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Mauchan | ||
| Date of birth | 1856 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 1927 | ||
| Place of death | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1900 | Escocès FC | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Mauchan was born in 1856 in Glasgow and he married Elizabeth Stewart in 1879, he aged 24 and she aged 22. The couple then settled in their native city, where they had three sons: William in 1881, who died in infancy, Peter born in 1882 and Archibald born in 1884.[2] William provided for his family as a textile worker, and when he was promoted to be in charge of a production line, the family had to move to Nottingham in England, staying there between 1884 and 1887, and having two more children, Elizabeth born in 1887 and John in 1889.[2]
William was one of many workers at lace manufacturers Johnston, Shields & Co in Newmilns sent over to work in the company's newly opened factory (by John Shields and Edward B. Steegmann) in Sant Martí de Provençals (known as La Escocesa), which started production back in 1893, and thus, the family had to move again, this time to Sant Martí. His experience in Nottingham serves him to continue working as a manager. In this locality, they have two more children, David in 1895 and William in 1897.
Peter will be the first to return to the United Kingdom (before 1909). The rest of the family will return to the United Kingdom at the beginning of the First World War, with the exception of John, who will end up settling in Barcelona. William died in Glasgow in 1927 and his wife died in 1943.[2]
William was introduced to football in the United Kingdom, and had the official title of referee issued by the Football Association.[2] Whilst out in the Catalan capital, William was noted for his prominent role in promoting football in the city, taking part in some of the first football matches in the city in the winter of 1893–1894 (at the time, cricket was traditionally played in the summer, and football in the winter), in clashes between the Scottish Colony of Sant Martí and the English Colony of Barcelona.[2] On May 1895, William refereed football matches held at the Velódromo de la Bonanova on the occasion of the opening of the racing season on 12 May.[2] [lower-alpha 1]
At the start of 1900, William and his La Escocesa co-workers set up a football team to pass the time, calling it Escocès FC.[3] His 17/8-year-old son Peter was also a founder of the team, but while he played for them assiduously, William refereed assiduously. Team captain John Hamilton was also a referee, although the nature of their relationship has not been confirmed. William acted as a line judge in the team's debut against FC Barcelona on 2 February 1900, and he was then the referee of their second match a week later, on 11 February, also against Barça, in which the Scot Willie Gold was brought down by Barça's Englishman Stanley Harris with a strong tackle, and when Gold reacted with a punch, which caused a fight between players of both teams, William was left with no choice other than to send off his countryman, the very first red card shown in Spanish football. He also sends off Harris, thus becoming the very first referee to sent-off a Barcelona player.[4] This incident caused Joan Gamper, Barça's captain in this match, to resign from the position, but the extraordinary board of FC Barcelona did not accept his resignation.[5] The Escocès FC's third match against Català FC on 25 February was refereed by Hamilton, and Escocès fielded two Mauchans, but William was too old at the time (aged 44), while Archibald was too young (aged only 15/6 at the time).
In November 1900, Escocés FC folded and FC Barcelona took advantage of its dissolution to incorporate several of its most prominent players, such as his son Peter, who thus became the first-ever Scottish player to wear the Barça shirt alongside George Girvan and Alexander Black.[3] His three youngest kids, John, David and William, founded CE Júpiter on 12 May 1909 at the Cebrian Brewery in Sant Martí.