The colour of money

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Association football had become the people's game in Victorian society for both players and spectators. Soon this once recreational activity was to become a profession with high stakes to play for.
By 1890 the Scottish Football league was formed, but despite being invited to join, Queen's Park resisted this new league set-up. Remaining true to their amateur ethics, they staunchly repelled the new 'professionalism' creeping into the sport and rejected joining a league that would ultimately involve professional clubs.
There was another reason for the 'amateurs' resisting the new league. It felt that rather than nurture the smaller and weaker clubs, the league would ultimately cause their demise. To a club that saw themselves as pioneers of the game, Queen's Park felt that they could not be party to such a potentially destructive element.
Queen's Park remained outside the Scottish Football league for several years,during which time the club found it increasingly hard to arrange fixtures, especially with those who were members of the new league structure. In effect, Queen's Park had been 'frozen out'.
The lure of regular weekly fixtures was too hard to refuse; the club eventually entered the league in 1900. That same year, Queen's Park reached the Scottish Cup final for one more time. The game, played at Ibrox in front of a crowd of 17,000, saw Celtic emerge 4-3 victors after a thrilling match.
By the time Queen's Park had been elected into the Scottish League (the First Division no less), the club was already in decline as a major force in Scottish football. The League looked on kindly to amateur stalwarts and granted them special dispensation, preventing them from relegation into the second division. At the end of their first season, the 'amateurs' finished in 8th position (on goal difference) out of a league of eleven teams. In reality however, Queen's Park did not distinguish themselves well in league football, their best season being 1917-18, when the club finished 7th in a league of 18 clubs.
Fearing the prospect that its best players could be poached at anytime by other clubs, Queen's Park had asked the League for protection for amateur players. In 1910, the club had made an official complaint against rivals, Clyde, who had made an approach to one of their players, Willie McAndrew. The league ruled that Queen's Park had the right to retain their players until April 30 each year. A ruling that is still in force today.
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