One of the most historic of any programmes is the issue on the left for a 2nd Division game between Edinburgh club St Bernards on 2nd September, 1939. For reasons which should be obvious to all, this was the last date that any official Scottish League fixtures were fulfilled for the next 6 years. This goal-less game was the last game between the clubs and was also the 4th and final 2nd Division game to be played by Queen's that season who had been relegated just a few months previously. It is virtually impossible to find anything positive to say about a World War which decimated society - in footballing terms though, it was Queen's own version of "The Great Escape". Upon resumption in 1945, they were automatically restored to the top flight again.

Long before anyone at Telford Street truly envisaged League status, Queen's paid a brief visit on 8th August, 1977. Goals from Bernie Donnelly and Jim Nicholson secured a 2-0 win for the visitors and the players were only too happy to autograph all 4 pages of this single sheet issue for a grateful supporter. A look back at some of the names of players who travelled may bring a smile to the faces of some current supporters as neither Errol Hornstein nor Brian Sweeney would play a competitive game for the Club, although each became well known later in their own way. The programme itself only contained a few paragraphs of text and  the anticipated player pools, but then what more could you expect or want for a game of such little significance?

A surprisingly good effort was achieved almost exactly 11 years later on 6th August, 1988 when Queen's visited Buckie Thistle's Victoria Park as part of another brief Highland tour. The two clubs had met on Scottish Cup business 4 times before, the most recent occasion being just two seasons previously, and the programme editor took great delight in recalling that in 1954 Buckie had become the only Highland League club to win at Hampden. Still, in amongst this 20 page predominantly text based issue, he did bid welcome to "The Most Famous Amateur Football Club In The World" so nobody held the reminding of their proud achievement against him. It was all friends after the game too which finished in a 2-2 draw; Paul McLean and Craig Morton netting for the Spiders.

The series of games against Corinthians began on 1st January, 1886 and lasted until 2nd January, 1936. In all, 70 fixtures were undertaken during that period, an impressive figure given the lengthy travel involved. However, they were financially viable as great crowds would turn out to see what might nowadays be described as  unofficial International Amateur Club Championship games! Programmes were often issued for the London fixtures which were played at venues like the Kennington Oval, Selhurst Park, White Hart Lane or, in this case, at Stamford Bridge. One-sided single sheets, as is the case with this Chelsea produced programme, were the norm but occasionally these would be double-sided and folded to provide a 4 page issue. In this particular game, played on 15th March, 1920, Queen's won by 4-1.

Apart from the fixtures undertaken against Corinthians, Queen's would occasionally venture south to participate in other glamorous friendlies. The one against Liverpool at Anfield on 9th April, 1928 is a case in point. This game only came about, so the 20 page programme informs us, by virtue of Liverpool having a blank Saturday in their League programme. What is immediately noticeable is that, in those days, Liverpool and Everton jointly produced programmes for all their games, so several of the pages are devoted to Everton statistics and player information! At the time, Everton lay 2nd in the Division I table, 3 points behind Huddersfield, whilst Liverpool were languishing in 5th bottom position, but 3 places above Manchester Utd! Leeds, Chelsea, Preston and  Manchester City all shared top spot in Division II with 7 games of the season remaining. Changed days indeed.

Of course, not every game needed to have a financial benefit for Queen's to participate. Whilst always a consideration, money was never the prime issue as you would expect given Queen's stance on professionalism. A case in point is the match against Dulwich Hamlet on Monday, 29th March, 1937. The programme for this game, apart from the use of coloured paper which gives it an almost modern appearance, is interesting for the fact that it consists of 6 pages, despite comprising just one sheet of paper. Clever folding is the key. Dulwich fielded a weakened line-up to allow them to rest 5 players before their participation in the Amateur Cup Final the next Saturday. Squad rotation even in those days? Maybe some modern ideas aren't so new after all!

Another unusual encounter took place at Portsmouth's ground on 28th February, 1948. Again a 6 page-1 sheet issue, this programme for a game against an "F.A. Selected XI". Whilst both sets of players would have been equally unfamiliar to spectators, the Pompey editor generously allowed more space for pen-pics of the Queen's players. The text even informs us that, although Hampden's then capacity was 150,000 "plans have been drawn to make it hold close on 200,000"! Already owners of the largest stadium in the world, this demonstrates that the Club certainly weren't content to rest on their laurels. The game was arranged as a trial match to allow selectors a better view of those players who would come into contention for places in squad for the forthcoming Olympic games, so it is likely that all 22 players gave of their all considering what was at stake.

Walthamstow Avenue are one of those names that you just can't quite imagine as being suitable for a football team, the title perhaps being better suited for an early version of Eastenders. Nonetheless, the London club had been a considerable force in the English amateur game and had taken Manchester United to an FA Cup replay at Highbury shortly after the 2nd World War. This particular game had been arranged to commemorate their 50th anniversary and it is a credit to Queen's that the Glasgow club were their first choice of opposition for the occasion. The 8 page issue provide a comprehensive Walthamstow history but also allowed 2 full pages of introduction to Queen's and their players. 

As enduring as Queen's are, they are by no means the oldest club in the world. The honour of becoming the first club in the world to celebrate 100 continuous years of existence fell on Sheffield F.C.; a separate entity from either United or Wednesday. Prince Philip even deemed the match on Thursday, 24th October, 1957 as being worthy of his official presence as President of the Football Association. The game took place at Bramall Lane, once the home of Sheffield F.C. before they vacated to Abbeydale Park allowing Sheffield United to claim Bramall Lane as their own. The 12 page programme hinted that Queen's would have been too strong for a Sheffield F.C. side who were several years past their hiatus and so their team was bolstered by fringe players from Manchester Utd and Barnsley. It was a wise decision, as the 2-2 draw ensured smiles all round at the end.

For all that Sheffield is currently able to support two major teams, it's hard to imagine that in early 1893, it wasn't even considered a city. However, it was granted official status later that year and, low and behold, when Centenary celebrations were planned for 1993, Queen's were again top of the list and a second game against Sheffield F.C. was arranged for Tuesday, 27th April. A strong Queen's line-up emerged victorious by 3-1; goals in the last quarter of an hour from Ross Caven and John O'Neill (2) being sufficient to see off a plucky local side. This time the match was played at Hillsborough and a glossy 16 page programme was produced for the occasion. At £1 it was overly pricey for what was on offer although was printed on deluxe paper and it did contain excellent quality photos of both teams and comprehensive potted histories of both clubs in addition to the obligatory player pen-pics. 

Four games against Norwegian opposition were organised for May, 1949; the first of these being against Skeid of Oslo who held the visitors to a 2-2 draw, played in torrential conditions. A few soggy programmes survived the trip home and these consisted of 12 pages of text and adverts; the ratio between the two being pretty even. The introduction included a welcome in English but otherwise one is left to guess at what it's all about. That Queen's were then considered to be a big club is clear as the welcome hoped that "the matches will instructive and of benefit to the Norwegian players, and not the least to the spectators". Lessons were handed out by 5-2 and 7-0 elsewhere, but a 0-2 defeat in between, forewarned of an emerging footballing nation.

Two matches were played in the Channel Islands in 1950 and 5 more in a return trip to Norway the following year. Six games were undertaken in a combined tour of Germany and Switzerland in 1954. There was a 3 year gap until the next tour where 5 matches were played on rock hard fiery pitches during an 8 day period. None were won with only 3 being drawn. The programme for the game against Floriana on Saturday, 25th May is a strange affair. With an attractive cover and 16 pages, it promises to be an interesting read but only 4 sentences are actually dedicated to the game or Queen's visit. The remainder provides detailed match reports and photos from Floriana's previous 9 games. The programme particularly focused on a league game against Silema which was abandoned after 60 minutes following a pitch invasion by Floriana fans when bottles were thrown at rival supporters. Not surprisingly, Floriana were hit with a hefty fine by the Maltese F.A  There is no record of any trouble during the game with Queen's though!

The 1978 tour was to Canada, another territory where soccer was "on the up". In what would be the Club's most successful tour on the field ever, the 10 games yielded 9 victories with just 1 loss; against a Quebec Select. 31 goals were scored for the loss of 3. However, for many, the tour will be remembered for the deaths of David Ballantyne and Bernie Donnelly in a car crash on the final night which also saw goalkeeper David Gillespie suffer 2 broken legs. A goalkeeper of rare talent, he had established himself in the first team in January of that year and recorded 10 shut-outs in 20 games. He wouldn't be seen in a first team jersey again. For the games on 15th and 16th July against Nova Scotia Central League All Stars and Olands Soccer Club, the Nova Scotia Soccer Association issued a 36 page A4 size programme for only $1. There were 2 pages of text as well as a team photo to inform fans about there visitors, as well as several welcoming articles from local dignitaries and a comprehensive study on the emergence of youth soccer in Canada.

It obviously took the Club some time to recover from the traumatic experience, but toes were dipped in the water 2 years later when they accepted an invitation to enter an International Under-23 Tournament being held in Dusseldorf, Germany. It was an unqualified success which helped lay the foundations for the championship winning side of the following season, albeit that tournament top scorer Jim Gillespie was quickly snapped up by Gent of Belgium following his winning goal in the semi-final against them. The statistics said it all. Played 4, Won 4, For 13, Against 0. The tournament brochure ran to 60 pages, and although the advert content was high, it was still a snip for only 1DM. Although there were no photos, each of the 8 participating teams got a god mention, and there was a list of the previous 21 tournament winners. The success was not defended until 1985 and 1986  when, on both occasions, they returned victorious.

As the focus switched to the re-development of Hampden and all that that venture entailed, the Club could not afford to be so liberal with its tour budget as previously was the case, and a long weekend away was about all that could be hoped for. A notable exception to this was the 3 match tour of California in May, 1991 when external funding was provided to make this possible. The opening game against a Pacific Soccer League Select was successfully negotiated with a 5-1 win but the team were defeated 0-2 in the closing game against Corona Del Mar Riptide. In between, on 27th May, they shared a no score draw at the Pasadena Rose Bowl with Rod Stewart's Los Angeles Exiles. A double sided single sheet programme (only $2 !!!) was issued and this contained players stats (name, hometown, previous team and age) for both sides without any narrative whatsoever. A unique issue in this respect?