Q Mike Slattery has unearthed an inconsistency in a previous reply. In answer to the query “"Who was the first international to play for both Rangers and Celtic?” we said “first to be capped while with both Celtic and Rangers was a remarkable character called George Livingstone"

As Mike points out in his e-mail we listed Livingstone's two caps as coming in 1906 and 1907 and therefore “this would seem to suggest that he was NOT capped while at Celtic. Can you clarify?”

A It might confuse things more but Livingstone both WAS and WASN'T the first to be capped while at both clubs!

George Livingstone WAS capped while with Celtic. He made his Scotland debut against England on April 5th 1902 in the match that turned into the first Ibrox disaster when 26 supporters lost their lives when the terracing gave way.

The match was SUBSEQUENTLY deemed to be unofficial and the fixture was moved to Birmingham and played in May that year. But there's no disputing that until the tragedy happened, the supporters were watching players in a bona fide international. It's similar to matches which were struck from the records in 1939 after the outbreak of war. They don't count towards official goals or appearances totals yet there's no denying that when the games were played that these were genuine fixtures.

Of course George Livingstone's 'cap' had been struck from the records by the time he made his Scotland appearances in 1906 and 1907, the second of which was while he was with Rangers.

The first player to be capped with both Old Firm clubs OFFICIALLY was Alec Bennett who was capped three times with Celtic between 1903-04 and 1907-08 and eight times with Rangers between 1908-09 and 1912-13.

This explanation SHOULD have been included when making a previous amendment in answer to a query from Karel Stokkemans.

Scottishleague.net is always happy to make corrections and/or clarifications and we thank Mike Slattery for drawing this to our attention.

Q William McGinty asks, “Where was Ronnie Simpson, ex-Celtic goalkeeper born?”

A He was born in Glasgow and attended Kings Park Secondary School before joining Queen's Park, aged 14.

Q Two Pars-related questions from Chris Archer. “Did David Hay, current head coach at Dunfermline, ever play for Celtic?”

“Which two members of Dunfermline's coaching staff were part of Dundee United's Championship winning side?”

A Davie Hay was with Celtic for nine years and played in nearly 200 games, winning four League title medals, two Scottish Cup and one League Cup as well as playing in the European Cup Final in 1970.

He left for Chelsea in 1974 where he was plagued by injury and was forced to retire from playing in 1979. That same year he started out with Motherwell on the first stage in his long management career.

Davie was also capped 27 times for Scotland.

The East End Park coaches who played in that excellent Dundee United team that won the title in 1983 are Billy Kirkwood and Paul Hegarty.

Q Larry Cullen wants to know “Did Don Masson miss a penalty against Iran in the 1978 World Cup? And what was the result? There's a pint resting on this answer.”

A It was 1-1 with Iran but Masson's penalty miss came in the 3-1 defeat by Peru.

Q Anthony Seaham has a query about two Sunderland players. “During the 1936-37 season Sunderland's Alexander McNab and Charlie M Thompson were both capped for Scotland. The club history says they both were capped in the game against Czechoslovakia on the 15th May 1937 but I've read elsewhere that McNab played against Austria but not against the Czechs. I was hoping you could clear up the confusion.”

A Only Thompson played against the Czechs, McNab against Austria. This was Thompson's only cap. McNab was capped a second time, v England in 1939, but had moved to West Brom by then.

Q Kevin Gilmour wants to know about the playing career of SPFA chief Tony Higgins. “Please advise which clubs Tony played for, any medals that he won and whether he has any Scottish Caps. Also how long did he play for and if possible his time with each club.”

A Tony Higgins had a long playing career, lasting fifteen seasons. He started out with Hibs in 1972 before moving to Partick Thistle in March 1980. He joined Morton at the start of season 1982-83 then moved on to Stranraer in September 1984 where he wound down his career, his final appearance coming in 1986-87.

His only winners medal came in the 1973 Drybrough Cup and he also won a Scottish Cup runners-up medal in 1979. He was never capped.