Photo of Interest: Vermont's early football champions

Who are these self-satisfied men? They are immigrants from Scotland who brought their enthusiasm for football to Barre, Vermont. In this photo, the Bon Accord team proudly poses after wrestling the 1905 state championship from the Rangers, another Barre team of fellow Scotsmen.

“Bon Accord” is the motto of Aberdeen, the city in Scotland where many of these players originated. The Rangers were the namesake of a team founded in Glasgow in 1875. 

The two teams had a friendly rivalry lasting many years.  In 1907, the Rangers won their game against the Bon Accords 4-3, identical to their losing score two years earlier.  In 1913, the Bon Accords were still a powerhouse, coming from behind to tie the Barre Hill Rovers in the state championship game at Rangers field in Barre. The local newspaper only identified the sport they were playing in the headline, using the term “soccer” in quotes.

The final Bon Accord game was in 1920. “Soccer football once had a stronghold among those of Scotch birth in Barre, but the war called many to service and the several teams were disbanded,” reported the newspaper.

A 1925 newspaper article mentions preparations for an exhibition game to be held between former Barre players. Though intended as an introduction for high school students to “this fast growing sport in the colleges and schools of this country,” soccer would not become a varsity sport at Spaulding High School until 1969.