Trivia
- Friendly to help on behalf of the Brazil Fund set up in Coatbridge to support widows of iron workers from the Coatbridge area who had travelled to Brazil for work.
- The local press for months before the match have a lot of sad stories relating to this situation. Celtic had played at Whifflet a few weeks earlier v Thirds when they were asked to play for the “Brazil Fund”
Review
A little known charity match was played on 10th June 1889 at Whifflet between Celtic and Albion Rovers. This match was on behalf of the “Brazil Fund” set up in Coatbridge to support widows of iron workers from the Coatbridge area who had travelled to Brazil for work.
Unfortunately, the workers were caught up in a Yellow Fever epidemic and as a result some of the workers died as did others due to other illnesses as they struggled to cope with the very hot conditions. Local reports would suggest this was big news in Coatbridge for many months
This may be of interest to any Coatbridge historians as it would be fascinating to hear the full story. It should also be of interest to individuals researching their own family history and find that one of their family was affected by this. The match report is attached below:
Coatbridge Express Wednesday 12 June 1889
Thx to Celtic Graves Society / Frank H @Jimmy_McColl for this
