We live in a world of wall-to-wall sport.
Fans of all kinds of weird and wonderful events can watch their heroes on TV and online 24 hours a day while sporting events like last weekend’s Superbowl are watched by a global audience that can be measured in billions.
Of course, it wasn’t always that way.
If you wanted to watch live sport then the only way to do it was to go along as a spectator.
Even if you were lucky enough to have a television, there was little on the way of broadcast sport available which meant if you couldn’t make it to a match then your best hope of catching any action was hoping a big game would be featured on a Path newsreel at your local cinema.
For decades, Path News was one of the few ways people could see any filmed news reports at all.More Courier country life shown on newsreel Reeling back the years a Path through historyThe films, which were produced over a 60-year period, provided cinema-goers with not only the news of the day, but also entertainment and sports news.
It means that viewers can go back in time to watch sporting successes that would seem unimaginable today.
Our selection includes a famous East Fife triumph in the League Cup.
Spoiled for success in the immediate post-war years, East Fife picked up three league cup wins in 10 seasons.
This video shows their second success, over Fife rivals Dunfermline Athletic, in 1949.
And the archives, operated bv British Path, also shine a light on some of the forgotten names of Scottish football.
The second clip shows Dundee FC in action against Third Lanark in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup in 1952.
And, last but not least, our final selection finds Bing Crosby trying to prove he is still king of the swingers at an amateur golf tournament at the Old Course in St Andrews.
All of the newsreels can be watched on British Path’s YouTube channel.
East Fife v Dunfermline Athletic League Cup final:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=4gqc8ZqY4CA%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D0
Around 40,000 fans made the journey from Fife to Glasgow for this 1949 League Cup final.
Dunfermline were making their first appearance in a final while East Fife had won the League Cup, the club’s second major trophy, two seasons earlier.
The men from Methil, in the days before their shirts were striped, won the game 3-0.
They beat Partick Thistle 3-2 in 1953 to win the trophy for their third and, so far, final time.
Dundee v Third Lanark, Scottish Cup semi-final:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=O4q2VinQX-c%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D0This
1952 semi-final saw Dundee thump Third Lanark 2-0 at Easter Road in Edinburgh.Unfortunately for the Dark Blues, Dundee lost the final at Hampden 4-0 to a rampant Motherwell.
Third Lanark are one of the lost greats of Scottish football.
The team was formed in Glasgow in 1872 and won a host of honours, including the league title and Scottish Cup.
However, the club folded just 15 years after appearing in this semi-final.
Crooners swing at St Andrews:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=s50LBVo0F48%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D0
The Dunhill Cup brings celebrity amateurs to St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie every year for a star-studded pro-am tournament.
But celebrities with an interest in golf have been playing the Old Course for years.
This clip shows Bing Crosby taking part in an amateur tournament in St Andrews in 1950, when the singer was at the peak of his fame.
A keen golfer all his life, Crosby died in 1977 shortly after completing 18 holes at La Moraleja golf course near Madrid.