Carrick F.C. Explained

Carrick F.C. should not be confused with Maybole Carrick F.C..

Clubname:Carrick
Fullname:Carrick Football Club
Founded:1874
Dissolved:1888
Chrtitle:Hon. Secretary
Chairman:George Thompson
Mgrtitle:Match Secretary
Manager:John Sinclair
Ground:Saracen Park
Pattern La1:_thinwhitehoops
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Pattern Sh1:_whitesides
Pattern So1:_hoops_white
Leftarm1:4169E1
Body1:4169E1
Rightarm1:4169E1
Shorts1:000080
Socks1:4169E1

Carrick Football Club was a 19th-century football club originally from the Partick area of Glasgow in Scotland, but which moved to Possilpark for a brief period.

History

The club was founded in August 1874[1] playing in Maryhill.[2] For most of its existence the club played low-level football.[3]

In 1884, Possilpark F.C. dissolved, and its ground at Saracen Park was put up for rent.[4] Carrick took on the ground from the start of the 1885–86 season and joined the Scottish Football Association, entitling it to enter the Scottish Cup, which it did for the first time in 1886–87.

Initially the move looked promising, as, in one of its first senior matches, Carrick beat Kirkintilloch Athletic 5–0,[5] and later beat Wishaw Swifts;[6] although the club lost at Lindertis of Forfarshire, it was at least well-regarded enough to be able to play friendlies distance from Glasgow.[7]

The step-up to senior competition however proved to be another matter. In the first round of the Cup in 1886–87, the club lost 2–0 at home to Westbourne,[8] a club with little pedigree. The club's second and last entry, in 1887–88, was disastrous; Carrick lost 10–0 at home to Thistle of east Glasgow in the first round.[9]

The club did continue playing afterwards,[10] and Saracen Park is still described as Carrick's home at the close of the season.[11] However the move to senior football, in an area with more established clubs like Cowlairs and Northern, appears to have been too ambitious, as the club disappears before the 1888–89 season, and the ground is taken over by Temperance Athletic.

Colours

The club played in royal blue and white one-inch striped shirts, and dark blue shorts with white stripes.[12]

Ground

The club originally played in Maryhill; by 1884–85 the club had moved to Kelvinside.[13] As a senior club, it played at Saracen Park, behind the Saracen Foundry, in Possilpark, north Glasgow.[14] The pitch was 120 yards x 78 yards, and the ground had a clubhouse and 36 ft tall flagpole.[15] The ground is close to the current Saracen Park, opened in 1937.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Book: McDowall . John . Scottish FA Annual 1886–87 . 1886 . Hay Nisbet. 47.
  2. Carrick v Grafton Athletics . North British Daily Mail . 15 December 1879 . 7.
  3. Carrick Juniors v Royal Albion . North British Daily Mail . 22 October 1877 . 3.
  4. Ground to Feu, Sell or Let . North British Daily Mail . 19 November 1884 . 8.
  5. Carrick v Kirkintilloch Athletic . Bridge of Allan Gazette . 10 October 1885 . 2.
  6. Swifts v Carrick . Wishaw Press . 6 March 1886 . 2.
  7. Lindertis (Kirriemuir) v Carrick (Glasgow) . Dundee Courier . 2 January 1886 . 4.
  8. Matches played on Saturday . Glasgow Herald . 13 September 1886 . 10.
  9. Matches played on Saturday . Glasgow Herald . 5 September 1887 . 6.
    the North British Daily Mail mistakenly gives the score as 10–4 - the 10–0 score is confirmed in the 1887–88 SFA yearbook.
  10. Saturday's fixtures . Rutherglen Reformer . 14 October 1887 . 6.
  11. Western Hibernians v Cowlairs . Glasgow Herald . 25 May 1888 . 11.
  12. Book: McDowall . John . Scottish FA Annual 1886–87 . 1886 . Hay Nisbet. 62.
  13. Carrick v Armadale . Rutherglen Reformer . 23 January 1885.
  14. Book: M'Dowall . John . Scottish Football Association Annual 1882–83 . 1882 . W. Weatherston . Glasgow . 145.
  15. Ground to Feu, Sell or Let . North British Daily Mail . 19 November 1884 . 8.
  16. Web site: W Macfarlane and Co. Ltd. Saracen Foundry, Hawthorn Street, Possilpark. An oblique aerial photograph taken facing north . Britain From Above . 6 April 2023.