Clydebank F.C. (Rutherglen) Explained

Clubname:Clydebank
Fullname:Clydebank Football Club
Nickname:the Clyde[1]
Founded:1874
Dissolved:1886
Ground:Phoenix Park
Chairman:Colin Gardner[2]
Mgrtitle:Secretary
Manager:Thomas Millar
Pattern La1:_thinbluehoops
Pattern B1:_thinbluehoops
Pattern Ra1:_thinbluehoops
Pattern So1:_hoops_red
Leftarm1:FF0000
Body1:FF0000
Rightarm1:FF0000
Shorts1:FFFFFF
Socks1:4169E1

Clydebank Football Club was a 19th-century football club based in Rutherglen, Scotland.

History

The club was formed in 1874,[3] as a winter activity for the Clydebank Cricket Club.[4] It was the first football club to use the Clydebank name and the only one not to come from the town of Clydebank located to the north-west of Glasgow; instead their home was south-east of the city centre, on the left bank of the River Clyde.

The earliest matches recorded for the club are from the 1875–76 season.[5] Although the club was active in its early years, including fixtures against well-regarded clubs such as Cambuslang[6] and Caledonian,[7] it did not join the Scottish Football Association until the 1879–80 season.[8] This enabled it to enter the Scottish Cup for the first time, although the club lost 2–1 at Airdrie Excelsior in the first round.

In the same season, it was one of the founder members of the Lanarkshire Football Association.[9] It played in the first Lanarkshire Cup, losing 4–2 to Shotts F.C. in the second round.[10]

Despite this increased activity and membership, the club never entered either competition again, instead playing junior football until 1886.[11]

Colours

The club originally played in blue shirts and white shorts.[12] By 1879 it had changed to red and blue two-inch[13] "stripes" (in the context of the time referring to hoops).[14]

Ground

The club's earliest recorded matches were played on Glasgow Green[15] before the first home matches recorded at Phoenix Park[16] in Rutherglen in 1876.[17] The ground was by the Dalmarnock Bridge.[18]

Notes and References

  1. Football . Rutherglen Reformer . 18 October 1879 . 2.
  2. Clydebank Football Club . Rutherglen Reformer . 29 November 1879 . 2.
  3. Book: Alcock . Charles . Football Annual . 1879 . 130.
  4. Clydebank Cricket Club . Rutherglen Reformer . 12 April 1879 . 2.
  5. Saturday's Football Fixtures . North British Daily Mail . 22 November 1875 . 6.
  6. Football match . Rutherglen Reformer . 10 May 1879 . 2.
  7. Football match . Rutherglen Reformer . 19 April 1879 . 2.
  8. Clydebank Football Club . Rutherglen Reformer . 29 November 1879 . 2.
  9. Lanarkshire Football Association . Rutherglen Reformer . 22 November 1879 . 2.
  10. Web site: Lanarkshire Cup . Scottish Football Historical Archive . 7 February 2023.
  11. Web site: Club Directory . Scottish Football Historical Results Archive . 27 October 2022.
  12. Web site: Club Directory . Scottish Football Historical Results Archive . 27 October 2022.
  13. Scottish Football Annual 1879-80.
  14. Book: Alcock . Charles . Football Annual . 1879 . 130.
  15. Local Football Fixtures . North British Daily Mail . 3 January 1876 . 7.
  16. Clydebank v Vale of Clyde . North British Daily Mail . 21 October 1878 . 3.
  17. Local Football Fixtures . North British Daily Mail . 13 January 1876 . 7.
  18. Football match - Clydebank v Cambuslang . Rutherglen Reformer . 11 October 1879 . 2.