football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
club from the town of
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. The club was a member of the
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
until 1910, when they merged with neighbours
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
to form
Ayr United
Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...
.
History
Ayr Parkhouse were formed in
1886
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885.
* January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...
and took their name from the Parkhouse farmhouse where the club's players trained, William Frew, a centre-forward for Parkhouse, was actually the son of the farmer who owned it. They initially played their home games at Ballantine Drive, before moving to the Ayr Racecourse ground, now known as the Old Racecourse. In
1888
In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
vacated the better developed Beresford Park, and Ayr Parkhouse moved in, where they played for the remainder of their existence, although altering the ground since moving in, . In 1891 they joined the
Ayrshire Football League
Ayrshire Football League is a defunct soccer league in Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to th ...
, but moved onto the
Ayrshire Football Combination
The Ayrshire Football Combination was formed in 1893 as a breakaway from the Ayrshire Football League.
in 1893, of which they were founder members along with
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
with whom they would develop a healthy rivalry.
However, Ayr Parkhouse took the decision to remain a faithfully
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist.
History
...
club, only turning
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...
in
1905
As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...
. Despite the club's amateur status, they competed well in their league and the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1894–95 season, where they fell to that
year
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the h ...
's runners-up Renton.
Local success continued, but the rivalry that was built up with
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
ceased to have a regular outlet when that club were admitted to membership of the
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
in
1897
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City.
* January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puni ...
. Ayr Parkhouse's ambitions were beginning to outgrow their local successes and the club's early amateurness fuelled hostility to membership of the professional
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
was waning. In
1901
Events
January
* January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...
they unsuccessfully applied for membership, but, after finishing second in the
Scottish Amateur Football League
The Scottish Amateur Football League (SAFL) is Scotland's oldest football league competition for amateur teams in Scotland. Although the League officially records itself as having been founded in 1909, when Scottish Football League club Queen's ...
they managed to get elected to full league status in
1903
Events January
* January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India.
* January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...
, just ahead of St. Johnstone. Their initial season in the
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
was a disaster. They finished bottom of Division Two and therefore had to reapply for membership, but they declined to do so.
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
were elected instead.
After two seasons out of the
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
, playing instead in the
Scottish Football Combination The Scottish Football Combination was a football league football structure set up in Scotland for clubs outside the Scottish Football League and the reserves (or A sides) of some of the League members.
History 1896–1911
The competition was forme ...
, Ayr Parkhouse were accepted back into the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
. This was in
1906
Events
January–February
* January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...
. The club performed without much distinction in the following four seasons. At the end of the 1909–10 season,
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
and Ayr Parkhouse merged to form
Ayr United
Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...
.
Colours
*1886–? Royal blue shirts, royal blue shorts.
*?–1910 Royal blue & white hooped shirts, royal blue shorts.
Honours
;
Ayrshire Cup
The Ayrshire Cup was an annual association football regional competition in Scotland. The cup competition was a knockout tournament between football clubs in the historic county of Ayrshire. The Ayrshire Cup was first held in 1877–78, with ...
Alex Bell
Alexander Bell (20 October 1882 – 30 November 1934) was a footballer who played as a wing half. His professional career was mostly spent in England, where he won trophies with Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers. Born in South Africa, he w ...
: transferred to Manchester United in 1902. He was Manchester United's first Scotland international, in 1912.
* John Cameron
*
Robert Capperauld
Robert Capperauld (died 14 July 1915) was a Scottish professional footballer who made one appearance as a goalkeeper in the Scottish League for Ayr.
Personal life
Capperauld served as a private in the Royal Scots Fusiliers during the First ...