Cambuslang Hibernian F.C., also known as the Cambuslang Hibs, was a

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 c ...

club based in the town of

Cambuslang Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...

, Scotland which was founded in 1884 and dissolved in 1908. They competed in regional competitions and the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,turning Junior, they won the

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association. The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA in 1886 and, as of the 2022–23 edition, 108 teams compete ...

in 1896.

Background

Cambuslang Hibernian (established in 1884, some years after

Cambuslang F.C. Cambuslang Football Club was a Scottish football club, based in the Cambuslang area (Greater Glasgow). Cambuslang was one of the founding members of the Scottish Football League, but left the league after just two seasons. History The club ...

) were one of several teams formed in the late 19th century to represent, or raise funds for, the local Irish immigrant communities in Scotland; the main survivors of these early outfits are the major clubs

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Hibernian F.C. Hibernian Football Club (), commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The club plays in the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, while

Dundee United F.C. Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club c ...

changed their name from 'Dundee Hibernian' in the 1920s aiming to broaden their appeal. Cambuslang Hibernian played at Westburn Park, situated to the north of the railway lines and main road through the town, which is now occupied by housing in the ''Circuit'' neighbourhood. They shared the ground with Cambuslang F.C. until the older club decamped to

Whitefield Park Whitefield Park was a football ground in Cambuslang, Scotland. It was the home ground of Cambuslang F.C. between 1888 and 1897, including their two seasons in the Scottish Football League. History The park was named after 18th century preach ...

, and Cambuslang Rangers also played at Westburn before their move to Somervell Park in 1904. For most of their history, the Cambuslang Hibs colours were green shirts with navy shorts.

Senior years

Cambuslang Hibernian entered the (senior)

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1886-87 when they defeated

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

and

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

before losing to

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning '' ...

. Their final participation was in 1893-94 when they were knocked out by

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

, although by that time they had also registered in the Junior setup. Due to Cambuslang's location just outside Glasgow within

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

, the club could enter both the

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...

and the

Lanarkshire Cup The Lanarkshire Cup was an annual competition open to football teams in the Lanarkshire area. The competition is now defunct. List of winners 1879–80 - Stonelaw 1880–81 - Thistle 1881–82 - Hamilton Academical 1882–83 - West Benhar 1883� ...

. They reached the semi-finals of the Lanarkshire competition three times in a row between 1885–86 and 1887–88, losing the first two ties to

Airdrieonians Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...

and the third to

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

. Their only attempt at the Glasgow version was the following season, 1888–89, where they were drawn against the leading club of the era, Queen's Park, in the second round and went down 4-0 at home. The club was expelled from the Glasgow and Scottish Football Associations at the start of 1889, for "overcharging" Queen's park and

(the latter in the Scottish Cup), i.e. putting down too much in expenses in order to reduce the share of the gate to which the visitors were entitled.

Junior years

Having competed in local district competitions in the preceding years (winning the ''Lanarkshire Junior Cup'' in 1895), Cambuslang Hibernian entered the

Glasgow Junior League The Glasgow Junior Football League (GJL) was a Association football, football league competition operated under the Scottish Junior Football Association between 1895 and 1927.

(GJL) for its inaugural season in 1895–96 and won it. The same season they also won the

, beating

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

in the semi-finals and

Parkhead Parkhead ( sco, Pairkheid) is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necropo ...

in the final.Scottish Junior Cup Results/queries
Scottish Football Historical Archive The 1896 success was to prove the pinnacle of the club's achievements. They never won the GJL again, although they were runners-up in 1897 and 1899. After finishing bottom of the league in 1904 they were not re-elected ( Clydebank Juniors were picked instead) and although the number of teams was increased for the next season, Hibs were overlooked again in favour of emerging neighbours Cambuslang Rangers (as well as

Shettleston Shettleston ( sco, Shuttlestoun, gd, Baile Nighean Sheadna) is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Toponymy The origin of the name 'Shettleston' is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a multi ...

). Cambuslang Hibs played for one season in the second division of the GJL, but that was then was disbanded and they moved with the other rejected teams to the ''Glasgow District League''. They completed one season, but failed to complete a second in 1906–07 and were 'suspended'. Many of the District teams were then re-absorbed by the GJL, but Cambuslang Hibs were not among them and the club folded altogether soon after. Hibs also failed to recreate their 1896 success in the Scottish Junior Cup, their best attempt being in 1900 when they reached the semi-finals only to be beaten by

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

's ''Rugby XI'' club. They did manage to win the less prestigious ''Glasgow Junior Challenge Cup'' in 1897 and the ''Glasgow North Eastern Cup'' in 1901. Other teams who completed the 'double' of Scottish Junior Cup and Glasgow Junior League were Strathclyde (1897),

Rutherglen Glencairn Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed ''The Glens'' and formed in 1896, they play at The Hamish B Allan Stadium (New Southcroft Park). G ...

(1902 and 1919), Parkhead (1903) and

Ashfield Ashfield may refer to: People * Ashfield (surname) Places Australia * Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney ** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...

(1910).

Notable players

In their short history, Cambuslang Hibernian acted as a stepping stone for several players who went on to play for senior clubs: *

Jimmy Conlin Jimmy Conlin (October 14, 1884 – May 7, 1962) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films in his 32-year career. Career Conlin was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1884, and his acting career started out in vaudeville, ...

played with

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, capped once for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, died in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

* James Cunningham was a regular with St Mirren for seven years * Patrick Gilhooley played for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, the

Scottish Football League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

and English teams including

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

Davie Hamilton David Hamilton (31 January 1882 – 25 January 1950) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside left (winger). He played for Celtic for ten years between 1902 and 1912. Career Club Born in Glasgow, Hamilton played for junior side Ca ...

won six

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional association football, football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers F.C., Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, wh ...

titles and four Scottish Cups with Celtic. * William McAulay played at several clubs in Scotland and England and was

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), and ...

's first official goalscorer. * Andrew McCowie was part of the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

team that were runners-up in the

1898–99 Football League The 1898–99 season was the 11th season of The Football League. Two teams were able to win the First Division title going into the final day of the season: Aston Villa and Liverpool; second-placed Liverpool travelled to Villa Park for the fina ...

. * Tommy McDermott played for

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, Celtic,

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. *

Willie McLaughlin William McLaughlin (22 June 1878 – 20 July 1946) was a Scottish footballer who played as an inside right for most of his career, latterly as a centre half. He played for Hamilton Academical over two spells,Hamilton Accies Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...

, Everton,

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

.GreensOnScreen Database - William McLaughlin
/ref> *

Jimmy McMenemy James McMenamin (11 October 1880 – 23 June 1965), was a Scottish footballer who most notably played for Celtic from 1902 to 1920 and later served as assistant manager in the 1930s. He has been described by the club as ''"a true Celtic legend"'' ...

won eleven Scottish Football League titles and six Scottish Cups with Celtic. * Edward Mount turned out for

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

. *

Edward Goldie Edward Goldie (1856–1921) was an English Church architecture, ecclesiastical architect who was notable for building Roman Catholic church building, churches, mainly in the form of Gothic Revival architecture. He was the son of George Goldie (arch ...

also played for Grimsby, as well as Motherwell. * James Sheridan played for Everton,

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

and the Irish national team.

References

External links

Photo of Junior cup-winning squad, 1896 (Ed Boyle Cambuslang Photos)
{{Defunct Scottish football clubs Defunct football clubs in Scotland Football clubs in Scotland Football in South Lanarkshire Scottish Junior Football Association clubs Cambuslang 1884 establishments in Scotland 1908 disestablishments in Scotland Irish diaspora sports clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1884 Association football clubs disestablished in 1908