Glenbuck Cherrypickers Football Club was a
football team in the village of
Glenbuck
Glenbuck ( gd, Gleann Buic) is a small, remote village in East Ayrshire. It is nestled in the hills east of Muirkirk, East Ayrshire, Scotland.
Glenbuck Loch
The site of the village was slightly to the north-west of Glenbuck "Loch", on the Riv ...
in
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquar ...
, a district of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
The Glenbuck Cherrypickers were notable for the high number of professional footballers that they produced, despite only existing for around fifty years. Between their creation in the early 1870s, and their demise in 1931, the team produced some fifty professional footballers. This is despite their home – the mining village of Glenbuck – having a population of around 1,000.
Club history
The club started its existence in the early 1870s as Glenbuck Athletic, founded by Edward and William Bone, with a strip of white jersey and black shorts. The name "Cherrypickers" is of obscure origin, beginning as a nickname in the first years of the 20th century, but may have derived from local men from Glenbuck or
Muirkirk
Muirkirk ( gd, Eaglais an t-Slèibh) is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70.
Conservation
The Muirkirk & North Lowther Uplands Specia ...
serving in the
11th Hussars (The "Cherry Pickers") in the
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
. Another possible source was the fact that almost all of the men associated with the club, players and officials, worked in the local pits where one of the jobs was sorting the good coal from stones and other material as it passed on a conveyor belt. The lumps of good coal had to be picked out and the workers who performed that task were known as cherry-pickers.
The club won the first three Ayrshire Junior Cup competitions in 1889-90, 1890–91 and 1891-92.
The club's last entire season was 1930–31,
The South Ayrshire Junior League 1920-1932
James McAuley, via Scottish Football Historical Archive and it folded following the closure of the town's coal pit, which was almost the sole source of local employment. The town of Glenbuck itself was abandoned thereafter, and no longer exists.
International honours
Seven players from Glenbuck were chosen to play at an international level for Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
: Willie Muir (vs Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in 1907); Sandy Brown (vs 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 ...
in 1902 and 1904); George Halley
George Halley (29 October 1887 – 18 December 1941) was a Scottish professional footballer who made 220 appearances as a right half in the Football League for Burnley, Bradford (Park Avenue) and Southend United. He also played in the Scotti ...
(Scottish League vs Football League in 1910); Johnny Crosbie (vs Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
in 1920 and 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 ...
in 1922); Bob Shankly
Robert Fleming Blyth Shankly (25 February 1910 – 5 May 1982) was a professional football player and manager from the village of Glenbuck in Ayrshire, Scotland. He was the elder brother to Bill Shankly the former Liverpool manager.
Bob Shankl ...
(vs Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
in 1938); Bill Shankly (capped thirteen times between 1938 and 1943). Alex McConnell was selected in a squad in 1897 to play against 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 ...
, but signed for an English team, Everton, two days later; at the time, this made him ineligible to represent Scotland.
Notable players
The club is associated with Bill Shankly, although it closed before he played a game for the Cherrypickers' 1st XI. Shankly went on to captain Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
in 1942, and is best known as the manager of 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 populat ...
. All four of Shankly's older brothers appeared for Glenbuck, and each went on to play professional football in Scotland or England. One, Bob Shankly
Robert Fleming Blyth Shankly (25 February 1910 – 5 May 1982) was a professional football player and manager from the village of Glenbuck in Ayrshire, Scotland. He was the elder brother to Bill Shankly the former Liverpool manager.
Bob Shankl ...
, also managed at a professional level at several clubs, including Dundee, whom he took to the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1962–63.
Sandy Tait
Alexander Gilchrist Tait (3 December 1871 – 6 April 1949) was a Scottish professional footballer who played full back for teams including Glenburn Athletic, Ayr, Royal Albert F.C., Rangers, Motherwell, Preston North End, Tottenham Hotspur, L ...
and Sandy Brown both played for Glenbuck before going on to play for Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
, with whom they won the English FA Cup in 1901.
The five Knox brothers – Hugh, Alec, Tom, William and Peter – played together extremely successfully as a team in five-a-side tournaments. Their most successful season saw them win all but one of the 41 tournaments that they entered. The usual prize in these tournaments was a barometer or a clock, and they amassed so many that they would often simply hand them to friends on the touchline as gifts rather than carry them home.
Bob Blyth, uncle to the Shankly brothers played for Rangers, Preston North End and Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, before becoming manager of Portsmouth in 1901, guiding them to the 1901–02 Southern League title.
References
External links
Links to documents about Cherrypickers on www.ayrshirehistory.com
Sources
Scottish Football Historical Archive
{{Defunct Scottish football clubs
Defunct football clubs in Scotland
Association football clubs disestablished in 1931
Football in East Ayrshire
Scottish Junior Football Association clubs