Hurlford Football Club 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 that existed from 1875 to 1924, from the village of

Hurlford Hurlford (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile Àtha Cliath'') is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 4,968. Hurlford's former names include Whirlford and Hurdleford. The village was named Whirlford as a result of a ford crossing ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, Scotland.

History

The club was founded in 1875. The club was one of the strongest in Ayrshire in the pre-professional period, but, in common with fellow village clubs like

Annbank F.C. Annbank Football Club was a football club that existed from 1879 to 1920, from the village of Annbank, Ayrshire, Scotland. History The club was founded in 1879. In 1880, the club played its first competitive matches in the Ayrshire Cup, goin ...

and

Mauchline F.C. Mauchline Football Club was a senior football team based in the small town of Mauchline in East Ayrshire. History The club was founded in 1873. Its first match against another side was in February 1874, against Ayr Academy F.C., Ayr Academy. ...

, the club found that the arrival of the

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 ...

and the legalization of professionalism meant that it could not compete with those from the larger towns of

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. ...

and

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 ...

Scottish Cup

The club entered the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1877–78, although did not win a tie for two years; when it finally did so, in 1879–80, the club reached the last 13, but had the misfortune to be drawn against

Queen's Park F.C. Queen's Park Football Club is a Scottish professional association football, football club based in Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish football pyramid. Queen's Park is the Oldest footba ...

, at the time the strongest side in the country. The game, at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

, ended 15–1 to the home side, Hurlford's goal coming late on from the only attack it had all match; the blame was put on players leaving their positions to join in futile attacks and getting caught on the break, and that the goalkeeper "seemed to fear instead of being anxious to repel the approach of the ball". The club's 1885–86 second round tie with

Kilmarnock F.C. Kilmarnock Football Club, commonly known as Killie, is a Scottish professional football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire. The team is currently managed by Derek McInnes, who was appointed in January 2022. The club has achieve ...

went to four replays before Hurlford finally won through, with a surprisingly easy 5–1 win at

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for con ...

, only to lose 5–0 to

Arthurlie F.C. Arthurlie Football Club are a Scottish football club from Barrhead, East Renfrewshire. Based at Dunterlie Park, they play in the West of Scotland Football League. The club played in the Scottish Football League in two spells, 1901 to 1915 and ...

in the third round. The club's best season came in 1886–87. The club reached the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup for the only time. Drawn against

Dumbarton F.C. Dumbarton Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Dumbarton, Scotland. Founded on 23 December 1872, they are one of the oldest football clubs in Scotland. The club plays home games at the Dumbarton Football Stadium next to Dumbar ...

, the original tie at Station Park ended in a goalless draw, with Dumbarton playing under protest because of the state of the pitch. The replay at

Boghead Boghead is a small village in South Lanarkshire, west central Scotland. It is about southeast of Glasgow and sits nearby to the River Nethan and Avon Water. Boghead is a residential area, with working residents commuting to nearby villages and ...

was played after a heavy snowfall, cleared from the pitch by the local unemployed, but the ground remained slippery, and, although the match went ahead, Dumbarton again only did so under protest. Hurlford came from behind to win 2–1, but despite evidence "pro and con" the protest, a Scottish FA committee unanimously favoured the bigger club, to the extent that they ordered the second replay to take place again at Boghead. Hurlford did not even receive any gate money from the tie as Dumbarton claimed it had all been spent on clearing the ground. In the second replay, Hurlford took the lead after 50 minutes, but within two minutes were behind, and ultimately lost 3–1. Hurlford did put in a counter-protest but the Scottish FA conveniently postponed the hearing until after the semi-final, which Dumbarton won, so the protest was dismissed by 14 votes to 4. Nevertheless, many neutrals had "doubts as to whether justice had been fairly dealt to the Ayrshire men". The club's main highlight afterwards was a 7–0 first round win over Ayr F.C. in 1888, although this was due to Ayr fielding a 'scratch' team, with the first XI playing a more lucrative friendly in England; after 1891, the club struggled to get through the qualifying rounds. The club continued to enter the Cup until 1922–23, its final tie being a 4–0 defeat at eventual winners

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 ...

in the second round, Joe Cassidy scoring all four goals and missing a penalty.

Local successes

The club reached the

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 t ...

final every season bar two from 1883 to 1894, although the club only won three finals in that period. The first win was in 1887, the "hardy tykes" of Hurlford - the club known for having smaller, faster players - beating the "rather brilliant but comparatively new" Kilbirnie F.C. at Rugby Park, with two goals from William Scobie and two from Johnny M'Knight. Kilbirnie gained revenge the following season, at the same venue, helped by having the majority of the crowd behind it, but in 1889 the club beat

Ayr F.C. Ayr Football Club was a Scottish Football League club from Ayr, Scotland. They were formed in 1879 by a merger of the Ayr Thistle F.C., Ayr Thistle and Ayr Academicals F.C., Ayr Academicals football clubs. Their initial home ground was Springva ...

(again at Rugby Park), having beaten

in the semi-final (after two replays). The win was considered a surprise, Ayr's "dark-shirted" side having a weight advantage over the "flash-coloured men" (averaging over 11 stone per player, compared to Hurlford's ten), and Hurlford missing players through injury, but Hurlford showed greater teamwork and first-half goals from Minford or M'Knight - both went up for a header together - and Goudie clinched the trophy. The club's third triumph came in 1894, beating Saltcoats Victoria F.C. 2–1 at Holm Quarry in front of 5,000 spectators, but in the 20th century the competition lost its lustre, as the Scottish League teams started to enter reserve sides instead.

Leagues

Although the

Ayrshire Football League Ayrshire Football League is a defunct soccer league in Scotland. Formed in 1891 by Annbank, Ayr Parkhouse, Beith, Galston, Irvine, Kilwinning Monkcastle, Mauchline, Newmilns, Saltcoats Victoria and Stevenston Thistle F.C. By 1893 the Ayrshire F ...

was founded in 1891–92, Hurlford joined a league which covered the Scottish south-west, the Scottish Football Federation, instead. This was a competition of some quality, with 6 of its initial 12 clubs eventually joining the Scottish League, and Hurlford finished 3rd overall. However, the decision proved financially disastrous, with low crowds and high expenses, so, after one season, Hurlford withdrew. The club applied to join the

Scottish Football Alliance The Scottish Football Alliance was a football league football structure set up in Scotland in competition with the Scottish Football League. Its success in the early years of professional football in both England and Scotland made Alliance the bas ...

, which had two vacancies, but was one of seven clubs which lost out in the ballot. Instead the club joined the Ayrshire League for 1892–93. Hurlford finished 3rd out of 12 clubs, but for 1893–94 seven of the stronger clubs (including Hurlford) founded a new league, the

Ayrshire Football Combination The Ayrshire Football Combination was formed in 1893 as a breakaway from the Ayrshire Football League.

. Hurlford again finished 3rd, between

and

, but by 1897 both of those clubs had joined the Scottish League and the Ayrshire Combination was fell into disarray. The final season (1896–97) saw a number of fixtures not completed, with the championship to be decided between

Ayr Parkhouse F.C. Ayr Parkhouse Football Club were a football club from the town of Ayr in Scotland. The club was a member of the Scottish Football League until 1910, when they merged with neighbours Ayr to form Ayr United. History Ayr Parkhouse were formed ...

and Hurlford. The game that would decide the title should have taken place on 11 May 1897, being the replay of a fixture abandoned the previous November, with Parkhouse leading Hurlford 5–0 when bad light interfered; however Hurlford did not attend the replay and Parkhouse took the title. It took a decade for the club to find another league in which to play; the Ayrshire & Renfrewshire League, in 1904–05, but the club only played two matches (winning both) before the league fell apart. In 1906, the club joined 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 formed ...

, and, after an abortive second season in which the club withdrew after 2 matches, it remained a member until the league collapsed in 1911. For 1912–13, the club joined the

Scottish Football Union The Scottish Football Union was a football league competition that existed from 1906 till the outbreak of the First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global confl ...

, in which the club remained until

World War One 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 ...

. After the War, in 1919–20, with the Union defunct, the club joined the West of Scotland League, albeit it finished bottom in three of the next four seasons; a measure of the club's standing is that, in 1921–22, with its match at home to

Dykehead F.C. Dykehead Football Club was a football club based in the Dykehead area of Shotts, playing their home games at Parkside.D. Pickering, ''The Cassell Soccer Companion'', London: Cassell, 1995, p. 98 The club were members of the Scottish Football Lea ...

unplayed, and Dykehead needing 2 points for the title, the League committee simply handed the trophy to Dykehead rather than make the clubs play out the match.

End of the club

The club finished bottom of the league in 1922–23, albeit a handful of fixtures remained unplayed, and the club was more or less level with

Solway Star F.C. Solway Star Football Club were a football club based in Annan, Scotland, playing their home games at Kimmeter Park Green.D. Pickering, ''The Cassell Soccer Companion'', London: Cassell, 1995, p. 294 The club were members of the Scottish Footbal ...

and a Queen's Park reserve side. At the end of the season, the Scottish League resolved to form a third division, and the clubs in the West of Scotland League were all invited; the only two clubs which did not decide to join were the Queen's Park side and Hurlford, who did not reply to the invitation, suggesting the club had wound up at the close of the season. The club remained members of the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

until August 1924, when the SFA struck Hurlford from the membership list.

Colours

The club's colours were as follows: The club played an Ayr Charity Cup tie against Mauchline in February 1885 wearing all white, while Mauchline wore its "old s in traditionalcolours of blue and white stripes", suggesting that Hurlford was wearing a change kit.

Grounds

The club played at a number of grounds in its early years: * 1875–78: Mauchline Road * 1878–80: Blair Park * 1880–82: Struthens Park * 1882–86: Drumbiehill Park * 1886–88: Corsehill Park In 1888, the club moved to the "splendid" Station Park, which became the club's permanent home.

Honours

Scottish Cup *Best run: last 8, 1886–87 Ayrshire Cup *Winners: 1886–87, 1888–89, 1893–94, 1906–07, 1908–09, 1910–11 *Runners-up: 1883–84, 1884–85, 1887–88, 1889–90, 1890–91, 1891–92, 1911–12 Ayr Charity Cup *Runners-up: 1890–91, 1912–13 Ayrshire Combination *Runners-up: 1896–97

Notable players

* Archie Goldie, often spelt "Goudie", who played up front for Hurlford, but became a defender for

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

and Small Heath F.C.

References

External links

Ayrshire Cup results
{{Defunct Scottish football clubs Football in East Ayrshire Defunct football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1875 Association football clubs disestablished in 1924 1875 establishments in Scotland 1924 disestablishments in Scotland