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 ...
team, based in the
Pollokshields
Pollokshields ( gd, Buthan Phollaig, Scots: ''Powkshiels'') is an area in the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. Its modern boundaries are largely man-made, being formed by the M77 motorway to the west and northwest with the open land of Pollok C ...
district of
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 ...
(at the time a separate
burgh
A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...
).
History
The club was founded in 1875, originally as a
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
club, and was playing
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
by 1877. The club first entered the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1877–78, losing 3–0 at
Northern F.C.
Northern Football Club was a football club based at Hyde Park in the Springburn area of Glasgow, Scotland. The club was a founder member of Scottish Football League Division Two, but left after a single season.
History
The club was formed in ...
in the first round. The following season the club drew twice with
Whiteinch F.C.
Whiteinch Football Club was a Association football, football club based in the burgh of Whiteinch (now part of the city of Glasgow), Scotland.
History
The club was formed in 1874. It was not a large or prestigious side; by 1877, its closest riv ...
in the first round, and both clubs were put through to the second; Shields were drawn at home to
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 ...
and lost heavily.
However, in 1879–80, the club reached the semi-finals for the first time, after beating Oxford F.C., Dennistoun F.C., Northern F.C.,
Renfrew F.C.
Renfrew Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Renfrew. Formed on 6 May 1912, they play in the . The ''Frew'' wear a home shirt of blue and white stripes
Current squad
History
Renfrew formed i ...
, and winning 4–0 at
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 ...
. The club was favoured to beat Thornliebank F.C. in the semi-final, but neutral venues were not used at that time, and the draw had the match played at Thornliebank's ground. The home advantage proved decisive; although Shields took the lead, and generally dominated the game, the ground was "hard as iron, rendering dribbling an impossibility", and the home side scored two late goals to reach the final.
Despite recruitment for the following season, Athletic's form fell away, and the club was unable to entice English clubs for friendly matches. It did not win another Scottish Cup tie until 1882–83, when the club again miraculously reached the semi-finals; the standout result being a 5–2 replay win over the Third L.R.V. in the quarter-finals, having been 2–0 down before half-time.
The run ended against eventual winners
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 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 ...
, in front of 7,000 people, ending 1–0 to the Dumbarton club, but the goal was heavily disputed; Dumbarton claimed to have put the ball over the line in a scrimmage, and "after considerable hesitation" the goal was given, but "there were not many on the field who thought a goal had been scored, and the decision was not well received". Shields put in a protest, and Dumbarton agreed to a re-play, provided the match take place at Dumbarton's
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 ...
ground. With home advantage, Dumbarton won with ease.
The following season, one of the club's players, Woodville Gray, was called up for the Scotland international match with Wales, but had to withdraw. Had Gray played, he would have been Scotland's youngest-ever cap, not having had his 18th birthday at the time. Gray's one cap came before he was 20.
The club was a founder member of the
Glasgow Football Association
Founded in 1883, the Glasgow Football Association, based in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and affiliated to the national Scottish Football Association, is one of the oldest such bodies in football. In the modern game its influence is limited, th ...
the following seasonChapter XXV—Glasgow Association History of the Queen's Park Football Club 1867 - 1917 (via Electric Scotland) and played in the first two editions of 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 ...
in 1887 and 1888. Shields were competitive in the Scottish Cup for the next few seasons, a highlight being a 4–1 defeat of Dumbarton "to the surprise of the spectators", coming from 1-0 down, in 1884–85, but after that season the club did not get past the second round again. In 1886–87, the club was drawn to play St Andrew's, a local rival which used the Shields' former ground at Lorne Park, and won 5–2. However St Andrew's put in a successful protest (on the basis that the pitch markings had not been properly chalked out) and won the replayed tie - at Lorne Park - 4–1.
The club's last Scottish Cup match was in the first round of the Scottish Cup in 1888–89, when it lost to the United Abstainers F.C. side from
Crosshill Cross Hill or Crosshill may refer to:
Places
* Cross Hill, Cornwall, England
*Cross Hill, Derbyshire, England
* Cross Hill, Gloucestershire, England
* Cross Hill, South Carolina, USA
* Crosshill, East Ayrshire, Scotland
*Crosshill, Fife, Scotland
* ...
- the only win the Abstainers ever recorded in four entries. On 6 October 1888 the club lost 7–1 at home to
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...
in the Glasgow Cup. They were the last competitive matches of the Pollokshields club. By December, it had been taken over by fellow south Glasgow amateur side
Battlefield F.C.
Battlefield Football Club, often referred to as The Battlefield, was a 19th-century football club based in Langside, in Glasgow. The club took its name from the site of the Battle of Langside in 1568.
History
The club's foundation was inspired ...
.
The name was revived in 1892 by a junior club which lasted two seasons.
Colours
The club played in white shirts, navy blue shorts. From 1877 to 1884 the shirt bore a red and black badge, and from 1884 to 1887 a red, white, and black sash over the left shoulder.
Grounds
For its first two seasons, the club played at Prince's Park; in 1877-78, the club used Lorne Park. From 1878 onwards the club played at Pollok Park, near
Haggs Castle
Haggs Castle is a 16th-century tower house, located in the neighbourhood of Pollokshields, in Glasgow, Scotland. The richly decorated building was restored in the 19th century, and today is once more occupied as a residence.
History
The carved s ...
.
Notable players
Three players won international caps for Scotland when at Shields:
* Frank Shaw (2 caps, 1884)
* Willie Turner (2 caps and 1 goal, 1885 and 1886)
* Woodville Gray (1 cap, 1886)