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
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 ...
, Scotland. The club was established in 1878 and joined 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 south ...
. Their biggest success came in winning the
1894–95 Scottish Cup
The 1894–95 Scottish Cup was the 22nd season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by St Bernard's when they beat Renton, 2-1, in the final.
Calendar
First round
*Match Declared Void
First round r ...
. They played at several different grounds before making the
Royal Gymnasium Ground
The Royal Gymnasium Ground was a football ground in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the home ground of St Bernard's for most of their existence.
History
The Royal Gymnasium Ground was built on the site of the Royal Patent Gymnasium in Royal Cresc ...
their long-term home. However, after having to sell it in 1943, the club was dissolved.
History
Early years
"St Bernard's" (with an apostrophe) were one of several rugby playing clubs in Edinburgh, with matches being reported back to 1876, another being United FC. United had taken to the Association code by March 1878 and later that year merged with the still-rugby playing St Bernard's club to form an association club. The oft-repeated claim of a link with 3rd ERV is spurious as only one of their members was associated with the new club. The famous St Bernard's Well sitting on the banks of the
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth.
Name
The name ''Leith'' may be of Britto ...
nearby was taken as the badge of the club.
Originally the club played at The Meadows along with Heart of Midlothian and later also Hibernian, before moving to their own ground, firstly at Powburn Park in Newington and then to John Hope's Park in Stockbridge, where its close proximity to the then playing fields of
Edinburgh Academy
The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...
helped them gain a following.
Joining ''The Gymmie''
In 1880 the club transferred to the grounds of the Royal Patent Gymnasium Grounds, affectionately known as the 'Gymmie'. First built in 1864 to cater for the growing Victorian passion for healthy recreation, the Gymnasium's centrepiece was a giant rotary boat seating up to 60 rowers, although it also provided equipment for stilts, quoits and bowls, and even ice-skating in winter.
When one of Saints' founding members, William Lapsley, took over as proprietor of the Gymnasium he opted to allow Saint Bernard's exclusive use of its football pitch. Lapsley was made Honorary President of Saints, and became the driving financial force behind the club. However, the ground proved too cramped for spectators and players alike, and St Bernard's played their games first at
Powderhall
Powderhall is an area lying between Broughton Road and Warriston Road in the north of Edinburgh, the Scotland, Scottish capital. Until recently it was best known for Powderhall Stadium, a greyhound racing track, which has now closed. The stadiu ...
from 1883 (later the ground for Leith Athletic), and then to nearby
New Logie Green
New Logie Green was a football ground in the Powderhall area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the home ground of St Bernard's from 1889 until 1899, and was also used to host the 1896 Scottish Cup final, the only time the Scottish Cup final has b ...
in 1889 (which had also been used before by Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian). After a year back at Powderhall in 1900, they returned to the Royal Gymnasium by 1901.
Entry into the Scottish League
The club was involved in the discussions that led to the formation 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 south ...
(SFL) in 1890. The club did not play in the
1890–91 Scottish Football League
The 1890–91 Scottish Football League was the first season of the Scottish Football League. It began on 16 August 1890 and concluded on 21 May 1891. The league was won jointly by Dumbarton and Rangers who ended the season with an equal number of ...
season, however, as they were not elected into membership by the other clubs. In September 1890, 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 ...
(SFA) expelled St Bernard's from membership for concealed
professionalism
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 skil ...
. Undaunted, the club members immediately formed another club called "Edinburgh Saints" and arranged to play a friendly against Renton. The SFA refused permission for the match to proceed, but the clubs went ahead regardless. This challenged the authority of the SFA, who expelled the two clubs from membership and suspended their players for the rest of the 1890–91 season.
After a year of playing exhibition matches all over Britain they were allowed to rejoin the SFA in 1892 and played in the non-league Scottish Alliance. A year later, St Bernard's applied to join the SFL and were admitted to the First Division. Remarkably, St Bernard's finished their first season in the SFL in third place, thrashing St Mirren 8–0 and beating both Hearts and Rangers in their own grounds in the process.
Scottish Cup Winners in 1895's 'Edinburgh Slam'
Come the summer of 1895, all three Edinburgh clubs were enjoying what was at that point their finest hours. Heart of Midlothian won the Scottish League for the first time, the resurrected Hibernian had won the Second Division and promotion, whilst St Bernard's had won the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Renton side (only two of their players were over 20 years old) in the final 2–1 at Ibrox on 20 April 1895. Strangely, it was Honorary President William Lapsley (who'd insisted that the team drank from the St Bernard's Well before going to the match) rather than club captain
George Murdoch
George Murdoch (April 29, 1850 – February 2, 1910) was a Canadian politician, Alberta pioneer, saddle-maker, and the first mayor of Calgary, Alberta.
Early life
George Murdoch was born in Paisley, Scotland, on April 29, 1850, and at the age o ...
who collected and lifted the trophy before the 12,000 strong crowd — a larger one greeting the team when they returned to Edinburgh's
Waverley Station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station (also known simply as Waverley; gd, Waverley Dhùn Èideann) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. It is the north ...
later that day.
Their only other cup successes of note thereafter were winning the
Scottish Qualifying Cup
The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup w ...
in 1908 and 1915.
Eclipse
However, despite the excellent facilities the Gymnasium provided for training, the dominance of Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian in the city was already beginning to tell. St Bernard's had a notably smaller band of regular followers, although some Hearts and Hibs fans would elect to go to a St Bernard's match if their own favourites were playing away. Their lower gates meant less money for wages, and so they were unable to prevent English clubs snapping up their best players. When the club reached the cup semi-final in
1896
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
* January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
* January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...
, losing 1–0 to Hearts, just five of the cup winning team were left in the line-up. Ironically, St Bernard's went on to host the 1896 Scottish Cup Final. With the other finalist being Hibernian, the SFA allowed the match to be played at
New Logie Green
New Logie Green was a football ground in the Powderhall area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the home ground of St Bernard's from 1889 until 1899, and was also used to host the 1896 Scottish Cup final, the only time the Scottish Cup final has b ...
, the only time the
Scottish Cup Final
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in Scotland, Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the ...
has been held outside Glasgow.
In 1900, the club was relegated to the Second Division after losing a test match to St Mirren. Although St Bernard's won the Second Division at the first attempt, they were not elected to the First Division by the other clubs. The decisive disaster for the club came in 1903, when their financial benefactor William Lapsley was killed when his cab crashed after the horse bolted. In 1907 they won the Second Division again, but failed to gain election once again. In 1915, the club finished joint top once more along with
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 Leith Athletic, but again lost out in two test matches (neither of whom were promoted in any case).
The post war years
In 1916, the club was mothballed as the Royal Gymnasium was used by the War Department, when they were given it back the pitch was destroyed and the ground damaged: it took until 1922 and a protracted legal battle for inadequate compensation to be paid, and not until 15 November 1924 that the Royal Gymnasium was fit to play in again. In the meantime, the club took over Old Logie Green from Leith Athletic.
Furthermore, the Scottish League refused initially to have them back. Joining the rebel "Central League" (made up of other debarred sides or those objecting to the lack of automatic promotion/relegation between the two divisions), St Bernard's became part of the new Second Division when the Scottish League capitulated to its rival in 1921. Much of the credit for St Bernard's resurrection during this period must go to Tom "Brandon" Ross, who doubled as trainer & groundsman, and was the winner of the annual Powderhall
New Year Sprint
The New Year Sprint (formerly the Powderhall Sprint) is the name of a handicap sprint race for professional athletes that takes place each year in Scotland. The sprint is one of the original events of this type, tracing its history back to 1870 ...
aged 46. But there also came unexpected help from Heart of Midlothian, who allowed St Bernard's to play at Tynecastle during this time. In 1931, a former Hearts player even donated maroon socks for the club's kit!
During the Depression, St Bernard's showed remarkable innovation in providing unemployed players with jobs whether in the Royal Gymnasium or with firms owned by the company's directors: resulting in them gaining talent that otherwise may have gone elsewhere or left football altogether. In 1928, they gained the remarkable goalkeeping talent of Edinburgh University Divinity student
Leonard Small
Robert Leonard Small, (12 May 1905 – 8 April 1994), known as Leonard Small, was a senior Church of Scotland minister and author. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Moderator of the General Assembly from 1 ...
. Nicknamed "The Holy Goalie", he was later forced to give up the game by Church authorities: in later years he was appointed an OBE and became Moderator of the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
in 1966.
The final years
Just as St Bernard's shared a similar genesis to that of Third Lanark, there were a number of similarities in the years leading up to the clubs' demise.
In 1934–35, although still in the Second Division, St Bernard's had become a force to be reckoned with by bucking against the trend in football and concentrating on attacking football. Although this came at the expense of losing goals, it provided an exciting (and thus crowd drawing) spectacle — an idea later used successfully by George "Corky" Young at Third Lanark in the 1960s. St Bernard's missed promotion by only three points, but scored 100 goals in the process — a feat they were to repeat the next two seasons as well. In
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
they reached the Scottish Cup semi finals, losing to eventual winners East Fife after a second replay. There was a crowd of 35,264 at
Tynecastle Park
Tynecastle Park is a football stadium in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, which is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Heart of Midlothian (Hearts). It has also hosted Scotland international matches, and been used as a ...
— the largest ever attendance to watch a St Bernard's match.
When the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
began, the Scottish League was reorganised into regional leagues. At first this suited St Bernard's as they were able to enjoy matches with local rivals Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian. However, the league was shut down at the behest of
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 ...
when it was decided to put Hearts and Hibs into the same region as Celtic and Rangers. When the Eastern league was resurrected in 1942, both St Bernard's and Leith Athletic were barred from 1943 after a poor season. Their last match was on 16 May 1942, a 3–2 home defeat to East Fife. With no league to play in, it was decided to "mothball" the club until the war's close, as many other Scottish clubs had done at this time.
Disaster however stuck when one of the directors — a coal merchant called Cooper — died later that year, and the Executors of his Will demanded the immediate repayment of a loan he'd given the club. With no means of income, the club was forced to sell the only asset it had — the Royal Gymnasium ground — leaving St Bernard's destitute.
The club was entered for the Scottish Qualifying Cup in 1946 – a gambit
Abercorn
Abercorn (Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a p ...
had adopted under similar circumstances in 1920 – but the game never took place. The club sold their 1,200 seater stand to Leith Athletic. St Bernard's hoped that they would be allowed to play at their ground until they could find themselves a new venue, but once the stand was acquired Leith Athletic promptly refused. The St Bernard's Supporters Club started a successful boys club in 1947, but all other attempts to resurrect the club failed, and in 1951 the St Bernard's Supporters Club voted to disband and its funds to be used to provide an annual competition — the St Bernard's Cup — for local primary schools in the Edinburgh area.
Both the St Bernard's Cup and the St Bernard's Boys Club continue to this day, there has also been forays by St Bernard's into running sides in various local amateur leagues. In the 2017/18 season, the Saturday amateur team won the East of Scotland cup, one of the most prestigious trophies in the amateur game.
Internationals
Eight St Bernard's players were chosen to represent
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 ...
between 1887 and 1897. The club's international players were as follows:
* William Baird
* Bob Foyers
*
James Hutton
James Hutton (; 3 June O.S.172614 June 1726 New Style. – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern geology, he played a key role i ...
James McMillan James (or Jim or Jimmy) McMillan or MacMillan may refer to:
Sportspeople
* James McMillan (footballer, born c. 1866) (c. 1866–?), played for Sunderland
* James McMillan (footballer, born 1869) (1869–1937), played for Scotland,Everton and St B ...
Daniel Paton
Daniel John Ferguson Paton (3 December 1871 – 9 August 1957) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa. He made one appearance for Scotland in 1896 while playing club football for St Bernard's in Edinburgh, ...
Colours
The team played in a number of kits, including all blue, white with blue shorts, the "Rosebery" colours (pink and gold hoops), and blue and white hoops. The current boys and amateur club use all four for each of their teams.
Honours
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1894–95
Scottish Football League Division Two
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cult ...
1906–07
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
Scottish Qualifying Cup
The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup w ...
Rosebery Charity Cup
The Rosebery Charity Cup was a football competition organised for senior clubs from the East of Scotland.
History
The tournament was organised by and named for an early patron of Scottish football Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and ...
* Winners: 1907–08, 1914–15, 1930–31, 1937–38
Dunedin CupDunedin Cup Scottish Football Historical Archive, 18 June 2020
* Winners: 1909–10