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
Armadale, West Lothian
Armadale ( sco, Airmadale, gd, Armadal) is a town within the county of West Lothian in the Central Belt of Scotland. It lies to the west of Bathgate and to the east of Blackridge. Armadale, formerly known as Barbauchlaw, is an ex-mining town wh ...
in Scotland. The club was a member 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 ...
The club was formed in 1910 and played in the Eastern Football Alliance before joining the
Central Football League
There have been at least three competitions in Scotland known as the Central Football League
The first was originally formed in 1896 by five clubs - Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, Fair City Athletic, Kirkcaldy and St Johnstone. In 1897 this v ...
in 1911. It became one of the strongest teams in this competition, winning the Central League in both 1913–14 and 1914–15. The club went on to play in the Eastern Football League, winning that competition in 1915–16, before returning to the Central League.
Football became very popular in the
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
mining towns in the period after 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 ...
. Armadale was established as a strong side: having lost narrowly to eventual winners
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. ...
at the quarter-final stage of the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1919–20, they took the runners-up of that year,
Albion Rovers
Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...
, to a third replay in the 1920–21 competition.
Armadale was admitted to the newly expanded
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
in 1921, following the absorption of the Central League. The club performed well in its first season, finishing in third place. This was not to last and Armadale consistently finished in the bottom three positions. Struggling for income at a time of high unemployment, the club suggested allowing a reduced rate of 6d for the unemployed to enter matches, but the plan was vetoed by the League.Crampsey, p85 The club's form on the pitch was weak as well, with a league game against
Arthurlie
Arthurlie is an area of the town of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Scotland.
History of Arthurlie
The lands of Arthurlie were held in medieval times by the Stewart family, a branch of the noble Stewarts of Darnley. Later the lands became the prop ...
on 1 October 1927 seeing Owen McNally set a Scottish League record (since equalled) of scoring eight goals in a match.
To generate revenue, Armadale used Volunteer Park for
greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...
.Crampsey, p94 The League management committee issued guidance that greyhound racing tracks should not interfere with the football pitch. League officials found that the racing track covered all of the Volunteer Park pitch. The League ordered the club to cease greyhound racing, which had become their greatest source of income.Crampsey, p95
In November 1932, with the club owing
Raith Rovers F.C.
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football L ...
the compulsory £50 guarantee for the 19 November fixture (which only attracted a crowd of 300), Armadale proposed issuing I.O.U. notes for each visiting club, redeemed against the guarantees in turn owed to Armadale. This did not meet with any sympathy and the club told that, unless it paid the £50 to Raith by 4pm on 24 November, it would be expelled. The club did not do so and, despite an offer of £30 to Raith, was duly thrown out of the League; an appeal against expulsion did not proceed. The club's record of 1 win, 2 draws, and 14 defeats in the 1932–33 season - which left the club six points adrift at the bottom of the League - was expunged. Armadale was the second club expelled that season, after Bo'ness F.C. The club soon disappeared, replaced in the town by junior club Armadale Thistle.
Full league record
Key: Pld = Games played; W = games won; D = games drew; L = games lost; F = goals scored (for); A = goals conceded (against); Pts = points (2 for a win, 1 for a draw); Pos = final position in the table.
Note: Armadale did not complete the 1932–33 season and their results were expunged from the records.