Cowlairs F.C.
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Cowlairs Football Club was a 19th-century
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 from the
Cowlairs Cowlairs is an area in the Scottish city of Glasgow, part of the wider Springburn district of the city. It is situated north of the River Clyde, between central Springburn to the east and Possilpark to the west. Administratively, in the 21st ...
area 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 ...
in
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 ...
. The club were one of the founder members 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 ...
in 1890, and played at
Springvale Park Springvale Park was a football ground in the Cowlairs area of Glasgow, Scotland. It was the home ground of Cowlairs F.C. during their time in the Scottish Football League. History The ground was opened in 1890 when Cowlairs moved from Gourl ...
during their time in the league.


History

Cowlairs F.C. were formed in 1876 by craftsmen from the Hyde Park and
Cowlairs railway works Cowlairs Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Works, at Cowlairs in Springburn, an area in the north-east of Glasgow, Scotland, was built in 1841 for the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway and was taken over by the North British Railway (NBR) in 1865. It ...
in
Springburn Springburn ( gd, Allt an Fhuairainn) is an inner-city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, made up of generally working-class households. Springburn developed from a rural hamlet at the beginning of the 19th century. Its indu ...
, an area that was growing rapidly due to its importance to Glasgow's railway industry. In its early years, the club was a member of the Glasgow FAChapter XXV—Glasgow Association
History of the Queen's Park Football Club 1867 - 1917 (via Electric Scotland)
and was looked on as a junior club, at a time when "junior" clubs were simply smaller and of limited standing in the game, and prior to the establishment of a separate
Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...
grade of competition. The club entered the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1880–81, reaching the fourth round. By the latter part of the decade, Cowlairs' reputation was growing. In 1886–87 they entered the English
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
(which was open to Scottish clubs at this time), beating Darwen Old Wanderers in the first round and Rossendale in the second; Cowlairs beat the latter by a record away score of 10-2. As the competition was regional in the first few rounds, the Scottish teams that had won through were all within the same division, and Cowlairs were drawn to fellow Glaswegians Rangers in the third round, losing 3-2 at
Kinning Park Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It was formerly a separate police burgh between 1871 and 1905 before being absorbed by the city. In 1897, it had a population of 14,326.Govan Parish School Board, ''The Members' Year Book ...
, Cowlairs showing "dashing play, but unfortunately their play was not free from roughness". With the Scottish FA taking a dim view of Scots clubs playing English professional clubs, Cowlairs did not enter the FA Cup again. The club had players of sufficient standing in this period to have two of their number gain international recognition for
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 ...
: Tom McInnes, capped once in 1889, and John McPherson, who won two of his nine caps while at Cowlairs, in 1889 and 1890. Cowlairs was one of the clubs which together formed the Scottish League, but finished bottom of the table at the end of its first season, not helped by having four points deducted for fielding ineligible players. With the club also facing accusations of professionalism (which had yet to be legalised in Scottish football) following an inspection of clubs' books by the League, it was unsurprising that Cowlairs was unsuccessful in its re-election vote, losing out to Leith Athletic. Despite not being in any league competition the following season, the club enjoyed its longest
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
in the quarter-finals. Prior to the 1892–93 season, Cowlairs joined the Scottish Alliance, finishing as champions. Although they club failed to be elected back to the top flight of the Scottish League at the season's end, it was instead chosen to join the new Division Two for the 1893–94 season. Cowlairs were joined by relegated clubs
Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
and
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 ...
, Scottish Alliance League clubs
Thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...
,
Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...
,
Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
, Northern,
Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
and Port Glasgow Athletic, as well as Hibernian. Cowlairs lost 1–0 in the final of the 1894
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 ...
to Rangers. Cowlairs' return to League football started well, securing runners-up spot that season to Hibernian; however, the club were not promoted to Division One, missing out following a ballot to third-placed Clyde. They continued to be beset by financial and administrative problems, and after finishing bottom of Division Two in 1895–96, the club were again voted out of the league. They subsequently left Springvale Park and returned to Gourlay Park. The club closed down in 1896. Petershill Juniors were formed in summer 1897, just after Northern folded and a year after Cowlairs; due to the circumstances they could be seen as a successor representing the Springburn area, albeit their club history does not mention either club, only linking their formation to the demise of St Mungo's Juniors in the area.


Colours

Cowlairs utilised a wide variety of colour schemes in its short existence, including: * 1876 Light blue shirts, white shorts. * 1876–1880 White shirts, white shorts, black socks. * 1880–1886 Royal blue shirts, white shorts, red socks. * 1886–1887 Chocolate and light blue halved shirts, white shorts, chocolate socks with light blue trim. * 1888–1892 White shirts, dark blue shorts, dark blue socks. * 1892 Red shirts, white shorts. * 1893–1895 Red shirts, navy blue shorts, navy blue socks.


Ground

Cowlairs originally played at Gourlay Park, but upon joining the Scottish Football League, moved to
Springvale Park Springvale Park was a football ground in the Cowlairs area of Glasgow, Scotland. It was the home ground of Cowlairs F.C. during their time in the Scottish Football League. History The ground was opened in 1890 when Cowlairs moved from Gourl ...
. After leaving the league in 1895, they returned to Gourlay Park.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p221,


Honours

* Scottish Alliance League **Champions 1892–93 *
Glasgow North Eastern Cup The Glasgow North Eastern Cup was a senior competition organised by the North Eastern FA in Glasgow, and open to clubs in the East and North End of the city. 1881–82 season Matches Semi-final Final 1881-92 season 1882-83 season ...
**Winners 1883, 1884, 1886, 1888, 1889 * Glasgow Exhibition Cup **Winners 1888Glasgow Exhibition Trophy
at ''Scottish Football Historical Archive''


See also

* :Cowlairs F.C. players


References


Sources

*
Bob Crampsey Robert Anthony Crampsey (8 July 1930 – 27 July 2008) was a Scottish association football historian, author, broadcaster and teacher, described as a "much loved Scottish cultural institution" by ''The Times''. Early life and career Crampsey wa ...
(1990) ''The First 100 Years'', Scottish Football League *Dave Twydell (1993) ''Rejected FC Glasgow & District'', York Publishing *John Aitken (2013) ''The Scottish Football League 125'', Scottish Non League publishing


External links


Cowlairs
Historical Kits {{Scottish Football League Association football clubs established in 1876 Association football clubs disestablished in 1896 Defunct football clubs in Scotland Football clubs in Glasgow Scottish Football League teams Scottish Football League founder members 1876 establishments in Scotland 1896 disestablishments in Scotland Springburn Railway association football teams in Scotland