Peebles Rovers Football Club is a Scottish football club based in
Peebles
Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...
, Scottish Borders. Originally founded in 1888 as Greenside Rovers, the club changed their name to Peebles Rovers in the May of 1890. This is at odds with the official date of 1893 which appears to be based upon what was written in a newspaper article in 1947. They play their home matches at Whitestone Park. The club are members of the East of Scotland Football League, in the seventh tier of the
Scottish football league system
The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs.
The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gr ...
Scottish Football League Third Division
The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013.
History
The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fr ...
between 1923 and 1926, and had only a modest record – finishing 14th and 8th in the two full seasons played, and were 14th in the unfinished 1925–26 season. All told, Peebles Rovers played 86 Scottish Football League matches, winning 28, drawing 15 and losing 43. They scored 159 goals and conceded 190. Their record victory at their Whitestone Park home was 7–1 against Beith on 18 April 1925. Their best away win was 5–2 away against Galston, seven days previously on 11 April 1925. In 1937 Peebles Rovers moved from their traditional home in Victoria Park to Whitestone park, after a local businessman successfully managed to acquire planning rights to the eastern end of Victoria Park, intending substantial development that was subsequently curtailed due to the start of World War II.
Peebles Rovers themselves were active long before the Third Division, being formed in 1888 and have played in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1907–08, when they lost 4–0 away to Celtic. In their first 11 appearances, they were drawn away from home on each and every occasion, spanning 19 ties in all. They managed to win three of these and draw two, including holding Hibernian to a 0–0 draw at
Easter Road
Easter Road is a association football, football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity ...
in
1923
Events
January–February
* January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory).
* January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
– easily their best result in the competition. In this season, Paddy McBoyle starred as top scorer with a total of 27 league goals.
Other than a replay win over St Cuthbert's Wanderers, they did not have a home tie until beating
Keith
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...
7–3 in
1926
Events January
* January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece.
* January 8
**Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...
. They drew away to Albion Rovers in the next round, before losing the replay. They also drew with their
Coatbridge
Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbrid ...
namesakes in
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
, and again lost the replay.
The
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
before that, they were involved in a marathon tie with
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...
. There was a 1–1 draw away, 4–4 at home after extra time, 0–0 in a second replay at Easter Road, again after extra time and finally losing 6–2 in a third replay, at Tannadice.
After that they took some serious hammerings, losing 10–0 away to St Mirren in
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
, 6–1 at home against
Ayr United
Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...
the next
year
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
. Joe Baker scored nine that day and his brother Gerry grabbed four in the earlier debacle at
Love Street
"Love Street" is a song performed by the American rock band the Doors. Sequenced as the second album track on '' Waiting for the Sun'', its lyrics were written by lead singer Jim Morrison and as with other songs, it was dedicated to his girlfrien ...
. During the 1959–1960 season, there was a record 23–2 defeat at the hands of Partick Thistle.
Their final appearance was better though, in 1965–66, they drew 2–2 at
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
and took the Sons to extra time in the replay before losing 3–2. After the match both sides celebrated the match as an exemplar of what football could be.
Their greatest moment in the Qualifying Cup (South) came in the 1953–54 competition, when they defeated Shawfield Amateurs 6–1, Burntisland Shipyard 7–0, Selkirk 4–2 (all at home) and
Coldstream
Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army.
Description
Coldstream l ...
4–1 after a 1–1 draw away to reach the final. Latterly the club is only an associate member of the Scottish Football Association due to the inadequate facilities at Whitestone Park, thus becoming ineligible to compete in the Scottish Cup.
While Peebles Rovers won many minor and local competitions, the highest level they played at, the Third Division apart, is the East of Scotland League, which they won on six occasions – 1928–29, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36 and 1945–46.
In the 1966–67, Rovers joined the
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 football and entered a period of decline, until they rejoined the senior ranks in the East of Scotland League in 1980–81. When that set-up was altered to two divisions in the late-1980s, they found themselves in the second tier, and during this period endured a prolonged period of financial hardship resulting in several members of the squad volunteering in the local town to make ends meet. Although they won promotion several times, their stays in the Premier were of short duration. In the 2007–08 season, Peebles won promotion to the East of Scotland Premier Division, but were relegated back to the First Division in the 2010–11 season.
Largest crowds to watch them have been 14,000 and 10,453, both at Easter Road in the Scottish Cup in 1923 and 1961. The record gate at Whitestone Park is recorded as 1,750 for the 4–2 first round Scottish Cup win over Gala Fairydean in
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
.
Michael Wilson was named the club's new manager in April 2020. Wilson was joined in December 2020 by Colin Macdonald, a local businessman who accepted the role of Club Chairman. Following a poor start to the 2022/23 season, Wilson joined Vale of Leithen, leaving the way clear for Ger Rossi to return as manager for a second spell after a successful period with the club a few years earlier.
Honours
East of Scotland Football League
* Winners: 1928–29, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1945–46
* ''Runners-up:'' 1938–39, 1948–49, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1963–64
East of Scotland Football League First Division
* Winners: 1988–89, 1997–98, 2014–15
* ''Runners-up:'' 2001–02, 2007–08
King Cup
* Winners: 1907–08, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1961–62, 1962–63, 2014–15
Alex Jack Cup
*Winners: 1999–00
*''Runners-up:'' 2014–15, 2007–08
Coronation Cup
The Coronation Cup was an annual five-a-side tournament ran under the auspices of the football club, Peebles Cricket Club and the March Riding Committee.
The trophy was presented to the football club by Mr M.G. Thorburn of Glenormiston for the first competition in 1911. (via) British Newspaper Archive.
; Notes
*