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
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...
,
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 was formed in 1878 and originally named Broadfield before changing their name in 1881. They played in 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 ...
between 1893 and 1911, and were based at
Clune Park
Clune Park was a football ground in Port Glasgow, Scotland. It was the home ground of Port Glasgow Athletic from 1881 until they folded in 1912, and also of Port Glasgow Athletic Juniors.
History
Port Glasgow Athletic moved to Clune Park in 18 ...
. Originally the town name was spelled Port-Glasgow, with a hyphen, this style was dropped after WW2.
History
Originally based at Devol Farm,
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...
, the club moved to a new ground called Clune Park on the town's Glasgow Road. The Port played for one season in the
Scottish Football Alliance The Scottish Football Alliance was a football league football structure set up in Scotland in competition with the Scottish Football League. Its success in the early years of professional football in both England and Scotland made Alliance the bas ...
in 1891–92 and spent 1892–93 playing cup-ties and friendlies. They rejoined the Scottish Alliance for 1893–94, but before the new season, the Alliance was more or less absorbed by 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 ...
as its Division Two. During their first season in the Scottish League they had a record seven points deducted for rule infringements. For a time this left the club at the foot of the Division with −2 points.
After winning Division in 1901–02, the Port gained election into
Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
. Despite struggling at the top level due to operating as an amateur club for most of the time, the club managed to stay in the division for eight years.
In the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1898–99 and 1905–06. On the latter occasion they knocked out Rangers in the quarter-finals. They also competed often in 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 ...
. Their most well-known player was probably
Gladstone Hamilton
Gladstone Hamilton (23 July 1879 – 12 December 1961) was a Scottish association football, footballer who played as an outside right in the Scottish League for Port Glasgow Athletic F.C., Port Glasgow Athletic, Ayr F.C., Ayr, St Mirren F.C., St ...
, the only player to be capped by
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 ...
while with the club. He played on the left wing 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 ...
in the 1–0 win over
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in the
1906 British Home Championship
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 ...
. Two of his brothers were also Scottish internationalists though they played for Queen's Park. Gladstone later moved to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to join
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
.
The club was relegated in 1909–10 and finished eighth in the 1910–11 Division Two table. Due to their precarious financial standing the club chose not seek re-election to membership of the Scottish League. After leaving the Scottish Football League, the club surprisingly joined the
Scottish Football Union
The Scottish Football Union was a football league competition that existed from 1906 till the outbreak of the First World War. It was formed after the collapse of the Scottish Football Alliance.
Initial membership of the Union was: Alloa Athl ...
, but ceased operations as a senior side midway through the season. Apparently many of the players who were amateurs joined Port Glasgow Athletic Juniors. Although sharing the name and ground with the Senior organisation, this club had a semi-autonomous existence competing as the club's third XI in Junior competitions since in the 1890s.
Nickname and colours
The club was nicknamed "The Undertakers" – the reasons for this are somewhat confused. One explanation is the involvement of a local funeral director in the founding of the initial side or, more likely, they were known as the Undertakers because they originally played in black shirts, changing to white shirts with navy shorts and socks from 1882.
Honours
*Scottish Football League
**Division Two champions 1901–02
;
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 ...
;Sources
*Dave Twydell (1993) ''Rejected FC Glasgow & District'', Yore Publishing
*John Aitken (2013) ''The Scottish Football League 125'', Scottish Non League publishing
*John Aitken (2005) West of Scotland Juniors'', Scottish Non League publishing
*John Aitken (2013) ''The Scottish Junior Football Association 125 years'', Scottish Non League publishing