Alexandra Athletic F.C.
| Full name | Alexandra Athletic Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the A.A.C.,[1] the Athletes[2] | |
| Founded | 1873 | |
| Dissolved | 1884 | |
| Ground | Kennyhill (now Alexandra) Park, Glasgow | |
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Alexandra Athletic Football Club was a 19th-century football club from Dennistoun, in Glasgow, which participated in the early years of the Scottish Cup.
History
The football club was founded in 1873 as an all-round athletics club, with football as the "ruling pastime"; originally, the club's request to use part of Alexandra Park as a home ground was declined, despite the club being "a body of working men...who had done a very gracious thing in asking permission to get the use of a portion of the park".[3] Within two months however the new club was given permission to lease part of the park for sporting activities; by this time the Earl of Glasgow and Robert Dalglish MP had agreed to become the club's patrons[4] and the club had an elite image, with amongst the best sporting facilities and equipment in Glasgow.[5]
By the following season, the issue had been sorted out, and the club was able to play its first Scottish FA Cup tie on the park; after beating Callander F.C. at home in the first round,[6] the club lost 2-0 to Blythswood in the second (last eight), the club complaining that the Blythswood-nominated umpire was not merely a member of the Blythswood club, but had also been giving coaching advice during the match; nevertheless the clubs enjoyed a convivial toast after the match.[7]
At the end of 1875, the club played an exhibition match in Dundee, with the aim of promoting the association game there;[8] the one Dundee club that had played association before (in 1871) had quickly switched to rugby.[9]
The club entered the Scottish Cup until 1884, after which there is no further record. The club reached the second round in 1876-77, beating Eastern F.C. in the first round, but losing 4-0 at Northern in the second. The win over Eastern was at the third time of asking, the clubs having drawn in the first game, and Eastern winning the second 2-0, but being the subject of a successful post-match protest on the basis that the referee who took charge of the match had not been agreed beforehand; ironically, this was down to Eastern objecting to the Alexandra nominee, but Eastern called the protest "a mean subterfuge to attempt to wrest the honours which have already been fairly won".[10]
The following year, the club Lancefield F.C. in the first round but losing 8-0 at Rangers in the next. In 1878-79 the club had its best run, reaching the fourth round (last 18), but again losing to Rangers, this time 3-0.[11] It was the club's best run in the competition.
The club does not seem to have survived the 1883-84 season; it protested to no avail after being knocked out of the Cup by Whitehill,[12] and the final match being a 9-4 defeat at Arbroath, after the club was 4-1 up at half-time.[13] On the club's demise, a number of its members and players joined Rangers; club secretary Walter Crichton took the same role at the Light Blues.[14]
Colours
The club played in a variety of colours:[15]
- 1873: blue & white guernsey, blue knickerbockers, red cap
- 1874: brown, blue, & white striped jersey, white knickerbockers, blue stockings, red cap
- 1876: white with blue Prince of Wales feathers
- 1877: white
Notable players
- James Gossland and James Duncan, who both won international caps when playing for Rangers
External links
- Scottish Football Club Directory (Archived 2009-10-25)
- RSSSF: Scottish Cup
References
- ^ "Alexandra Athletc v Blythswood". Glasgow Herald: 6. 25 November 1873.
- ^ "Football - The Cup Tie". North British Daily Mail: 3. 14 October 1876.
- ^ "The Public Parks - The Games at the Alexandra". Glasgow Herald: 6. 18 April 1873.
- ^ "Alexandra Athletic Club". North British Daily Mail: 3. 27 May 1873.
- ^ "Few of these clubs could take a beating". Daily Record: 22. 7 January 1939.
- ^ "Football". Glasgow Herald: 7. 20 October 1873.
- ^ "Alexandra Athletc v Blythswood". Glasgow Herald: 6. 25 November 1873.
- ^ "Football in the Glasgow district". Glasgow Herald: 7. 20 December 1875.
- ^ Charles Alcock Football Annual, entry for Dundee, 1871 and 1872
- ^ "Football - The Cup Tie". North British Daily Mail: 3. 14 October 1876.
- ^ "Rangers 3-0 Alexandra Athletic". Fitba Stats. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Football". Courier & Argus: 6. 21 September 1883.
- ^ "Arbroath v Alexandra Athletics (Glasgow)". Courier & Argus: 4. 18 February 1884.
- ^ "Few of these clubs could take a beating". Daily Record: 22. 7 January 1939.
- ^ Charles Alcock Football Annuals 1873-77
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