Star of Leven F.C.
| Full name | Star of Leven Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Juniors[1] | |
| Founded | 1873 | |
| Dissolved | 1882 | |
| Ground | Bridge Street | |
| Secretary | Alexander Campbell | |
|
| ||
Star of Leven Football Club was an association football club based in the town of Alexandria, in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire.
History
The club was founded in 1873, in the wake of other clubs in the West Dunbartonshire area such as Vale of Leven F.C., Renton F.C., and Dumbarton F.C..[2] Unlike the more successful clubs in the area, the club did not have any backing from local factories, and remained wholly amateur, to the extent that the club played on an unenclosed public park[3] on Bridge Street. One of the club's earliest matches was a 1-0 win over Rangers F.C..[4]
The club entered the Scottish Cup for the first time in 1874-75, losing to Glasgow club West End in the first round. With the success of the other clubs in the area, Star remained a minnow in the game, and only won two Cup ties in its existence - against the 10th Dumbarton Rifle Volunteers in 1876-77 and Kirkintilloch Athletic in 1880-81. In 1878-79, the club was drawn to play Renton, and scratched rather than play out a likely heavy defeat.
The club also reached the second round on two other occasions, following walkovers. The first time came in unusual circumstances. By 1879, the club was defunct; the club had lost players to other clubs in the area and never had enough playing members to form a reserve side. However, a number of teenage players, under the leadership of Johnny Forbes, had formed a juvenile club which they named Star of Leven Juniors, as the Star gave them spare footballs with which to play, and, as Star had entered the Scottish Cup for 1879-80, they decided to submit a team. In the first round, the club was drawn to play Jamestown, and lost after a series of controversial refereeing decisions from Robert Paton, a Vale of Leven player.[5] The Star protested on the basis that Paton was a member of the Jamestown club, but the protest was dismissed[6] after Paton gave evidence that he was not a member.[7]
Jamestown reached the third round, by which time it was the only Levenside club remaining in the competition, Vale of Leven having lost to Dumbarton in the first round. Paton (as well as three other Vale players) was not Cup-tied so played for Jamestown in its third round win over Lennox.[8] This however meant that Lennox protested on the basis that the four Vale players were not bona fide members of the Jamestown club - and after the Scottish FA committee heard the evidence, it decided that Paton had indeed been a member of Jamestown before the first round, and therefore ineligible to referee the Jamestown-Star tie.[9] It therefore disqualified Jamestown and re-instated Star, who lost to Kirkintilloch Athletic in the second round.[10]
It was not the first time Star had protested about a referee - the club walked off the pitch after a second goal was given against them in the first round tie with the 10th Dumbarton Rifle Volunteers in 1877-78.[11]
By the end of the 1879-80 season, Forbes had joined Vale of Leven, and the club struggled on for two more seasons, before being struck off the Scottish FA register in 1882.[12] A junior club of the same name started up soon after but only lasted for a brief period.[13]
Colours
The club's colours were red shirts, white shorts, and blue hose.[14]
Notable players
- Johnny Forbes, later a Scottish international and an FA Cup winner with Blackburn Rovers.
References
- ^ Blue And White (29 December 1894). "The Football Days of Johnny Forbes". Blackburn Weekly Standard: 6.
- ^ "Club Directory". Scottish Football Historical Results Archive. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1876). Football Annual. p. 119.
- ^ Pettigrew, Jemma. "Hall of Fame: Moses McNeil". Rangers F.C. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ Blue And White (29 December 1894). "The Football Days of Johnny Forbes". Blackburn Weekly Standard: 6.
- ^ "Scottish Football Association". Glasgow Herald: 6. 27 September 1879.
- ^ Miller, John (12 January 1880). "Fairplay in Football". North British Daily Mail: 7.
- ^ "Lennox (Dumbarton) v Jamestown (Cup tie)". Glasgow Herald: 6. 3 November 1879.
- ^ Blue And White (29 December 1894). "The Football Days of Johnny Forbes". Blackburn Weekly Standard: 6.
- ^ "Kirkintilloch Athletic v Star of Leven (Cup tie)". Glasgow Herald: 7. 17 November 1879.
- ^ "10th D.R.V. v Star of Leven". North British Daily Mail: 6. 1 October 1877.
- ^ Weir, John (1993). A History of Vale of Leven Football Club. PM Publications.
- ^ "Club Directory". Scottish Football Historical Results Archive. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Weir, John (1993). A History of Vale of Leven Football Club. PM Publications.