Airdrieonians F.C. (1878)
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Airdrieonians Football Club, more commonly known as Airdrie, was a Scottish professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team from the town of Airdrie, in the Monklands area of
Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...
. The club became defunct at the end of the
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct 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&nbs ...
2001–02 season, despite the team finishing as runners-up in the SFL First Division to Partick Thistle and therefore only narrowly missing out on promotion to the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
. During their 124-year existence the "Diamonds", as they were nicknamed, won the old Scottish Division Two three times, the Spring Cup once and the
Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League to fold since 1967, when Third Lanark went bankrupt.


History


Formation and early years

The team was founded in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire in 1878 as Excelsior Football Club, changing its name to Airdrieonians in 1881. It was elected to the
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct 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&nbs ...
in 1894. The club enjoyed its most successful era in the 1920s, following the signing of
Hughie Gallacher Hugh Kilpatrick Gallacher (2 February 1903 – 11 June 1957) was a Scottish people, Scottish association football, football player in the 1920s and 1930s. In 597 senior club games, Gallacher scored 419 goals, playing league football for Airdri ...
from Queen of the South in 1921. Airdrie challenged the dominance of Rangers, as they finished in second place in the Scottish League championship for four consecutive seasons (1923 - 1926). They won the 1924 Scottish Cup Final beating Hibernian 2–0. Bob McPhail said, "The terror-like attitude of Gallacher caused havoc with the Hibs defenders. He and Russell were easily our best forwards". Willie Russell scored both goals. Following this victory, in early summer 1925, the club visited Norway and Sweden, and made a big impression. Translations of local newspaper reports, and some photographs of the tour, are still available. This successful era came to an end after Gallacher in December 1925 and McPhail in 1927 were sold to
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
and Rangers respectively.


Post war era and beyond

Airdrie spent much of the post war era " yo-yoing" between the top flight and Second Division. Airdrie entered the first Texaco Cup competition in 1970–71, defeating
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
in the first round. That tie was decided by a
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
and Airdrie became the first Scottish club to be involved in that method of deciding a contest. Airdrie reached the Texaco Cup Final in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Derby County. They also reached the 1975 Scottish Cup Final, losing 3–1 to
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 Foot ...
. After the leagues were restructured in 1975, a competition called the Spring Cup was instituted for the teams in the lower divisions. Airdrie won this competition in
1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
, but it was discontinued after one season as clubs preferred to play additional league games instead.


Alex MacDonald era

During the 1990s, with Alex MacDonald at the helm, Airdrie worked their way into the Premier Division in the 1991–92 and 1992–93 seasons, were regularly considered challengers for promotion and recognised as one of the bigger clubs in First Division. MacDonald also guided the Diamonds to two Scottish Cup Finals. The first appearance coming on 9 May 1992 when the club faced Rangers in front of 44,045 strong crowd at
Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
. Unfortunately for Airdrie on this occasion however, a goal each from
Mark Hateley Mark Wayne Hateley (born 7 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker. He started his career with Coventry City F.C., Coventry City in the Football L ...
and
Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who has since worked as a Manager (association football), manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Jo ...
earned the blue half of
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
a 2–1 victory. Although Airdrie lost in the 1992 Scottish Cup Final they had already qualified for the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup, as Rangers had also won the Scottish league championship in
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
. Airdrie were drawn against Czech side
Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...
in the first round. Airdrie lost 1–0 at Broomfield and 2–1 in Prague, losing 3–1 on aggregate.
Kenny Black Kenneth George Black (born 29 November 1963) is a Scottish football manager and former player who spent most of his career with Heart of Midlothian and Airdrieonians. Playing career A left-sided defender or midfielder, Black began his playi ...
, who later went on to become manager of
Airdrie United Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Clu ...
, scored the only Airdrie goal. Airdrie also reached the 1995 Scottish Cup Final, where they faced the other half of the
Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
,
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 Foot ...
. Airdrie would once again fall at the final hurdle, as they lost 1–0 to a Pierre van Hooijdonk goal. Airdrie also won the
Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,1994–95.


Stadium problems

Airdrie sold their Broomfield home to Safeway in 1994, but had to groundshare with Clyde at Broadwood Stadium for four years until the
Excelsior Stadium The Excelsior Stadium, officially The Albert Bartlett Stadium, is a football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season ...
was opened. It is arguably this stadium re-location and the difficulties generated by it that was Airdrie's first step towards oblivion. The mismanagement of the entire situation by the club's board, as well as
North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...
Council's lengthy delay in granting planning permission caused Airdrieonians financial situation to reach critical level. This was not helped by the low attendances at
Excelsior Stadium The Excelsior Stadium, officially The Albert Bartlett Stadium, is a football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season ...
following the completion of the move, which was connected to the quality of football on display due to the lack of funds available to be spent on the team. The demise of Airdrieonians was personified by the sudden and unexpected death of Joey Rowan, the club's sole remaining director. Rowan had a long and intimate association with the club and was son-in-law and advisor to Airdrieonians long term benefactor Jack Dalziel (recognised by having the main stand named after him). Rowan, already a popular figure with the club's supporters due to his passion, candour and trademark ponytail, gained even more respect by remaining with Airdrieonians and incurring substantial personal losses whilst trying to steer the club away from liquidation despite the fact that the rest of the board had resigned amid finger-pointing and acrimony in an attempt to avoid reproach and financial liabilities. He is considered the club's last great hero for his selfless sacrifice and unyielding loyalty.


Liquidation

In February 2000,
KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...
were appointed as provisional liquidators of Airdrieonians. This move came soon after Rangers chairman David Murray had applied for a court order to seize some of Airdrie's revenue in lieu of funds owed to another of his companies. KPMG and the board hoped more private investment would be made in the club. Most of the playing staff were made redundant at the end of the 1999–2000 season. Steve Archibald put forth a bid for the club and during the 2000–01 season he brought in many foreign players, including David Fernández, Jesus Sanjuán, Antonio Calderón and Javier Sánchez Broto, that became popular with the fans and won the
Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...
terminated their management deal with Archibald in February 2001, stating that Archibald had not kept up to date with payment of fees. After difficulty fulfilling their fixtures, Airdrie narrowly avoided relegation to the Second Division. Despite the obvious financial problems, Ian McCall managed to build a new Airdrie team and retained the Scottish Challenge Cup. The club also performed well in the
2001–02 Scottish First Division The 2001–02 Scottish First Division was won by Partick Thistle who were promoted to the Scottish Premier League. Raith Rovers were relegated to the Second Division however Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scot ...
and chased promotion to the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
. A run of only two victories in the last 14 games, however, meant that Partick Thistle won the First Division and the promotion place. The final match played by Airdrieonians was an away game against Ayr United at Somerset Park on 27 April. The match was abandoned by the referee after a crossbar was broken during a pitch invasion by Airdrie fans, who were protesting against the Ayr United owner Bill Barr. His Barr Construction company had built the
Excelsior Stadium The Excelsior Stadium, officially The Albert Bartlett Stadium, is a football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season ...
and became one of the major creditors of Airdrie. After Airdrieonians went out of business on 1 May 2002, local accountant Jim Ballantyne attempted to gain entry to the
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct 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&nbs ...
(SFL) with a team named
Airdrie United Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Clu ...
. His bid for league status was rejected, however, in favour of the application by Gretna, who were then playing in the English
Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
. Ballantyne then opted to buy control of
Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...
, another SFL club experiencing extreme financial hardship. With approval by the SFL, their name was changed to Airdrie United, the team relocated to Airdrie and the strip was altered to the famous diamond style of Airdrieonians. A ''
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
'' was established by the new club to honour noted players of the previous entity (some of whom also played for the new club), with more entrants added each year. In June 2013, the SFA allowed
Airdrie United Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Clu ...
to change their name to Airdrieonians.


Stadium

For most of its history, Airdrieonians played at
Broomfield Park Broomfield Park was a association football, football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, home of Airdrieonians F.C. (1878), Airdrieonians from 1892 until it was closed after the 1993–94 in Scottish football, 1993–94 football season.It w ...
, which was opened in 1892. The ground was located in a hollow in Airdrie town centre. The Broomfield pitch was very narrow, at just 67 yards wide. These physical features and the proximity of the stands to the pitch meant that Broomfield had a raucous atmosphere, which visiting clubs disliked. Broomfield was known for its distinctive corner pavilion, which was built in 1907. After winning the 1923–24 Scottish Cup, the club built a main stand, adjacent to the pavilion. The final game at Broomfield took place in May 1994 after which the ground, having been sold to supermarket chain Safeway, was demolished to make room for their new store. The club planned to make use of the funds generated from the sale to build a new all-seated stadium, but had difficulties acquiring planning permission. Airdrie went on to groundshare with Clyde at Broadwood Stadium in
Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...
for four seasons with the club eventually moving into its new home, the Shyberry Excelsior Stadium, in time for the 1998–99 season. Airdrieonians played their home games there until they were liquidated in 2002.


The last Airdrieonians team

2001–02 Squad


Honours and records


Honours

*
Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct 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&nbs ...
**Runners up (4): 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26 *
Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...
:Known as second division prior to 1975 **Winners (3): 1902–03, 1954–55, 1973–74 **Runners up (9): 1900–01, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1965–66, 1979–80, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1996–97, 2001–02 *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1923–24 **Runners up (3): 1974–75, 1991–92, 1994–95 *
Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,1994–95, 2000–01, 2001–02 * Lanarkshire Cup: **Winners (32): 1885–86, 1886–87, 1887–88, 1890–91, 1891–92, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1902–03, 1903–04, 1908–09, 1910–11, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1917–18, 1918–19, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1924–25, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1962–63, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1995–96 * Spring Cup: **Winners (1): 1976


General club records


League record

The Diamonds Twelve Year League Record Red =
Scottish Football League Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League Scottish Football League First D ...
(before
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
) Yellow =
Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...


Top league goalscorers


European record

Airdrieonians qualified for a UEFA club competition on one occasion. In 1992, Airdrieonians reached the final of the Scottish Cup and were beaten by Rangers. The winner of the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
, but because Rangers had already qualified for the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
through their league ranking in the
Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...
, the place was passed to Airdrie as runners-up. Airdrie were eliminated in the
first round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
by
Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...
of Czechoslovakia in a
two-legged tie In sports (especially association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum ...
.


References

; Sources * *


External links


Results and statistics
at ''Fitbastats'' {{Authority control Defunct football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1878 1878 establishments in Scotland Association football clubs disestablished in 2002 2002 disestablishments in Scotland Football in North Lanarkshire Scottish Football League teams Scottish Cup winners Scottish Challenge Cup winners Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom Airdrie, North Lanarkshire