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 ...
club based in
Armadale, West Lothian
Armadale (, ) is a town within the county of West Lothian in the Central Belt of Scotland. It lies to the west of Bathgate and to the east of Blackridge, West Lothian, Blackridge. Armadale, formerly known as Barbauchlaw, is an ex-mining town wh ...
in Scotland. The club was a member 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 ...
The club was formed on 5 August 1910 and played in the Eastern Football Alliance before joining the
Central Football League
There have been at least three competitions in Scotland known as the Central Football League.
The first was originally formed in 1896 by five clubs – Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, Fair City Athletic, Kirkcaldy and St Johnstone. In 1897 thi ...
in 1911. It became one of the strongest teams in this competition, winning the Central League in both 1913–14 and 1914–15. The club went on to play in the Eastern Football League, winning that competition in 1915–16, before returning to the Central League.
Football became very popular in the
West Lothian
West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...
mining towns in the period after the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Armadale was established as a strong side: having lost narrowly to eventual winners
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
at the quarter-final stage of the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1919–20, they took the runners-up of that year, Albion Rovers, to a third replay in the 1920–21 competition.
Armadale was admitted to the newly expanded Second Division in 1921, following the absorption of the Central League. The club performed well in its first season, finishing in third place. This was not to last and Armadale consistently finished in the bottom three positions. Struggling for income at a time of high unemployment, the club suggested allowing a reduced rate of 6d for the unemployed to enter matches, but the plan was vetoed by the League.Crampsey, p85 The club's form on the pitch was weak as well, with a league game against Arthurlie on 1 October 1927 seeing Owen McNally set a Scottish League record (since equalled) of scoring eight goals in a match.
To generate revenue, Armadale used Volunteer Park for
greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
.Crampsey, p94 The League management committee issued guidance that greyhound racing tracks should not interfere with the
football pitch
A football pitch or soccer field is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is ty ...
. League officials found that the racing track covered all of the Volunteer Park pitch. The League ordered the club to cease greyhound racing, which had become their greatest source of income.Crampsey, p95
In November 1932, with the club owing Raith Rovers F.C. the compulsory £50 guarantee for the 19 November fixture (which only attracted a crowd of 300), Armadale proposed issuing I.O.U. notes for each visiting club, redeemed against the guarantees in turn owed to Armadale. This did not meet with any sympathy and the club told that, unless it paid the £50 to Raith by 4pm on 24 November, it would be expelled. The club did not do so and, despite an offer of £30 to Raith, was duly thrown out of the League; an appeal against expulsion did not proceed. The club's record of 1 win, 2 draws, and 14 defeats in the 1932–33 season - which left the club six points adrift at the bottom of the League - was expunged. Armadale was the second club expelled that season, after
Bo'ness F.C.
Bo'ness Football Club was a association football, football club based in Bo'ness, Scotland. The club was a member of the Scottish Football League from 1921 to November 1932, and played at Newtown Park, Bo'ness, Newtown Park. Their home kit cons ...
The club soon disappeared, replaced in the town by junior club Armadale Thistle.
Colours
The club wore blue shirts, white shorts, and dark blue stockings for its entire existence, the shirt colour being navy blue until 1915.
Ground
The club's ground was Volunteer Park, the ground of the two predecessor clubs. The club's highest reported attendance was 12,600, for a Cup tie with Albion Rovers on 19 February 1921.
Full league record
Key: Pld = Games played; W = games won; D = games drew; L = games lost; F = goals scored (for); A = goals conceded (against); Pts = points (2 for a win, 1 for a draw); Pos = final position in the table.
Note: Armadale did not complete the 1932–33 season and their results were expunged from the records.