Battlefield Football Club, often referred to as The Battlefield, was a 19th-century football club based in
Langside
Langside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, and lies east of Shawlands, south of Queens Park, west of Cathcart and north of Newlands. The district is residential and primarily middle-class ...
, in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...
. The club took its name from the site of the
Battle of Langside
The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disa ...
in 1568.
History
The club's foundation was inspired by neighbours Queen's Park and eight of the club's initial membership were also members of the Hampden side. The club's membership was middle-class "gentlemanly" players, with a reputation for clean play that "cultivat dthe science of the game".
Although the club's foundation date was given as 1873, the first reported match for the club took place in October 1879, and first
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1881–82.
Battlefield had a reputation for causing shocks. In the
1883–84 Scottish Cup
The 1883–84 Scottish Cup was the 11th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Queen's Park won the competition for the seventh time after Vale of Leven could not field a team on the date fixed for the final due to ...
, the club beat South-Western in the Scottish Cup first round 8–1, "contrary to expectations". Battlefield reached the quarter-finals that season, which the club matched the following season, in which the club pulled off its biggest shock; beating Queen's Park 3–2 in the third round.
Queen's Park protested on several bases, including having one goal wrongly disallowed, and three of the Battlefield players not having been registered, but the protests were dismissed. The size of the shock can be measured by Queen's Park reaching the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
final that season.
Queen's Park felt the loss strongly and there were accusations that Battlefield was "poaching" players from Queen's Park; indeed one Smith, a member of the Queen's Park committee and secretary of Battlefield, was removed from his position at Queen's Park because of his alleged attempts at "tapping up".
After beating
Pollokshields Athletic
Pollokshields Athletic F.C. was a Scottish football team, based in the Pollokshields district of Glasgow (at the time a separate burgh).
History
The club was founded in 1875, originally as a rugby union club, and was playing association footb ...
, conquerors of
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
, in the fourth round, Battlefield was considered favourite to win the competition, The club was drawn to play
Cambuslang
Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...
in the quarter-finals, and Battlefield arranged the tie to take place at
Kinning Park
Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It was formerly a separate police burgh between 1871 and 1905 before being absorbed by the city. In 1897, it had a population of 14,326.Govan Parish School Board, ''The Members' Year Book 1 ...
, but a frozen ground meant that Battlefield telegraphed Cambuslang to postpone the tie. Cambuslang agreed so long as the frost held; as temperatures rose, Cambuslang turned up at Kinning Park, but found no opposition and no referee. Cambuslang kicked a goal and claimed the tie. Battlefield's protest was upheld, but the replay was ordered to take place in
Cambuslang
Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...
because the uncertainty was blamed on the Battlefield. A special train was put on from Glasgow to bring the Battlefield support, and Battlefield was 1–0 up at half-time thanks to a Sellar header, but the home side turned it around to win 3–1.
With many amateur players having dual membership with Queen's Park and another club, and choosing more and more to play for the former, Battlefield boosted its ranks by taking over Pollokshields Athletic in late 1888. The instant result was a 2–1 win over
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
at
Ibrox Park
Ibrox Stadium is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox, Glasgow, Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers F.C., Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest List of foot ...
, but the boost did not last long, and in the next year's Glasgow Cup, Battlefield suffered an 8–1 defeat to Queen's Park.
In the
1893–94 Scottish Cup
The 1893–94 Scottish Cup was the 21st season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Rangers when they beat Celtic 3–1 in the final. It was the first Scottish Cup final between the two Glasgow clubs, ...
, the club beat
Scottish 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 sout ...
club
Thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...
3–1 in the first round, one of the first times a non-league side beat a League side. Battlefield lost in a second round replay to
Abercorn
Abercorn ( Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a ...
.
The 1893–94 upset was the club's final success; professionalism and the various Scottish leagues had taken their toll on the club, with players either retiring or moving to professional clubs. Also, despite the club's success on the national stage, within Glasgow the club had never been prominent, with Queen's Park and 3rd Lanark on the club's doorstep, and other clubs in Glasgow having been paying players in secret from the 1880s onwards.
The club's final Scottish Cup tie was in the first round against St Mirren in 1894; after losing the tie, Battlefield protested on the basis that one of the Saints was under suspension for playing in an unsanctioned match. The Scottish FA upheld the protest, but St Mirren won the replayed tie by a larger margin.
The final reported senior matches for the club come from the 1896–97 season, when it was forced mostly to play friendlies. In 1897–98, the club scratched from 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 rul ...
before playing a tie, and by the start of the next season the club had been definitively wound up.
Colours
The club's colours were 1" black and white horizontal "stripes", possibly in honour of Queen's Park. In 1890 it adopted blue knickers.
Grounds
The club originally played at Overdale Park. In 1884 the club moved to Mossfield Park, four miles from the city centre.
Notable players
*
William Sellar
William Sellar (21 September 1866 – 10 June 1914) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Queen's Park, Battlefield, Rangers and Scotland.
See also
*List of Scotland national football team captains
This article lists all the capta ...
, who won 5 caps for the Scotland national side as a Battlefield player.
*
Donald Sillars
Donald Currie Sillars (30 October 1868 – 25 September 1905) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a half-back or (in emergencies) right back for Battlefield, Pollokshields Athletic, Queen's Park, Rangers and Scotland. Sillars was also a ...
, future Scotland international
* George Hector, right-winger, who represented Scotland against a Canada XI in 1891
Records
Cups
*Scottish Cup:
**Best run: quarter-finals 1883–84, 1884–85
*Glasgow Cup
**Best run: second round 1889–90, 1891–92
Crosshill Cross Hill or Crosshill may refer to:
Places
*Cross Hill, Cornwall, England
*Cross Hill, Derbyshire, England
*Cross Hill, Gloucestershire, England
*Cross Hill, South Carolina, USA
* Crosshill, East Ayrshire, Scotland
*Crosshill, Fife, Scotland
*Cro ...
, Scottish Cup 1st Round, 22 September 1888.
*Record competitive defeat: 0–7 v Queen's Park, Glasgow Cup 1st Round, 19 September 1896.