Black Watch F.C. is a British

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

club. It is the footballing side of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (the Black Watch).

History

As an organized football club, the Black Watch F.C. was founded in 1876. The club's home depended on where the battalion was stationed. The sides in the Irish Cup final of 1891-92

The sides in the Irish Cup final of 1891-92

Scottish Cup

In common with many military football sides in the amateur era, the club entered first-class competitions on a number of occasions. Normally based in Scotland, the club entered the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1893–94, the club - at the time known as the Second Battalion, Black Watch - won through to the first round of the Cup proper, after only winning one match; the club benefitted from two byes and two draws with

Cowlairs Cowlairs is an area in the Scottish city of Glasgow, part of the wider Springburn district of the city. It is situated north of the River Clyde, between central Springburn to the east and Possilpark to the west. Administratively, in the 21st cen ...

, having come from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 in the original tie at Springburn, which meant, under the rules of the competition at the time, both clubs progressed. In the first round the club lost 6–0 at

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scot ...

, 2,000 people attending Whifflet Park for the match. The club won through the

Scottish Qualifying Cup The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup ...

for the only time in 1905–06, reaching the last eight of the qualifying competition at a time when the last 16 were placed in the first round proper. The club was forced to scratch from its final Qualifying Cup replay with

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

because an Army Cup tie was due to be held on 8 November and the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility fo ...

refused to grant an extension of time. In the first round proper the club lost 7–2 at St Mirren.

Highland and Perthshire League

From 1904 to 1906, and from 1926 to 1929, when the battalion was based in

Fort George Fort George may refer to: Forts Bermuda * Fort George, Bermuda, built in the late 18th Century and successively developed through the 19th Century, on a site that had been in use as a watch and signal station since 1612 British Virgin Islands * ...

, the club played in the Highland League. The club's best season in the Highland League was its first; it finished level on points at the top of the table with

Clachnacuddin Clachnacuddin Football Club is a part-time, senior Scottish football club based in the city of Inverness, that currently plays in the Highland Football League. Clachnacuddin have won the most Highland Football League championships in the comp ...

, but refused to play off for the title because of objections to the referee chosen. In its final season, the club finished bottom. The battalion was stationed in

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...

during World War 2, and took part in Perthshire competitions, winning the

Perthshire League The Perthshire League was a league association football tournament for teams in Perthshire, Scotland. History The League was set up on 8 January 1898 at a meeting at the White Horse Hotel in Perth, by representatives of five of the senior clubs, ...

in 1941–42 and twice winning the

Perthshire Cup The Perthshire Cup was an association football cup competition for clubs in the county of Perthshire, Scotland. The competition was founded in 1884 and was last competed for in the 1974–75 season. Format The competition was a knock-out tournam ...

Playing in Ireland

The club's finest achievements came when the battalion was stationed in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

from 1886 to 1892. In 1889–90, the club won the

Belfast Charity Cup The Belfast Charity Cup was a football competition which ran from 1883 to 1941, and was based on a similar tournament in Scotland, the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup. The competition was open to senior sides from Belfast and invited intermediate te ...

, beating the Gordon Highlanders - who had recently won the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. I ...

- by 5 goals to 3, having beaten Linfield 5–1 in the semi-finals. The club also won the

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Fo ...

in 1890–91 with a 4–2 win over Oldpark in the final. In 1891–92, the club reached the final of the Irish Cup, with Cup holders Linfield gaining a significant revenge, by beating the club 7–0 at

Solitude Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think, or rest without dist ...

, in front of 8,000 spectators. One reason for the change in fortune was forward Robert Hill, who had scored one of the Black Watch goals in the 1890 semi-final, had switched from the Royals to the Blues.

Army football

As the game became more professional, the Black Watch stopped entering non-military competitions. The club has won the Army Cup on three occasions.

Colours

In its senior days, the club mostly wore dark blue jerseys with a white collar. It also wore the following: *1894–95: green and red jerseys with black knickers *1895–96, 1898–99: maroon

Grounds

The club is known to have played in the following areas: *1880–81:

Dreghorn Dreghorn is a village in North Ayrshire, Scotland, east of Irvine town centre, on the old main road from Irvine to Kilmarnock. It is sited on a ridge between two rivers. As archaeological excavations near the village centre have found a signif ...

(Ayrshire) *1885–92: Ireland (

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

) *1892–93: Campsie *1893–94:

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 ...

*1895–1904:

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

*1898–99:

Lennoxtown Lennoxtown ( gd, Baile na Leamhnachd, ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire council area and the historic county of Stirlingshire, Scotland at the foot of the Campsie Fells, which are just to the north. The town had a population of 4,094 at the 201 ...

*1904–11: Fort George *1911–26: Edinburgh *1926–29: Fort George *1939–43: Perthshire

Legacy

Two clubs took their name from the club - Campsie Black Watch F.C. and Shankhouse Black Watch F.C., the formation of both inspired by the Black Watch playing games when stationed in those towns. Everton was nicknamed the Black Watch in its early days for its black kit.

References

{{Reflist Military football clubs in Scotland