Bonhill Football Club was an

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 based in the town of

Bonhill Bonhill ( sco, B'nill; gd, Both an Uillt) is a town in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is sited on the Eastern bank of the River Leven, on the opposite bank from the larger town of Alexandria. History The area is ...

, in

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders P ...

History

The club was founded in 1885, and, having quickly leased a ground, entered the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Lenzie Lenzie () is an affluent town by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. It is about north-east of Glasgow city centre and south of Kirkintilloch. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 8,873. U ...

in the September 1885, but winning 6–0 in the replay. In the second round the club lost 10–0 at

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning '' ...

. The national cup being drawn on a regional basis in the early rounds meant that the club only ever faced local sides; with the county being the strongest for football, that doomed the club to early exits in its remaining entries. In the

1886–87 Scottish Cup The 1886–87 Scottish Cup was the 14th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Hibernian won the competition for the first time after they beat Dumbarton 2–1 in the final. Calendar *Two teams qualified for the ...

the club beat Kirkintilloch Central 8–1 away in the first round, but lost at home to Jamestown in the second, somewhat against expectations, as Bonhill had won 5 out of 6 games thus far in the season, but the club could not turn around a 2–0 half-time deficit. The club's final Scottish Cup entry, in 1887–88, ended in the first round, with a 6–1 home defeat to Dumbarton Athletic; Bonhill took the lead after six minutes, with Bruce forcing the ball home from a scrimmage, but Bonhill only held the lead for three minutes, went behind in the 38th, and collapsed in the second half. Bonhill faced a similar problem as it did in the Scottish Cup in the

Dumbartonshire Cup The Dumbartonshire Cup was the championship trophy of the Dumbartonshire FA from its inception in 1884 until the organization disbanded in 1938. There was however an 'extra' playing of the competition in 1939, immediately after the outbreak of the ...

, and only ever won one match in the competition (2–1 at Kirkintilloch Athletic in 1887–88). With three of the strongest sides in the world as near neighbours (Vale of Leven, Renton, and

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 ...

), the club was defunct by early 1889, the last recorded game being a defeat at home to Kirkintilloch Central in February 1888.

Colours

The club's colours were light blue shirts and white knickerbockers.

Ground

The club played at a park which ran alongside Croft Loan, leased from Mr Shanks of Ladyton.

References

{{Defunct Scottish football clubs, state = collapsed

Association football clubs established in 1885 Association football clubs disestablished in 1888 Football in West Dunbartonshire 1885 establishments in Scotland 1888 disestablishments in Scotland Vale of Leven