Edinburgh Thistle Football Club was a football club from the city of
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 ...
.
History
The club was formed in 1871, which would make Thistle the first association club in the city. The foundation date may be that of a cricket club from the Meadows from which the association football club may have been formed. By 1874 it was recognised that there were two association clubs in Edinburgh - the Thistle and the
3rd Edinburgh Rifle Volunteers F.C.
3rd Edinburgh Rifle Volunteers Football Club was a football club from the city of Edinburgh. The club was the first winner of the East of Scotland Shield, under its original title of the Edinburgh Association Cup, but had ceased playing by 1 ...
; Thistle was playing matches between its members in 1873, before the 3rd E.R.V. was set up.
The club was one of the four founding members of the
Edinburgh Football Association
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 ...
, formed in September 1875, with the 3rd E.R.V.,
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Professional Football League. Hearts, the oldest and most successful football club in the Sc ...
, and
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. All except Hanover entered the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1875–76. At the time, the earliest rounds were played on a regional basis, and Hearts and the Volunteers were drawn to play each other, the winners to face Thistle in the second round of fixtures. The 3rd E.R.V. won through and beat Thistle 1–0 in a second round match replayed after the original game was abandoned through rain.
The same season saw the first
Edinburgh Football Association
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 ...
cup, the first regional knockout tournament in Scotland. All four members of the Edinburgh FA entered. Thistle beat Hearts 1–0 in its semi-final tie, but lost 6–0 in the final to the 3rd E.R.V.
In 1876–77, Thistle beat
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club (), commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The club plays in the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). ...
in the first round of the Edinburgh Cup 2–1, thanks to a late goal from Cochrane, and survived a protest from Hibs that an encroaching crowd (which sometimes was a yard inside the lines) had prevented an equalizer. Thistle beat Hanover in the semi-final. The final was due to take place on 24 February 1877, at the Meadows, but opponents 3rd E.R.V. did not show up, "much to the disappointment of a large concourse of spectators", so Thistle became Cup holders by default.
The swift growth of the game soon left Thistle behind and before the 1877–78 season the club lost a number of members, "and is not so strong as it has been". The club continued to enter the Scottish Cup until 1879–80 but only won twice; both times against Hanover, by 5–0 in 1876 and 2–1 in 1878. Its last entry to the Edinburgh Cup was in 1882, by which time the club had only won one more tie in the competition.
By 1883 the club had become a Junior club, and the final recorded games for the club were in the 1900–01 season.
Colours
The club played in dark blue shirts with a single white stripe, and white knickers.
Willie Groves
Patrick William Groves (20 August 1868 – 13 February 1908) Spartacus Educational was a
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club (), commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The club plays in the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). ...