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 from
Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt o ...
in
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Av ...
.
History
The club was formed at the start of 1888, the club's opening match being a 1–0 home win over Dean Rangers 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 ...
.
It was generally one of the least successful senior clubs in the county, not helped by losing some of its leading players before its first full season. It only played in the main rounds of the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,the Adventurers 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 ...
Cowdenbeath
Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...
in 1890–91; the Cowdenbeath game suggesting a lack of fitness amongst the Athletic, as eight of the Cowden goals came in the final half-an-hour.
The Athletic was similarly unsuccessful in the Edinburgh Shield, the most notable of the local competitions which the club entered. It entered every year from 1888–89 until 1896–97, and only won twice - 9–1 against Pumpherston in 1891–92 and 5–1 at a scratch Bellstane Birds in 1894–95. The slightly less prestigious Percival King Cup also provided slim pickings for the Athletic, only once reaching the third round, in 1893–94.
The only competition in which the Athletic had any level of success was the
Linlithgowshire Cup
The Linlithgowshire Cup was an association football cup competition for senior clubs in the historic county of Linlithgowshire, Scotland. The competition was founded in 1884 and the last completed competition was in the 1925–26 season.
Format
Th ...
, which generally had entrants in the single digits. Even the Athletic's one appearance in the final, in 1893–94, was aided by considerable fortune. The club protested a first-round defeat to the original incarnation of Uphall because of the non-registration of one player, and won the replayed tie. Its next opponent - Armadale - was disqualified before the tie was played because it did not provide a list of players from its tie with Bo'ness. That was enough to put the Athletic in the final, against Broxburn Shamrock at
Bathgate
Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, West Lothian, Armadale, Blackburn, ...
, and the Shamrock won 4–0.
Despite the efforts of the faithful club secretary Alexander Bennie, who stayed loyal to his post for the club's entire existence, and who had even scored in the club's first competitive match in 1888, the club threw in the towel soon after the start of the 1896–97 season. The last throw of the dice had been an attempt in 1895–96 to form a Linlithgowshire league - the club had not participated in any of the predecessor competitions such as the Eastern Alliance - but that collapsed after the Athletic had played just 3 matches, the last - the club's last match of all - being a 1–1 draw at Armadale.
In 1896–97, the club was forced to scratch in the first round of both the Scottish Cup and Edinburgh Shield (to
Penicuik Athletic
Penicuik Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football club. They were formed in 1888 and are based at Penicuik Park, in the town of Penicuik. Penicuik Park is ten miles south west of Edinburgh on the A702 road. The team now plays in the East ...
and Broxburn Shamrock respectively), and did not pay its subscription to the local association as being "not being able to raise a team", at least two of its "best men" having joined
Bo'ness
Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Fal ...
. The coup de grâce was being struck off 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 ...
membership list before the start of the next season. A junior club, Linlithgow Athletic Rovers, played at Captain's Park during the season, perhaps as a Junior continuation; but this incarnation only lasted until October 1897, its last match being a 2–0 defeat to North-Western.
Colours
The club's first colours were white shirts and blue knickers. In 1894 the shirts changed to red and black hoops.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has ...
and Scottish Championship winner with
Celtic F.C.
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigra ...