Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
club based in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
.
History
The club was founded in 1881 and took its name from a park near to its first ground, and where the club ended up playing.
The club entered the Edinburgh Shield in its first season, and continued to enter every season until 1890–91. In 1883–84, the club lost in the first round to
Hibernian
Hibernian may refer to:
* Of Hibernia, Latin name for Ireland; hence
** Irish (disambiguation)
Hibernian, Hibernians or The Hibernian may refer to:
Sports clubs
* Hibernian F.C., a Scottish football club, founded 1875
* Hibernian W.F.C., a Sc ...
, but only by 4 goals to 1, and having taken a surprise lead; in the Consolation Cup, for clubs eliminated before the main competition's final, Norton Park had its best run, reaching the semi-final against
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. Counties of Scotland, Historically part of the county of West Lothian (historic), ...
. Norton Park lost the tie 3–1, but obtained a replay after protesting the Bonessians' rough play. It was to no avail - Bo'ness won 2–0 in a "spirited" game.
After this minor success, in the summer of 1884 the club joined the
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...
, and entered the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1884–85, losing 3–0 at
West Calder
West Calder (, ) is a village in the council area of West Lothian, Scotland, located four miles west of Livingston. Historically it is within the County of Midlothian. The village was an important centre in the oil shale industry in the 19th a ...
in the first round, in a match which was "fast" but "not at all rough".
The club entered the Cup for six seasons, but only won 2 ties; it withdrew from its first round tie at
Newcastleton
Newcastleton, also called Copshaw Holm, is a village in Liddesdale, the Scottish Borders, a few miles from the border with England, on the Liddel Water. It is within the Counties of Scotland, county of Roxburghshire. It is the site of Hermitag ...
in 1886–87 as it was unable to travel the distance. Its first win came in 1885–86 when it beat Glencairn 6–1, but lost 7–1 at Bo'ness in the second round.
In 1887–88, the club had the daunting task of visiting
Tynecastle Park
Tynecastle Park, also known as Tynecastle Stadium, is a football stadium in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, which is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Heart of Midlothian (Hearts). A UEFA category four stadium, it ha ...
to play Heart of Midlothian in the first round. As with the Hibs game, the club lost 4–1, but again with some honour, Laing equalizing an early Hearts goal.
The Park was more successful in local competitions in which smaller clubs entered. It was one of the entrants to the first Percival King Cup in 1886–87, a competition for clubs in the east of Scotland, which excluded the larger Edinburgh sides. The club reached the semi-final in 1887–88, going down 3–1 to eventual winners Mossend Swifts, the match being held at the Hibs'
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-largest ...
ground.
The club lost a number of its players at the end of the season, and there were rumours that it would break up in toto, but it managed not only to provide an XI for its
1888–89 Scottish Cup
The 1888–89 Scottish Cup was the 16th season of Scotland's most prestigious Association football, football knockout competition. Third Lanark A.C., 3rd Lanark RV beat Glasgow rivals Celtic F.C., Celtic (making their Cup début) 2–1 in a repla ...
first round tie at Bellstane Birds, but won 3–2, two goals from new forward Balsali helping the club to a decisive 3–0 lead, the Birds only scoring in the last 15 minutes. The club lost 3–1 at St Bernards in the second round, taking the lead through John Adams; but Adams blotted his copybook by punching a St Bernards shot off the line, which, under the rules used at the time, resulted in St Bernards being awarded a goal, and the game ended 3–1 in the Saints' favour.
The club lost even more players over the summer to clubs offering appropriate inducements, and the N.P.'s last full season was 1889–90. Its final tie in the Scottish Cup was a defeat to Bellstane Birds, who recorded a 6–3 victory; it was the Birds' only win in the main rounds of the competition. That only nine players turned up for a friendly at Champfleurie in October showed the difficulties the club was in, and a home friendly in January with West Calder was held up for an hour while the club tried to find eleven players. The club was humiliated in the King Cup by
Broxburn
Broxburn (, ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is from the West End of Edinburgh, from Edinburgh Airport and to the north of Livingston. Originally a village known as Easter Strathbock in the medieval period, by 1600, the village ha ...
, losing 14–1; even the consolation goal was a fluke, from a double deflection. Norton Park nearly did not see out the season, initially scratching from the East of Scotland Consolation Cup, but eventually putting a team out to lose to
Adventurers
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
on 29 March 1890.
The club did not pay its subscription for 1890–91 and the Scottish FA struck it from the membership roll in August 1890. Norton Park continued into the season as a junior side, but after losing in the first round of the Shield at
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...
(by the unusual score of 8–4), the club did not play again.
Colours
The club's colours were blue and white "perpendicular striped" jerseys, white knickers, and blue hose.
Ground
The club originally played on a ground off Lovers' Lane in Edinburgh. In 1885 it moved to Norton Park itself, at 78 Easter Road in Edinburgh. The club had to spend the 1886–87 season at Hawkhill before securing a rent again at Easter Road, which "is by no means as level as Hawkhill, but at least is within the bounds of civilisation".
Notable players
*George Thallon, later of King's Park and
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
, centre-forward (and occasional goalkeeper) for the club for nearly 2 seasons in the mid-1880s