Paisley Academical F.C. was an old boy

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 Paisley, Renfrewshire.

History

The club was founded in 1890 for pupils and former pupils at the

Paisley Grammar School Paisley Grammar School is a secondary school in Paisley, the largest town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school was founded in 1576 by royal charter of King James VI and is situated on Glasgow Road. The school is recognised as one of Scotland's ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

. The name was reported as Academical or Academicals, but the name the club gave officially was the singular. The club was a regular entrant to the

Renfrewshire Cup The Renfrewshire Cup was an annual association football competition between teams in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The final was generally a Renfrewshire derby contested between the two largest teams ...

from 1891–92 to 1935–36 and 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 ...

from 1895 to 1896, having also played in the last

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Johnstone Johnstone ( sco, Johnstoun,
gd, Baile Iain) is a town ...

in the first round. The only time the club won more than one tie in the competition was 1899–1900, which put the club into a semi-final against

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. Paisley had been drawn at home, but, "disappointed" in the lack of town support, switched the tie to

Cappielow Park Cappielow, also known as Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology UK for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Greenock Morton, ...

, and was rewarded with an attendance of 2,000. However the professional side won 4–2. The club did however play in the main section of the Scottish Cup twice, in 1929–30 and 1934–35. The former time the club had the significant luck of the draw, being given byes through to the third round of the southern section, putting it into the first round proper; in the Qualifying Cup, the club lost 6–0 at home to

St Cuthbert Wanderers Saint Cuthbert Wanderers Football Club are a football club from the town of Kirkcudbright in the Stewartry in Galloway, Scotland. They play in the South of Scotland Football League. History They are named after St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, w ...

, and in the Cup itself, reigning Cup-holders Kilmarnock gained its biggest-ever Cup win, beating the Academicals 11–1; the Academicals held out for 15 minutes, but were seven down by half-time, and Jimmy Weir scored a double hat-trick for Killie. In 1934–35 the club again had the benefit of two byes, and beat the

Greenock Academy The Greenock Academy was a mixed non-denominational school in the west end of Greenock, Scotland, founded in 1855, originally independent, later a grammar school with a primary department, and finally a Comprehensive school only for ages eleven t ...

Former Pupils in the third round of the southern section of the Qualifying Cup, earning a spot in round one proper. At the next stage in the Qualifying Cup, the Academicals lost 5–0 to Rosyth Dockyard Recreation, and in the Cup itself 7–0 to

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 ...

, Renwick scoring four and Lyon three. At an amateur level, the club had more success. It was runner-up in the

Scottish Amateur Cup The Scottish Amateur Cup is a nationwide knockout tournament supported and organised by the Scottish Amateur Football Association. The Scottish Amateur Cup is contested by hundreds of football clubs every year. The first and second rounds are r ...

in its first instalment in 1909–10, losing to fellow Paisley old boy side the John Neilson Former Pupils at

Love Street "Love Street" is a song performed by the American rock band the Doors. Sequenced as the second album track on ''Waiting for the Sun'', its lyrics were written by lead singer Jim Morrison and as with other songs, it was dedicated to his girlfriend ...

, and was the first champion in the

Scottish Amateur Football League The Scottish Amateur Football League (SAFL) is Scotland's oldest football league competition for amateur teams in Scotland. Although the League officially records itself as having been founded in 1909, when Scottish Football League club Queen's ...

in 1901–02, heading (amongst others) Ayr Parkhouse in the final table, and regaining the title in 1904–05. It also played in the first season of the

Ayrshire and Renfrewshire Football League The Ayrshire and Renfrewshire Football League was a short-lived competitive football league in the period from 1903 to 1905. For membership, it drew upon Junior football teams based in the south-western Scottish counties of Ayrshire and Renfrew ...

in 1903–04, finishing fourth of six in the almost-completed final table. The last references to the club playing date from the 1952–53 season.

Colours

The club's original colours were navy jerseys and white knickers. From 1897 to 1912 its colours were blue shirts and white knickers, and from 1912 black and white.

Ground

The club played at Greenlaw Park.

Notable player

* William Paul, who played for Scotland whilst at

Dykebar Dykebar is a small residential estate at the south-easternmost periphery of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, close to the local authority boundaries with both East Renfrewshire and Glasgow. It is situated next to the Hawkhead area, with other ne ...

External links

Renfrewshire Cup results

References

{{Defunct Scottish football clubs, state=collapsed Defunct football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1890 Association football clubs disestablished in 1953 Sport in Paisley, Renfrewshire 1890 establishments in Scotland 1953 disestablishments in Scotland Football in Renfrewshire