Peebles Rovers Football Club is a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. Originally founded in 1888 as Greenside Rovers, the club changed their name to Peebles Rovers in May 1890. This is at odds with the official date of 1893 which appears to be based upon what was written in a newspaper article in 1947. They play their home matches at

Whitestone Park Whitestone Park is a sports ground in Peebles, Scottish Borders, Scotland, used for Association football, football and cricket. It has been the home ground of Peebles Rovers F.C. since 1906, including when they were members of the Scottish Foo ...

. The club are members of the

East of Scotland Football League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior association football, football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowlan ...

, in the seventh tier of the Scottish football league system. They were briefly members of the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

, between 1923 and 1926.

History

Peebles Rovers were members of the Scottish Football League Third Division between 1923 and 1926, and had only a modest record – finishing 14th and 8th in the two full seasons played, and were 14th in the unfinished 1925–26 season. All told, Peebles Rovers played 86 Scottish Football League matches, winning 28, drawing 15 and losing 43. They scored 159 goals and conceded 190. Their record victory at their

home was 7–1 against

Beith Beith (locally ) is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) afte ...

on 18 April 1925. Their best away win was 5–2 away against Galston, seven days previously on 11 April 1925. In 1937 Peebles Rovers moved from their traditional home in Victoria Park to Whitestone park, after a local businessman successfully managed to acquire planning rights to the eastern end of Victoria Park, intending substantial development that was subsequently curtailed due to the start of World War II. Peebles Rovers themselves were active long before the Third Division, being formed in 1888 and have played in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1907–08, when they lost 4–0 away to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. In their first 11 appearances, they were drawn away from home on each and every occasion, spanning 19 ties in all. They managed to win three of these and draw two, including holding Hibernian to a 0–0 draw at Easter Road in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

– easily their best result in the competition. In this season, Paddy McBoyle starred as top scorer with a total of 27 league goals. Other than a replay win over St Cuthbert's Wanderers, they did not have a home tie until beating Keith 7–3 in

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

. They drew away to Albion Rovers in the next round, before losing the replay. They also drew with their

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

namesakes in

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, and again lost the replay. The

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

before that, they were involved in a marathon tie with Brechin City. There was a 1–1 draw away, 4–4 at home after extra time, 0–0 in a second replay at Easter Road, again after extra time and finally losing 6–2 in a third replay, at Tannadice. After that they took some serious hammerings, losing 10–0 away to St Mirren in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

, 6–1 at home against Ayr United the next

year A year is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 Synodic day, solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) ...

, and then a 15–1 slaughter away to Hibernian in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

. Joe Baker scored nine that day and his brother Gerry grabbed four in the earlier debacle 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'' (1968), its lyrics were written by lead singer Jim Morrison and as with other songs, it was dedicated to his gir ...

. During the 1959–1960 season, there was a record 23–2 defeat at the hands of

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

. Their final appearance was better though, in 1965–66, they drew 2–2 at

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

and took the Sons to extra time in the replay before losing 3–2. After the match both sides celebrated the match as an exemplar of what football could be. Their greatest moment in the Qualifying Cup (South) came in the 1953–54 competition, when they defeated Shawfield Amateurs 6–1, Burntisland Shipyard 7–0, Selkirk 4–2 (all at home) and

Coldstream Coldstream () is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream was where the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, originated. Description Coldstream li ...

4–1 after a 1–1 draw away to reach the final. Latterly the club is only an associate member of 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 ...

due to the inadequate facilities at Whitestone Park, thus becoming ineligible to compete in the Scottish Cup. While Peebles Rovers won many minor and local competitions, the highest level they played at, the Third Division apart, is the East of Scotland League, which they won on six occasions – 1928–29, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36 and 1945–46. In the 1966–67, Rovers joined the junior grade of football and entered a period of decline, until they rejoined the senior ranks in the East of Scotland League in 1980–81. When that set-up was altered to two divisions in the late-1980s, they found themselves in the second tier, and during this period endured a prolonged period of financial hardship resulting in several members of the squad volunteering in the local town to make ends meet. Although they won promotion several times, their stays in the Premier were of short duration. In the 2007–08 season, Peebles won promotion to the East of Scotland Premier Division, but were relegated back to the First Division in the 2010–11 season. Largest crowds to watch them have been 14,000 and 10,453, both at Easter Road in the Scottish Cup in 1923 and 1961. The record gate at Whitestone Park is recorded as 1,750 for the 4–2 first round Scottish Cup win over Gala Fairydean in

. Michael Wilson was named the club's new manager in April 2020. Wilson was joined in December 2020 by Colin Macdonald, a local businessman who accepted the role of Club Chairman. Following a poor start to the 2022/23 season, Wilson joined Vale of Leithen, leaving the way clear for Ger Rossi to return as manager for a second spell after a successful period with the club a few years earlier.

Honours

* Winners: 1928–29, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1945–46 * ''Runners-up:'' 1938–39, 1948–49, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1963–64

First Division * Winners: 1988–89, 1997–98, 2014–15 * ''Runners-up:'' 2001–02, 2007–08 King Cup * Winners: 1907–08, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1961–62, 1962–63, 2014–15 Alex Jack Cup *Winners: 1999–00 *''Runners-up:'' 2014–15, 2007–08

Coronation Cup

The Coronation Cup was an annual five-a-side tournament run under the auspices of the football club, Peebles Cricket Club and the March Riding Committee. The trophy was presented to the football club by Mr M.G. Thorburn of Glenormiston for the first competition in 1911. (via) British Newspaper Archive. ; Notes *

References

External links

Peebles Rovers official websitePeebles Football Club - Youths and Juniors
{{Scottish Football League Football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1893 Scottish Football League teams 1893 establishments in Scotland East of Scotland Football League teams Scottish Junior Football Association clubs Football clubs in the Scottish Borders

History

Honours

Coronation Cup

See also

References

External links