football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

Renton, West Dunbartonshire Renton (; ) is a village in West Dunbartonshire, in the west Central Lowlands of Scotland. In the 2001 National Census it had a population of 2,138. Renton is particularly famous for the village's association football side. Renton was one of ...

Scottish football Association football is one of the national sports of Scotland and the most popular sport in the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Scottish Borders, although many of ...

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1885 and 1888, and was also runners-up three times. Its 6–1 win against

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

in 1888 is the joint record win in a Scottish Cup final. The club was one of the founder 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 ...

in 1890, but was expelled soon after for breaching the regulations against

professionalism Professionalism is a set of standards that an individual is expected to adhere to in a workplace, usually in order to appear serious, uniform, or respectful. What constitutes professionalism is hotly debated and varies from workplace to workplac ...

. It returned to the League in 1891, but struggled financially and resigned in 1897. It continued to play in minor senior leagues before folding in 1922. Renton were one of the first clubs to win the Football World Championship when in 1888, as Scottish Cup holders, it challenged and beat the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

holders

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. The club produced 13 internationalists in 11 years also.

History

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

was a hotbed of the game in the early years of organised football in Scotland, with the county's three leading clubs of the era,

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. ...

, Renton and

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven () is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ''fie ...

all forming in 1872, emerging out of shinty clubs in local factories who were turned to the association game by the influence of Queen's Park F.C. Renton's side was formed by employees of William Stirling & Sons, the dye factory of Alexander Wylie, who provided the club with finance and support. Although not one of the founder members 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 ...

in 1873, Renton joined the body in time to enter the inaugural ( 1873–74) Scottish Cup tournament, and on 18 October 1873 was one of the clubs involved in the first day of competition for the new trophy. Renton faced

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

on neutral territory at Crosshill,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, winning 2–0. Although full details of the matches played are difficult to ascertain, it is generally believed that this was the first of the three games played that day to kick off, and therefore the first official competitive football match to take place in Scotland. Renton went on to reach the semi-final, losing to eventual winners Queen's Park. The following season they went one step further, reaching the final, but again lost to Queen's Park, by 3–0.

The glory years

During the 1880s Renton was amongst the most powerful clubs in the country. It lifted the Scottish Cup for the first time in 1885, beating local rivals Vale of Leven in the final. The

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

final once again ended in defeat against Queen's Park, but Renton lifted the trophy for a second time in 1888 with an emphatic 6–1 win over

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

, a winning margin that has never been exceeded in a Scottish Cup final. During this period, Renton also lifted another prestigious trophy of the era, the Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup, four years in succession. During season 1886–87, Renton competed in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. It defeated

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

1–0 at home in the

first round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. Following a 2–2 draw at home in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

, it beat

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

2–0 in a replay. Preston ended their FA Cup run in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

, winning 2–0 at Renton. Renton_fc_team_1888-89

Three months after their second Scottish Cup triumph, Renton returned to the scene, the second Hampden Park in Glasgow, to face FA Cup holders West Bromwich Albion in a challenge match billed as being for the " Championship of the United Kingdom and the World". The fixture was really no more than a friendly organised between the clubs, without any direct sanction from the respective national associations. Given there were no league competitions as yet, a meeting between the English and Scottish Cup winners could reasonably lay some claim to deciding the leading club in the UK (albeit without any opportunity for the Welsh or Irish equivalents to compete). When Renton won the World Cup, the footballing world was in its infancy in 1888, almost exclusively played by Scottish and English clubs. It was a World Cup Championship by default – nevertheless Renton's claim is undisputed. A “Champion of the World” sign was proudly displayed on the pavilion at Tontine Park. The trophy can be found in the

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

museum.

Scottish League

The formation of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

proved disastrous for Renton, as, before the 1889–90 season, 9 of their first team players had left for English clubs. In 1890, Renton were one of the eleven founder 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 ...

, the meeting which led to the establishment of the new competition having been instigated by Renton club secretary Peter Fairly. The club's first experience of League competition was to be cut short a month into the 1890–91 season, however, by a disastrous run of events. The club lost in the first round of the 1890–91 Scottish Cup, 2–1 at Kilsyth Wanderers, the result being considered the biggest shock in Cup history. With no second round tie, the club filled the gap with a friendly against a team billed as "Edinburgh Saints". This was in reality St Bernard's, which had been suspended following allegations of

professionalism Professionalism is a set of standards that an individual is expected to adhere to in a workplace, usually in order to appear serious, uniform, or respectful. What constitutes professionalism is hotly debated and varies from workplace to workplac ...

, in thin disguise. As a result of this Renton was suspended from all football. Renton successfully sued the SFA to have its suspension lifted and subsequently resumed its place in the Scottish League for 1891–92. The St Bernard's case illustrated the growing creep of illegal professionalism in Scottish football, a trend no doubt encouraged by the introduction of regular league competition, and one which was to lead to the decline of small town or village clubs, who could never hope to match the financial muscle of the big city clubs. At the end of the 1893–94 season — the first season after the legalisation of

professionalism Professionalism is a set of standards that an individual is expected to adhere to in a workplace, usually in order to appear serious, uniform, or respectful. What constitutes professionalism is hotly debated and varies from workplace to workplac ...

in Scotland — Renton was relegated to the League's Division Two, never to return to the top level. They continued to run into trouble with the authorities, failing to turn up for their away fixture against Dundee Wanderers in 1894–95, in favour of playing a more lucrative friendly against Queen's Park. The points were therefore awarded to the Wanderers. The club was more rigorous in its attention to that season's Scottish Cup, however, reaching the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

for the fifth (and as it turned out, last) time. Once more pitted against the opposition that had embroiled them in their earlier brush with officialdom — St Bernard's — Renton lost out by a 2–1 scoreline.

Decline

Despite this appearance back in the national spotlight, Renton's time in the Scottish League was drawing to a close. In common with Vale of Leven and Dumbarton, the amateur game had favoured Renton, as the clubs all had backing from factories in the area; players could be de facto professionals by taking a factory wage for playing football - something that was common in England - and gaining an advantage over clubs whose players had full-time jobs. However, once professionalism was allowed, gate money for the biggest clubs easily outstripped the money available from private company backers. Financial hardship began to hit deeply for a club only ever capable of drawing a few hundred spectators to home matches; at one point, the club had even considered relocating to Glasgow as a solution to their problems (where its appearance had always drawn thousands). Its league career ended four games into the 1897–98 season when, unable to meet its financial guarantees, it tendered its resignation. This was accepted, with Hamilton Academical taking on Renton's remaining fixtures – less than a decade after Renton's "world championship". The club continued to play in a variety of minor senior leagues – mainly the Western League along with their derby rivals

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven () is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ''fie ...

before finally folding in 1922 (not 1921 as sometimes stated) – it entered the 1922–23

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 Cu ...

, but scratched to Hamilton Garrison. Its final hour of fame came in the Scottish Cup of 1906–07 when it put out St Bernard's – then leading Division Two – after two draws, and then stunned Scottish football by putting out

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, which was to finish second in Division One that year. It finally went out to Queen's Park in the quarter-finals of the competition.

Colours

The club's initial colours were red/scarlet and white striped (in the context of the time, this refers to hooped) jerseys and blue knickerbockers. In 1882 the club changed to red and blue, possibly as all dark blue with red trim, as in 1886 it described its colours as dark blue jerseys, and dark blue knickers with red stripes. The club retained dark blue for the rest of its existence, and was so attached to it that when playing local rivals Vale of Leven refused to change the jerseys; in the Glasgow Charity Cup final in 1886, the only difference between the sides was that Renton donned white knickers, and in the 1887–88

Dumbartonshire Cup The Dumbartonshire Cup was the championship trophy of the Dumbartonshire FA from its inception in 1884 until the organization disbanded in 1938. There was however an 'extra' playing of the competition in 1939, immediately after the outbreak of the ...

final the Vale was ordered to wear the white jerseys of the Dumbartonshire Association.

Stadium

The club originally played on a public park close to Renton railway station at the north end of the village. In 1877, the club moved to South Park, 500 yards from the station, and in 1878 to Tontine Park, which remained the club's ground for the rest of its existence. After the club's demise, the ground was built over for housing in 1928, with the former location of the centre circle being commemorated in one of the gardens.

Noted players

Twelve Renton players were chosen to represent

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

between 1885 and 1896. The club's international players were as follows: * Alexander Barbour * Harry Campbell * Robert Glen * Andrew Hannah * James Kelly *

Bob Kelso Robert "Bob" Kelso, M.D., is a fictional character played by Ken Jenkins in the American comedy-drama '' Scrubs''. Bob Kelso is the chief of medicine for Sacred Heart Hospital for the first seven seasons of ''Scrubs'' (a position held since 198 ...

*

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...

* Archie McCall * James McCall * Neil McCallum * William McColl * John Murray

Honours

*

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1884–85, 1887–88 **Runners-up: 1874–75, 1885–86, 1894–95

Other Honours

; League * Scottish Combination ** Runners-up: 1902–03, 1903–04 * Western League ** Runners-up: 1917–18 ; County *

Dumbartonshire Cup The Dumbartonshire Cup was the championship trophy of the Dumbartonshire FA from its inception in 1884 until the organization disbanded in 1938. There was however an 'extra' playing of the competition in 1939, immediately after the outbreak of the ...

: ** Winners: 1887, 1896, 1908, 1909, 1914 ** Runners-up: 1888, 1895, 1899, 1900, 1905, 1912, 1913, 1920 * Dumbartonshire & District League ** Runners-up: 1902 ; Charity * Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup: ** Winners: 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889 * East End Catholic Charity Cup: ** Winners: 1887 ; Other * Football World Championship: ** Champions: 1888 * Dumbartonshire 2nd XI Cup: ** Winners: 1886, 1887 ** Runners-up: 1888 * Mavisbank Tournament ** Winners: 1887 (via)

British Newspaper Archive The British Newspaper Archive website provides access to searchable digitized archives of British and Irish newspapers. It was launched in November 2011. History The British Library's Newspapers section was based in Colindale in north London ...

Footnotes

;Sources * * * *

References

External links

Renton Football Club
Historical Kits.
Photo of Scottish Cup-winning squad, 1888
(

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) {{Scottish Football League Defunct football clubs in Scotland Football in West Dunbartonshire Association football clubs established in 1872 Association football clubs disestablished in 1922 1872 establishments in Scotland 1922 disestablishments in Scotland History of West Dunbartonshire Scottish Football League teams Scottish Football League founder members Scottish Cup winners