Stevenston Thistle Football Club was a football club from the town of
Stevenston
Stevenston ( sco, Steenstoun, gd, Baile Steaphain) is a town and parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats it is one of the " Three Towns", all of similar size, on the Firth of Clyde coast; the easternmost parts ...
,
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine, North Ayrshi ...
, Scotland.
History
The club was founded in 1885. The club's first reported matches are from 1886 and it started to play competitive football from 1887–88, losing in the first round of the
Ayrshire Cup
The Ayrshire Cup was an annual association football regional competition in Scotland. The cup competition was a knockout tournament between football clubs in the historic county of Ayrshire. The Ayrshire Cup was first held in 1877–78, with t ...
and the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1889–90, where it lost at
Abercorn
Abercorn ( Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a ...
; the score was 2–2 at half-time but three goals in the first five second-half minutes saw the home side through. The following season the club successfully protested a second round defeat by Burnbank Swifts on the basis that the full 90 minutes had not been played, but the club lost the replayed tie anyway.
The club's best performance came after 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 ...
brought in preliminary rounds in 1891, as in reaching the first round proper in 1894–95, the club won 3 ties for the only time, and the last 32 was the furthest the club reached in the competition. The club was drawn to play
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a to ...
at the latter's Barrowfield Park and lost 7–2.
In 1891, the club was a founder member of the
Ayrshire Football League
Ayrshire Football League is a defunct soccer league in Scotland.
Formed in 1891 by Annbank, Ayr Parkhouse, Beith, Galston, Irvine, Kilwinning Monkcastle, Mauchline, Newmilns, Saltcoats Victoria and Stevenston Thistle F.C.
By 1893 the Ayrshire ...
; after two seasons of mediocrity, and the league growing to an unfeasible number of clubs, Thistle was one of six clubs which broke away to form the
Ayrshire Football Combination
The Ayrshire Football Combination was formed in 1893 as a breakaway from the Ayrshire Football League.
, with the North Ayrshire Cup running alongside it as a geographically limited (and therefore cheaper) competition.
The club remained a member of the Combination until its collapse in 1896–97, without success, and finished bottom in its one season back in the Ayrshire League in 1901–02. However, the Thistle won the North Ayrshire Cup in 1894–95 (played as a knockout) and 1895–96 (played as a league, beating Beith 2–1 in a title playoff). The club was also runner-up in 1896–97 and 1898–99 - in the latter season losing a play-off to Galston, after the clubs had finished level on points, by 8 goals to 1. The club also reached the final of the
Ayrshire Cup
The Ayrshire Cup was an annual association football regional competition in Scotland. The cup competition was a knockout tournament between football clubs in the historic county of Ayrshire. The Ayrshire Cup was first held in 1877–78, with t ...
for the only time in 1900–01, and, against the odds, took
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
to a replay, only going down 2–1 at the second time of asking.
By 1902–03, local leagues were no longer feasible, with Ayrshire clubs in the
Scottish League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a 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 km sout ...
attracting the most attention, and the North Ayrshire League collapsed during the season, with the Thistle having only played four games. The club scratched from its
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 ...
first round tie with
Hurlford
Hurlford (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile Àtha Cliath'') is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 4,968. Hurlford's former names include Whirlford and Hurdleford. The village was named Whirlford as a result of a ford crossing ...
in 1903–04, having lost the use of Warner Park, and was formally struck off the Scottish FA register before the 1904–05 season.
Colours
The club originally played in maroon shirts with a gold hoop and white knickerbockers. From 1889 to 1894 the club wore blue and white stripes, and after 1894 black and white stripes.
Grounds
The club played at Warner Park, which was later used as the ground for Stevenston United.
Notable players
* James Cairns, who left the club in 1895 to play in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
* Willie Fisher, who joined the club in 1901 having played for several teams in the Football League
*
Joseph Frew
Joseph Frew (1873–unknown) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the leag ...
, who played in the Football League in between two stints with the club