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 from the town of
Stewarton
Stewarton (, ) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. ...
,
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
, Scotland.
History
The club was formed in 1877 and took its name from the district of
Cunninghame
Cunninghame () is a former History of local government in Scotland#Provinces, comital district of Scotland and also a Local government areas of Scotland 1973 to 1996, district of the Strathclyde Local government areas of Scotland 1973 to 1996, ...
. The club's name was often given as Stewarton Cunningham or simply Stewarton. It first played competitive football in the 1879–80 season when it entered 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, the tr ...
, reaching the third round. Its best run in the competition came in 1881–82, when it reached the fourth round.
The club made its debut in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1879–80, losing 6–1 to Maybole Ladywell in the second round, a protest against encroachment getting short shrift. After a withdrawal, the club returned in 1881–82 by losing 9–0 at
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
*Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon
*Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine
*Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel
Portland may also r ...
, and the next year suffered a 5–3 home defeat to
Ayr
Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...
.
After losing Scottish Cup ties in 1883–84 and 1884–85 to Kilmarnock Athletic by 9–1 and 14–0 respectively, and 9–1 in the Ayrshire Cup to
Mauchline
Mauchline (; ) is a town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census Mauchline had a recorded population of 4,105. It is home to the National Burns Memorial.
Location
The town lies by the Glasgow and South Western Railway ...
in the latter year, the club left Senior football to become a member of the
Scottish Junior Football Association
The Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the junior grade of football (soccer), football in Scotland. The term "junior" refers to the ...
, which made it ineligible to play in the Scottish Cup or the Ayrshire Cup.
The club reverted to Senior status in 1887, and seemingly reached the semi-final of the Ayrshire Cup with a 2–0 win over
Annbank
Annbank is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is around five miles east of Ayr. Originally a mining settlement, it once had a rail link to Ayr via the Auchincruive Waggonway.
Amenities
The village has a village hall, bakery, shop, bo ...
in 1887–88; however, after a protest "on account of the ground not being in good order", Annbank won the replayed tie 3–1, to the "great dissatisfaction" of the "little town". On its first entry back into the Scottish Cup in 1888–89, Cunninghame registered its only win in the main competition, 4–3 against the new Rosebank club of
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 ...
, the match marking Rosebank's "first bow to a football crowd of any size"; Stewarton had been drawn away, but Rosebank's Holm Quarry ground had already been booked for a cricket match.
The rise of professionalism left the Bonnet Makers behind, and after two disastrous defeats in 1891–92 - 14–0 at home to
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 ...
in the Ayrshire Cup, and 9–0 at Dalry in the qualifying rounds of the Scottish Cup - it returned to the Junior game. The club's greatest success in the Junior ranks was winning the Ayrshire Junior League in 1900–01, after a 5–1 play-off victory over the Afton Lads club. However the club left the competition before the 1904–05 season.
Colours
The club's colours were originally navy shirts with white shorts; in 1888, the club changed to yellow and black, which remained the club's colours for the rest of its existence, other than a one-season flirtation with red and white stripes in 1899–1900.
Grounds
The club originally played at High Cross Farm, moving to Standalone Park in 1880. Rosebank protested in 1888 that the ground had a tree and hedge growing on the touch line; 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 ...
representatives at the meeting literally laughed at the protest. In 1892 the club moved to Rigghead Park.
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...