| Full name | Ayr Thistle Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Thistle | |
| Founded | 1886 | |
| Dissolved | 1888 | |
| Ground | Springvale Park | |
| Hon. President | J. Douglas Baird Esq. | |
| President | Wm. Miller Esq. | |
| Match Secretary | R. Paterson | |
Ayr Thistle Football Club was an association football club from Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland.
The club was founded at a meeting at the Cattle Market Hotel in Ayr on Christmas Eve in 1886, on the basis that "the prestige of the Ayr Football Club seems to be a little on the wane, and interest in football matters generally seems to be dying"; the other senior club in the town, Ayr Rovers, was evidently not worthy of consideration. The club took the name Ayr Thistle in emulation of the previous club of that name. [1]
The Thistle's first match was on New Year's Day, at home to Hurlford, and the attraction of the new team - plus the strength of its side - was such that Hurlford preferred the friendly to playing in the Ayrshire Charity Cup against Ayr Rovers. [2] The Thistle still had not had time to build up a team, and borrowed Monaghan - who had recently moved from Ayr F.C. to Queen of the South Wanderers - to play in goal, but Thistle had still recruited Andrew Young from Ayr as captain, as well as M'Creadie, M'Lauchlan, John Fergusson, and Jack from the Ayr side. Despite the lack of team practice, and the strength of a Hurlford side which held the Ayrshire Cup, the home side only lost 6–4. [3]
The club was too late to enter the Ayrshire Cup for 1886–87, but did enter in 1887–88, as well as the 1887–88 Scottish Cup, having joined the Scottish Football Association in August 1887. [4] It lost both of its first round ties 8–2; at Kilmarnock in the national and Kilbirnie in the county. In Kilmarnock tie, Thistle briefly looked as if it could pull off a surprising comeback, bringing the score from 5–0 at half-time to 5–2 going into the last quarter of the game, but Kilmarnock scored three late goals. [5] Kilbirnie was so comfortable in the county tie that it could undertake some tactical experimentation by swapping the backs and the wings. [6]
In between the ties however the Thistle unexpectedly beat Ayr in a friendly 4–3, [7] but the two cup defeats, followed by an 11–3 defeat for a weak side at Queen of the South Wanderers, [8] seems to have dispirited the club, and the number of games it scheduled fell off alarmingly. The club's anniversary match was a muted affair, a 3–1 defeat to Mauchline with a "limited" attendance. [9] The club fell apart even before the end of the club's first full season; it scratched from a tie in the Ayr Charity Cup with Shields Athletic, with reports that the Thistle had "broken up". [10] The club was not quite dead yet, but the formation of Ayr Athletic, to replace an Ayr side moving to the north side of the river, and taking on some of the Thistle players and ground, [11] killed off the club. Thistle had entered the 1888–89 Scottish Cup and was drawn to host the 2nd Ayrshire Rifle Volunteers in the first round, but scratched from the tie on the eve of the fixture. [12]
The final indignity was that Young, James Donaldson, and James Robertson, as members of the club, faced a claim for £13 from Messrs W. & G. Ferguson, joiners, for the cost of erecting the clubhouse. Young claimed that he had left the club before the clubhouse was started; the sheriff held that the membership as a whole was responsible for payment of the defunct club's debts. [13]
The club wore blue and yellow hoops with blue knickers. [14]
The club's ground was at the Cattle Market Field in Ayr. [15]
The Ayrshire Football Combination was formed in 1893 as a breakaway from the Ayrshire Football League. Its original membership was Annbank F.C., Ayr F.C., Ayr Parkhouse F.C., Hurlford F.C., Kilbirnie, Kilmarnock F.C. and Stevenston Thistle F.C.
Ayr Football Club was a Scottish Football League club from Ayr, Scotland. They were formed in 1879 by a merger of the Ayr Thistle and Ayr Academicals football clubs. Their initial home ground was Springvale Park, which they left in 1884 to play home fixtures at Beresford Park, which they in turn left in 1888 to move to Somerset Park. Ayr won their first ever game at Somerset Park 3–0 against Aston Villa.
Mauchline Football Club was a senior football team based in the small town of Mauchline in East Ayrshire.
Cumnock Springbank Football Club was an association football club from Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Lanemark Football Club was based in the town of New Cumnock, and was one of a number of football clubs formed in the late nineteenth century in and around the Ayrshire coalfield.
The 1886–87 Scottish Cup was the 14th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Hibernian won the competition for the first time after they beat Dumbarton 2–1 in the final.
The 1887–88 Scottish Cup was the 15th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Renton won the competition for the second time after they beat Cambuslang 6–1 in the final. The result set a new record as the largest margin of victory in a Scottish Cup Final - a record that was equalled by Celtic in 1972 but has never been bettered.
Ayr Academicals Football Club was a football team from the Scottish town of Ayr.
Kilmarnock Athletic Football Club was an association football club from Ayrshire in Scotland.
Annbank Football Club was a football club that existed from 1879 to 1920, from the village of Annbank, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Hurlford Football Club was a football club that existed from 1875 to 1924, from the village of Hurlford, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Kilbirnie Football Club was a football club from the village of Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Irvine Football Club was a football club from the town of Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Cumnock Football Club was an association football club from Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Monkcastle Football Club was a football club which existed from 1883 to 1900, in the town of Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Newmilns Football Club was a football club from the village of Newmilns, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Dykebar Football Club was a Scottish football team located in the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire.
Ayr Athletic Football Club was an association football club from Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Ayr Rovers Football Club was an association football club from Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland.
