Bellshill F.C.

Bellshill

Full name	Bellshill Football Club
Founded	1879
Dissolved	1884
Ground	Viewhill Park
President	H. N. L. Foster Esq., [1] R. Neilson Esq. [2]
Secretary	Andrew Burns, James Scott
Home colours

Bellshill Football Club was a 19th-century football club based in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

History

The club was formed in August 1879. ^[3]

It shares the distinction with Dean F.C. of Kilmarnock and Angus F.C. of Forfar of having played 4 Scottish Cup ties, all in the main competition stages, and having lost them all. Its results were:

• 1879–80: 1–2 at Excelsior; a second round tie as Bellshill were admitted to the competition after the first round.
• 1880–81: 0–3 at Airdrie
• 1881–82: scratched to Airdriehill ^[4]
• 1882–83: 1–2 at Benhar ^[5]
• 1883–84: 0–8 at Cambuslang; six goals came in the first half, when Cambuslang was kicking against the wind and the sun. ^[6]

Four months into its first season, in November 1879, Bellshill was one of the 16 clubs which founded the Lanarkshire Football Association. ^[7] Bellshill duly entered the first Lanarkshire Cup, but lost in the first round at Shettleston, a Bellshill protest being dismissed. ^[8]

In its first season, Bellshill had 30 members, which put it on a par with clubs like Excelsior and Cambuslang. However, it did not take part in the 1881–82 season, its players (including captain William Moody) and committee members having mostly been part of the junior Bellshill Daisy club, ^{[9] [10]} and the Scottish Football Association recording the club as "dissolved", ^[11] although on Bellshill's return in 1882 it still claimed a foundation date of 1879. ^[12]

That seems to have stalled the club, as, by 1883, Bellshill had not grown at all, but Cambuslang had 70 members and Excelsior (now called Airdrieonians) had 40. The size of the gap was shown by a 10–0 friendly defeat at Royal Albert in February 1883; ^[13] four years earlier the clubs had been similar sizes, but the Royalists now had double the membership. The club did not pay its subscription to the Scottish Football Association for 1884–85, being struck from the membership before the season started. ^[14]

Colours

Bellshill originally played in cardinal and white, with white trousers. ^[15] In 1882 it changed to 1+1⁄2-inch black-and-white hooped jerseys and white knickers. ^[16]

Grounds

The club originally played at Bellshill Park, 15 minutes' walk from Bellshill railway station, ^[17] gaining its own place in 1880 at Viewhill Park, Muirmadkin Road. ^{[18] [19]}

External links

• Lanarkshire Cup results (NB: the 1883–84 second round tie saw Alpha beat Tollcross, not Bellshill ^[20] )

References

1. "Bellshill Football Club". Hamilton Advertiser: 2. 17 June 1882.
2. "Bellshill Football Club". Hamilton Advertiser: 2. 24 February 1883.
3. Dick, William (1879). Scottish Football Annual 1879–80. Glasgow: Dunlop & Foote. p. 73.
4. Scottish FA Minutes 1881–84. Glasgow: Scottish Football Association. 20 September 1881. p. 8.
5. "Bellshill v Benhar". Hamilton Advertiser: 2. 16 September 1882.
6. "Cambuslang v Bellshill". Glasgow Herald: 9. 10 September 1883.
7. "Lanarkshire Football Association". Hamilton Advertiser: 2. 22 November 1879.
8. "Lanarkshire Football Association". Lothian Courier: 3. 31 January 1880.
9. "Football". Hamilton Advertiser: 2. 13 August 1881.
10. "Football - Bellshill Daisy v Drumpellier 2d XI". Hamilton Advertiser: 2. 10 December 1881.
11. Scottish FA Minutes 1881–84. Glasgow: Scottish Football Association. 20 September 1881. p. 8.
12. M'Dowall, John (1882). Scottish Football Association Annual 1882–83. Glasgow: W. Weatherston. p. 145.
13. "Matches played on Saturday". Glasgow Herald: 10. 5 February 1883.
14. Scottish FA Minutes 1884–87. Glasgow: Scottish Football Association. 26 August 1884. p. 38.
15. Dick, William (1879). Scottish Football Annual 1879–80. Glasgow: Dunlop & Foote. p. 73.
16. M'Dowall, John (1882). Scottish Football Association Annual 1882–83. Glasgow: W. Weatherston. p. 145.
17. Dick, William (1879). Scottish Football Annual 1879–80. Glasgow: Dunlop & Foote. p. 73.
18. "Football. - Bellshill v Queen's Park (Hampden Eleven)". Hamilton Advertiser: 2. 7 February 1880.
19. M'Dowall, John (1882). Scottish Football Association Annual 1882–83. Glasgow: W. Weatherston. p. 145.
20. "Football". Hamilton Advertiser: 6. 10 November 1883.