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| Full name | Caledonian Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Caley | |
| Founded | 1885 | |
| Dissolved | 1994 | |
| Ground | Telford Street Park Inverness | |
Caledonian Football Club was a Scottish football club from the city of Inverness, Highland. It played in the Highland Football League until 1994, when it merged with Inverness Thistle to form Caledonian Thistle, later renamed Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Caledonian Football Club was formed in 1885. They were founder members of the Highland Football League in 1893 and wore strips of blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks. Their home ground was Telford Street Park, located beside the Caledonian Canal, and they were known by the nickname Caley. [1]
Caledonian won the Highland Football League a record eighteen times. [1] Another Inverness side, Clachnacuddin, equalled this record in 2004. The club's greatest period of league and cup success was in the early 1980s when they won three successive titles under manager Alex Main, a journalist who also wrote the club's centenary book 'Caley All The Way – The First Hundred Years' in 1986. The club won the prestigious Rothmans Football Yearbook Award for outstanding non-league club in 1981–82, Rothmans describing them as one of the outstanding teams of their grade in Britain, let alone Scotland. In 1982–83 their Highland League record of won 23, drew 7, lost 0, made them the first of only two clubs in the postwar era (the other being Brora Rangers in 2014–15) to finish the season as unbeaten champions.
Caledonian, like other Highland League clubs, were prevented from making the step up to the Scottish Football League due to the lack of a pyramid system. [1]
Despite this, they qualified for the Scottish Cup many times, knocking-out larger League clubs on a total of 19 occasions. [1] Notable achievements included knocking out First Division Airdrieonians in 1990 and in 1992 embarking on a run to the fourth round, defeating league sides Stenhousemuir (4–1), Clyde (3–1), before taking Premier Division St Johnstone to a replay, eventually losing 3–0 in Perth in front of a crowd of 10,000.
The last Caledonian game was against Huntly on Saturday 14 May 1994 at Christie Park, Huntly. The match ended 1–1 with Wilson Robertson scoring the Caley goal.
| Season | Manufacturer | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1885–1978 | None | None |
| Aug - Dec 1978 | Admiral | |
| Dec 1978–1979 | None | |
| 1980–1981 | Litesome | |
| 1981–1982 | Ness Motors | |
| 1982–1983 | Dickson's | |
| 1984–1986 | None | |
| 1986–1987 | John G McGregor | |
| 1987–1989 | Nike | |
| 1989–1990 | None | |
| 1990–1991 | Umbro | Macrae & Dick |
| 1991–1994 | Matchwinner |
In 1993, the Scottish Football League decided to expand and restructure. This meant that two vacancies for membership would be available. Caledonian decided to apply for membership, as did city rivals Inverness Thistle. The SFL suggested that a joint application might be more successful and the boards of Caley and Thistle decided to merge. This decision was met with widespread opposition by supporters of both sides, especially by Caley fans who were confident their club could successfully bid on their own. However, an amalgamation went ahead. The new club, Caledonian Thistle (later Inverness Caledonian Thistle), were granted membership to the Third Division at the beginning of season 1994–95. [2] [3]
The Scottish Highland Football League is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Scottish Professional Football League.
The North Caledonian Football Association is a senior football association operating throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and is a recognised body of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and as such has its senior football competitions officially registered with the SFA.
Barry John Wilson is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is currently a first-team coach at Scottish Championship club Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, and hosts home games at Caledonian Stadium.
Inverness Thistle Football Club was a football club playing in the city of Inverness in northern Scotland.
Caledonian Stadium is a football ground in the Longman area of Inverness, Scotland, near the banks of the Moray Firth. It hosts home matches of Scottish Professional Football League club Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Richard Cory Hastings is a former Canadian soccer player and former manager of Highland League side Inverurie Loco Works.
Charlie Christie is a Scottish professional football player and coach who played as a striker and latterly as a midfielder. He played for Inverness Caledonian Thistle throughout the club's first ten years of existence (1994–2004), making over 250 appearances, and later managed the club from January 2006 until August 2007. He also played in the Scottish Highland Football League for Caledonian and Inverness Thistle before those clubs merged to become Caledonian Thistle, and was a reserve player at Celtic.
Steven William Paterson is a Scottish football manager and former player.
Jim Calder is a Scottish retired professional footballer. Calder played as a striker until he received a knee ligament injury at the age of 26. He then played as a goalkeeper, a highly unusual change given the specialist nature of that position.
Leslie Francis Fridge is a Scottish former football goalkeeper. He was formerly manager at Nairn County.
The term North derby is sometimes used to emphasise their relative geographical proximity, when matches are played between Scottish football clubs Aberdeen and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. The clubs first met in a Scottish League Cup tie played on 8 August 1998. Inverness first entered the Scottish Football League in 1994 alongside fellow Highland side Ross County, forming the Highland derby. However, Inverness progressed over the next 10 years to form a rivalry with Aberdeen, after winning promotion to the Scottish Premier League in 2004.
The 2007–08 season was Inverness Caledonian Thistle's fourth in the Scottish Premier League and 14th since the merger that created the club. They also competed in the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup.
The Highland derby is a football rivalry that is based in the Scottish Highlands. It is contested between the only two full-time SPFL clubs in the Highland council area, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County. The city of Inverness and town of Dingwall are only 14 miles (23 km) apart, whereas the nearest other professional clubs are over 100 miles (160 km) away from either club. The fixture is the most northerly professional football derby in the UK.
The 2011–12 season was Inverness Caledonian Thistle's second consecutive season in the Scottish Premier League, having competed in the league since their promotion in the 2009–10 season. Inverness also competed in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.
Telford Street Park was a football ground in Inverness, Scotland. It was the home ground of Caledonian F.C. and latterly Caledonian Thistle F.C.
Elgin Caledonian Football Club was a Scottish football team from Elgin, Moray. They participated in the Highland Football League for only one season, in 1900–01, finishing bottom of the league with seven defeats in seven games.
Mark McAllister is a former professional footballer who played for Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish League.
Daniel Hoban is a Scottish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish League Two club Elgin City.
Lewis Hyde is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
