Cartvale F.C. (1878)

Not to be confused with Busby F.C. or Cartvale F.C. (1892).

Cartvale

Full name	Cartvale Football Club
Founded	1878
Dissolved	1890
Ground	Cartbridge Park
Home colours

Cartvale Football Club was a short-lived football club from Busby, East Renfrewshire that existed from 1878 until 1890. The club regularly competed in the Scottish Cup and reached the semi-finals in 1882.

History

The club was founded in 1878, originally playing at Overlee Park, moving to Cartsbridge Park by 1879. ^[1] Its first entry into the Scottish Cup was in 1878–79, ending in defeat to Arthurlie in the first round.

The club's best run in the competition came in 1881–82, thanks in part to an unusual occurrence. The club beat Renfrew ^[2] in the first round, but, thanks to a clerical error, was omitted from the second round draw, and had to be given a bye.

A meeting of the Business Committee was held in these rooms at one o'clock on Tuesday the 4th Oct for the purpose of considering what should be done with the Cartvale, who were omitted in the second round of the Cup drawings. The Sec[retar]y stated to those present which included JW Hamilton - who occupied the chair - Messrs R Broome, Devlin, Young, Paton and Stoddart that he had been in correspondence with the Johnstone, who had received a bye, endeavouring to get them to meet the Cartvale, but as they considered it unconstitutional to play a club which had not been drawn along with the others, the only course open to the committee was to give both clubs a bye, and this they instructed the Sec[retar]y to do. ^[3]

The club reaped the benefits of the bye, as it went on its best-ever Cup run, reaching the semi-finals. However the club was overmatched against Dumbarton, conceding a goal in the second minute, turning around at half-time 5–1 in arrears, and ultimately losing 11–2. ^[4]

Cartvale had some consolation in the Renfrewshire Cup in the same season, as it reached the final for the only time in its history. The game was played at Blackstoun Park in Paisley, the home ground of Abercorn, with Arthurlie as opponent. Cartvale was unlucky to lose the toss, as Arthurlie chose to play with the wind at their backs in the first half, and the wind had dropped for the second; Arthurlie took the trophy with a 2–0 win. ^[5]

The club reached the final 8 in 1883–84, beating three other Renfrewshire sides, but when drawn to meet Queen's Park at Titwood in the quarter-finals the club again found the step up too difficult, losing 6–1 after conceding four in the second half. ^[6]

The club's last entry to the national competition was in 1886–87, losing 6–2 at Johnstone. In 1887, the club changed its name to Busby, which had been the name of an earlier club which had existed from 1873 to 1880. The club seems to have wound up by 1890, as its last entry to the Renfrewshire Cup was in 1889–90. Drawn at home to St Mirren in the second round, Busby took the lead, but lost 11–2. ^[7] By this time the club was not considered on the same level as the senior clubs it had previously played on an even basis, with Abercorn sending a reserve side to play Busby at the start of the season. ^[8]

Colours

The club's colours were as follows:

Cartvale colours

Years	Shirts	Shorts	Hose
1878–79 [9]	Black and white	White	Black
1879–82 [10]	White	White	Black
1882–86 [11]	Black with red cross [12]	White	Black
1886–90 [13]	White	Black	Black

Ground

Cartvale played at Cartbridge Park, 5 minutes' walk from the station, and the Busby Hotel sufficed for facilities. ^[14]

Notable players

• Robert Calderwood, capped three times for Scotland while with the club ^[15]
• Michael Dunbar, capped once for Scotland while with the club, scoring in the international against Ireland in 1886
• Tom Dunbar, who later played for both Old Firm clubs
• John Kelly, goalkeeper, who moved to Celtic F.C. in time to play in the 1889 Scottish Cup Final ^[16]
• J. E. McKillop, referee for the 1886 Scottish Cup Final

References

1. "Cartvale Football Club Athletic Sports". Rutherglen Reformer: 2. 21 June 1879.
2. Not the current club, but a club that existed from 1875 to 1889 and played at Glebe Street in Renfrew.
3. Scottish FA Minute Book, 1881
4. "Dumbarton v Cartvale". Paisley Daily Express: 3. 20 February 1882.
5. "Cartvale v Arthurlie (Cup Final tie)". Paisley Daily Express: 3. 3 April 1882.
6. "Scotch Cup Ties". Birmingham Post: 3. 24 December 1883.
7. "St Mirren v Busby". Paisley Daily Express: 3. 18 November 1889.
8. "2nd Abercorn v Busby". Paisley Daily Express: 3. 16 September 1889.; the game ending in a 5–5 draw
9. Dick, William (1878). Scottish Football Annual 1878–79. Cranstonhill: Mackay & Kirkwood. p. 60.
10. Fleming, J. S. (1880). Scottish Association Football Annual 1880–81. Gillespie Brothers. p. 53.
11. M'Dowall, John (1882). Scottish Football Association Annual 1882–83. Glasgow: W. Weatherston. p. 147.
12. It is not recorded whether this was an all-over design, or a Maltese cross, which was a popular motif at the time.
13. McDowall, John (1886). Scottish FA Annual 1886–87. Hay Nisbet. p. 62.
14. M'Dowall, John (1882). Scottish Football Association Annual 1882–83. Glasgow: W. Weatherston. p. 147.
15. "Robert Calderwood". Scottish FA. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
16. "Snow Final Veteran Passes". Daily Record: 35. 24 June 1939.

External links

• Scottish Football Club Directory
• RSSSF: Scottish Cup