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| Full name | Dunblane Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Heather [1] | |
| Founded | 1878 | |
| Dissolved | 1915 | |
| Ground | Duckburn Park | |
Dunblane Football Club was an association football team from Dunblane, within the historic county of Perthshire, which entered the Scottish Cup for nearly three decades.
The club was formed in 1878, its first match against external opposition being against the Vale of Menteith side from Thornhill in June 1879; the club's first goals, in its second match against Bridge of Allan F.C. the following week, came from 13 year old Robert Christie, who would later play for Scotland. [2]
The club first entered the Scottish Cup in 1881–82, losing in the first round to Vale of Teith F.C.; at the time the club was temporarily called the Dunblane Wanderers to distinguish from a junior side in the town. [3]
The club's first substantial Cup run came the following year, reaching the fourth round (which, that year, was the final 22). The club's original 3–1 win at Coupar Angus F.C. in the first round was turned into a 3–3 draw after Coupar Angus protested about two disallowed goals; [4] Dunblane won the second game 6–1. [5] Dunblane also survived a protest from Arbroath F.C. after the second round [6] but went out at home to the powerful 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer side in the fourth, despite the support of a "loud-tongued and not too select" crowd. [7] The club reached the same stage in 1883–84, this time made up of 21 clubs, but lost 6–1 at home to Rangers. [8]
Although the Heather fell one stage sooner in 1884–85, the season saw the first edition of the Perthshire Cup, with 11 entries; Dunblane won the competition thanks to beating Vale of Teith in the final, at the Hillyland Skating Pond in Perth, [9] before 1,000 spectators, coming from 3–0 down to win 4–3. [10]
The club would win the Perthshire Cup on ten occasions, six of them coming by 1892, but the rise of St Johnstone F.C. effectively usurped the club as the leading side in the county. The club's high point on the national stage came in 1886–87, by reaching the final 16 of the Scottish Cup for the only time, albeit the run included a bye and a walkover after Dundee East End F.C. scratched from a third round replay. [11]
After the introduction of preliminary rounds and the Scottish Qualifying Cup in the 1890s, the club reached the main rounds of the Scottish Cup four times, three times being Qualifying Cup semi-finalists. The club struggled in the wake of professional clubs above them and Junior clubs below them, and by 1914 was struggling to raise a team; a 6–0 defeat to the Crieff Morrisonians F.C. in January 1914, with only ten men turning up, was the club's last competitive match. [12]
The club did enter the national and local competitions in 1914–15, but, as so many players had signed up for World War 1, the club resolved in September not to play any matches for the season. [13] The club was struck off the Scottish FA roll in August 1915.
The club played in two leagues:
Apart from the first season in 1891–92, when Dunblane was runners-up to Raith Rovers F.C., the club struggled in the Midland League, normally finishing near the bottom, but did win the Central League in 1903–04. However that competition only had three teams in it and Dunblane took the title having won one match, as the club was awarded another after Strathallan XI did not turn up.
The club originally played in "bright scarlet" [14] shirts and white shorts, with the shorts changing to navy from 1892. [15] The red shirts gave the club its nickname of the Heather.
The club played at Kippenross Park [16] until 1887 and Duckburn Park afterwards. [17]
Scottish Cup
Perthshire Cup
Stirling & District Charity Cup
Central League
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south; it borders the counties of Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus to the east, Fife, Kinross-shire, Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire to the south and Argyllshire to the west. It was a local government county from 1890 to 1930.
Coupar Angus is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies on the River Isla in the broad and fertile Valley of Strathmore, 4 miles south of Blairgowrie. The A94 road from Perth to Forfar runs through the town, and it had a station on the Midland Junction line until 1967.
Kinross and Western Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1983, representing, at any one time, a seat for one Member of Parliament (MP), elected by the first past the post system of election.
Perth and East Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Dundee Our Boys Football Club were a football club from Dundee, Scotland.
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Robert Main Christie was a Scottish amateur footballer who played as an outside forward, most notably for Queen's Park. He later became president of the SFA and represented Scotland at curling.
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Crieff Morrisonians Football Club was a football club from the village of Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland.
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