| Full name | Hurlford Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Villagers [1] [2] | |
| Founded | 1875 | |
| Dissolved | 1924 | |
| Ground | Station Park | |
Hurlford Football Club was a football club that existed from 1875 to 1924, from the village of Hurlford, Ayrshire, Scotland.
| Full name | Hurlford Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Villagers [1] [2] | |
| Founded | 1875 | |
| Dissolved | 1924 | |
| Ground | Station Park | |
Hurlford Football Club was a football club that existed from 1875 to 1924, from the village of Hurlford, Ayrshire, Scotland.
The club was founded in 1875. The club was one of the strongest in Ayrshire in the pre-professional period, but, in common with fellow village clubs like Annbank F.C. and Mauchline F.C., the club found that the arrival of the Scottish League and the legalization of professionalism meant that it could not compete with those from the larger towns of Kilmarnock and Ayr.
The club entered the Scottish Cup for the first time in 1877–78, although did not win a tie for two years; when it finally did so, in 1879–80, the club reached the last 13, [3] but had the misfortune to be drawn against Queen's Park F.C., at the time the strongest side in the country. The game, at Hampden Park, ended 15–1 to the home side, Hurlford's goal coming late on from the only attack it had all match; the blame was put on players leaving their positions to join in futile attacks and getting caught on the break, and that the goalkeeper "seemed to fear instead of being anxious to repel the approach of the ball". [4]
The club's 1885–86 second round tie with Kilmarnock F.C. went to four replays before Hurlford finally won through, with a surprisingly easy 5–1 win at Rugby Park, [5] only to lose 5–0 to Arthurlie F.C. in the third round.
The club's best season came in 1886–87. The club reached the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup for the only time. Drawn against Dumbarton F.C., the original tie at Station Park ended in a goalless draw, with Dumbarton playing under protest because of the state of the pitch. The replay at Boghead was played after a heavy snowfall, cleared from the pitch by the local unemployed, but the ground remained slippery, and, although the match went ahead, Dumbarton again only did so under protest. Hurlford came from behind to win 2–1, but despite evidence "pro and con" the protest, a Scottish FA committee unanimously favoured the bigger club, to the extent that they ordered the second replay to take place again at Boghead. [6] Hurlford did not even receive any gate money from the tie as Dumbarton claimed it had all been spent on clearing the ground. [7] In the second replay, Hurlford took the lead after 50 minutes, but within two minutes were behind, and ultimately lost 3–1. [8]
Hurlford did put in a counter-protest but the Scottish FA conveniently postponed the hearing until after the semi-final, [9] which Dumbarton won, so the protest was dismissed by 14 votes to 4. [10] Nevertheless, many neutrals had "doubts as to whether justice had been fairly dealt to the Ayrshire men". [11]
The club's main highlight afterwards was a 7–0 first round win over Ayr F.C. in 1888, although this was due to Ayr fielding a 'scratch' team, with the first XI playing a more lucrative friendly in England; [12] after 1891, the club struggled to get through the qualifying rounds. The club continued to enter the Cup until 1922–23, its final tie being a 4–0 defeat at eventual winners Celtic F.C. in the second round, Joe Cassidy scoring all four goals and missing a penalty. [13]
The club reached the Ayrshire Cup final every season bar two from 1883 to 1894, although the club only won three finals in that period. The first win was in 1887, the "hardy tykes" of Hurlford - the club known for having smaller, faster players - beating the "rather brilliant but comparatively new" Kilbirnie F.C. at Rugby Park, with two goals from William Scobie and two from Johnny M'Knight. [14]
Kilbirnie gained revenge the following season, at the same venue, helped by having the majority of the crowd behind it, [15] but in 1889 the club beat Ayr F.C. (again at Rugby Park), having beaten Kilmarnock F.C. in the semi-final (after two replays). The win was considered a surprise, Ayr's "dark-shirted" side having a weight advantage over the "flash-coloured men" (averaging over 11 stone per player, compared to Hurlford's ten), and Hurlford missing players through injury, but Hurlford showed greater teamwork and first-half goals from Minford or M'Knight - both went up for a header together - and Goudie clinched the trophy. [16]
The club's third triumph came in 1894, beating Saltcoats Victoria F.C. 2–1 at Holm Quarry in front of 5,000 spectators, [17] but in the 20th century the competition lost its lustre, as the Scottish League teams started to enter reserve sides instead.
Although the Ayrshire Football League was founded in 1891–92, Hurlford joined a league which covered the Scottish south-west, the Scottish Football Federation, instead. This was a competition of some quality, with 6 of its initial 12 clubs eventually joining the Scottish League, and Hurlford finished 3rd overall. However, the decision proved financially disastrous, with low crowds and high expenses, [18] so, after one season, Hurlford withdrew. The club applied to join the Scottish Football Alliance, which had two vacancies, but was one of seven clubs which lost out in the ballot. [19]
Instead the club joined the Ayrshire League for 1892–93. Hurlford finished 3rd out of 12 clubs, but for 1893–94 seven of the stronger clubs (including Hurlford) founded a new league, the Ayrshire Football Combination. Hurlford again finished 3rd, between Ayr F.C. and Kilmarnock F.C., but by 1897 both of those clubs had joined the Scottish League and the Ayrshire Combination was fell into disarray. The final season (1896–97) saw a number of fixtures not completed, with the championship to be decided between Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Hurlford. The game that would decide the title should have taken place on 11 May 1897, being the replay of a fixture abandoned the previous November, with Parkhouse leading Hurlford 5–0 when bad light interfered; however Hurlford did not attend the replay and Parkhouse took the title.
It took a decade for the club to find another league in which to play; the Ayrshire & Renfrewshire League, in 1904–05, but the club only played two matches (winning both) before the league fell apart. [20]
In 1906, the club joined the Scottish Football Combination, and, after an abortive second season in which the club withdrew after 2 matches, it remained a member until the league collapsed in 1911. [21]
For 1912–13, the club joined the Scottish Football Union, in which the club remained until World War One. After the War, in 1919–20, with the Union defunct, the club joined the West of Scotland League, albeit it finished bottom in three of the next four seasons; a measure of the club's standing is that, in 1921–22, with its match at home to Dykehead F.C. unplayed, and Dykehead needing 2 points for the title, the League committee simply handed the trophy to Dykehead rather than make the clubs play out the match.
The club finished bottom of the league in 1922–23, albeit a handful of fixtures remained unplayed, and the club was more or less level with Solway Star F.C. and a Queen's Park reserve side. At the end of the season, the Scottish League resolved to form a third division, and the clubs in the West of Scotland League were all invited; the only two clubs which did not decide to join were the Queen's Park side and Hurlford, who did not reply to the invitation, [22] suggesting the club had wound up at the close of the season. The club remained members of the Scottish Football Association until August 1924, when the SFA struck Hurlford from the membership list. [23]
The club's colours were as follows: [24]
| Years | Jersey colour | Shorts | Socks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1875–78 | Black & red hoops | Navy | |
| 1878–79 | Blue with white sash | ||
| 1879–86 | Blue | White | Red |
| 1886–88 | White | White [25] | |
| 1888–92 | Black, red, & gold vertical stripes | ||
| 1892–94 | Black & white stripes | Navy | |
| 1894–95 | Black, red, & gold vertical stripes | ||
| 1895–97 | Black & white stripes | ||
| 1897–1903 | Blue | Navy | |
| 1903–06 | Red & white | ||
| 1906–11 | Blue | ||
| 1911–12 | Maroon | ||
| 1912–14 | Black & white | ||
| 1914–23 | Blue |
The club played an Ayr Charity Cup tie against Mauchline in February 1885 wearing all white, while Mauchline wore its "old [as in traditional] colours of blue and white stripes", suggesting that Hurlford was wearing a change kit. [26]
The club played at a number of grounds in its early years: [27]
In 1888, [29] the club moved to the "splendid" Station Park, [30] which became the club's permanent home.
Scottish Cup
Ayrshire Cup
Ayr Charity Cup
Ayrshire Combination
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.
The Ayrshire Cup was an annual association football regional competition in Scotland. The cup competition was a knockout tournament between football clubs in the historic county of Ayrshire. The Ayrshire Cup was first held in 1877–78, the trophy being a solid silver vase, 30 inches high, and valued at £100, designed by Messrs John Cameron & Son. The first winners were Mauchline.
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 1879–80 Scottish Cup – officially the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup – was the seventh season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. With 142 entrants, this season saw the largest number of teams to compete for the trophy since its inception. Three-time defending champions Vale of Leven lost their first match in the competition for four seasons when they were knocked out in the first round, losing 4–3 to rivals Dumbarton. Queen's Park regained the trophy as they won the competition for the fourth time after beating Thornliebank 3–0 in the final on 21 February 1880.
The 1880–81 Scottish Cup – officially the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup – was the eighth season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Defending champions Queen's Park retained the cup and won the competition for the fifth time after they beat Dumbarton 3–1 in a replayed final which saw Dr John Smith score the first Scottish Cup final hat-trick on 9 April 1881.
The 1884–85 Scottish Cup – officially the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup – was the 12th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Renton won the competition for the first tie after they defeated Vale of Leven in a replayed final.
The 1885–86 Scottish Cup was the 13th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Queen's Park won the competition for the eighth time after they beat defending champions Renton 3–1 in the final.
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.
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Kilmarnock Athletic Football Club was an association football club from Ayrshire in Scotland.
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