Lanarkshire Junior Football League

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The Lanarkshire Junior Football League was a football league competition operated in Lanarkshire under the Scottish Junior Football Association which operated from 1891, being the oldest-running regional competition of its kind until a merger in 1968.

Contents

The league was formed in 1891, [1] at which point six of the ten finalists in the 5-year history of the Scottish Junior Cup had been from Lanarkshire (not counting those in the city of Glasgow under its boundaries of the time) indicating a strong presence at Junior level, with teams forming in many towns and villages involved in the thriving coal mining and steelworking industries. However, by 1895 a rival Glasgow Junior Football League was formed, and that quickly became a superior competition due to the abundance of players, higher attendances and lower costs associated with travelling. The proximity of the big city also caused problems for the Lanarkshire league organisers, with the clubs based in their territory consistently seeking to join the GJL, [1] while the short distances involved made it feasible to do so whenever they were considered a useful addition. Some Lanarkshire clubs also switched between their local league and the Scottish Junior Football League, which had no specific territory but also existed in the shadow of the Glasgow-based league until it folded in the 1940s.

Unlike the GJL and the Western Junior Football League (the equivalent based in Ayrshire), the Lanarkshire league was not involved in the Intermediate dispute relating to compensation payments due to clubs joining Scottish Football League teams, although several of its members defected to the rebel group, some never returning; [1] during those clubs' four-year absence from the Scottish Junior Cup, Lanarkshire's Burnbank Athletic reached the final twice. When then dispute was resolved in 1931, a new regional knockout tournament, the West of Scotland Junior Cup, was carried over from the Intermediate setup, and after a few years the Lanarkshire league clubs were invited to take part, although as in the Scottish Cup, teams were involved in the latter stages only occasionally (5 wins in 34 editions), the competition being dominated by the GJL's successor, the Central League. Unlike most of Junior football, the Lanarkshire league went into abeyance for five years during World War II, with clubs playing in the 'Lanark & Lothians Junior League' during the conflict. [1]

In 1968 the Junior football system across Scotland was reorganised, with Lanarkshire's league (which now only had ten member clubs due to defections, and several clubs folding as traditional industries declined and entire communities dispersed) merging into the Central setup. It was the first Scottish Junior league to be established, at the time of its dissolution it was the longest-running. [1]

Champions

Key:

Club also won the Scottish Junior Cup [2] [3] (doubles in bold).
Club were also runners-up in the Scottish Junior Cup . [2] [3]
Season [4] WinnerRunner-upOther member in Scottish Cup final [2] [3]
1891–92 Newmains Thistle Haywood Wanderers
1892–93 Blantyre Victoria Larkhall Thistle
1893–94 Blantyre Victoria Longriggend Wanderers
1894–95 Mossend Celtic Longriggend Wanderers
1895–96 Larkhall Thistle Longriggend Wanderers
1896–97 Burnbank Athletic Dalziel Rovers
1897–98 Dalziel Rovers Mossend Celtic
1898–99 Dalziel Rovers Holytown Thistle
1899–1900 Holytown Thistle Cadzow Oak
1900–01 Burnbank Athletic Cadzow Oak
1901–02 Burnbank Athletic Carluke Rovers [lower-alpha 1]
1902–03 Burnbank Athletic Bellshill Athletic [lower-alpha 2] Larkhall Thistle
1903–04 Burnbank Athletic Dalziel Rovers
1904–05 Dalziel Rovers Bellshill Athletic
1905–06 Blantyre Victoria Burnbank Athletic
1906–07 East Benhar Heatherbell Quarter Huttonbank
1907–08 Quarter Huttonbank Newton Villa Larkhall Thistle
1908–09 Quarter Huttonbank Mossend Hibernian
1909–10 Larkhall United Cleland Rangers
1910–11 Blantyre Victoria Larkhall United Burnbank Athletic
1911–12 Burnbank Athletic Larkhall United
1912–13 Larkhall Thistle Fauldhouse West Rovers
1913–14 Larkhall Thistle Mossend Hibernian
1914–15 Larkhall United Mossend Hibernian
1915–16 Burnbank Athletic Blantyre Victoria
1916–17 Blantyre Celtic [lower-alpha 3] Mossend Hibernian
1917–18 Cleland [lower-alpha 4] Newarthill Thistle
1918–19 Not played
1919–20 Blantyre Victoria Blantyre Celtic
1920–21 Cleland Blantyre Celtic
1921–22 Cleland Blantyre Celtic
1922–23 Carluke Rovers Blantyre Victoria
1923–24 Shotts United Fauldhouse United
1924–25 Shotts United Cadzow St Anne's
1925–26 Wishaw Juniors Cadzow St Anne's
1926–27 Blantyre Victoria Fauldhouse United
1927–28 Coalburn United Law Scotia Burnbank Athletic
1928–29 Burnbank Athletic Douglas Water Thistle
1929–30 Coalburn United Shotts Battlefield
1930–31 Shotts Battlefield Larkhall Thistle Burnbank Athletic
1931–32 Larkhall Thistle Forth Wanderers
1932–33 Douglas Water Thistle Larkhall Thistle
1933–34 Royal Albert Athletic Wishaw Juniors
1934–35 Wishaw Juniors Royal Albert Athletic
1935–36 Royal Albert Athletic Larkhall Thistle
1936–37 Royal Albert Athletic Wishaw Juniors
1937–38 Holytown United Newarthill Hearts
1938–39 Stonehouse Violet Coltness United
1939–40 New Stevenston United Carluke Rovers
1940–41 Burnbank Athletic Carluke Rovers
1941–42 Not played
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45 Burnbank Athletic [lower-alpha 5]
1945–46 Wishaw Juniors Larkhall Thistle
1946–47 Burnbank Athletic Coltness United
1947–48 Larkhall Thistle Mount Ellon United
1948–49 Newarthill Hearts Forth Wanderers
1949–50 New Stevenston United Cleland
1950–51 Thorniewood United Stonehouse Violet
1951–52 Larkhall Thistle Shotts Bon Accord
1952–53 Lesmahagow Carluke Rovers
1953–54 Coltness United Thorniewood United
1954–55 Douglas Water Thistle Stonehouse Violet
1955–56 Thorniewood United Douglas Water Thistle
1956–57 Carluke Rovers Coltness United
1957–58 Shotts Bon Accord Carluke Rovers
1958–59 Carluke Rovers Thorniewood United
1959–60 Thorniewood United Lanark United
1960–61 Shotts Bon Accord Thorniewood United
1961–62 Shotts Bon Accord Thorniewood United
1962–63 Shotts Bon Accord Wishaw Juniors
1963–64 Thorniewood United Shotts Bon Accord
1964–65 Shotts Bon Accord Larkhall Thistle
1965–66 Forth Wanderers Carluke Rovers
1966–67 Shotts Bon Accord Larkhall Thistle
1967–68 Shotts Bon Accord Larkhall Thistle

Notes

  1. ↑ Playing as 'Carluke Milton Rovers'.
  2. ↑ Playing as 'Bellshill and Clydesdale United'.
  3. ↑ Playing as 'Blantyre United'.
  4. ↑ Playing as 'Cleland Rovers'.
  5. ↑ LJL club playing in wartime 'Lanark & Lothians Junior League'.

List of winners

Club [4] WinnersRunners-upFirst winLast win
Burnbank Athletic 101 1896–97 1946–47
Shotts Bon Accord 72 1957–58 1967–68
Larkhall Thistle 6'8 1895–96 1951–52
Blantyre Victoria 62 1892–93 1926–27
Thorniewood United 44 1950–51 1963–64
Carluke Rovers 36 1922–23 1958–59
Wishaw Juniors 33 1925–26 1945–46
Dalziel Rovers 32 1897–98 1904–05
Royal Albert Athletic 31 1933–34 1936–37
Cleland 31 1917–18 1921–22
Larkhall United 22 1909–10 1914–15
Douglas Water Thistle 22 1932–33 1954–55
Quarter Huttonbank 21 1907–08 1908–09
New Stevenston 20 1939–40 1949–50
Shotts United 20 1923–24 1924–25
Coalburn United 20 1927–28 1929–30
Blantyre Celtic 13 1916–17
Coltness United 13 1953–54
Forth Wanderers 12 1965–66
Stonehouse Violet 12 1938–39
Mossend Celtic 11 1894–95
Newarthill Hearts 11 1948–49
Shotts Battlefield 11 1978–79
Holytown Thistle 11 1899–1900
Lesmahagow 10 1952–53
East Benhar Heatherbell 10 1906–07
Newmains Thistle 10 1891–92
Holytown United 10 1937–38
Mossend Hibernian 04N/A
Longriggend Wanderers 03N/A
Bellshill Athletic 02N/A
Fauldhouse United 02N/A
Cadzow Oak 02N/A
Cadzow St Anne's 02N/A
Lanark United 01N/A
Cleland Rangers 01N/A
Fauldhouse West Rovers 01N/A
Haywood Wanderers 01N/A
Mount Ellon United 01N/A
Newton Villa 01N/A

Notes

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lanarkshire Junior League, Scottish Football Historical Archive
    2. 1 2 3 "Scottish Junior Cup > Finals 1886 to 1956". Scottish Football Association (archive version, 2018). Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
    3. 1 2 3 "Scottish Junior Cup > Finals 1957 - Present [2009]". Scottish Football Association (archive version, 2018). Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
    4. 1 2 Lanarkshire Junior Leagues, Scottish Football Historical Archive, 20 September 2020
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