Levendale F.C.

Levendale

Full name	Levendale Football Club
Founded	1879
Dissolved	1885
Ground	Balloch Road
Hon. Secretary	James Brown
Match Secretary	Peter Walker
Home colours

Levendale Football Club was a football club from Alexandria, Dumbartonshire, active in the 19th century.

History

The club was founded in 1879 in the wake of fellow Alexandria side Vale of Leven. It joined the Scottish Football Association in 1883, ^[1] after winning 5 of its 10 matches in 1882–83, although one of its players (James Buchanan) had suffered a serious leg break in a friendly against the 1st D.R.V. in February (which Levendale nevertheless won 7–1). ^{[2] [3]}

Levendale was always a minnow on the Dumbartonshire scene, never claiming more than 30 members; in its final season it was the smallest club in Dumbartonshire. ^[4] Given the power of the county in the Scottish game - from 1875 to 1888, only one Scottish Cup final did not include a club from the shire - the chances of such a small club ever gaining success were non-existent.

This was borne out by Levendale's record in competitive football. The Scottish Cup was drawn on a regional basis in the era and the only tie the club played - against Vale of Leven in its first entry, in the 1883–84 Scottish Cup - was a 12–0 defeat, 9 of the goals coming in the first half. ^[5] Faced with the same sort of humiliation the following season against Dumbarton, the club scratched, ^[6] allowing Dumbarton to arrange a more lucrative friendly with Walsall Swifts - the speed of such arrangements suggesting Levendale had accepted a consideration to step down. ^[7]

Levendale also withdrew from its two entries in the Dumbartonshire Cup in 1884–85 and 1885–86, ^[8] and even scratched to the moribund Rock in the first round of the 1885–86 Scottish Cup. ^[9]

A new Levendale club was formed in 1889, ^[10] which turned senior in 1892. ^[11]

Colours

The club wore blue jerseys and hose, and white knickers. ^[12]

Ground

The club's home ground was on Balloch Road, 5 minutes' walk from the station, ^[13] which it shared with Jamestown. ^[14]

Notable players

• Alexander Henderson, who also played for Vale of Leven and Renton ^[15]

References

1. Scottish FA Minutes. Glasgow: Scottish Football Association. 21 August 1883. p. 143.
2. "Accident on the football field". Glasgow Evening Citizen: 3. 19 February 1883.
3. "Matches played on Saturday". Glasgow Herald: 10. 12 February 1883.
4. M'Dowall, John (1884). Scottish Football Association Annual 1884-85. Glasgow: H. Nisbet. p. 61.
5. "Vale of Leven v Levendale". Sporting Life: 4. 13 September 1883.
6. Scottish FA Minutes 1884–87. Glasgow: Scottish Football Association. 23 September 1884. p. 45.
7. "To-morrow's football". Glasgow Evening Post: 3. 12 September 1884.
8. "Dumbartonshire Cup". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
9. "Football". Dundee Evening Telegraph: 2. 23 September 1885.
10. "Ordinary matches". Glasgow Herald: 10. 14 October 1889.
11. "Football - Levendale club". Lennox Herald: 3. 25 June 1892.
12. M'Dowall, John (1883). Scottish Football Association Annual 1883-84. Glasgow: W. Weatherston. p. 50.
13. M'Dowall, John (1883). Scottish Football Association Annual 1883-84. Glasgow: W. Weatherston. p. 50.
14. M'Dowall, John (1882). Scottish Football Association Annual 1882–83. Glasgow: W. Weatherston. p. 141.
15. "Scots Footballer-Cyclist Dead". Dundee Evening Telegraph: 2. 1 August 1934.