Olympic Football Club, occasionally called Paisley Olympic, was a Scottish football team located in the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire.
| Full name | Olympic F.C. | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1880 | |
| Dissolved | 1886 | |
| Ground | Thistle Park | |
| President | J. R. Taylor | |
| Hon. Secretary | John M'Callum M.A., Neil M'Callum | |
| Secretary | James Gemmell | |
The club was founded in 1880, holding its first meeting in October. [1] It first played competitive football in 1882–83, losing in a replay to Pollok in the first round of the Renfrewshire Cup, and joined the Scottish Football Association in 1883, [2] by which time the town already had senior clubs in the shape of Abercorn, Paisley Athletic, and St Mirren.
By 1884, the Olympic could boast of 70 members, less than half the size of the Athletic, a third of the size of Abercorn, and less than a quarter of the size of the Saints. [3] It was however comparatively successful on a local level, reaching the semi-final of the Renfrewshire Cup in 1883–84 and 1884–85. In the latter year, the club surprised Abercorn with a 2–1 win in a quarter-final replay, the Abbies protesting in vain about crowd encroachment; [4] in the semi-final, Olympic drew 2–2 with Port Glasgow Athletic, but lost 5–0 in the replay in a game which was tighter than the score suggested, Olympic not taking any of numerous chances in the first half, and still being in the game at 2–0 when reduced to 10 men through injury. [5] The club's success, despite its size, was attributed to a tactical shift, having adopted the 2–3–5 system with Spruill at centre-midfield, instead of the 2–2–6 used by its opponents. [6]
Olympic first entered the Scottish Cup in 1883–84, reaching the third round on its debut, with wins at Yoker [7] and Clippens. [8] The run came to an end with a 5–0 home defeat to Ayrshire side Mauchline. [9] The club was unlucky in its second entry in 1884–85, being drawn away at the much bigger Arthurlie, but only lost 2–0, and suffered from "some very hard lines". [10]
The club's end seems to have come out of the blue. As late as June 1885 it was beating Abercorn in a friendly [11] and was drawn to play at Arthurlie in the first round of the 1885–86 Scottish Cup. [12] However the club "collapsed" at the end of August, its players finding berths with St Mirren and (in the case of Gorman and Heiton [13] ) Abercorn. [14] The club was effectively replaced by the Dykebar club, which played its first match at Thistle Park in October 1885, [15] and who took on centre-midfielder Robert Spruill from the Olympic. [16]
The club's colours were ½" crimson and white hooped jerseys and hose, and blue knickers. [17]
The club played at Thistle Park, Greenhill, Paisley, a 5-minute walk from the railway station. [18] The ground was the ground of the Paisley Thistle cricket club, and formerly the ground of St Mirren. [19]
Abercorn Football Club was a football club based in Paisley, Scotland. The club were members of the Scottish Football League from 1890 until 1915 and folded in 1920. Abercorn were founder members of the Scottish Football League, but eventually could not compete with local rivals St Mirren. During their time in the SFL the club played at Underwood Park, Old Ralston Park and New Ralston Park. Their colours were blue and white stripes.
The 1882–83 Scottish Cup – officially the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup – was the tenth season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Dumbarton won the cup for the first, and so far only, time when they beat Vale of Leven 2–1 in a replayed final.
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 1881–82 Scottish Cup – officially the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup – was the ninth season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. A total of 147 teams entered the competition, five more than the previous record set in 1879–80. For the second season in a row, defending champions Queen's Park played Dumbarton in the final. After the original match finished in a 2–2 draw on 18 March 1882, Queen's Park won the trophy for a sixth time with a 4–1 win in the replay 1 April 1882.
The 1883–84 Scottish Cup – officially the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup – was the 11th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Queen's Park won the competition for the seventh time after Vale of Leven could not field a team on the date fixed for the final due to player illness.
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 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.
The 1888–89 Scottish Cup was the 16th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. 3rd Lanark RV beat Glasgow rivals Celtic 2–1 in a replayed final. The original match was won 3–0 by 3rd Lanark RV but the SFA ordered a replay due to the playing conditions.
The 1884–85 season was Morton Football Club's eighth season in which they competed at a national level, entering the Scottish Cup.
Pollokshaws Football Club was a Scottish football team, based in Pollokshaws, now part of Glasgow.
Johnstone Rovers Football Club was a football club based in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, in Scotland.
Rangers Football Club was a Scottish football team located in the town of Greenock, Renfrewshire.
Northern Football Club was a Scottish football team located in the town of Greenock, Renfrewshire.
Greenock Abstainers Football Club was a Scottish football team located in the town of Greenock, Renfrewshire.
Paisley Athletic Football Club was a Scottish football team located in the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire.
Dykebar Football Club was a Scottish football team located in the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire.
Woodland F.C. was an association football club from Paisley, Renfrewshire.
Paisley Hibernian Football Club was an association football club from Paisley, Renfrewshire, active briefly in the 1880s. The media often referred to the club as Paisley Hibernians.
