Mauchline F.C.

Mauchline
Full nameMauchline Football Club
Nickname(s)the Boxmakers[1]
Founded1873
Dissolved1897
GroundConnel Park, Mauchline
SecretaryWilliam Murray, John Paton
LeagueAyrshire Football League
(1891–1892)
South of Scotland Football League
(1892–1993)

Mauchline Football Club was a senior football team based in the small town of Mauchline in East Ayrshire.

History

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The club was founded in 1873. Its first match against another side was in February 1874, against Ayr Academy.[2]

Mauchline was an original member of two ill-fated leagues who survived for just one season, The Ayrshire Football League for the 1891–92 season and the original South of Scotland Football League in 1892–93.[3]

However, Mauchline were better known as a cup team, appearing in every Scottish Cup from 1875–76 to 1885–86, and often reaching the later rounds.

In 1877–78 they reached the quarter-finals only to lose 1–3 away to the eventual winners, Renton.[4]

In the same season, the club won the Ayrshire Cup for the only time, beating Portland 4–2 in the final, played at Holm Quarry, the home ground for a number of other Kilmarnock sides. The match proved to be a test between the Portland's wider wing play and Mauchline's more compact forward line; Portland's opening goal was a Goldie header from a Sinclair corner, and the club went 2–1 up after Mauchline's back Wilson impeded his goalkeeper, but two goals in the last 20 minutes won the trophy for Mauchline.[5] Portland had a measure of revenge in 1878–79 by winning the Burns Cup, an invitational tournament to raise funds for a statue to Robert Burns, coming from behind to beat Mauchline 2–1 in the final - the first time the Portland had beaten the Mauchline.[6]

The senior club dissolved in 1897 but adopted junior status as Mauchline Thistle Football Club, which itself disbanded just seven years later.

A second Mauchline Football Club was founded in 1911 and existed until 1922 although all competitions were suspended throughout the First World War, 1914–1918.[7]

Colours

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The club played in blue and white hooped jerseys and hose, with white knickers.[8]

Ground

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The club's ground at Connel Park was a 3-minute walk from the Mauchline railway station.[9] As late as 1886 the club did not have facilities on the ground, teams having to change at the Loudoun Hotel.[10]

Notable players

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  • Dr John Smith gained four of his ten Scottish caps whilst a Mauchline player, scoring three goals; he was the sole club representative to have been selected for international duty.[11]
  • Hughie Wilson played for the club until 1884.[12]
  • W. H. Campbell of Mauchline F.C. finished second in the Scottish long jump championship of 1888.[13]
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References

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  1. ^ "Ayr Charity Cup Tie". Irvine Express: 8. 27 February 1885.
  2. ^ "Kilwinning". Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald: 5. 7 February 1874.
  3. ^ http://scottish-football-historical-archive.com Archived 2009-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2010-11-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Grand Football Match". Kilmarnock Standard: 2. 20 April 1878.
  6. ^ "Burns Cup Final Tie". Kilmarnock Standard: 3. 21 June 1879.
  7. ^ http://scottish-football-historical-archive.com Archived 2009-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Dick, William (1879). Scottish Football Annual 1879–80. Glasgow: Dunlop & Foote. p. 73.
  9. ^ Livingstone, Robert (1881). Scottish Football Association Annual 1881–82. Gillespie Brothers. p. 106.
  10. ^ McDowall, John (1886). Scottish FA Annual 1886–87. Hay Nisbet. p. 49.
  11. ^ Scotland Football Records | Clubs played for | Mauchline, London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 21 February 2022
  12. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ Scottish Athletics 1883-1983, John W. Keddie (1982)
Sources

Pagan, Malcolm. Senior Non League Football in South West Scotland, Stewart Davidson, Paisley, Scotland, 1996.