SPL clubs Origins

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Aberdeen FC:

The current Aberdeen FC was born out of the merger of three city clubs; Aberdeen, Victoria United and Orion in 1903.

The new club played its first season in the Scottish Second Division and was then elected, rather than promoted, to the First Division. The club has never since been out of the top tier in Scottish football.

 

Celtic FC:

 

Celtic Football Club was formally constituted at a meeting in St. Mary's Church hall on East Rose Street (now Forbes Street), Calton, Glasgow, by an Irish Marist brother named Brother Walfrid originally from Ballymote in County Sligo on 6 November 1887.

The charity established by Brother Walfrid was named The Poor Children's Dinner Table. Walfrid's move to establish the club as a means of fund raising was largely inspired by the example of Hibernian F.C. who were formed out of the immigrant Irish population thirteen years earlier in Edinburgh.

On 28 May 1888, Celtic played their first official match against Rangers and won 5-2 in what was described as a "friendly encounter". Celtic had 8 'guest' players from Hibernian playing that day.

 

Dundee United:

Inspired initially by the example of Hibernian in Edinburgh and later by Celtic in Glasgow, the Irish community in Dundee formed a new football club in 1909, following the demise of Dundee Harp. Originally called Dundee Hibernian,(Hibernia is the Latin name for Ireland) the club took over Clepington Park (renamed Tannadice Park) from Dundee Wanderers and played their inaugural game on 18 August 1909 against Hibernian, with the match ending in a 1-1 draw. The following year, the club was voted into the Scottish Football League The club was saved from going out of business in October 1923 by a group of Dundee businessmen. They decided to change the club's name to Dundee United in order to attract a wider appeal; the name Dundee City was considered but was protested by long standing city rivals Dundee FC

 

Falkirk FC:

The club's date of formation is a point of much contention, although most accounts point to the year 1876 as the probable starting point, and this is the date used by the club and its fans as the formation date. The club quickly developed the nickname "The Bairns", a Scots word meaning child, son or daughter. This was in homage to an ancient Falkirk Burgh motto, "Better meddle wi' the deil [devil] than the Bairns O' Falkirk."

 

Gretna FC:

 

An amateur team before in the town, called Gretna Green F.C. had existed in the 19th century, but were bankrupt by the 1920s. This left the area without a team until Gretna FC was founded in 1946, who played locally in Dumfries. The following year, they made the unusual move of transferring to a league run by the English Football Association, the Carlisle and District League, despite being a Scottish based club. During the 1990s, they also became the first club from Scotland to appear in the FA Cup proper since Rangers had done so in 1887.

Entered the Scottish league in 2002.

 

Hearts of Midlothian FC:

Hearts were founded in 1874 and are reputedly named after a popular local dance hall, which in turn took its name from the novel The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott. The first Hearts Captain, Tom Purdie, stated that they may have played in 1873. They initially played at The Meadows, Powburn and Powderhall before moving to the Gorgie area in 1881. They moved to their current Tynecastle site in 1886.

The earliest mention of Heart of Midlothian in a sporting context is a report in the Scotsman newspaper from 20 July 1864 of the Scotsman vs Heart of Mid-Lothian at cricket. It is not known if this was the same club who went on to form the football club.

 

HibernianFC:

he club was founded in August 1875 by members of the St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church based on the Cowgate. The club's principal founders were Canon Edward Joseph Hannan, and the head of the local Catholic Young Men's Association, Michael Whelahan, who became the first club captain. The meeting which established the club took place at the St. Mary's Street Hall, which can still be seen today. The team originally played, like all other teams of the time, on the Meadows, a park towards the south of Edinburgh's Old Town. The club moved to the Leith area of the city in 1880, to a purpose built ground named Hibernian Park, which stood where Bothwell Street now stands today. The club moved to its present ground at Easter Road in 1891, just a stone's throw away from their first home.

Hibs were the first major club in Scotland formed by members of the Irish Catholic population of the time. The club's name reflects its Irish roots (Hibernia is the Latin name for Ireland). A strict translation of the name Hibernian F.C. would be "Irishmen Football Club." As the first such team, their example led to the creation of Dundee Hibernian (now Dundee United) and Celtic, who when they were formed were nearly called Glasgow Hibernian.

 

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C:

The club was formed as Caledonian Thistle F.C. in 1994 following the merger of Caledonian F.C. and Inverness Thistle F.C., both members of the Highland Football League, to fill a vacancy in the Scottish Football League. The club amended its name to Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. in 1996 at the request of Inverness District Council.

 

Kilmarnock FC:

The club's foundation dates to the very earliest days of organised football in Scotland, when a group of local cricketers looking for a sporting pursuit to occupy them outwith the cricket season formed a football club in 1869. Originally they played rugby rules, but the difficulty in organising fixtures and the growing influence of Queen's Park F.C. soon persuaded them to adopt the association code instead. These origins are reflected to this day by the name of the club's home ground - Rugby Park.

 

Motherwell FC:

In 1886, two amateur teams based in factories in Motherwell - Glencairn F.C. and Alpha F.C. - were invited to field a select team from both of their squads to play a similar select side from Glasgow. This amalgamated side competed in a charity competition, and talks afterwards fully merged the two sides into Motherwell Football Club on May 17, 1886

 

Rangers FC:

One question that is often asked by many Rangers fans or historians alike, is when was the club actually formed? During 1872, 4 young Scots rowers watched their first game of Assocation Football which had taken off across the whole of the country over previous years. These young men, Moses McNeil, his brother Peter, William McBeath and Peter Campbell, excited by the new game, decided to start their own team, even though they had no kit or even a ball.

Later that year, the team played it's first match; a 0-0 draw against Callander FC at Flesher's Haugh on Glasgow Green. By the next match; an 11-0 win over Clyde, the club was beginning to take shape with the team even wearing the colour blue for the first time.

Officially, 1873 is known as the club's founding date. Moses McNeil named the club Rangers (adopted from an English rugby team!) and the first offical fixtures were arranged by the new club officers. The first AGM was also that year and the players had to undergo formal training sessions. Unfortunately, the club left it too late to register with the SFA for that year, so Rangers missed out on the inaugural Scottish Cup, won by Queens Park. Ergo, the club had to be content with friendlies for 1873 and most of 1874.

 

St Mirren:

St. Mirren were formed as a gentlemen's club which included amongst other sports, cricket and rugby in the late 19th century. The increasing popularity of football ensured that by 1877 the members had decided to switch codes and play association football. They are named after Saint Mirin the founder of Paisley Abbey and Patron Saint of Paisley.