What difference does a colour make? By Marc Forrester

Transcription

1 Changing Colours What difference does a colour make? By Marc Forrester

2 Introduction Growing up in Dundee in the 1970 s and following one of the city s main teams (Dundee F.C), I had no idea about the religious connections that our football teams had in the past. I wanted to find out how much a change of colours can mean to a football team so I collated information on the strips of the past to explore and map the changes. What surprised me was that my teams arch rivals played in green and white up until the 1950/60 s. The following is a brief insight into the ever changing football strips chosen by some of our professional clubs. Interestingly that most of the clubs had a similar history for reasons of establishment across Scotland in the late 1800 s and early 1900 s. The Scottish Football League/Scottish Premier League Formed in 1890, the SFL is the third oldest national league in the world (the Irish League was formed three weeks earlier). Originally the competition was strictly amateur, (professionalism was not recognised in Scotland until 1893) and formed of eleven clubs, ten of which were based in the West of Scotland. Of the original members, only Celtic, Dumbarton, Hearts, Rangers and St Mirren survive to this day. Scotland is unique in having three quite separate governing bodies and structures for the sport. "Senior" competition is governed by the Scottish FA (SFA) and includes members of the Scottish Premier League, the Scottish Football League, Highland League etc. "Junior" clubs play at a level below that of the Senior clubs and are governed by the Scottish Junior FA (SJFA). "Junior" refers to the standard rather than the age of the players. Junior and Senior clubs do not compete against each other (with a few historical exceptions) and there is no mechanism for clubs to progress from Junior to Senior status. Some clubs who dropped out of the Scottish League continue to play within the Junior framework. A third body, the Scottish Amateur Football Association (SAFA) oversees some 1,000 clubs in 67 different local leagues playing at a lower level. Unlike England, there is no pyramid structure in Scotland and while clubs are free to change affiliation, they cannot progress through the different levels. The Scottish Premier League broke away in The SFA commissioned McLeish Report (2010), which called for a wholesale reorganisation of Scottish professional football, was shelved although the Rangers debacle in 2012 reinvigorated calls for reform of what many supporters and commentators regarded as a discredited and fragmented structure lacking leadership. Between 1927 and 1929 the Scottish Football League directed that clubs should wear white shorts at home and black shorts when playing away. Up until the home club changed when there was a clash.

3 Aberdeen F.C The original Aberdeen FC was formed in October 1881, the initiative of three teachers from Woodside School. Following a public meeting the secretary was instructed to buy a ball, an inflator and eleven maroon jerseys. Their first match was played the following March against Coupar Angus, Aberdeen losing both the opening and return games. In 1888, the club won the inaugural Aberdeenshire Cup and in 1891, they joined the Northern League. In 1899, the club moved to Pittodrie, previously used as a site for the disposal of dung from police horses. In February 1900, Pittodrie hosted an international between Scotland and Wales and a year later, Everton became the first English side to visit the city for a friendly match, which they won 3-1. After rejecting overtures from Hibernian, who wanted to take over and move to Pittodrie, serious efforts were made to bring together the three top sides in the city. Dundee F.C Dundee F.C. were formed from the amalgamation of two local clubs Our Boys and East End and their merger formed the basis of an application to join the three year old Scottish Football League into which they were admitted in June Their first match took place therefore at the home of Our Boys with their colours being the sky blue and white strips of East End and on the Glorious Twelfth, Dundee s first match ended 3-3 with Sandy Gilligan having the honour of scoring the Club s first goal. By the end of their debut season, Dundee had moved to a new ground at the city docks at Carolina Port where a smoking slag heap on the adjacent Gas works on the Broughty Ferry Road side, nicknamed the Burning Mountain often gave hundreds of fans, a free view of the game.

4 Dundee United F.C The origin of Dundee United lies in the establishment of a football club to fulfil the desire of the Irish immigrant community, which had gathered in Dundee by the early years of the 1900s. Earlier attempts to provide a focus for the Dundee Irish invariably failed until the formation of Dundee Hibernian. The founding of the new Club was achieved through the efforts of a group of local businessmen with Irish origins, who began the process in the early months of The driving force behind the move was a local bicycle trader, Pat Reilly who would become the Club s first Manager. Formed on 24th May 1909, Dundee Hibernian took over the lease of Clepington Park, immediately renaming it Tannadice Park, which has been the home of the Club ever since. Not surprising in view of the Irish connection, the colours chosen were green and white. Celtic F.C In the mid-1880s, the success of Hibernians FC had inspired Irish communities throughout Scotland to form their own clubs, usually with "Hibernian" or "Harp" in their name. With a quarter of a million people of Irish descent living in and around Glasgow, it was only a matter of time before a powerful club would emerge. The driving force would be a member of the Marist order originally from County Sligo, Brother Walfrid: on November a meeting was held in St Mary's Church, Calton, with the aim of forming a football club to raise money and alleviate poverty in the East End of the city. Brother Walfrid opposed the idea of calling the club Glasgow Hibernians and came up with the name Celtic FC. (The title was originally pronounced "Kel-tik" but Irish Gaelic speakers used "Sel-tik" and this pronunciation stuck.) One of the club's nicknames, "The Bhoys" dates from this era when they were described as the "bold boys," the additional "h" being added to phonetically represent the Irish pronunciation. In common with all Scottish clubs with Irish roots, Celtic adopted green and white as their colours and wore a Celtic cross on their earliest shirts.

5 Hearts F.C The original "Heart of Midlothian" was the old Tolbooth Prison in Edinburgh, made famous in the eponymous novel by Sir Walter Scott. Tempting as it to imagine that the founders of Edinburgh's oldest senior club were inspired by Scotland's great romantic novelist, the truth is that the founders took the name from a dance hall they used to frequent. The club's famous badge is based on a mosaic to be found on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. There is a legend that the founders played football in the street, using the mosaic as a centre spot. Players originally turned out in all white shirts and trousers with maroon trimmings and a heart sewn into the shirt. In 1876 they adopted red, white and navy hoops with the letters MFBC (Mid Lothian Foot Ball) but these were unpopular with the players, presumably because they were more expensive than the plain jerseys available from local gentlemen's outfitters, so in 1877, the lettering was removed and the shirts dyed a deep maroon: photographs show that the old hoops showed through the dye. Hearts have been associated with maroon shirts ever since. othian.htm Hibernian F.C In the mid-1870s, Edinburgh hosted an Irish community of 25,000 living in conditions of appalling poverty in the Cowgate district or Little Ireland. As association football grew in popularity, the committee of the Catholic Young Men s Society (CYMS) decided to form their own club to be called Hibernian (from the Latin Hibernia = Ireland); their emblem would the harp and their motto Erin Go Brach (Ireland Forever). According to John Mackay's history, "members were required to furnish at their own expense caps, white guernsey (jersey) with harp on left breast, also white trousers with green stripes". Father Hannan, the priest of St Patrick s Church was elected manager. The Edinburgh FA banned its members from playing against, or even having contact with these upstart Irishmen but on Christmas Day 1875 the Heart of Midlothian club broke the embargo. Hibernian were grudgingly admitted to the Edinburgh FA and then the Scottish FA in

6 Inverness Caley Thistle F.C Thistle 1878 Three Inverness teams were founder members of the North of Scotland Football Association in Thistle, Caledonian and Clachnacuddin. Thistle was formed in 1885 with Caley and Clach both dating back to Over the years rivalries thrived and each had its period of dominance. Clach won four back-to-back Highland League Championships in 1902/06 and again in 1920/24 but in the modern era Thistle and Caley dominated the Inverness scene. Thistle had an excellent spell in the early 1970s and this led to an application to join the Scottish League in They came very close but lost out by one vote to Edinburgh's Ferranti Thistle. In 1986 a proposed breakaway league nearly led to another opportunity but it came to nothing. Similarly in the early 1990s Berwick Rangers were struggling to survive and the Inverness sides watched every move. The opportunity came in 1993 when the Scottish League voted to expand from 38 teams to 40, split into 4 Divisions. This time the question of geography was not an issue as the A9 trunk road had been upgraded to a high standard and Perth was only 2 hours away. Motherwell F.C In May 1886, Glencairn FC (named after John Glencairn Carter Hamilton of Dalzell no less) and Alpha FC (the works team from the Alpha Steam Crane & Engine Works) merged to form Motherwell FC. It seems that both teams wore identical navy and white outfits, a very common choice in Scotland at the time, but the new Motherwell team adopted "light blue:" this appears to refer to a shade intermediate between royal and sky blue. Very soon Motherwell were the town's most powerful team and in 1891 they joined the Scottish Federation, one of the new leagues that sprang up in imitation of the Scottish Football League, formed the year before. In 1893 Motherwell turned professional, changing to maroon shirts and "satin knickerbockers," almost certainly a fanciful description invented to add a certain distinction to the occasion. The maroon was replaced fairly quickly with "light blue". Motherwell became founder members of the Scottish Second Division, which kicked off for the season. The club were now known as "The Steelmen," reflecting the town's association with heavy industry.

7 Partick Thistle F.C When the club was formed in 1876, Partick was a burgh in its own right, independent of Glasgow. They played at a number of grounds including the site of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum before they moved to the Maryhill district in 1909 to play at Firhill Park, which is still their home today (and, as it happens is in the Maryhill district rather than Partick). They started out playing in navy, white and red, common colours for Scottish clubs in the late Victorian era. In 1885 Partick entered the English FA Cup, going out in the first round to their powerful Glasgow neighbour, Queen's Park. The following season they reached the fifth round where they were narrowly beaten by Old Westminsters. Rangers F.C In 1872 Peter and Moses McNeill agreed with their friends, Peter Campbell and William McBeath to form a team that played two matches under the name of Rangers after an English rugby club. In 1873 the club was formally constituted and their first fixture list drawn up. The team were nicknamed the Light Blues to distinguish them from the many Scottish teams that wore the commonplace navy jerseys of the time. The term was coined after the 1878 Scottish Cup final against Vale of Leven when journalists described the team as "the light and speedy blues." Later on, according to John Allan, "When the late Mr. Angus Campbell was honorary secretary in , jerseys with blue and white hoops were adopted. Matters had not been going too well with the team. Mr. Campbell felt his responsibility. He was a true Highlander with a liberal strain of superstition in his being. A change of colours might change the luck, so, at his suggestion, the old royal blue was packed away in the locker. Nobody was happy, however, until it was brought out again by a decree of a committee meeting of In royal blue the Rangers have played ever since."

8 St. Johnstone F.C The genteel county town of Perth is a far cry from the grim industrial communities of central Scotland where association football first took hold. Nevertheless, in 1884 members of a local cricket club decided to play football during the winter months, wearing black and white jerseys, the colours of the club. The following year they formally constituted St Johnstone FC, derived from Perth s colloquial name of St John s Toun, registering their colours with the Scottish FA as maroon and white. A piece of land was leased and became known as the Recreation Ground, the club s base until 1924 when they built Muirton Park, their home for the next 65 years. In 1891, the Saints joined the Northern League where they remained for three seasons. Over the next 20 years they had spells in the old Central League and Central Combination as well until 1912 when they were elected to Scottish Division Two when that division was expanded. St. Mirren F.C St Mirren play in Paisley, an industrial Renfrewshire town to the south-west of Glasgow, that became associated with weaving during the nineteenth century, when demand grew for cheap imitations of the famous teardrop motif from India that became known as "Paisley Pattern." According to John Byrne (Scottish Football Historian September/October 1984) a group of young men formed Venus cricket club in Seeking financial help, they approached a local businessman who contributed 10/- (50p) on condition a name with local associations was used. The lads chose "St Mirren", after an Irish monk, St Mirren, the town's patron saint. The club played cricket in the summer and rugby football in the winter. In 1877 a motion to play by association rules was agreed and two members walked to Glasgow to buy a ball (there were not enough funds for the train fare!). Taking pity on the boys, the shopkeeper gave them their fare home, adding they were the first from Paisley to buy a ball from him.