| Full name | Ayr Thistle Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1872 | |
| Dissolved | 1879 | |
| Ground | Low Green (1872–1875) Thistle Park (1875–1876) Robbsland Park (1876–1879) | |
| Secretary | John Blair, Thomas Sym | |
Ayr Thistle Football Club was aScottishfootball team from the town ofAyr.
Founded in 1872, out of a cricket club, Ayr Thistle originally played therugby football code, but switched toassociation football thanks to the influence of Queen's Park.[1] The earliest recorded match for the club was in October 1874, a 3–0 defeat toMauchline at Low Green.[2] The club was the biggest in Ayr in 1876, with 52 members, and one of the biggest in the county.[3]
The club first entered theScottish Cup in1875–76, losing 1–0 toKilbirnie.[4] Thefollowing season, Thistle reached the semi-final. All of the club's victories were 1–0 wins; the second round saw revenge over Kilbirnie and the third round a surprise 1–0 win overDumbreck, after an Aitken cross was only half-cleared by M'Geoch and Henry "cleverly shot it through".[5] The club's fourth round tie withPartick ended 1–1, but Partick was disqualified for "neglecting to take advantage of the dates fixed by the Association for playing their tie" - presumably not agreeing a replay date.[6] That put the Thistle into the quarter-final, and the club secured a replay win overLancefield, Hugh Cunningham scoring the winner with a quarter of an hour to go,[7] after the original tie inGovan ended 2–2.[8]
The run ended with Thistle being defeated 9–0 byVale of Leven at a snowyKinning Park, then home ofRangers.[9] Thistle did not concede until the 32nd minute, and the score was still only 2–0 at half-time, the second of which had been a Vale counter-attack; Vale's superior fitness told in the second half and two further Vale goals were counted as disputed.[10]
AfterAyr Eglinton andAyr Academy merged to formAyr Academicals in 1876, Thistle was briefly only the second largest club in town. Thistle was much the more active club, playing nearly three times as many matches,[11] and in April 1878 being the first club in the town to play an English club, hostingNottingham Forest - the game unfortunately affected by Aitken breaking his collarbone early on and Forest running out 3–0 winners.[12] However Thistle suffered a blow before the 1878–79 season when captain Archie Hunter was "poached" byAston Villa,[13] and the club only won one more Cup tie (againstAuchinleck Boswell in the first round in the1878–79 Scottish Cup). Its final competitive match - a 3–1 defeat toBeith in the second round of the Cup - had a bizarre aftermath with a hoaxer convincing one paper that the referee had agreed to chalk off one of the Beith goals.[14]
After the Thistle was drawn to play the Academicals in the 1878–79Ayrshire Cup,[15] the two Ayr clubs agreed to formthe Ayr Club,[16][17] the new club's secretary being the Academicals' secretary Robert Highet.[18] In 1910, Ayr merged withAyr Parkhouse to formAyr United.
The Ayr Thistle name was twice revived in the 1880s for unrelated clubs.
The club's colours were blue and black jerseys with white knickers.[19][20]
The club played at the Low Green, before moving to Thistle Park in 1875 and eventually Robbsland Park in 1876.[21]
