| Full name | Armadale Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Dale[1] | |
| Founded | 1910 | |
| Dissolved | 1935 | |
| Ground | Volunteer Park,Armadale | |
Armadale Football Club were afootball club based inArmadale, West Lothian in Scotland. The club was a member of theScottish Football League from 1921 to 1932 and played atVolunteer Park.
The club was formed on 5 August 1910 and played in the Eastern Football Alliance before joining theCentral Football League in 1911. It became one of the strongest teams in this competition, winning the Central League in both1913–14 and1914–15. The club went on to play in theEastern Football League, winning that competition in1915–16, before returning to the Central League.
Football became very popular in theWest Lothian mining towns in the period after theFirst World War.[2] Armadale was established as a strong side: having lost narrowly to eventual winnersKilmarnock at the quarter-final stage of theScottish Cup in1919–20,[3] they took the runners-up of that year,Albion Rovers, to a third replay in the1920–21 competition.[4]
Armadale was admitted to the newly expandedSecond Division in 1921, following the absorption of the Central League.[2] The club performed well in its first season, finishing in third place.[2] This was not to last and Armadale consistently finished in the bottom three positions.[2] Struggling for income at a time of high unemployment, the club suggested allowing a reduced rate of6d for the unemployed to enter matches, but the plan was vetoed by the League.[5] The club's form on the pitch was weak as well, with a league game againstArthurlie on 1 October 1927 seeing Owen McNally set a Scottish League record (since equalled) of scoring eight goals in a match.[6]
To generate revenue, Armadale used Volunteer Park forgreyhound racing.[7] The League management committee issued guidance that greyhound racing tracks should not interfere with thefootball pitch.[7] League officials found that the racing track covered all of the Volunteer Park pitch.[7] The League ordered the club to cease greyhound racing, which had become their greatest source of income.[8]
In November 1932, with the club owingRaith Rovers F.C. the compulsory £50 guarantee for the 19 November fixture (which only attracted a crowd of 300),[9] Armadale proposed issuing I.O.U. notes for each visiting club, redeemed against the guarantees in turn owed to Armadale.[10] This did not meet with any sympathy and the club told that, unless it paid the £50 to Raith by 4pm on 24 November, it would be expelled. The club did not do so and, despite an offer of £30 to Raith,[11] was duly thrown out of the League; an appeal against expulsion did not proceed.[12] The club's record of 1 win, 2 draws, and 14 defeats in the1932–33 season - which left the club six points adrift at the bottom of the League - was expunged.[2] Armadale was the second club expelled that season, afterBo'ness F.C. The club soon disappeared, replaced in the town by junior clubArmadale Thistle.[2]
The club wore blue shirts, white shorts, and dark blue stockings for its entire existence, the shirt colour being navy blue until 1915.[13]
The club's ground was Volunteer Park, the ground of the two predecessor clubs.[14] The club's highest reported attendance was 12,600, for a Cup tie withAlbion Rovers on 19 February 1921.[15]
| Season | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921–22 | 38 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 64 | 48 | 45 | 3rd |
| 1922–23 | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 63 | 52 | 41 | 6th |
| 1923–24 | 38 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 56 | 63 | 38 | 11th |
| 1924–25 | 38 | 15 | 5 | 18 | 55 | 62 | 35 | 15th |
| 1925–26 | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 82 | 101 | 33 | 15th |
| 1926–27 | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 70 | 78 | 34 | 15th |
| 1927–28 | 38 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 53 | 112 | 24 | 20th |
| 1928–29 | 36 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 47 | 99 | 23 | 19th |
| 1929–30 | 38 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 56 | 91 | 31 | 15th |
| 1930–31 | 38 | 13 | 2 | 23 | 74 | 99 | 28 | 18th |
| 1931–32 | 38 | 10 | 5 | 23 | 68 | 102 | 25 | 18th |
| 1932–33 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Key: Pld = Games played; W = games won; D = games drew; L = games lost; F = goals scored (for); A = goals conceded (against); Pts = points (2 for a win, 1 for a draw); Pos = final position in the table.[16]
Note: Armadale did not complete the 1932–33 season and their results were expunged from the records.[2]
King Cup:
