| Full name | Broxburn United Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | the United[1] | |
| Founded | 1912 | |
| Dissolved | 1932 | |
| Ground | Sports Park,Broxburn | |
| League | Scottish Football League (1921–1926) | |
Broxburn United Football Club was afootball club based at Sports Park inBroxburn, West Lothian in Scotland.[2] The club was formed by the amalgamation of the town's two senior clubsBroxburn andBroxburn Athletic in 1912, and was a member of theScottish Football League from 1921 until 1926.[3]
The first club known asBroxburn Football Club was founded in 1883 as Broxburn Thistle, adopting the Broxburn name in 1889. The club went into abeyance in the 1890s andwas revived in 1902. The club went on to appear in many of the top competitions below theScottish Football League in subsequent seasons, appearing in theCentral Football Combination, theScottish Football Alliance, theScottish Football Union and theCentral Football League.
Another club,Broxburn Athletic, joined theEastern Football League in1905–06 and theCentral Football League1909–10.
Broxburn United was formed in April 1912 when it became clear that a small town like Broxburn could not support two senior sides.[3] United became members of the Central Football League (apart from a spell in the Eastern Football League from 1915 to 1917) and along with much of the membership of this group they were admitted to the newly expandedScottish Football League Second Division in 1921.[4]
It appeared to be unrealistic for a town of just 3,000 people to sustain a league club,[5] and although the club's first match in the SFL attracted a crowd of 3,500,[6] an economic downturn meant that too many clubs were trying to attract too few spectators.[7] Broxburn were censured in 1922 for fielding only two first team players in a league match againstSt Bernard's.[7]
Stenhousemuir player Joe Shortt reported to the League that he had been offered £50 by the representatives of abookmaker fromGlasgow to play poorly in a match against Broxburn United.[8]
The club struggled in the League and finished bottom in the1925–26 season.[3] Facing re-election, they were rejected in favour ofForfar Athletic and dropped out of the League.[3] Broxburn United joined theScottish Football Alliance for the1926–27 season,[3] but found this level to be too financially taxing and soon joined the ranks ofScottish junior football by joining theMidlothian Junior League. The club continued until 1932 when financial troubles finally claimed them.
