 | ||
| Full name | East Stirlingshire Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Shire | |
| Founded | 1 October 1880; 145 years ago (1880-10-01) (asBainsford Britannia) | |
| Ground | Ochilview,Falkirk | |
| Capacity | 3,746 | |
| Chairman | Simon Dickerson | |
| Manager | Callum Tapping | |
| League | Lowland League | |
| 2024–25 | Lowland League, 9th of 18 | |
| Website | https://www.es-fc.co.uk | |
East Stirlingshire Football Club is aScottishassociation football club based in the town ofFalkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in theLowland League, the fifth tier of theScottish football league system. The club's origins can be traced to 1880 when a local cricket club formed a football team under the nameBainsford Britannia.[1][2]
The club was elected to theScottish Football League in1900–01 and has competed in the league system for most of its existence. East Stirlingshire haswon the second tier of Scottish football once and finished runners-up once, earning promotion to the top-flight on both occasions. The club's highest league ranking came during the two solitary seasons it competed in the top flight in1932–33 and1963–64. In 2016, East Stirlingshire became the first club ever to be relegated out of the national league system.
East Stirlingshire first entered in theScottish Cup in1882, its best result reaching the quarter-finals on three occasions, the last in1981. The club's best result in a national cup competition was in the2000–01 season when it reached the semi-finals of theScottish Challenge Cup, losing toLivingston for a place in the final.[3] In2008, the club leftFirs Park and moved toOchilview Park toground-share with local rivalsStenhousemuir.[4][5] In 2018 they moved to groundshare withFalkirk atFalkirk Stadium until returning to Ochilview for the2025–26 season.[6]
East Stirlingshire's official date of formation was in 1881,[7] but its origins can be traced to the previous year when a local cricket club called Bainsford Bluebonnets formed a football team under the name Britannia.[8] The team's first recorded match was afriendly againstFalkirk's second eleven in December 1880 and resulted in a 7–0 defeat while its first match as East Stirlingshire was against the same opponent in August 1881.[9] The club's nickname is "The Shire", which refers to the Stirlingshire part of the club name.[7] After joining theScottish Football Association, the club became eligible to compete in theScottish Cup,Scotland's main association footballknock-out competition, eliminated in its first game in 1882. In December 1883, the Stirlingshire Football Association was founded, with membership open to clubs exclusively from the county ofStirlingshire. It resulted in the establishment of a new regional tournament called theStirlingshire Cup, with the club reaching the final in its first season.[10] East Stirlingshire dominated the tournament in its early years, winning it for a record four consecutive seasons 91885 and 18890,[10] including an emphatic 9–0 victory against Falkirk in the 1888 final.[11] Two goals came from Lawrence McLachlan who was an influential goalscorer in the club's early successes; scoring more times than any other East Stirlingshire player with 135 known goals.[8]
The latter years of the 19th century was East Stirlingshire's most successful era in the Scottish Cup. In the1888–89 and1890–91 tournaments, the club reached the quarter-finals in what was to be the last time for 91 years, losing toCeltic andHearts respectively.[8] In the 1888–89 tournament, the club recorded its highest win and equalled it in successive rounds with a 10–1 victory against local rivalsStenhousemuir in the first round and an 11–2 win overVale of Bannock in the second round. It was during this period that four East Stirlingshire players earned international caps for their countries. The first was theWales national team captain,Humphrey Jones, who earned five caps whilst with the club. Three other players,David Alexander,Archibald Ritchie, andJames McKee made appearances for theScotland national team from 1891 to 1898.[12]
Between 1891 and 1899, the club competed in regional leagues, including winning theMidland Football League[13] andCentral Football Combination,[14] before being elected to thesecond tier of Scotland's main national league competition – theScottish Football League – in1900–01, ending its first season ranked 7th from ten.[15][16] In March 1905, a proposal was raised for the club to merge with neighbours Falkirk with an aim to creating a bigger and more financially stable club, which Falkirk accepted in a vote. However, East Stirlingshire's vote was not in favour and the club rejected the proposal.[17] The years following included finishing bottom of the league in1905–06, recording only one win from 22 games, contrasting with finishing as high as third in table in1912–13, narrowly missing out on winning the championship by two points.[16][18] The club remained in Division Two until1914–15 when it, and theScottish Cup, were both suspended due toWorld War I.[19]
At the end of World War I, the club was re-elected to the old Division Two which was re-established in the1921–22 season.[15] The year beforehand saw the club move toFirs Park after leaving their old ground ofMerchiston Park in 1920. In the same year, arecord home attendance of 12,000 was set when the club played eventual champions,Partick Thistle, in the Scottish Cup in February 1921. The club was relegated to the newly created, but short lived,Division Three in1922–23, earning promotion back to Division Two after one season; setting a record of 23 home games without a loss.[20] A decade later, East Stirlingshire won promotion toDivision One, Scotland'stop flight, for the first time. En route to promotion, the club spent 32 weeks at the top of Division Two, ending the season equal on 55 points withSt Johnstone, with East Stirlingshire winning the championship on a superiorgoal average.[21] East Stirlingshire spent one season in its first spell in the top flight, ending the year bottom of the league in 20th with seventeen points.[22] Back in Division Two in the1935–36 season, the club's heaviest league defeat of 12–1 was inflicted byDundee United in April 1936.[20][23] In1938–39, the final season before the league was suspended due toWorld War II, East Stirlingshire finished second-bottom of the league, ahead of onlyEdinburgh City, but despite finishing low, Malcolm Morrison became the club's highest league goalscorer in a single season with 36 goals.[24]
The club was excluded from awartime league in 1939 and was also denied re-entry to the Scottish Football League Division Two at the end of World War II, along with six other small league clubs.[15][25] As a result, the clubs competed in a newly createdDivision C along with thereserve teams of some of Scotland's top clubs. In the second season in Division C, East Stirlingshire won the league and was promoted back to Division Two, now renamed "Division B", but finished last after one season in1948–49, and were relegated back to the "C Division".
After another six seasons competing in "Division C" the club rejoined Division Two in1955–56 when the " C Division" was abolished and the number of teams in the Scottish Football League was expanded. The club sold many young players to larger clubs, includingdefenderEddie McCreadie toChelsea in 1962 who earned 23 international caps for Scotland and is tenth in Chelsea's all-time appearance list with 410.[26][27] The money earned from the transfer helped attract new players and in the1962–63 season, the club won promotion to the top flight for a second time, as runners-up in Division Two behind St Johnstone.[28] Like the previous occasion in1932–33, East Stirlingshire spent one solitary season in the top tier before being relegated.
After relegation from Scotland's top flight, East Stirlingshire was controversially merged withClydebank Juniors in1964. The new club was renamedEast Stirlingshire Clydebank – often E.S. Clydebank for short – and relocated toKilbowie Park inClydebank against fans' wishes.[28][29] However, the merge lasted only one season, with East Stirlingshireshareholders winning several court cases against it and thus the club reverted to its original legal status and moved back toFalkirk.[30][31][32] During the single season as E.S. Clydebank, the club set arecord attendance at Kilbowie Park when 14,900 spectators attended a Scottish Cup first round replay againstHibernian in February 1965.[33][34]
In 1966,Lawrence Binnie became the club's first officialmanager, prior to his appointment the board of directors took responsibility for management roles.[28] After de-merging with Clydebank Juniors, the club spent ten seasons in Division Two before being moved by league reconstruction to a newSecond Division for the1975–76 season, now the third tier with the creation of thePremier Division at the top of the Scottish Football League. During this period, the club progressed past the group stage ofScottish League Cup for the first time since it was inaugurated in 1947.[35] The year beforehand saw the club appoint its most famous manager,Alex Ferguson, who was at the club during 1974 before moving toSt Mirren.[36] In1979–80, East Stirlingshire won promotion to theFirst Division, which is the last time the club was promoted in the league. Managed byBilly Lamont, the club finished runners-up by one point to rivalsFalkirk in the Second Division.[36][37] The clubs shared the top two spots in the league for most of the season and entered the final match equal on points, with East Stirlingshire required to better Falkirk's result to win the championship due to an inferior goal difference. However, Falkirk won its match and East Stirlingshire drew and so finished second.[36]
In the1994–95 season, the Scottish Football League was again restructured and East Stirlingshire was moved to a newThird Division, now the fourth-tier. The club finished its first season in the Third Division ranked fourth from ten and repeated it again in1997–98. With these exceptions East Stirlingshire generally finished below mid-table, including a final day victory againstArbroath in the1996–97 season to avoid finishing last. In2000–01, the club reached the semi-final of a national cup competition for the first time in its history, losing 2–1 toLivingston for a place in the final of theScottish Challenge Cup.[3][38]
At the start of the 21st century the club struggled financially, paying players£10-a-week and manager Dennis Newall became the first unpaid manager at senior level in Scottish football.[39] As a result, the club ranked last in the Scottish Football League for five consecutive seasons from2002–03 to2006–07, losing 24 consecutive league games in the2003–04 season, recording only 8 points from two wins and two draws in 36 games.[40][41][42] From the2005–06 season, it was determined if a club finished bottom of the Third Division twice in successive years, it would face the risk of being reduced to associate member status, meaning the loss of voting rights.[43] In East Stirlingshire's case, a league vote was held and concluded in favour of the club retaining full member status with the condition that it did not finish last the following season in 2008.[44] The club won its final game of the season to move off the bottom of the table in a 3–1 win againstMontrose, which was also the last game atFirs Park.[45] The following season, retaining full member status, the club moved toOchilview Park in aground-share agreement with neighboursStenhousemuir.
Under managerJim McInally, the club finished third in successive years to qualify for thepromotion play-offs to theSecond Division. However, a second-bottom place finish in the 2010–11 season saw McInally sacked and replaced byJohn Coughlin. The club would subsequently post another two bottom-place finishes in the seasons to follow, which could have again put them in danger of reduction to associate member status, but due to ongoing negotiations about league restructuring for the2013–14 season, the league opted not to enforce the rule. The negotiations ultimately saw the formation of a new governing body, theScottish Professional Football League, following the merger of the Scottish Football League andScottish Premier League. East Stirlingshire joined theScottish League Two, the successor to the old Third Division.[46] In October 2015, on loanRaith Rovers forward Jonny Court scored theSPFL's 5000th goal (across all four divisions, but not includingplay-offs), in a 2–0 home win overElgin City.[47] Having finished bottom of2015–16 Scottish League Two, East Stirlingshire faced a play-off againstEdinburgh City for a place in2016–17 Scottish League Two. Edinburgh City won 2–1 on aggregate, relegating East Stirlingshire to theLowland League and ending their 61-year tenure in the Scottish national league set-up.[48]
East Stirlingshire's home colours have been black and white hoops for most of its existence since 1882.[8] The club's first strip was thin blue and white hoops between 1880 and 1882, before changing to colours similar to the present day. An all-black shirt was introduced between 1960 and 1962, and again between 2008 and 2010, while the club's centenary strip in 1981 was all-white. In1996–97, the stripes were changed from horizontal to vertical for a full season; a similar design featured for one month in August 1982 before changing back.[31]
The first company to supply kits for East Stirlingshire wasBukta between 1979 and 1987.[31] For the1998–99 season, the club signed a deal with French kit supplierLe Coq Sportif who failed to deliver the kits in time for the start of the season so sent a set ofQueen's Park strips with East Stirlingshire's crest and sponsors ironed on top of the original.[31] The supplier for the2012–13 season isJako. Past suppliers includeHummel,Umbro andJoma.[31]
The club crest is a shield with black and white stripes and a stylised football, with a banner displaying the club name at the top. It has several variations with the football and banner coloured black, white or orange in different versions.[7][31][49]
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1979–1987 |  Bukta | none |
| 1983–1987 | Sunlife of Canada | |
| 1987–1988 |  Matsudo | Lynben Ltd |
| 1988–1999 |  Henson | |
| 1990–1991 | Spall | none |
| 1991–1992 | Umbro | GJ Sports |
| 1992–1993 | Ellgren | Reebok |
| 1993–1994 | Alpa Sportswear | Greenaway of Falkirk |
| 1994–1995 | Ideal Sports | Central 103.1 FM |
| 1995–1996 | J.G. Kelly Watchmaker | |
| 1996–1997 | Prostar | Angus Williamson Therapy Clinic |
| 1997–1998 | J. Rae & Son | |
| 1998–1999 |  Le Coq Sportif | Richmond Park Hotel |
| 1999–2000 | Euro Environmental Contracts Ltd | |
| 2000–2004 | Secca | Finewood |
| 2004–2005 | Prostar | McFadden's Timber |
| 2005–2006 | Littlewoods Football Pools | |
| 2006–2007 | SX Records | |
| 2007–2008 |  Joma | Northern Blue Ltd |
| 2008–2009 |  Hummel | Chicago Shire Supporters |
| 2009–2010 | Eas-Sup Shire | |
| 2010–2011 | Prostar | Foxlane Garden Centre |
| 2011–2013 |  Jako | |
| 2013–2014 | Larbert Mortgage Centre | |
| 2014–2015 | LK Galaxy Sports | |
| 2015–2016 | AiiB Consulting | |
| 2016–2017 | Joma[50] | Ladbrokes[51] |
| 2017–2019 | Independent Asbestos[52](Home) AiiB Consulting[52](Away) | |
| 2019–2020 | EV2 Sportswear | Central Industrial Services (Home) |
| 2020– | EV2SPORTSWEAR.COM |
East Stirlingshire has played at several grounds over its history. In the club's early existence asBritannia, it played one of its first known matches at Burnhouse[9] against aFalkirk 2nd XI, which ended in a 7–0 defeat for the team.[8] Burnhouse is thought to be the location that was to become Merchiston Park, where the club played many of its matches in the late 19th century.[9] Some home matches were also played at Randyford Park in the town.[8]
Merchiston Park was a football ground located in the village ofBainsford, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north ofFalkirk. It was situated on the northern bank of theForth and Clyde Canal near to present day Main Street in Bainsford.The ground hosted East Stirlingshire's firstScottish Football League match in1900–01 which ended in a 3–2 defeat toAirdrieonians.[53][54] Merchiston Park remained the club's home until 1921 when a nearby iron works acquired the ground for expansion and the club moved to Firs Park.[55]
Firs Park was located to the south of the canal in the centre of Falkirk, named after the street in which it was situated, Firs Street.[2] The club moved to the ground in 1921 and in the same year, the club'srecord attendance was set at aScottish Cup match againstPartick Thistle when 12,000 spectators attended.[56] Firs Park was East Stirlingshire's home for 87 years, except a solitary season in 1964 when the club played atKilbowie Park inClydebank after being controversially merged withClydebank Juniors. As a result of the merger, Firs Park was closed, however, after only one season, the merger was disbanded and East Stirlingshire moved back to the ground, where it remained until the end of the2007–08 season. The decision was taken by the club to close Firs Park due to the prohibitive costs of potential refurbishing to meet newScottish Football Association stadium criteria.[5] At the time of closure, the ground had a capacity of 1,800 with 200 seated in the main stand.
After leaving Firs Park in 2008 they played their home matches atOchilview Park the home of local rivalsStenhousemuir; the club entered agroundshare agreement with Stenhousemuir, originally intended to be for a period of five years, during which the club planned to develop a new stadium in Falkirk.[5]
Since the summer of 2018, East Stirlingshire have been playing their home matches atFalkirk Stadium which is the home ground of local rivalsFalkirk.[57] In May 2014, the club entered into a partnership with LK Galaxy Sports and others to develop a new playing facility at the former BP Club site at Little Kerse, betweenGrangemouth andPolmont.[58] The site would also host other sports in due course. Planning was approved by Falkirk Council, but did not proceed at the time due to a lack of funds. The club trained at Little Kerse until the 2018 switch to the Falkirk Stadium, when all operations were moved to that venue.[57]
East Stirlingshire's traditional rival isFalkirk.[59][60] The club's first match known as bothBritannia andEast Stirlingshire were friendly games against Falkirk in 1880 and 1881. Both clubs are based inFalkirk and have competed against each other in competitions such asStirlingshire Cup since the late 19th century. East Stirlingshire was elected to the bottom tier of the Scottish Football League in 1900, closely followed by Falkirk two seasons later in1902–03. The first competitive league meeting between the clubs ended in a 2–0 win for Falkirk atMerchiston Park in August 1902.[61] The two clubs' old grounds ofFirs Park andBrockville Park were geographically close, separated by less than half a mile (0.8 km).
On a regional scale, East Stirlingshire has rivalries with football clubs from the historical county ofStirlingshire, who have competed in theStirlingshire Cup against each other since the early 1880s such asStenhousemuir[62][63] and since 1945,Stirling Albion[64][65] andAlloa Athletic.[66] East Stirlingshire played its home matches in aground-share agreement with rivals Stenhousemuir at theirOchilview Park home until 2018.
As of 8 July 2025[67]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Callum Tapping |
| Assistant manager | Matty Flynn |
| Assistant manager | Martin Mooney |
| Goalkeeping coach | vacant |
| Sports scientist | Calum Dignan |
| Club physiotherapist | Shona Tait |
| Kit Managers | Tom & Gregor Muirhead |
Gordon Russell holds the record for the most number ofScottish Football League appearances for East Stirlingshire with 415 between 1983 and 2002. He also went on to become the manager of the club for a short period in 2002.[68][69]
East Stirlingshire players have beencapped for their country at full international level 9 times by four players. The first person to do so wasHumphrey Jones, who captained theWales national team four times out of the five caps he earned whilst at East Stirlingshire. His first came in aBritish Home Championship match againstEngland in1889.[70][71] The three other players to make an appearance for their country areArchibald Ritchie,David Alexander andJames McKee, all for theScotland national team at the British Championship. Each of them made their début against Wales, although in different seasons. Archibald Ritchie's one and only Scotland cap came in March1891 against Wales,[72] who were captained by former East Stirlingshire player Humphrey Jones.[73] David Alexander made two appearances, one againstIreland and scoring against Wales at the1894 British Home Championship which Scotland won.[74] James McKee scored twice during his only appearance for Scotland, in a 5–2 victory over Wales in1898. He is the last East Stirlingshire player to be capped by his country. Murray Brown was a steadfast defender during the late 90s having performed to a high standard at West Bromwich Albion during his teenage years.[75]
East Stirlingshire did not officially appoint a manager until 1966. Before then, all management decisions were taken by the board of directors at the club. The first person to manage the club was Lawrence Binnie in 1966.[28] The club's most famous manager is formerManchester United manager,Sir Alex Ferguson, who in his first position as manager, stayed at East Stirlingshire during 1974 before moving toSt Mirren.[36]
No manager has won a league title with the club, however,Billy Lamont managed East Stirlingshire to promotion to the1980–81 Scottish First Division after finishing runners-up in Division Two, one point behind rivalsFalkirk. He also took East Stirlingshire to the quarter-finals of theScottish Cup, the furthest stage of the tournament the club has reached since reaching the same stage 91 years beforehand in1889–90.[36]
After five consecutive seasons finishing bottom of theScottish Football League in the mid-2000s,Jim McInally also changed fortunes at the club, managing East Stirlingshire to successive third-place finishes in theThird Division between 2008 and 2010 to qualify for thepromotion play-offs.[76]
League
Cup
League
| Cup
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The club's record Scottish Football League victory is 8–0 againstArthurlie in August 1927 inDivision Two and its record defeat is 12–1 toDundee United in April 1936 in the same division.[20] In the Scottish Cup, the club's record winning margin is 9 goals which it achieved in consecutive rounds of the1888–89 Scottish Cup tournament: 10–1 againstStenhousemuir in the first round on 1 September 1888 and 11–2 againstVale of Bannock in the second round on 22 September 1888.[20] In only its second season of competing in the cup, East Stirlingshire recorded its greatest loss: 2–10 toRenton in October 1884.[20]
East Stirlingshire'srecord home attendance is 12,000 for a third round Scottish Cup match againstPartick Thistle on 19 February 1921 atFirs Park.[a]
Gordon Russell holds the record for East Stirlingshire league appearances, playing 445 first-team matches between1983–84 and2000–01.[69] The record for most league goals in a single season is 41 byAndy Rodgers in the2016–17 Lowland Football League.Humphrey Jones holds the record number of internationalcaps earned as an East Stirlingshire player with 5 for theWales national football team between 1889 and 1890.
The highest transfer fee received for an East Stirlingshire player is£35,000 from English clubChelsea forJim Docherty in 1978,[69] while the most paid by the club is the compensation development fee paid toSpartans for Jamie Dishington. The amount was higher than the previous record, £6,000 for the transfer of Colin McKinnon fromFalkirk in 1991.[83]
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