| Full name | Gordon Highlanders Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1884 | |
| Dissolved | 1939 | |
| Ground | varied according to stationing | |
Gordon Highlanders F.C. was a Britishassociation football club. It was the footballing side of theGordon Highlanders regiment in theBritish Army.
The first reference to a Gordon Highlanders football club is from the 1884–85 season, when the regiment was based inDevon. Usually based inAberdeen, the club was a regular entrant to Highland competitions in the amateur era of football. It entered theAberdeenshire Cup in 1889–90 and 1890–91[1] and the short-lived Banffshire Cup in 1890–91.[2]
The club's finest achievements came when the battalion was stationed inBelfast in 1889–90. The Gordons won theIrish Cup, surprisingLinfield in the semi-final at Ulsterville,[3] and beatingCliftonville in the final after a replay. The first match (atBallynafeigh) attracted a record attendance for Ireland, and the Gordons took a two-goal half-time lead, but were pegged back to 2–2 by the call of time.[4] The replay, played in front of 3,000 at Ulsterville, saw the regiment dominate, a goal from Beveridge in the first half and two from Swan - the last right on the whistle - in the second securing the Cup.[5]
The club also reached the final of the1889–90 Belfast Charity Cup, losing 5–3 to fellow army sidethe Black Watch.[6] The regiment was re-drafted toCeylon in 1890; the football side was allowed to stay behind with another battalion,[7] and the regiment formed another side to play football in Asia.[8]
Stationed inGlasgow from 1894, the club entered theScottish Cup in 1894–95, and theScottish Qualifying Cup in 1895–96 and 1896–97. It did not win a tie, but did draw twice with first round opponents. 3–3 withNorthern in 1894–95 (the replay having to take place at Northern's ground inSpringburn),[9] and 2–2 withLinthouse the following season; the Highlanders started the replay in a rush, and took an early 2 goal lead, before the superior stamina of professional players saw the Linties win 7–3.[10] The Gordons also entered theGlasgow Cup in 1894–95 and 1895–96, but lost both ties the club played.[11]
The regiment was redeployed toAldershot after being drawn againstBurnbank Swifts in the 1896–97 Qualifying Cup, so was forced to scratch from the competition,[12] and it did not renew itsScottish Football Association membership.[13] It was replaced at the barracks by the1st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.[14]
The Gordons' last major success was via the 2nd Battalion winning the Army Cup in 1897–98, beating the Cup holdersRoyal Artillery in the final atAldershot; the strength of support for the army game demonstrated by a crowd of 25,000 attending, including theDuke of Connaught, who presented the trophy and medals.[15] The club also won the Aldershot League, ahead of theK.O.S.B. in second place.[16] In 1898 the regiment was sent to India, where the club's popular secretary, Lt J. H. Outhwaite, died of an attack ofdysentery.[17]
The regiment was sent toSouth Africa in 1899, and suffered an alarming incident when a shell burst on its football pitch during a match; none of the players was injured, and, having filled up the crater, the match duly continued.[18] While based inEgypt in 1912–13, the Highlanders carried off the Large Unit Shield for Egypt and theSudan, beating the 2ndDevonshire Regiment 3–2 in the final.[19]
After being stationed in India in the 1920s, the regiment returned to Aberdeen, and the Gordons entered theScottish Junior Cup a number of times in the 1920s and 1930s.[20] It reached the third round in 1934–35, and apparently beatAberdeen East End at that stage, but the win was thrown out after a protest and the Gordons lost the replay.[21] The club was still active on the eve of theSecond World War,[22] but there is no record of the club at any level outside the Army after 1939.
The club wore blue, yellow, and green quartered shirts, and black knickers.[23]
The club is known to have played in the following areas:
