| Full name | Port-Glasgow Athletic Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1878 as Broadfield (1878-1881) | |
| Dissolved | January 1912 | |
| Ground | Bardrainney 1878-79, Dubbs Farm 1879-80, Devol Farm 1880-1883,Port Glasgow Clune Park, Port Glasgow 1883-1912 | |
| Capacity | Clune Park : 12,000 | |
Port-Glasgow Athletic was afootball club based inPort Glasgow,Scotland. The club was formed in 1878 and originally namedBroadfield before changing their name in 1881. They played in theScottish Football League between 1893 and 1911, and were based atClune Park. Originally the town name was spelled Port-Glasgow, with a hyphen, this style was dropped after WW2.
Originally based at Devol Farm,Port Glasgow, the club moved to a new ground called Clune Park on the town's Glasgow Road. The Port played for one season in theScottish Football Alliance in1891–92 and spent1892–93 playing cup-ties and friendlies. They rejoined the Scottish Alliance for1893–94, but before the new season, the Alliance was more or less absorbed by theScottish Football League as itsDivision Two. During their first season in the Scottish League they had a record seven points deducted for rule infringements. For a time this left the club at the foot of the Division with −2 points.
After winning Division in1901–02, the Port gained election intoDivision One.[1] Despite struggling at the top level due to operating as an amateur club for most of the time, the club managed to stay in the division for eight years.[1]
In theScottish Cup, they reached the semi-finals in1898–99 and1905–06. On the latter occasion they knocked outRangers in the quarter-finals. They also competed often in theGlasgow Cup. Their most well-known player was probablyGladstone Hamilton, the only player to be capped byScotland while with the club.[2] He played on the left wing forScotland in the 1–0 win overIreland in the1906 British Home Championship.[2] Two of his brothers were also Scottish internationalists though they played forQueen's Park. Gladstone later moved toEngland to joinBrentford.
The club was relegated in1909–10 and finished eighth in the1910–11 Division Two table.[1] Due to their precarious financial standing the club chose not seek re-election to membership of the Scottish League. After leaving the Scottish Football League, the club surprisingly joined theScottish Football Union, but ceased operations as a senior side midway through the season. Apparently many of the players who were amateurs joinedPort Glasgow Athletic Juniors. Although sharing the name and ground with the Senior organisation, this club had a semi-autonomous existence competing as the club's third XI in Junior competitions since in the 1890s.
The club was nicknamed "The Undertakers" – the reasons for this are somewhat confused. One explanation is the involvement of a local funeral director in the founding of the initial side or, more likely, they were known as the Undertakers because they originally played in black shirts, changing to white shirts with navy shorts and socks from 1882.[3]
