King's Park F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = King's Park


fullname = King's Park F.C.
nickname =
founded = 1875
ground = Forthbank (destroyed)
capacity =
chairman =
manager =
league = Scottish Second Division
season =
position =
pattern_la1=_whitestripes|pattern_b1=_whitestripes|pattern_ra1=_whitestripes
leftarm1=C71585|body1=C71585|rightarm1=C71585|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=C71585

King's Park FC were a football club who played in the Scottish Football League before the Second World War. Based in Stirling, they joined the League in the 1921-22 season, following the reintroduction of the Second Division and were one of 11 new members for that season.

History

Their finest season came in 1927-28, when they just missed promotion by one point. Their record victory was in a 12-2 league victory against Forfar Athletic on January 2 1930. In this game Jim Dyet scored eight of the club's goals, a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact that it was his debut for the club. [D. Pickering, "The Cassell Soccer Companion", London: Cassell, 1995, p. 122] Indeed Dyet's feat stands as British record for goals on a debut to this day. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2004451610,,00.html "Wayne two three"] from "The Sun"] The club's other great goalscorer of the 1930s was Alex Haddow, who hit five consecutive league hat-tricks in January and February 1932. [J. Rollin, "The Guinness Football Factbook", Enfield: Guinness Publishing, 1993, p. 128] Although overall they failed to make much impact on the league. However, they were 4 times winners of the Stirlingshire Cup.

Although a middle-ranking Second Division club King's Park did at times make the headlines. Their league game against Dundee Hibernian on October 20 1923 would be the last game that club would ever play as they were re-invented as Dundee United two days later. [M. Watson, "The Tannadice Encyclopedia", Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1997, p. 117] The club became the centre of controversy in 1927 when a newspaper report suggested that their next opponents Clydebank were about to go out of business and as a consequence the attendance at the match was minimal. As a consequence King's Park held back Clydebank's cut of the gate until the Scottish League intervened. Although the issue was resolved it helped to increase support amongst the League administrators for cutting the number of clubs due to their volatile status. [B. Crampsey, "The First Hundred Years", Glasgow: Scottish Football League, 1990, p. 83]

Forthbank park and extra income

The club's Forthbank Park was one of a number of stadiums at the time to host animal racing, usually greyhounds but also cheetahs. The Scottish Football Association at the time was keen to put an end to this practice as, although the racing provided a financial lifeline to many smaller clubs including King's Park, they feared that it would lead to football becoming too reliant on gambling just like the races. An SFA inspection team deemed that the greyhound track at Forthbank encroached on to the pitch and as such it was removed, along with the source of income. [Crampsey, op cit, pp. 94-6]

The Death Of King's Park and The Birth Of Stirling Albion

When World War II started King's Park, largely as a consequence of their geographical location, dropped out of competitive football. Nonetheless, the club continued to play friendlies and, like a number of Scottish clubs who could offer higher war-time wages than their English counterparts, welcomed a number of high-profile guest players including Andy Black and Bill Shankly. [Crampsey, op cit, p. 115] The club was persuaded in 1940 to join a new Midland League for the coming season although local powerhouses Dundee declined to compete and so the league did not happen. As a consequence Managing Director Tom Fergusson put the club on hiatus in what was intended to be a temporary measure. [Crampsey, op cit, pp. 114-5]

The fortunes of the club were hit further in 1941 when a Luftwaffe Heinkel III dropped a single "Hermann" bomb on Forthbank - the only German bomb to hit the town during the war, and that was believed to be merely one that had been finally successfully dislodged by the crew after becoming "stuck" in its bomb cradle when its payload had been dropped elsewhere (a not uncommon problem for bomber crews during the war).Fact|date=October 2007

The club did not play again after this, even though they applied to join the North Eastern League in 1944 (a request rejected due to their lack of a ground). [Crampsey, op cit, p. 126]

Amid allegations of financial impropriety with regards to payment of guest players [Pickering, op cit, p. 174] and of money owed to local businesses for services and goods rendered, the club folded before the end of the war, on the pretext of the damage done by the bomb.

Football in the town did not disappear for long however as they were replaced by Stirling Albion, with Fergusson taking a leading role in the new club: which had to fight hard to gain a place in the Scottish League amid howls of protest by other clubs at what appeared to be King's Park using the limited company liquidation laws to set themselves up from scratch debt free at the expense of their creditors; an action which could make service providers to Scotland's other football clubs wary about allowing any sort of credit terms on which all clubs - even the Old Firm - needed in order to operate.Fact|date=October 2007

Although they had not played since 1940 King's Park were not officially wound up until 1953 when the War Office finally settled their claim for the bomb damage. [ [http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Kings_Park/Kings_Park.htm King's Park profile and kits] ]

Ironically, their successor Stirling Albion were eventually to move back to a brand new stadium built at Forthbank in 1992.

Former Players

*Jimmy Durkin (also played for Bristol Rovers and Cardiff City)
*George McLachlan

League History

*Scottish Football Alliance, 1891-2
*Midland Football League in Scotland, 1892-1897
*Central Football Combination, 1897-1904
*Scottish Football Alliance, 1905-6
*Scottish Football Union, 1906-1908
*Central Football League, 1909-1915
*Scottish Football League, 1921-1939

Full Scottish League Second Division record

Key: Pl = 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. [M. Robinson, "Football League Tables, 1888-2003", Cromwell Press, 2003]

Club Records

*Record Victory: 12-2 v Forfar Athletic League Match January 2, 1920
*Most goals scored in a season: 109, 1929-30
*Fewest goals scored in a season: 46, 1922-23
*Most goals conceded in a season: 109, 1935-36
*Fewest goals conceded in a season: 46, 1924-25
*Most wins in a season: 18, 1934-35
*Fewest wins in a season: 8, 1928-29
*Most defeats in a season: 20, 1936-37 and 1938-39
*Fewest defeats in a season: 10, 1927-28
*Most draws in a season: 13, 1928-29
*Fewest draws in a season: 2, 1938-39
*Most points in a season: 44, 1927-28
*Fewest points in a season: 25, 1936-37
*Highest finish: 3rd place, Second Division, 1927-28
*Lowest finish: 17th place (out of 18), 1936-37

References