A Stroll round 1960s Saltcoats

[Penny Tray]

George Ardrossan's excellent Ardrossan Football site records Saltcoats Victoria playing Ardrossan Zingari at the Brewery Field, Saltcoats, on the evening of Wednesday 4 July 1888. Presumably the Brewery Field was near the Brewery which was in the area we are currently strolling.

Click on ARDROSSAN ZINGARI on the right hand side of the following page to see detail:-

http://www.ardrossanfootballclubs.net/

[reggie james]

I believe the 1962 game was a fourth round Scottish Cup Tie against Renfrew Juniors. I know the park was full but I'm not sure of the attendance. The Vics tied the game at Campbell Park 2-2 then lost the replay 3-7.

[down south]

I always thought that Saltcoats Vics original ground was in the public park bound by Kerr Avenue/ Townhead Road/ Millar Road and Smith Drive, but in a discussion (can't remember with who or where) someone told me it was over a bit to the east where Cunninghame Road and Townhead Road now lie. I have never been able to find it in an old map.

That might explain why they had to move their ground, because Cunninghame Road and Townhead Road were built up with houses by the 1930s. The park area is much bigger in the older maps. There's certainly some logic in thinking that the club's first home was somewhere around there, because originally that area would have been accessed from Victoria Road.

Meanwhile I've discovered this information about the dates of the founding , and re-founding, of Saltcoats Victoria in an old post. Quite a big gap before they were revived in fact:

http://www.threetowners.net/forum/viewt ... 950#p48950

I expect by the way that in early days there were plenty of other little football clubs in Saltcoats, as many and varied as George has been discovering for Ardrossan....

Susan

[Scott McCallum]

PT

From the Saltcoats Vics team that you gave, Forsyth went on to play for the Hamilton Accies and I think Hawkshaw went to Ayr United. I remember all three Murney brothers playing for Saltcoats, Tony, and if I remember the other two were called Bennie and Gerry (or maybe I've been eating too much ice-cream).

In a previous discussion here on this topic, someone (Hughie?) thought that one of the Murney brothers played for Greenock that day.

Scott McCallum - Glasgow

[George Ardrossan]

I expect by the way that in early days there were plenty of other little football clubs in Saltcoats, as many and varied as George has been discovering for Ardrossan....
Susan

You are right, Susan.

Between 1878 and 1901, there were at least twenty-four football teams in Saltcoats, namely:
Saltcoats Alma
Saltcoats Ayrshire Rifle Volunteers
Saltcoats Breweryites
Saltcoats Caledonia Road
Saltcoats Caledonian
Saltcoats Crescent
Saltcoats Crescent Seconds
Saltcoats Fusiliers
Saltcoats Ivanhoe
Saltcoats Ivybank
Saltcoats Melbourne
Saltcoats Parkend
Saltcoats Public School
Saltcoats Rangers
Saltcoats Rechabites
Saltcoats Rosebank
Saltcoats Savages
Saltcoats Seaside Rangers
Saltcoats Springvale
Saltcoats Swifts
Saltcoats Victoria
Saltcoats Victoria Second Eleven
Saltcoats Victoria Strollers
Saltcoats Victory

As evidence of their existence, here are the scores of some games against Ardrossan opposition. The first date is when the game was played and the second date is when the match was reported in the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald or Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston Standard.

Ardrossan Seafield 0 - Saltcoats Parkend 3
6 April 1878 - Herald, 13 April 1878

Saltcoats Crescent 0 - Ardrossan Seafield 1

8 March 1879 - Herald, 15 March 1879

Saltcoats Melbourne 0 - Ardrossan Waverley 3
10 May 1879 - Herald, 17 May 1879

Saltcoats Crescent Seconds 0 - Ardrossan Ensign 1
24 May 1879 - Herald, 31 May 1879

Saltcoats Victory 0 - Ardrossan Scratch 6
15 May 1880 - Herald, 22 May 1880
The name was written as Saltcoats Victory and not Victoria.

Saltcoats Alma 1 - Ardrossan White Star 1
5 April 1884 - Herald, 11 April 1884

Saltcoats Victoria 2 - Ardrossan Rangers 3
5 May 1884 - Herald, 9 May 1884

Ardrossan Ensign 1 - Saltcoats Swifts 0
18 June 1884 - Herald, 20 June 1884

Saltcoats Swifts 3 - Ardrossan Thistle 1
1 May 1885 - Herald, 8 May 1885

Saltcoats Ayrshire Rifle Volunteers 3 - Ardrossan Ensign 2
12 May 1886 - Herald, 14 May 1886

Ardrossan Ensign Second Eleven 3 - Saltcoats Victoria Second Eleven 1
7 January 1888 - Herald, 13 January 1888

Saltcoats Ivanhoe 1 - Ardrossan Waverley 1
16 May 1888 - Herald, 18 May 1888

Saltcoats Victoria Strollers 3 - Ardrossan Seafield 2
18 October 1890 - Herald, 24 October 1890

Ardrossan Academy 3 - Saltcoats Public School 4
29 February 1896 - Herald, 13 March 1896

Ardrossan Select 3 - Saltcoats Caledonian 1
29 March 1896 - Herald, 3 April 1896

Saltcoats Breweryites 4 - Ardrossan Castlehill Athletic 2
6 March 1897 - Herald, 12 March 1897

Ardrossan Castlehill Athletic 2 - Saltcoats Rechabites 0
17 April 1897 - Herald, 23 April 1897

Ardrossan Castlehill Athletic 2 - Saltcoats Fusiliers 0
15 April 1899 - Herald, 21 April 1899

Saltcoats Rangers 2 - Ardrossan Winton Rovers 2
15 September 1900 - Herald, 21 September 1900

Saltcoats Ivybank 2 - Ardrossan Winton Rovers 3
1 December 1900 - Ardrossan, Saltcoats And Stevenston Standard, 8 December 1900

Saltcoats Seaside Rangers 2 - Ardrossan Celtic 1
18 April 1901 - Herald, 19 April 1901

Ardrossan Winton Thistle 5 - Saltcoats Caledonia Road 0
20 April 1901 - Herald, 26 April 1901

Ardrossan Winton Rovers 3 - Saltcoats Springvale 2
30 April 1901 - Herald, 3 May 1901

Ardrossan Sand Dabs 2 - Saltcoats Savages 2
2 July 1901 - Herald, 5 July 1901

Ardrossan Celtic beat Saltcoats Rosebank
9 July 1901 - Herald, 12 July 1901
Although it was reported that Ardrossan Celtic won, the score was not given.

Between 1874 and 1901, Ardrossan had thirty-four teams, namely:
Ardrossan 1874-76
Ardrossan 1889-90
Ardrossan Academy
Ardrossan Annfield
Ardrossan Athletic
Ardrossan Boys' Brigade
Ardrossan Britannia
Ardrossan Castle
Ardrossan Castlehill Athletic
Ardrossan Celtic 1896
Ardrossan Celtic 1901-13
Ardrossan Clydesdale
Ardrossan Corinthians
Ardrossan Ensign
Ardrossan Good Templars Lifeboat Lodge
Ardrossan Rangers 1880-84
Ardrossan Rangers 1901
Ardrossan Sand Dabs
Ardrossan Scratch
Ardrossan Seafield
Ardrossan Seafield Athletic
Ardrossan Seafield Strollers
Ardrossan Select
Ardrossan Snowflake Minstrels
Ardrossan Swifts
Ardrossan Thistle
Ardrossan Union
Ardrossan Violets
Ardrossan Wanderers
Ardrossan Waverley
Ardrossan White Star
Ardrossan Winton Rovers
Ardrossan Winton Thistle
Ardrossan Zingari

My favourite names are Ardrossan Snowflake Minstrels and the Saltcoats Savages. Unfortunately, there are no reports of them playing each other.

There are over 600 reports of football matches and over 1400 stories of life in Ardrossan on the website http://www.ArdrossanFootballClubs.net.

George

[down south]

What a wonderful list ! ;thank you, George. I thought you might be able to give us a few, but I can only be in awe at your assiduousness in unearthing all those details about teams and matches.Wonder if they were actually playing in the Plantation, or whether it was one of the fields nearby and nearer Parkhouse Road, which let's not forget were unoccupied back in those days.

susan

[George Ardrossan]

Susan

Saltcoats Crescent played their home games on a field on Parkhouse Farm, Ardrossan as shown by the newspaper reports below.

CHARITY FOOTBALL MATCH - SALTCOATS CRESCENT v ARDROSSAN SEAFIELD
From our advertising columns, it will be observed that our two local clubs, Saltcoats Crescent and Ardrossan Seafield have agreed to play a charity match on the ground of the former, Plantation Park, Parkhouse on Saturday next (8 March 1879).
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 1 March 1879

MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
Between Saturday night (5 July 1879) and Sunday morning last (6 July 1879) an outrage was committed in the field occupied by the Crescent Football Club on Parkhouse Farm. On Sunday afternoon, some members of the club in passing the field observed that the goalposts had been removed. They entered the field and made a search in the ditch and burn that bound it and found the crossbars in broken pieces of about a yard in length in the ditch and the goalposts in the burn about a hundred yards apart. It is evident that the act was not done for the sake of gain but from some motive of spite which can hardly be understood. We understand that several young men are suspected and strenuous efforts will be made to have them apprehended and convicted. A reward of ten shillings has been offered by the club for their discovery
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 12 July 1879

In the late 1880s, Parkhouse Farm occupied the land on the right of the road in the 2002 photo below. The houses on the right and the entire Ardrossan Academy campus were built on what was Parkhouse Farm.


Incidentally, this morning I 'discovered' yet another Saltcoats football team - Saint Mary's Select - as shown in the report below.

ARDROSSAN CELTIC 6 - SAINT MARY’S SELECT, SALTCOATS 2
On Monday evening last (7 April 1902), the Celts engaged Saint Mary’s Select, Saltcoats at North Crescent in a benefit match which the former won by six to two.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 11 April 1902

George

[morag]

My uncles played locally, being from Stevenston and Catholic, don't know if it was a parish team. I remember my mum saying they were commented on in the ASH..something like 'over to you Pat, no, to you John, no to you Frank. Frank and John coached later as I believe is in the photo section.

[Penny Tray]

It pains me as a life-long Ardrossan Winton Rovers Supporter to be worrying that no one, whilst we're strolling in this area, is going to give the Saltcoats Victoria credit for WINNING the Scottish Junior Cup.

What a night that must have been in the town!

http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=0577

[meekan]

A great blast from the past
Whit a great find Penny, wiz that you wi yin o the coarner flags?

[down south]

I see from the 1935-7 directory entry that the address of Saltcoats Victoria is given at that date as Rockyknowe, so they still can't have moved to Campbell Park by then. I think you have that marked on your map, Scott ?

Susan

[Scott McCallum]

My wife Cathy recollects her dad talking about Saltcoats playing at Rockyknowe, but it couldn't be the wee park on the map as it is virtually at a 40 degree angle and even the mighty Vics couldn't play on that. Rockyknowe Court was off Parkend Road just about opposite McIsaac Road heading down towards Reid Terrace (there was a wee connecting path). I can't picture how they could have put a football ground in there though. Still a bit of a mystery.

Scott McCallum - Glasgow