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Forfar Athletic Through The Decades
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The 1880's
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The origins of Forfar Athletic are difficult to entangle, but the excellent Centenary History of Soutar and McGregor has tied the first match down to May 16th 1885 when Forfar Athletic played Our Boys' Rangers of Dundee at Station Park, and the Loons won 1-0. Forfar's continued existence of Station Park over the past 120 years makes them unusual in Scottish history, for most teams have changed their ground, but not Forfar Athletic. Only Alloa, Arbroath, Montrose, Morton and Stranraer have played at the same ground for a longer continual period of time. Station Park with its proximity to the railway station was clearly an ideal ground for the new club.
Queen Victoria had been on the throne for about 48 years, the Empire was expanding rapidly, Europe had been at peace for some time, and the Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone was coming to the end of his second ministry bedevilled by his repeated failure to bring any kind of peace to Ireland. Forfar owed its existence to jute factories and to the agriculture of the surrounding fertile area, but was famous not so much for its bridies (which were not yet well known) but for that other delicacy called Peter Reid rock.
Football had taken off in a big way in Scotland in the 1870's thanks to Scotland's success in beating England more years than not, and by the 1880's most towns had a team. Forfar had a few teams. There was already East End and Angus Athletic (from whom Forfar Athletic are said to have sprung), there would soon be a North End and a West End and a Celtic, but Forfar Athletic were clearly the best and the only one who would aspire to senior recognition.
The driving force in the early days (and until his death in 1951) was a man called James Black who played, refereed, managed,
administered and did everything for the club.
In the same way for example as Willie Maley was the man who made Celtic, so too Jim Black was the man who made Forfar Athletic. The colours were back and white stripes but very soon they moved to navy and sky blue, and these two colours have been in Forfar's make-up for the whole 120 years of their existence, except for a spell in the 1950's and 1960's when green was the predominant colour.
The first teams contain traditional Forfar names like Cable, Stormonth, Menzies, Ogilvie, Lamont, Boath, Craik and Dundas, and very soon they developed a loyal and loving support. Indeed they were the community team and the focus for large sections of the town, particularly the working classes. Saturday was now a half day in the jute mills and the tradition now was for men to finish work at 12.00, go home, get changed, go to Jarman's Hotel or the Volunteers Arms, perhaps, for a pint or two of ale, then go to Station Park to watch the football.
The game itself was totally different, yet not completely unrecognisable. There would be no line markings other than the perimeter, no referee but, as in cricket, two Umpires (usually supplied one by each side) and also as in cricket, a player would have to appeal to the Umpire for a decision. A decision was given by the waving of a flag. The goals were simply two sticks with no net and no bar. Generally speaking there was one recognised goalkeeper, one defender, one midfield man and the rest were forwards until more subtle combinations developed.
There was no Scottish League (although there was a Scottish Cup) and the opposition was generally local teams from Dundee, Arbroath, Coupar Angus etc. Even the Scottish Cup was done on a regionalised basis, and it was against a Kirriemuir team called Lindertis that Forfar registered their finest ever Scottish Cup win of 14-1 on September 1st 1888. A special rivalry had arisen with Arbroath, but the Red Lichties would have the upper hand for some time until April 28th 1888 when at East Dock Street Park, Dundee, Forfar beat Arbroath 3-2 to win the Forfarshire District Charity Cup before a crowd of 7,000 who had all paid their three pence for the local charities.
Players were of course all amateurs, as professionalism was not legalised until 1893. Indeed it was looked upon with horror that someone could earn his living through playing football. The players were all local lads with whom the supporters would work alongside in one or other of the local jute mills – Don's, Craik's, Moffat's, Lowson's or Boath's. Jute mill working was by no means as hard a job as some others, but it was wearisome and monotonous. Football on a Saturday afternoon must have come as a relief from the drudgery of it all.
Opinion was divided about this new team called Forfar Athletic. Clearly they brought glory to the town and when teams like Arbroath or a Dundee team came to town they brought visitors and therefore trade and shops benefited. It was also healthy exercise and kept young man away from alcohol and loose women, but the sport was still a trifle too rough for the Establishment of the town, whose Ministers would use their pulpit on a Sunday to denounce the evils of this game. But, one thing was certain and that was the game could not be stopped, either in Forfar or anywhere else.
Perhaps Forfar's best player of the first few years was a speedy left winger called John Cable. Forfar people however cannot allow someone's name to stay as it was, and he soon became called Jack or even “Jeck” Cable. In February 1889, “Jeck” was invited to Glasgow for an International trial, as rumours about him had spread. Sadly, “Jeck” had a poor game that day, and he was not chosen for Scotland. In these days however there was a County Championship (another piece of copying from cricket) and “Jeck” frequently played for Forfarshire.
In 1890, Forfar won the Forfarshire District Charity Cup again, this time beating Montrose at Gayfield, Arbroath, and it was reckoned that over 1,000 people travelled on the train that day in April 1890 to follow the “loons”. Celebrations were long and uproarious, and if there had ever been the slightest doubt about it, Forfar Athletic were here to stay.
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David Potter
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