Can anyone throw any light on what junior teams there have been in Inverness. AFAIK, prior to Inverness City, there was only one Inverness team in the Scottish Junior Cup - "Catch My Pal" in the 1920's. However, below is a copy of a posting from the Highland League forum? Does anyone have any info?

QUOTE (Lets all laugh at thistle @ Sep 24 2008, 11:13) As far as i know Citadel were the first & the last..

I could well be wrong though, and if i am, there will be plenty on here too correct me.[/quote]

Found a letter from a few months back in the Inverness Courier that suggests different:

City team not first to join Junior ranks

Published: 08 July, 2008

Sir, I was interested in your sport writer's article about Inverness City (Courier 27.6.08) and was pleased to read that they had been admitted into the Scottish Junior Football Association, which is an excellent association to be a member of.


However, I must dispute the assertion that they are the first amateur side in the Highland Capital's history to join the ranks of the SJFA.

In the 1940s and early 1950s, Inverness had a thriving Scottish Junior League which ceased at the end of the 1952/53 season when only six teams remained, namely Hill Rovers, Nelson, Craig Dunain, Merkinch Rangers, Culcabock and A N Other. The final game was between Hill Rovers and Merkinch Rangers which the Rovers won 6-2, played in the Caley Park and reported in the Football Times.

The Rovers remained in the Junior Association for another two years playing in the Scottish Junior Cup each year hoping that the Scottish Junior League would restart in Inverness. They eventually joined the Highland League Reserve League which was flourishing at that time.

C. A. C. Mackintosh, 1 Darnaway Avenue, Inverness

According to Brian McColl's excellent Scottish Football History website - 27 junior clubs have hailed from Inverness. However, there could (and probably will) be a few more - mainly teams of army battalions whose locations are unknown. List from http://geocities.com/br1anmccoll/juniortown.htm .

I've contacted Stewart Davidson regarding this. He knew of a number of clubs that competed in the Junior Cup, but had been totally unaware that a league was operating.

Its incredible to think that as recently as the 1950s, a forgotten Junior League was operating in Inverness.

Yes it is incredible. There seems to be no records, well none that anyone on here knows off. I attended football in Inverness from the late '60s and no-one ever mentioned junior football in the sneck. I did not even know that there had been an Inverness Caledonian Juniors. There is nothing in the Caley centenary book, "All the Way" about them, but as most of the Caley records were destroyed in a grandstand fire in the 1950s, perhaps that is not too surprising.