Strathclyde Academical...

[Yoss]

I had absolutely no idea about this episode until I just read of it somewhere else. What actually happened at the Hamilton end? As far as I can gather there was a boardroom coup after the club had already tendered their resignation to the league - and missed one fixture - and the new directors managed to persuade the SFL that they were the real Hamilton Accies and to get the resignation rescinded - is that about right?

I had no idea we came so close to losing them. Strathclyde Academical indeed.

[Cowden Cowboy]

Scottish football was absolutely stunned in August 1970 when Clyde and Hamilton agreed on Friday 28th August to merge with immediate effect to play First Division matches at Douglas Park from September 19, 1970. Hamilton were to be wound up forthwith and they resigned from the 2nd Division. Their fixtures were to be scrubbed and with 19 clubs in Division 2, the League would revert to a more convenient 18 anyway. Clyde would then just play 3 more games before quitting Shawfield forever. On Saturday 29th, 16 Hamilton players were told they were unemployed and that their match that day v Raith Rovers would not take place. Strathclyde Academicals was being considered as the name for the newly merged club but for the remainder of the season the name Clyde would be retained. Ex-Cowden boss Archie Robertson would continue to manage the club and all the players were to be those already on the books at Clyde.

It was reported that the merger had been agreed within just a few days following a phone discussion between the 2 chairmen - Willie Dunn (Clyde) and John Crines (Hamilton). Both Boards had backed the merger on a unanimous basis.

The Daily Record then reported that a survey suggested Clyde fans were less than enamoured with a move to Hamilton. Oddly, Accies fans were supposedly delighted by the merger which would bring top flight football back to the town – I must admit though to some doubts re the quality of the polling that produced such a result!

The Daily Mail’s Ian Archer reported: ‘It took Clyde only eight days to remove their famous name from Scottish football records … and seek refuge outside Glasgow’s city limits. And it took Hamilton Academicals even less time to hand over title and deeds to them in return for an instant place in the First Division.

It had to be – for Clyde had discussed another plan and dismissed it for fear of a leak. Under this proposal Clyde would have financed Hamilton for a year, allowing them to continue in the Second Division while a merger was worked out at leisure. This was abandoned because of the effects upon gates, which was the basic reason for the talks in the first place. Neither Hamilton nor Clyde could afford the risk that news would leak out, and supporters would stop watching “ghost” teams during the season’.

Some pundits called the merger a victory for common sense over sentimentality and an example that other clubs should follow.

The Evening Times reported that Clyde’s new £30,000 floodlights would be taken to Hamilton and that money would be spent on upgrading the Douglas Park stand. Greyhound racing would continue at Shawfield.

However, the backlash came almost immediately. 4 former Accies directors - Robert Gibb, Joseph Friel, Jan Stepek and James Watson backed by fans and other shareholders made an offer to buy out the Hamilton Board with a view to reversing the merger. Mr Crines did not say yes or no to their approach initially while Willie Dunn at Clyde put forward a view that the arrangement wasn’t so much a merger as a change of venue for Clyde. For an objective observer that actually seemed to be the gist of it. Accies would be gone and Clyde would have flitted to a new location as they eventually did many years later with mixed success to Cumbernauld. Crines though then did reject the offer to buy out Hamilton and announced the merger was to go ahead.

Accies supporters sought an interim interdict to block the merger and declared their support for the four ex-directors of the club, led by Robert Gibb. Hamilton Town Council who owned Douglas Park also demanded meetings with the various parties. Suddenly, though the ex-Hamilton directors managed to unexpectedly gain a majority of the shareholder backing and abruptly killed the merger. An important shareholder had changed sides to facilitate saving the Accies. Mr Crines was promptly ousted. Clyde stayed at Shawfield and the Accies were saved. The SFL then allowed Accies to unresign and within a breathless week it was all over. Accies took the field again on 5th September and Taggart put them one up after 8 minutes v Albion Rovers. A 3-1 defeat though was the outcome but Accies fans didn’t care – normal service had been resumed and Strathclyde Academicals were still born.

[Yoss]

Cheers. Where's that article from?

[Cowden Cowboy]

Cowdenbeath programme v Hamilton 2012

[Yoss]

Aha. Thanks again.

[HibeeJibee]

SFL Centenary History (by Bob Crampsey) adds that: the resignations from SFA & SFL were deliberately timed to fall between the end of the League Cup sectional stage and the start of the League season; the intention was to rename as "Strathclyde Academical" right away, but it was discovered that SFA rules forbid names being adjusted outwith the closed season - so the idea then became to play the first season in Hamilton as "Clyde" then alter the name; plus that the four Hamilton directors obtained an extension to Douglas Park's lease from the Town Council, which was presumably significant in that it meant Clyde couldn't obtain it, and this pre-empted the attempt's collapse.

On the nickname - weren't Hamilton nicknamed "Acas", not "Accies", in those days? So presumably it would've been "Stracas" , not "Straccies"?

[Nowhereman]

Odd that Clyde were doing the taking over as that was just about the time when Dumbarton had tabled a bid of £40,000.00 to buy out Clyde. As far as i am aware the only resaon it didn't go ahead was because the league wouldn;t allow a second division club to buy out a first division club.

[Sweet Pete]

Odd that Clyde were doing the taking over as that was just about the time when Dumbarton had tabled a bid of £40,000.00 to buy out Clyde. As far as i am aware the only resaon it didn't go ahead was because the league wouldn;t allow a second division club to buy out a first division club.

What was the goal of Sons buying out Clyde? Take their place in the higher league?

[HibeeJibee]

It was a high-water mark period for mad-cap ideas.

In the spring of 1964 Rangers tried to get the 5 smallest clubs punted out of the league* - for no more reason than making the Second Division look symmetrical with the First, avoiding the nuisancy ninth League Cup section, and a fraction of pools cash. In the summer East Stirlingshire got relegated from the top tier, and promptly found themselves relocating to Clydebank as "ES Clydebank", a move which only lasted 12 months. Clyde tried to take-over Hamilton in 1970. Dumbarton tried to take-over Clyde in 1971.

There were an odd number of clubs in the Second Division - but despite this the clubs voted against applications from Inverness Clachnacuddin and Gateshead in 1960, and Gala Fairydean in 1964. They then knocked back the newly decoupled Clydebank in 1965... then elected them (ahead of Gala and Hawick Royal Albert) only 12 months later. Third Lanark then went bust a year after that, but they again ran with an odd number of clubs again until league reconstruction in 1974!! And that club was much-maligned Ferranti Thistle.

Some other bizarre ideas of the time included Rangers proposing that 0-0 draws should receive 0pts, and an experimental offside rule in the Drybrough Cup and League Cup whereby offside only applied between the goal and 18yd line. There was also a Summer Cup, basically a Top Division Cup, in 1964 and 1965 but it was beset by troubles and abolished.

*see my thread here: http://www.pieandbovril.com/forum/index.php/topic/213686-rangers-reconstruction-scandal-50-years-on/

[renton]

It was a high-water mark period for mad-cap ideas.

In the spring of 1964 Rangers tried to get the 5 smallest clubs punted out of the league* - for no more reason than making the Second Division look symmetrical with the First, avoiding the nuisancy ninth League Cup section, and a fraction of pools cash. In the summer East Stirlingshire got relegated from the top tier, and promptly found themselves relocating to Clydebank as "ES Clydebank", a move which only lasted 12 months. Clyde tried to take-over Hamilton in 1970. Dumbarton tried to take-over Clyde in 1971.

There were an odd number of clubs in the Second Division - but despite this the clubs voted against applications from Inverness Clachnacuddin and Gateshead in 1960, and Gala Fairydean in 1964. They then knocked back the newly decoupled Clydebank in 1965... then elected them (ahead of Gala and Hawick Royal Albert) only 12 months later. Third Lanark then went bust a year after that, but they again ran with an odd number of clubs again until league reconstruction in 1974!! And that club was much-maligned Ferranti Thistle.

Some other bizarre ideas of the time included Rangers proposing that 0-0 draws should receive 0pts, and an experimental offside rule in the Drybrough Cup and League Cup whereby offside only applied between the goal and 18yd line. There was also a Summer Cup, basically a Top Division Cup, in 1964 and 1965 but it was beset by troubles and abolished.

*see my thread here: http://www.pieandbovril.com/forum/index.php/topic/213686-rangers-reconstruction-scandal-50-years-on/

Out of interest, how did that one end up?

[Yoss]

It was a high-water mark period for mad-cap ideas.

In the spring of 1964 Rangers tried to get the 5 smallest clubs punted out of the league* - for no more reason than making the Second Division look symmetrical with the First, avoiding the nuisancy ninth League Cup section, and a fraction of pools cash. In the summer East Stirlingshire got relegated from the top tier, and promptly found themselves relocating to Clydebank as "ES Clydebank", a move which only lasted 12 months. Clyde tried to take-over Hamilton in 1970. Dumbarton tried to take-over Clyde in 1971.

There were an odd number of clubs in the Second Division - but despite this the clubs voted against applications from Inverness Clachnacuddin and Gateshead in 1960, and Gala Fairydean in 1964. They then knocked back the newly decoupled Clydebank in 1965... then elected them (ahead of Gala and Hawick Royal Albert) only 12 months later. Third Lanark then went bust a year after that, but they again ran with an odd number of clubs again until league reconstruction in 1974!! And that club was much-maligned Ferranti Thistle.

Some other bizarre ideas of the time included Rangers proposing that 0-0 draws should receive 0pts, and an experimental offside rule in the Drybrough Cup and League Cup whereby offside only applied between the goal and 18yd line. There was also a Summer Cup, basically a Top Division Cup, in 1964 and 1965 but it was beset by troubles and abolished.

*see my thread here: http://www.pieandbovril.com/forum/index.php/topic/213686-rangers-reconstruction-scandal-50-years-on/

Gateshead? Blimey. Would have been a bit anomolous, notwithstanding the precedent of Berwick. Hadn't realised there was a stage when Clachnacuddin was the most prominent / ambitious of the Inverness teams either. Would have made for a much better name than 'Caledonian Thistle'.

There was a season in the 80s in the English Conference where they experimented with a rule that you couldn't be offside from free-kicks. So every time there was a free within about 70 yards of goal the penalty area was packed out as if they were taking a corner. Only lasted the season, I believe.

[HibeeJibee]

Not very well, seemingly.

According to the SFL Centenary History it was introduced for the season-opening Drybrough Cup in 1973 and the SFL management committee thought it was such a top idea (remember crowds were falling alarmingly) that before a ball was kicked they proposed it apply to all competitions in 1973-74.

They immediately hit a snag in that Scottish Cup, European and international games would of course be operating to the standard rule so players would be operating with 2 radically different rules from match-to-match. It also led to players congregating along the edges of the boxes and the ball being blasted from one end to the other, although perhaps not as much as was feared. It seems to have applied to the Drybrough Cup and League Cup in 1973 and 1974, although Cramspey's book mistakenly says just 1973 in the League Cup.

STV article on it here: http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/celtic/240624-how-the-scottish-fa-tried-to-revolutionise-the-offside-law/

1974 League Cup Final:

[HibeeJibee]

Gateshead? Blimey. Would have been a bit anomolous, notwithstanding the precedent of Berwick. Hadn't realised there was a stage when Clachnacuddin was the most prominent / ambitious of the Inverness teams either. Would have made for a much better name than 'Caledonian Thistle'.

Gateshead tried again in 1974 when Ferranti were elected (and of course promptly had to move from City Park to Meadowbank Stadium then change their name!!). I'm sure I'd also saw that Newcastle United once tried to enter their reserve side into the SFL, possibly in 1930s when a few clubs folded. I'll see if I can find that.

Since the old Division 3 collapsed in 1926, at least these clubs have applied. I say "at least" as not all are on the SFHA website list, and there may be still more, e.g. I've seen claims that Irvine Meadow applied during the 1960s and Whitehill Welfare during 1990s.

Some interesting "what might have beens" among them.

1929

Brechin City, Montrose, Nithsdale Wanderers

1931

Edinburgh City, Nithsdale Wanderers

1946

Stirling Albion

1949

Stranraer

1951

Berwick Rangers, Newton Stewart

1960

Clachnacuddin, Gateshead

1964

Gala Fairydean

1965

Clydebank

1966

Clydebank, Gala Fairydean, Hawick Royal Albert

1974

Ferranti Thistle, Elgin City, Forres Mechanics, Gateshead, Hawick Royal Albert, Inverness Thistle, Ross County

1994

Caledonian Thistle, Ross County, Elgin City, Gala Fairydean, Gretna

2000

Elgin City, Peterhead, Annan Athletic, Cove Rangers, Gala Fairydean, Gretna, Preston Athletic

2002

Gretna, Airdrie United, Cove Rangers, Edinburgh City, Gala Fairydean, Huntly, Preston Athletic

2008

Annan Athletic, Cove Rangers, Edinburgh City, Preston Athletic, Spartans

[HibeeJibee]

Found it... Newcastle offerred to take-over the fixtures of Bo'ness, and Berwick the fixtures of Armadale, after both fell-out of the league in November 1932.

Nithsdale Wanderers apparently applied to every AGM from 1927 to at least 1932, even when there weren't vacancies.

[Yoss]

Cheers, HJ. I'm interested, even if no one else is.

[HibeeJibee]

No problem !!

I find it quite interesting, really.

Gateshead were trying to join as they were voted-out of the Football League that year (1960)

They were only the second FL club to 'suffer' that since the 1930s, the previous being New Brighton in 1951.

To go full circle - an old thread on ScottishLeague.net says that immediately upon Hamilton resigning in 1970, Gateshead applied to enter:

http://scottishleague.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3022&p=16721&hilit=gateshead#p16721

Newcastle article:

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[Nowhereman]

What was the goal of Sons buying out Clyde? Take their place in the higher league?

I think that was the idea. It seemed to be agreed but the league said if it went ahead we would have to stay in the second division.

[Nowhereman]

Not very well, seemingly.

According to the SFL Centenary History it was introduced for the season-opening Drybrough Cup in 1973 and the SFL management committee thought it was such a top idea (remember crowds were falling alarmingly) that before a ball was kicked they proposed it apply to all competitions in 1973-74.

They immediately hit a snag in that Scottish Cup, European and international games would of course be operating to the standard rule so players would be operating with 2 radically different rules from match-to-match. It also led to players congregating along the edges of the boxes and the ball being blasted from one end to the other, although perhaps not as much as was feared. It seems to have applied to the Drybrough Cup and League Cup in 1973 and 1974, although Cramspey's book mistakenly says just 1973 in the League Cup.

STV article on it here: http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/celtic/240624-how-the-scottish-fa-tried-to-revolutionise-the-offside-law/

1974 League Cup Final:

Not sure that it did tbh

[Skyline Drifter]

Found it... Newcastle offerred to take-over the fixtures of Bo'ness, and Berwick the fixtures of Armadale, after both fell-out of the league in November 1932.

Nithsdale Wanderers apparently applied to every AGM from 1927 to at least 1932, even when there weren't vacancies.

The latter is probably true. I'm currently transcribing the Queen of the South Minute Books from 1919 onwards when I get a spare minute and have reached 1933. It did appear that just about every summer there were letters received from Nithsdale Wanderers asking for the club's support in application for membership. Doesn't appear to be such a letter in 1933 but as we were promoted for the first time then, there was a lot going on and it may just not have been minuted.

[Distant Doonhamer]

Thanks to all who have taken the time to post on the thread. Some really interesting historical stuff.