History of East Stirlingshire F.C. facts for kids
East Stirlingshire F.C. is a Scottish football club from Falkirk, formed in 1881. The club is often called "The Shire". They played local games until 1900, when they joined the Scottish Football League.
The club had good times in the late 1800s. They reached the Scottish Cup quarter-finals twice. They also won the local Stirlingshire Cup four years in a row! East Stirlingshire played in Scotland's top football league twice, in 1932–33 and 1963–64.
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How the Club Started: 1880–1900
East Stirlingshire officially started in 1881. But its story began a year earlier in 1880. A local cricket team called Bainsford Bluebonnets formed a football team named Britannia. Their first recorded game was a 7–0 loss to Falkirk's second team.
In 1881, the footballers left the cricket club. They changed their name to East Stirlingshire. This is where they got their nickname, "The Shire". They joined the Scottish Football Association and could play in the Scottish Cup. This is Scotland's main knockout football competition. East Stirlingshire first played in the cup in 1882.
In December 1883, the Stirlingshire Cup started. This was a new local tournament for clubs in Stirlingshire. East Stirlingshire played Falkirk in the first final. Falkirk won after a replay.
The late 1800s were a very successful time for "The Shire" in the Scottish Cup. In the 1888–89 season, they reached the quarter-finals. They had huge wins, like 10–1 against Stenhousemuir. They also beat Vale of Bannock 11–2. They lost 2–1 in the quarter-finals to a new team, Celtic.
Two seasons later, East Stirlingshire reached the Scottish Cup quarter-finals again. This was the last time for 91 years! They lost to Heart of Midlothian.
Between 1885 and 1889, East Stirlingshire won the Stirlingshire Cup four times in a row. This is still a club record! They even beat Falkirk 9–0 in the 1888 final. During this time, four East Stirlingshire players played for their countries. Humphrey Jones was captain of the Wales team. David Alexander, Archibald Ritchie, and James McKee played for the Scotland team.
Joining the Scottish League: 1900–1914
East Stirlingshire joined the Scottish Football League in 1900–01. They took the place of Linthouse. At that time, the league had two levels. East Stirlingshire joined the second level. Their first league win was 3–0 against Motherwell in August 1900. They finished 7th in their first season.
In 1905, there was an idea to merge East Stirlingshire with Falkirk. Falkirk agreed, but East Stirlingshire's chairman said no. So, the clubs stayed separate. In 1905–06, they finished last in the league. They won only one game out of 22. But in 1912–13, they finished third, almost winning the championship! The league and Scottish Cup were stopped in 1914–15 because of World War I.
Between the Wars: 1919–1939
After World War I, East Stirlingshire rejoined Division Two in 1921–22. A year before, in 1920, they moved to their new home ground, Firs Park. The club's record home crowd was 12,000 people. They watched East Stirlingshire play Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup in February 1921.
In 1922–23, the club was relegated to the new Division Three. But they got promoted back to Division Two after only one season! During this time, East Stirlingshire had their longest unbeaten home run: 23 games without a loss.
Ten years later, East Stirlingshire won promotion to Division One. This was Scotland's top league! They were at the top of Division Two for 32 weeks. They finished with the same points as St Johnstone. East Stirlingshire won the championship because they had a better goal average.
They only stayed in the top league for one season. They finished last in 20th place. But they were one of only two teams to beat Aberdeen twice that season! One win was 3–1 away at Pittodrie. In 1935–36, Dundee United beat them 12–1. This was East Stirlingshire's biggest league defeat. In 1938–39, the league stopped again because of World War II. Malcolm Morrison scored 36 goals that season, a club record!
After the War: 1939–1964
East Stirlingshire was not allowed to join the main league after World War II. They played in a new league called Division C. This league also had reserve teams from bigger clubs. In their second season in Division C, East Stirlingshire won the league! They were promoted back to Division Two (now called "Division B"). But they finished last and were relegated back to "C Division" after just one season.
After six more seasons in "Division C", the club rejoined Division Two in 1955–56. This happened when the "C Division" was removed. In the 1962–63 season, the club was promoted to the top league for a second time! They finished second in Division Two, behind St Johnstone. Just like before, East Stirlingshire only stayed in the top league for one season before being relegated.
Merging with Clydebank Juniors: 1964–65
After being relegated, East Stirlingshire had a controversial merger. In 1964, the club's owners tried to merge it with Clydebank Juniors. This was a junior club from Clydebank. The owners renamed the club East Stirlingshire Clydebank and moved it to Clydebank. But the fans did not want this!
The merger only lasted one season. East Stirlingshire shareholders won court cases against it. The club went back to its original name and moved back to Falkirk. The owners left and formed a new Clydebank team. During the one season as E.S. Clydebank, the club set a record attendance at Kilbowie Park. 14,900 fans watched a Scottish Cup game against Hibernian in February 1965.
New Manager and League Changes: 1965–1981
In 1966, Lawrence Binnie became the club's first official manager. Before him, the club's directors managed the team. After the merger ended, the club played 10 more seasons in Division Two. Then, the league changed again in 1975–76. East Stirlingshire moved to a new Second Division, which was now the third level. This was to make way for a new top league.
During this time, the club reached the Scottish League Cup's next stage for the first time. They had been knocked out early for 18 seasons! A year before, in 1974, the club hired its most famous manager: Alex Ferguson. He was at the club before moving to St Mirren.
In 1979–80, East Stirlingshire won promotion to the First Division. This is the last time the club has been promoted in the league. Managed by Billy Lamont, they finished second in the Second Division. They were just one point behind their rivals, Falkirk. The two clubs were close all season. East Stirlingshire needed to do better than Falkirk on the last day. But Falkirk won their game, and East Stirlingshire drew. So, they finished second.
Third Division and League Two: 1994–2016
In the 1994–95 season, the Scottish Football League changed again. East Stirlingshire moved from the old Second Division to a new Third Division. This was now the fourth level. They finished fourth in their first season and again in 1997–98. Most of the time, they finished in the bottom half of the table. In 1996–97, they won on the last day to avoid finishing last. In 2000–01, the club reached the semi-final of a national cup for the first time. They lost 2–1 to Livingston in the Scottish Challenge Cup.
At the start of the 2000s, the club had money problems. East Stirlingshire finished last in the Scottish Football League for five years in a row! This was from 2002–03 to 2006–07. In the 2003–04 season, they lost 24 league games in a row. They only got 8 points from two wins and two draws in 36 games.
From the 2005–06 season, if a club finished last twice in a row, they could lose their voting rights in the league. East Stirlingshire finished last two years in a row. But a league vote allowed them to keep their full member status. They had to promise not to finish last the next season. They won 3–1 against Montrose on the last day to avoid last place. This was the last game at Firs Park, their home for 87 years.
The next season, they moved to Ochilview Park. They shared the ground with Stenhousemuir. Under new manager Jim McInally, the club finished third two years in a row. This meant they could play in the promotion play-offs to the Second Division.
In the 2010–11 Scottish Cup, East Stirlingshire reached the fifth round. They beat Buckie Thistle 1–0. But a week later, they were kicked out of the cup. They had not registered a loan player correctly.
At the end of the 2015–16 season, East Stirlingshire finished last in League Two. They had to play a play-off against Edinburgh City. The first game was a 1–1 draw. In the second game, East Stirlingshire lost 1–0 after giving away a penalty at the last minute. This meant they were the first team to be moved out of the professional league system into the Lowland League.
Lowland League: 2016-Present
East Stirlingshire did quite well in the Lowland League. In their first season after relegation, they tried hard to win the title. But they finished second, 7 points behind East Kilbride. So, they missed out on the promotion play-offs.
In 2017–18, "The Shire" again competed for the Lowland League title. They had their longest unbeaten run in history, 19 games without a loss! But they finished in 4th place, 9 points behind the champions, Spartans. East Stirlingshire announced they would leave Ochilview Park at the end of 2017–18. They had played there for 10 years. From 2018 to 2019, they will play their home games at the Falkirk Stadium.
