Vale of Leven F.C. facts for kids
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| Full name | Vale of Leven Football & Athletic Club | |
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| Nickname(s) | The Vale | |
| Founded | 1872 (original club) 1939 (current club) |
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| Dissolved | 1929 | |
| Ground | Millburn Park, Alexandria | |
| Capacity | 3,000 | |
| Chairman | Angus Wallace | |
| Manager | Brian Brown | |
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Vale of Leven Football Club is a Scottish football team. They are based in the town of Alexandria, in the Vale of Leven area. People often call them the Vale. The club started in 1939 and plays its home games at Millburn Park. They currently play in the , which is the ninth level of Scottish football.
Contents
A Look Back: Vale of Leven's Football Journey
The First Club: A Powerful Start
In the early days of Scottish football, Vale of Leven was a very strong team. They were based in Alexandria, and their nearby rivals, Renton, were also powerful. Local factories helped these clubs a lot. Vale of Leven got support from Archibald Orr-Ewing's dye works. This meant the club could hire players as factory workers. These players then had time and good places to train and play football.
There was a small problem in the 1874–75 Scottish Cup. Vale of Leven was playing against Clydesdale F.C. Clydesdale complained that John Ferguson was playing for Vale. He used to be a professional athlete, and at that time, professionals were not allowed in the competition. Even though Ferguson was said to be an amateur, Vale decided to withdraw from the cup.
But the rules changed for the next season! Vale of Leven quickly became very successful. They reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. Then, they won the cup three times in a row: in 1877, 1878, and 1879. In 1878, they traveled to England and beat the English FA Cup winners, The Wanderers, 3–1. This was a big win! Vale's "Scottish passing game" was better than the English style of individual dribbling. The club also won the Celtic Society Cup for shinty in 1879.
Vale of Leven was one of the first teams to join the Scottish Football League when it began in 1890. However, around this time, bigger clubs from Glasgow started to become more popular. Local rivals like Dumbarton also grew stronger. In their second season, 1891–92, Vale of Leven did not win any games. They finished last. Instead of trying to get back into the league, they left and joined another league called the Scottish Football Alliance. They played there for just one season.
Between 1893 and 1902, Vale of Leven mostly played friendly matches and in cup competitions. Then, they joined the Scottish Football Combination. In 1905, they were allowed back into the Scottish League. They finished second in 1907 and 1909. But they could not get enough votes to move up to the top division. As the years went on, Vale of Leven struggled. They often finished near the bottom of the league table. When the second division stopped in 1915, Vale joined the Western League.
After World War I, Vale of Leven returned to the Scottish League for the third time. They were part of the reformed second division. After a good start, finishing fourth, the club was moved down to a new third division in 1924. This new league did not last long. It closed down in 1926 because clubs could not afford the travel and other costs.
After playing in the Scottish Alliance for one season, money problems forced the club to play in a local league. The club finally stopped playing in 1929. This was during a very tough economic time called the Great Depression. Many small Scottish football clubs faced similar problems. The club wanted to start again when things got better. However, they were removed from the Scottish Football Association's list of clubs. This happened after they pulled out of a cup match.
Vale Ocoba: A Temporary Team
During this time, Millburn Park was still used by a new amateur team. This team was called Vale of Leven Old Church Old Boys Association, or "Vale Ocoba" for short. They played in the Scottish Cup from 1931 to 1938. They also had success in other amateur leagues. In 1936–37, they won the Scottish Qualifying Cup (North). In the main Scottish Cup, they lost 8–0 against Clyde F.C..
The Return of Vale of Leven
Vale Of Leven OCOBA was asked to join a new Scottish Football Alliance. They joined as "Vale of Leven Football & Athletic Club." This meant the "Vale Ocoba" name disappeared.
However, disaster struck when World War II began. The league had to stop by December 1939 because of travel rules. To keep going, Vale Of Leven joined the Scottish Junior Football Association. This meant they were no longer part of the Scottish Football Association, which they had helped create 67 years earlier. Their first junior match was against Vale of Clyde F.C. at Milburn Park in 1940. The proudest moment for the Vale as a junior club was winning the Scottish Junior Cup in 1953.
In 2020, Vale of Leven, along with other teams, moved back into senior football. They became members of the new West of Scotland Football League.
Team Colours
The club's first colours were red and blue. By 1875–76, they wore dark blue with red socks. In 1900, they changed to all dark blue. In 1912, they added white shorts. This colour scheme, sometimes with a red 'V' on the shirt, stayed for a long time.
The Vale OCOBA team wore shirts with black and white hoops.
Famous Former Players
Fifteen players from Vale of Leven were chosen to play for the Scotland national team between 1879 and 1890. These international players were:
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Some professional players who played for the modern club include:
- Danny O'Donnell
- Drew Busby
- Columb McKinley
- Bob McNicol
Club Achievements
Senior Honours
- Scottish Cup
- Winners: 1877, 1878, 1879
- Runners-up: 1883, 1884, 1885, 1890
- Scottish Qualifying Cup
- Winners: 1909, 1937
- Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup
- Winners: 1882
- Dumbartonshire Cup
- Winners: 11 times
Junior Honours
- Scottish Junior Cup
- Winners: 1953
- Central Junior Football League
- A Division winners: 1946–47
- B Division winners / overall champions: 1969–70
- C Division winners: 1978–79
- Central District Third Division Winners: 2007-08
- Evening Times Cup Winners Cup
- Winners: 1947, 1970
- Kirkwood Shield
- Winners: 1951, 1954, 1958, 1965
- Dunbartonshire Junior Cup
- Winners: 1940, 1965
- Dunbartonshire Junior Charity Cup
- Winners: 1943, 1946, 1947, 1953, 1954
- Erskine Hospital Charity Cup
- Winners: 1970
Shinty Honours
- Celtic Society Cup (shinty)
- Winners: 1879
See also
In Spanish: Vale of Leven Football Club para niños
