Broxburn United
Formed 1912. Became a junior club 1927. Disbanded 1932.
Founder member of the reformed Scottish League Division Two 1921. Failed re-election 1926.
Kit History
Broxburn Star
1882
Became Broxburn Thistle 1883
1882-1891 d
Broxburn
1889
Formerly Broxburn Thistle
Wound up in 1894
1891-1893 d
1893-1894 d
Broxburn Athletic
1892-1912
1892-1906 d
1906-1912 d
Broxburn
(The second club with this name)
1901-1912
1902-1910 d
1910-1912 d e
Broxburn United
1912
Formed by the merger of Broxburn Athletic and Broxburn
1912-1914 e
1914?-1917 c
1919-1920 a c
1920-circa1922 a b
1922-1923 a c
1925-1926 a c
Background
In 1882 Broxburn Star was formed in the West Lothian town of Broxburn, then a rapidly growing industrial community dominated by the mining and processing of oil-bearing shale and associated spoil heaps, known locally as "bings." After one season as members of the Scottish Junior FA, the club changed its name to Broxburn Thistle and turned to senior-level competition and joined the Scottish FA. "Thistle" was dropped in 1889, and two years later Broxburn joined the Eastern Alliance in 1891 followed by the East of Scotland League in 1893. At the end of the 1893-94 season this club was disbanded.
Broxburn Athletic was formed in 1892 as a junior side and they played at this level until 1905 when they joined the ranks of senior clubs in the Eastern League. The following season they joined (and resigned from) the Scottish Combination, followed by the Midland League, the Central League and finally (1911-12) the Scottish Reserve League. In 1912 they merged with the second Broxburn FC to form Broxburn United.
The second Broxburn FC came into being in 1901 as a senior club. They also played in a variety of leagues until 1911-12, when they joined the Central League. It was by now clear that Broxburn was too small a community to support two senior teams and in 1912 Broxburn and Broxburn Athletic amalgamated to form Broxburn United. Coincidentally both teams wore blue shirts so the choice of colours for the new team was very straightforward.
Broxburn United continued to play in the Central League until 1915 when they joined the new Eastern League formed by members of the suspended Second Division of the Scottish Football League (SFL). In 1919, largely due to the refusal of the SFL to reinstate these former members, the Central League was re-established as a rival competition with Broxburn United among the membership.
In 1922 they were censured for fielding only two first-team players in a match against St Bernards so they could put out a stronger side in a cup competition. They also became entangled in controversy when a Stenhousemuir player alleged that a Glasgow bookmaker had offered him £50 (a very substantial sum at the time) to throw their game with Broxburn. The West Lothian team were later cleared of any involvement but the affair did further damage to their reputation and when they had to apply for re-election in 1926 they were voted out in favour of Forfar Athletic.
The club spent one season in the Scottish Alliance before changing affiliation and joining the Midlothian Junior League. They fared little better at this level, resigning after one season. They played no further fixtures after May 1929 and were finally disbanded in 1932.
There is no connection with the modern junior team, Broxburn Athletic.
Sources
- (a) The Scottish League Former Members (Norman Nichol 1992)
- (b) The Broxburn Football Story (Gus Martin)
- (c) Alick Milne
- (d) Scottish Football History - Brian McColl's excellent statistical resource was invaluable in untangling the story of the various clubs that preceded Broxburn United.
- (e) Keith Ellis