King's Park
Formed 1875. Stopped playing 1940. Wound up 1953.
Founder member of the reformed Scottish Division Two 1921. Failed to rejoin when league competition restarted in 1946.
Kit History
1879-1881 b
1881-1882 b
1882-1883 b
1883-1884 f
1884-1885 b
circa1886-1887 d
1892-1893 d
1898-1899 d
1911-1912 d
1921-1922 d e
1923-1924 d
1926-1935 d
1927-1929 away e
1935-1936 d
1937-1938 d
1938-1939 d
1939-1940 d
Background
King's Park played in Stirling,
taking their name from the biggest and most popular park in the city
where they played until 1881. SFA records (researched by Paul Doherty
and Alick Milne) indicate the club wore navy jerseys and knickerbockers
in the 1880s with various "hose" (stockings). From 1887 the
club's registered colours were cardinal red and white.
In 1891 King's Park became founder members of the Scottish Alliance, one of several leagues set up after the Scottish League was formed in 1890. After only one season, the club joined the Midland League and then helped form the Central Combination in 1897. The competition was abandoned with fixtures incomplete in 1903-04 and King's Park spent two seasons playing friendlies and in cup competition before joining the Scottish Union in 1906 and then the Central League in 1909.
In 1921 the Central League was incorporated into the Scottish League as the new Second Division. King's Park generally finished in the middle of the table, although they narrowly missed out on promotion in 1928 when they finished in third place, just one point behind promoted Third Lanark.
Competition was suspended in 1939 after the outbreak of World War Two: King's Park played on in regional competition and in June 1940 the ground was severely damaged by a stray German bomb. After a few games at the beginning of 1940-41 it was decided to close down for the rest of the war due to lack of interest and Forthbank Park was handed back to its owner. In the Spring of 1945, with the war drawing to a close, the club's future came up for discussion. Managing Director, Tom Fergusson decided to purchase land on the Annfield Estate and establish Stirling Albion FC as a new senior football club to replace King's Park. Despite angry protests that the liquidation laws were being manipulated to re-establish King's Park under a new name, free of debt, Stirling Albion were elected to replace the old club in the Scottish League in 1946.
King's Park FC continued to exist on paper until 1953 when the War Office settled the their claim for compensation, which went entirely to pay off creditors after which the club was formally wound up.
Sources
- (a) London Hearts
- (b) Scottish Football Annuals 1879-1884 researched by Paul Doherty
- (c) The Scottish Football League Past Members Part 3 (Norman Nichol 1994)
- (d) Paul Doherty
- (e) Alick Milne