Baillieston Juniors F.C.

History

Baillieston Juniors Football Club began in 1919 and quickly made its mark in Junior football. The team reached the Scottish Junior Cup final for the first time in 1924, losing to Parkhead after a replay, and also won the Scottish Junior League championship in consecutive seasons. During the Intermediate dispute, Baillieston sided with the rebels and claimed the first ever Intermediate league title in 1927–28. The club later returned to the SJFA fold and rejoined the Scottish Junior League in 1929.

After the Second World War, Baillieston competed among the larger clubs in the Central Junior League, enjoying moderate success and reaching another Junior Cup final in 1965, where they lost to Linlithgow Rose. The early 1980s marked the club’s finest period, with three Junior Cup final appearances in five years. In 1980, they defeated Benburb in a second replay to lift the trophy. They lost the next two finals, however, falling to Blantyre Victoria in 1982 and Bo’ness United in 1984.

In 2000, Baillieston sold its Station Park ground to a developer, planning to build a new stadium in the Easterhouse area of Glasgow. The club initially shared grounds with Glasgow Perthshire and St. Roch’s, then spent a full season playing away from home. The nomadic arrangement drained funds meant for the new ground, and Baillieston took non-playing membership of the SJFA in 2003. With no stadium plan ever realised, the club effectively dissolved in 2005, though the Baillieston Juniors name continued through local youth sides.

Notable former players include Bobby Main, Andrew Anderson, and Davie Wilson, all of whom earned full Scotland caps, as well as Crawford Baptie and Andy Walker. Walker played in Baillieston’s losing 1984 Junior Cup final side. Other ex-players who found fame outside football are politician Tommy Sheridan and boxer Willie Limond.