Motherwell F.C.

Did You Know?

• Motherwell's first and only Scottish League championship came in 1931–32, sealed on 23 April 1932 when Rangers could only draw at home against Clyde, handing Motherwell the title without kicking a ball.
• Between 1904 and 1947, Motherwell's 1931–32 league title was the only one won by a club outside the Old Firm.

History

Motherwell was formed on 17 May 1886 when representatives of two local works teams, Glencairn FC and Alpha F.C., met in Baillie's pub on Merry Street and agreed to merge. The new club won its first match 3–2 against Hamilton Academical. After playing at Roman Road and Dalziel Park, the club secured a lease on land from Lord Hamilton and opened Fir Park in 1896. The team initially wore blue but changed to claret and amber in 1913, possibly inspired by Bradford City or by Lord Hamilton's racing colours.

John 'Sailor' Hunter became the club's first and longest-serving manager, guiding Motherwell through a successful period after World War I. The club finished third in 1919–20 and later recorded seven consecutive top-three finishes. In 1927, Motherwell toured Spain, beating Real Madrid 3–1 and drawing 2–2 with Barcelona. A subsequent tour of South America ended with a 5–0 loss to a Brazilian League Select side.

Records and statistics

Motherwell's four major trophies are the 1931–32 league title, the Scottish Cup in 1952 and 1991, and the Scottish League Cup in 1950. The club has also won the second-tier league four times. Bob Ferrier holds the appearance record with 626 games, while Hughie Ferguson scored 284 league goals. Willie MacFadyen's 52 goals in 1931–32 remain a club and country record for a single season.

Steven Hammell has the most European appearances (19), and Jamie Murphy is the top European scorer with seven goals. The 8–1 win over Flamurtari in 2009 is the club's biggest European victory. Fir Park's capacity is 13,742, and the record attendance of 35,632 was set against Rangers in 1952. The biggest win was 12–1 over Dundee United in 1954; the heaviest defeat was 8–0 to Aberdeen in 1979.

The highest-scoring SPL match was a 6–6 draw with Hibernian in 2010. The record fee paid was £500,000 for John Spencer, and the highest received was £3.25m for David Turnbull. Stephen Craigan earned 54 caps for Northern Ireland, 51 while at Motherwell.

Honours

Motherwell have won six major domestic trophies: the Scottish league championship in 1931–32, the Scottish Cup in 1951–52 and 1990–91, and the Scottish League Cup in 1950–51, plus the Summer Cup in 1943–44 and 1964–65. They have also won the second tier four times. Other honours include the Scottish Qualifying Cup once and the Lanarkshire Cup forty times. The club reached the Scottish Cup final in 2017–18 and the Scottish League Cup final the same season, losing both to Celtic. Back-to-back second-place finishes in the top flight came in 2012–13 and 2013–14. Motherwell have qualified for European competition ten times. During a 1927 tour of Spain, they won an invitational Copa del Rey trophy, beating Real Madrid 3–1 in the final.

Sponsorship

In the 2019–20 season, Motherwell were sponsored by Paddy Power as part of the 'Save our Shirt' campaign. The previous sponsor was Bet Park, who began a deal in 2018–19. Commsworld was principal sponsor from 2010–11, but due to a delay in that agreement, the team briefly wore 'www.chooselife.net' on their shirts for a Europa League tie. The club continues to carry suicide prevention sponsorship on the shirt sleeves. Earlier sponsors include JAXX, Anglian Home Improvements, Zoom Airlines, The Untouchables, Motorola, and Ian Skelly. Kit manufacturers have included Macron, Puma, Canterbury, Bukta, Adidas, Admiral, Hummel, Patrick, Pony, Umbro, and Xara.