Partick Thistle F.C.

Did You Know?

• The club's first recorded match was a victory against a local junior team named Valencia in February 1876.
• Before the 1971 League Cup final, BBC broadcaster Sam Leitch said Celtic 'have no chance' against Partick Thistle.

History

In 1921 Thistle won the Scottish Cup, beating Rangers 1–0 at Celtic Park, with Johnny Blair scoring the only goal. They reached the final again nine years later, losing 2–1 to Rangers in a replay after a 0–0 draw. In 1935 the club won both the Glasgow Cup and the Charity Cup. Although over 30 years passed before further cup success, Thistle maintained top-tier status and finished third in the league in 1947–48, 1953–54 and 1962–63.

On 23 October 1971, Davie McParland's team secured a 4–1 victory over Celtic in the League Cup final at Hampden Park, with 62,470 fans watching Thistle take a 4–0 half-time lead through goals from Alex Rae, Bobby Lawrie and Jimmy Bone; Kenny Dalglish pulled one back for Celtic. The 1980s saw a decline: relegation in 1982 led to the club's first sustained period outside the top tier since the late 19th century. Between 1986 and 1989, Ken Bates owned the club, intending it as a feeder for Chelsea, but few players moved between the clubs and Thistle finished 8th in the second tier for five consecutive seasons.

Promotion came in 1992, but financial problems mounted, including a debt of over £1.5 million. In 1998 the club was close to bankruptcy and was kept afloat by the fan-organised 'Save the Jags' campaign. Thistle were relegated to the third tier in 1997–98 and narrowly avoided further relegation the following season, finishing eighth.

Club crest and colours

The first crest on a Partick Thistle kit was a thistle design, and every logo since has featured a thistle. The thistle appeared first in 1902, then again in 1909, and remained until 1978 when a new logo with the thistle inside a roundel was used. A modernist logo with the thistle on a rectangle was introduced in 1990, and the current crest was introduced in 2008. Early kits were predominantly blue with red and white trimmings until 1900, followed by a brief period of orange and black striped tops.

In 1905 the club adopted a colour scheme close to Aston Villa's, before reverting to blue in 1909. In 1936–37 they settled on red-yellow-and-black attire, triggered by borrowing kits from the local rugby union team, West of Scotland Football Club. In 2008–09 and 2009–10, Thistle became the first Scottish club to use pink as the primary colour in an away kit. During 2014–15 they wore a black and pink away shirt supporting Breast Cancer Care.

For 2019–20, the away kit featured a Rainbow flag design under the sleeves to show support for the LGBT movement, making Thistle the first Scottish club to incorporate the flag on a jersey.

Stadium

Before moving to Maryhill in 1909, Partick Thistle played at various sites including Kelvingrove Park, Jordanvale Park, Muir Park, and Meadowside near the River Clyde. In 1908 they were forced to vacate Meadowside for a new shipyard, and after playing at grounds in Glasgow, Greenock, Port Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, they moved to Firhill Stadium in 1909, purchasing spare Caledonian Railway land for £5,500. The stadium has three stands: the Main Stand (built 1927, seats about 2,900), the Jackie Husband Stand (built 1994, capacity about 6,263), and the North Stand, renamed the John Lambie Stand in 2018 (capacity just over 2,000).

On the south side is a grass embankment known as 'The Bing', which had been open terracing until demolished in 2006 due to safety regulations. Firhill has been used by other teams: Clyde ground-shared from 1986 to 1991, Hamilton Academical for two spells over seven years from 1994, and Glasgow Warriors rugby union team from 2005 to 2012. Celtic's under-20 squad used the ground during 2012–13.

Club culture and fanbase

Partick Thistle’s support is fairly small and mainly based in northern Glasgow, though fans can be found around the world, and the club often picks up new followers from nearby universities. The team takes pride in being non-sectarian and staying out of the Old Firm divide. A small hooligan group called the North Glasgow Express has been around since the 1980s. The club’s main Glasgow derby is against Clyde, sometimes seen as the Old Firm alternative.

Past rivalries include Airdrieonians, whose Section B group was involved in violent fan clashes, as well as Clydebank and Kilmarnock. A newer rivalry with Morton comes from the 2012–13 title race, which Thistle won. Fans sing songs like “He Wears Number 9,” “Rellow Army,” “Mary fae Maryhill,” and “Gerry Britton Is the King of Spain,” plus the recent “Return to Firhill Road” by the Lambie McParlands. Famous supporters include actor Robert Carlyle, former chat show host Craig Ferguson, historian Niall Ferguson, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, actor Chris Fountain, and DJ Jackmaster. American actor David Hasselhoff has also said he is a fan and likes the club’s values.