Stirling Albion F.C.

History

Stirling Albion was founded in 1945 after King's Park, the town's previous team, failed to survive the Second World War. King's Park's ground, Forthbank, had been damaged by a German bomb on 20 July 1940, one of only two bombs to fall on Stirling during the war. The new club was the brainchild of local coal magnate Thomas Fergusson, who purchased the Annfield estate to build a stadium within a quarter of a mile of the town centre; Annfield was the club's home until 1992.

The name 'Albion' supposedly came from the make of Fergusson's coal trucks, but this is an urban myth—Albion Coal lorries were used as grandstands, while the club was named at a meeting of fans before a ball was kicked, according to the Stirling Journal in 1945. The name was chosen because it was an old word for Great Britain and held meaning for the founder. Between 1946 and 1968, the club gained a reputation as a yo-yo club, being relegated and promoted several times, leading to the saying that something was 'going up and down like Stirling Albion'.

In 1966, it became the first British team to play in Japan. Under Bob Shankly, Stirling achieved consecutive third-place finishes in 1971–72 and 1972–73, narrowly missing promotion. Shankly retired to the boardroom, was succeeded for one season by Frank Beattie, and then handpicked former player Alex Smith. Smith's first season in 1974–75 saw the club finish 8th, three points behind Alex Ferguson's St Mirren in 6th.

That slim margin proved crucial as league reconstruction meant the difference between staying in the Second Division or starting in the new third tier. Over the next two seasons, Smith rebuilt the squad, adding players like centre-half John Kennedy from Partick Thistle, Clyde full-back James Burns, and Hibernian youngsters Allan Moffat and David Steedman. In 1976–77, Albion nearly toppled Premier Division Aberdeen in the League Cup quarter-finals, losing the first leg 1–0 at Pittodrie but winning the return 1–0 at Annfield with a Robert Gray header; Aberdeen won the replay 2–0 at Dens Park.

Albion won the Second Division crown that season, conceding only 29 goals in 39 matches. Back in the second tier, Albion finished 5th in 1977–78. The 1980–81 season started with a stunning 1–0 win over Celtic in the first leg of a League Cup tie thanks to a Lloyd Irvine goal, but Celtic won the second leg 6–2 on aggregate after extra time, with a teenage Charlie Nicholas scoring his first two goals for Celtic. A 3–0 Scottish Cup defeat to Celtic in February was followed by 13 games without a goal, leading to relegation.

Player sales followed: George Young to Rangers for £20,000 in 1979, George Nicol to Dundee United in 1981, John Kennedy to St Johnstone in 1982, and John Colquhoun to Celtic, Brian Grant to Aberdeen, and John Philliben to Doncaster Rovers in 1983–84. In 1984, Albion racked up a record 20–0 Scottish Cup victory over Selkirk. In 1986–87, Smith left for St Mirren, and assistant George Peebles took over; Albion finished third, missing promotion on goal difference.

In September 1987, Stirling played Ayr United on the first-ever game on artificial turf in Scotland. Jim Fleeting was appointed manager, then left for Kilmarnock after six months. Striker John Brogan was promoted to manager and led the Binos out of Division Two in 1991, going unbeaten away from home for a whole calendar year and clinching the title at Links Park on 7 April 1991. The club was relegated to Division 2 when the structure changed to a four-division setup.

Brogan was sacked and replaced by Kevin Drinkell. In 1995–96, the club went on an amazing run, had the league sewn up by Christmas, and were regularly scoring six goals in their games.