Ayr United
Formed 1910 by the merger of Ayr and Ayr Parkhouse.
Ayr FC (formed 1879) elected to Scottish Division Two 1897.
Ayr Parkhouse
FC (formed 1886) elected to Scottish Division Two 1903. Failed re-election
1904.
Re-elected to Scottish Division Two 1906.
Kit History
Ayr Eglinton
Formed 1875
1875 n
Ayr Academicals
1876
Formed by the merger of Ayr Eglinton and Ayr Academy
1876-1879 n
Ayr Thistle
Formed 1872
1872-1879 n
Ayr
1879
Formed by the merger of Ayr Academicals and Ayr Thistle
1879-1884 k n
1884-1894 n
1894-1895 n
1895-1896 n
1896-1899 n
1899-1903 k n
1903-1910 a k
Ayr Parkhouse
Formed 1886
1890-1892 n
1892-1894 n
1894-1898 a n
circa 1899-1910 k n
Ayr United
1910
Formed by the merger of Ayr and Ayr Parkhouse
1910-1914 a k
1914-1916 n
1916-1919 n
1919-1920 k n
1920-1922 n
1922-1923 n
1923-1925 n
1926-1931 k n
1926-1931 n
1927-1929 away n
1931-1933 n
1933-1934 n
1934-1938 j k n
1938-1940 n
1945-1948 k
1948-1950 k
1950-1951 n
1952-1956 a k m n
1956-1958 n
1958-1962 n
1962-1963 n
1963-1964 k n
1964-1965 n
1965-1967 n
1967-1968 b n
1968-1973 a g k n
1973-1975 k n
1975-1977 d k
1977-1978 n
1979-1980 h k
1980-1981 m
1981-1982 l
1984-1987 d k
1987-1988 a k
1988-1990 h k
1990-1991 k
1991-1992 k
1992-1993 k
1993-1994 h k
1994-1995 k l
1996-1997 a l
circa 1997 l
circa 1998 l
1999-2000 h
2000-2001 e
2001-2002 l
2002-2003 a h
2003-2004 d
2004-2005 d l
2005-2006 c
2006-2007 a l o
2007-2008 a
2008-2009 a
Background
The story of Ayr United is one of bitter rivals vying with each other for success in a town that was manifestly too small to support two senior teams. Ultimately they amalgamated as Ayr United, one of the few occasions when this popular suffix was truly justified.
Ayr FC was formed when Ayr Thistle FC and Ayr Academicals (themselves the product of a merger between Ayr Academy and Ayr Eglinton) merged in 1879. In 1885 they won the Kilmarnock Charity Cup and Ayr Charity Cup. In May 1888 the club played the prestigious Aston Villa at their new Somerset Park ground, recording a very creditable 2-0 win. In 1893, having turned professional, Ayr joined the Ayrshire Combination League. They were elected to Scottish League Division Two in 1897 at the third attempt.
Ayr Parkhouse were formed in 1886 taking its name from Parkhouse Farm where the players trained. After becoming a senior side in 1889, a fierce rivalry was sparked when an official from Ayr FC tried to poach Parkhouse’s best players. The club joined the Ayrshire League in 1891 but, unlike their rivals, they remained strictly amateur. In 1893 they joined Ayr FC in the Ayrshire Combination League and won the Ayrshire Charity Cup, going on to retain the trophy a remarkable five times in succession.
By the turn of the century Parkhouse’s initial opposition to the
introduction of a national league had waned. Their fellow amateurs,
Queen’s Park had been admitted to the Scottish Football League's First Division and in 1901
the Parkhouse directors applied to join Scottish Division Two but were
turned down. The following season, after winning the Ayrshire Cup for
the first time and finishing runners-up in the Scottish Amateur League,
Ayr Parkhouse achieved their ambition, beating St Johnstone by a single vote at the SFL's annual meeting.
Ayr had to seek re-election in 1899 and 1900 but their fortunes improved after they won the Ayrshire Cup in 1901 and they finished third three times in succession between 1901 and 1904. Meanwhile Parkhouse were seeking re-election to the Second Division after finishing last in their first season in the Scottish League. The directors of Ayr FC campaigned vigorously against Parkhouse’s application for re-election and the club duly lost their place. Only two seasons later, however, Parkhouse turned professional and were elected back into the Second Division where they resumed their rivalry with Ayr FC.
It was generally accepted that the town of Ayr could not support two senior sides and there was certainly no prospect of First Division football coming to the town unless the two clubs joined forces. In 1910, Parkhouse were again facing re-election after finishing last. After protracted negotiations, a merger was finally agreed and on 9 April 1910, Ayr beat Parkhouse 1-0 in the Ayrshire Cup Final, the last time the two clubs played as independent entities. The following season Ayr United made their debut while Dundee Hibernian filled the vacancy.
The creation of Ayr United is the only time that two Scottish League clubs have combined. The new team played in Ayr FC's crimson and gold jerseys and moved into their ground, Somerset Park. In 1914 the more familar black and white hoops appeared for the first time.
The club's nickname “The Honest Men” comes from the poem “Tam O’Shanter" by Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet and a native of Ayrshire.
The wisdom of the merger soon became evident: United were elected to Scottish Division One in 1913 having finished as runners-up once (1911) and champions twice (1912 and 1913). (This was before automatic promotion and relegation).
They stayed in the top flight until 1925 achieving their highest ever position of fourth in 1916. In 1928 they won the Second Division championship thanks to their prodigious forward Jimmy Smith (66 league goals and a total of 84 in 50 games - a record that stands to this day). Ayr dropped into the Second Division again in 1936 but returned immediately, again as divisional champions. When competition was suspended with the outbreak of the Second World War, Ayr United were a well-established First Division team. It therefore came as a shock when they were placed in Division B (second tier) when the league programme was reinstated in 1946.
It was not until 1956 that United returned to Division One only to be relegated after one season. They won the Second Division title again in 1959 only to drop back down immediately once more and by 1964 they were in danger of going out of business altogether.
The appointment of Ally McLeod, first as player and then as player-manager marked a turning point in the club’s fortunes. Promoted in 1969, United more than held their own and in 1975 they were placed in the new ten-team Scottish Premier League by virtue of their league position despite a playing staff of part-timers. They remained in the top flight until 1978.
Times since then have been hard and in 1985 Ayr were in the Second Division (third tier). With Ally McLeod again in charge, they won promotion as champions in 1988 and two years later the club turned fully professional. During the 1990s the club struggled to make ends meet and spend four seasons back in the third tier but since 1998 they managed to consolidate in the First Division and harbour ambitions of returning to the Premier League. Plans to build a new stadium and retail development were scuppered by the Scottish Executive in 2002 after four years of planning appeals. In 2006 the club provisionally acquired a site on the north side of town and plans have been made for a 7650 all-seat stadium.
The club developed a formidable reputation as Cup team with a strong youth policy but was been unable to hold on to its league position and dropped into Division Two (third tier) before returning to the First Division via the play-offs in 2009..
Sources
- (a) Ayr United Official Site
- (b) Relichtie
- (c) The Honest Page
- (d) Classic Kits
- (e) Tempus Publishing
- (f) Colours of Football
- (g) Pete's Picture Palace
- (h) e-bay
- (i) Ayr United Mad
- (j) London Hearts
- (k) Ayr United FC - Images of Sport (Duncan Carmichael 2002)
- (l) SNSpix
- (m) Ralph Pomeroy
- (n) Alick Milne
- (o) Dennis McLellan
Photographs courtesy of Ayr United FC Images of Sport (Duncan Carmichael 2002)