East Stirlingshire
Formed 1881
Elected to Scottish Division Two 1900. Membership rescinded
1918 while Division Two was suspended.
Founder members of the reformed Scottish Division Two 1921
Kit History
1880-1883 b h
1883-1899 b h
1901-1902 a
1907-1908 h
1910-1912 c h
1922-1929 a h
1931-1933 a h
1933-1937 h
1945-1946 h
1946-1948 a
1948-1959 h
1959-1961 a h
1961-1962 h
1962-1963 h
1963-1964 a e h
1964-1965 f h
1965-1966 h
1966-1967 h
1967-1968 h
1972-1979 a e h
1979-1982 a e
1986-1987 e g
1987-1988 g
1988-1989 g
1990-1991 e
1992-1995 d e k
1999-2001 e i
2001-2004 e
2004-2006 a e
2006-2007 e
2007-2008 j
Background
The club was originally formed by members of the Bainsford Bluebonnets Cricket Club, who created an association football section (known as Bainsford Britannia) in 1880. A year later they broke away from their parent club and established themselves as East Stirlingshire FC. (The club is sometimes, incorrectly, referred to as “East Stirling,” which is misleading. They in fact play in Falkirk and locals generally refer to them as “the Shire.” The city of Stirling is 14 miles away)
After replacing Linthouse in the Scottish Second Division in 1900, they made little impression, finishing in last place in 1905 and next to last the following season. After this their fortunes improved somewhat: in 1913 they finished third and in 1915, they were fourth.
The Shire played in regional competition when the Second Division was suspended in 1915 and they lost their membership, along with the rest of the Second Division clubs, between 1917 and 1918. East Stirlingshire joined the rival Central League, which, in 1921 was incorporated into the Scottish League as the new Second Division. In 1923 the club was relegated to the new Third Division but they won promotion the following season – had they not done so they would almost certainly have lost their place when this level was abandoned in 1925.
There was little to celebrate until 1932 when East Stirlingshire won the Second Division title and promotion to the First Division. Predictably they went straight back down again.
After the Second World War, they started out in the new Division C (third tier) and won the championship with some ease only to be relegated in 1949. Here they languished until this level was scrapped in 1955 and along with the other members who were not reserve teams, they returned to Division B (which became the Second Division the following season).
In 1963 the Shire won promotion but once again, their stay in the top flight was brief and they were relegated in last place after one season.
There then followed one of the more bizarre episodes in Scottish League history when the club’s owners, the Steedman brothers, moved them lock, stock and barrel to Clydebank where they merged with the local junior side and played for the 1964-65 season as ES Clydebank. Outraged shareholders took their case to the High Court where it was ruled that the Steedman’s had acted unconstitutionally and the club should return to Falkirk. The Steedman’s, wisely perhaps, parted company with the club and formed the new Clydebank FC while the Shire were welcomed home by a parade through the town led by a piper.
There would be no fairy tale ending and for the next decade the club struggled near the foot of the table before being relegated in 1975 from the old Second Division to the new one (now the third tier), one of those quirks caused by the introduction of the Premier Division. In 1980 they were promoted back to the second level but stayed for only two seasons. In 1994 they were relegated to the newly created Third Division (fourth level).
Between 2003 and 2006 the Shire finished rock bottom every season, amassing a mere eight points in the 2003-04 campaign, prompting many to question whether they could continue as a senior club. The current chairman and majority shareholder, Alan Mackin, has made clear his intention to sell the club’s ramshackle Firs Park home for retail development and move either to Grangemouth or share Falkirk FC’s ground. His critics claim that the proceeds of such a sale would not be reinvested in the club but go to its shareholders – that is to say Mr Mackin and his family.
Meanwhile the club’s players receive a mere £10 a week and are expected to buy their own boots (the Supporters’ Trust has organised a successful campaign to raise funds to provide players’ kit). Mackin insists that the club is living within its meagre means but critics argue that he is starving the club of cash so that it will fold and he will be able to sell off their ground without the inconvenience and expense of relocating.
East Stirlingshire’s performances were so dire that the Scottish League decided to reintroduce re-election of a sort. Any club that finishes in last place twice in succession will lose their vote and be allowed to play for two more seasons after which members will vote on whether the club should continue.
In 2008, East Stirlingshire finished next to last, thus avoiding beng reduced to associate member status. The club finally quit Firs Park at the end of the season and arranged to share Stenhousemuir's Ochilview Park for up to five years.
Sources
- (a) The Shire - the club's quirky old official website
- (b) Brian McColl
- (c) Ayr United FC - Images of Sport (Duncan Carmichael 2002)
- (d) Relichtieplus
- (e) SNSpix
- (f) The Scottish Football League - Past Members Part III (N Nicol 1994)
- (g) Ralph Pomeroy
- (h) Alick Milne
- (i) Evie Marshall
- (j) East Stirlingshire.co.uk - the new official website
- (k) jumpers4goalposts