Historical Football Kits

 

Forfar Athletic

Formed 1885

Founder member of the reformed Scottish Second Division 1921. Lost place when Scottish Division Three was abandoned in 1926.

Elected back into Scottish Division Two 1926.

Kit History

1882 j

1885-1889 a j

1889-1895 a j

1895-1896 j

1905-1909 j

1909-1914 j

1922-1936 b j

1936-1949 c j

1949-1950 j

1950-1955 j

1955-1957 j

1957-1960 j

1960-1963 j

1963-1965 j

Aug-Dec 1967 j

Jan-May 1968 j

1968-1969 j

1969-Dec 1972 j

Jan 1973-1974 j

1974-1977 e j

Admiral

1977-1980 g

Bukta

1981-1982 g

Bukta

1982-1983 i

1983-1984 d

1985-1986 i

1986-1987 i

1987-1988 h

1988-1989 g

Matchwinner

1990-1991 g k

Matchwinner

1991-1992 g k

1992-1994 g

2000-2001 h

2001-2002 f

2002-2004 d

2004-2006 d

2006-2007 d

Macron

2007-2008 d

 

Background

On 16 May 1885, Forfar Athletic beat Our Boys Rangers of Dundee 1-0 at Station Park in their first ever fixture. The club had emerged from the several teams that had sprung up as association football grew in popularity (it is said that Athletic themselves started out as Angus Athletic's second XI) and rapidly emerged as the strongest in the town. The driving force behind the club was James Black who devoted his life to the club as player, manager and administrator for 65 years. Remarkably, Forfar still play at Station Road. The club became known as "The Loons," local dialect for "Lads."

In 1891, Forfar became founder members of the Northern League along with Arbroath, Montrose, St Johnstone, Aberdeen and three clubs from Dundee. After an initial struggle, the club won the competition in 1896. The rivalry with Arbroath was particularly intense and while the fishing port had outgrown Forfar, the latter remained the county town of Angus (still known as "Forfarshire" at the time). It was not uncommon for there to be crowd trouble when the two sides met leading to denunciations from the pulpit and in the letter pages of the local press. Until well into the twentieth century, the club drew on local talent, mainly young men who worked in the local jute mills.

The Loons won the Forfarshire Cup for the first time in 1906, beating Arbroath after a replay. They regularly competed in the Scottish FA Cup, from time to time being drawn against one of the big clubs from the Scottish League. In February 1911, they played Falkirk (who had finished as runners up in the Scottish First Division the previous season) at Station Park and won 2-0. In 1913 Forfar entered teams in both the Central and Northern Leagues but when the Great War broke out, the club closed down for the duration.

In 1921 the Central League, which had been strengthened by disgruntled former members of the Scottish Second Division, was incorporated into the Scottish Football League. Forfar did not do very well at all and were relegated in 1925 to the newly formed Third Division. The following season this ill-fated competition was abandoned as it became clear that the members could not afford to continue on the meagre receipts they received and Forfar were in limbo. At the end of the season, however, Broxburn United failed re-election after finishing last in Scottish Division Two and Forfar succesfully applied for the vacancy.

During the 1930s the club generally finished in mid-table until competition was suspended on the outbreak of World War Two. In 1946 the Scottish League was reinstated but controversially restructured into three divisions. Forfar were placed in the new C Division made up largely of reserve sides. In 1949, the club won their divisional championship and were promoted to Division B. The death of James Black at the age of 85 cast a shadow over the club in 1951. With his passing the club came under the control of the Callendar family but they made little progress, remaining firmly rooted in the lower reaches of the Second Division. Green shirts replaced the traditional light blue and navy but that was about all that changed. In the early 1960s, the team's form was abysmal (giving rise to the joke that they had changed their name to "Forfar Nil") and in 1966 they finished in last place. After being thumped 1-8 by Berwick on Christmas Day, the directors were shaken out of their complacency and finally decided to appoint a manager. Results gradually improved and in 1969 they finished in sixth place, which was regarded as something of a triumph.

Things went downhill again in the 1970s: crowds dipped below 500 and in 1974-75 they managed only a single win all season. The following season they were placed in the new Second Division, now the third level of Scottish football following the formation of the Premier Division. In the summer of 1976 Sam Smith took over as chairman injecting a more business-like approach and in 1979 they won the Forfarshire Cup for the first time in almost 50 years. In 1982 Forfar hit the headlines when they beat Hearts at Tynecastle in the Scottish FA Cup and then held Rangers to a 0-0 draw in the semi-finals. In 1984 the club won the Second Division championship by 16 clear points and in 1986 they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier Division. The 1980s were, without doubt, the club's high point and in 1992 they were relegated to Division Two (third tier). For the rest of the decade they were relegated and promoted with bewildering regularity between the second and third levels. Between 2000 and 2006 they led a relatively settled existence in Scottish Division Two (third level) before being relegated back down to the lowest division.

Sources