Edinburgh Casuals F.C. was a short-lived association football club from Edinburgh.
| Full name | Edinburgh Casuals F.C. | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1894 | |
| Dissolved | 1896 | |
| Ground | Denham Green | |
| Match Secretary | Thomas Agnew | |
|
| ||
History
editIn August 1894, at a meeting at the Café Royal in Edinburgh, several gentlemen of the city resolved to form an amateur association club to represent the city.[1] After some canvassing of interest, the club was formed on 16 August 1894, under the name Edinburgh Casuals,[2] although the club was officially registered simply as Casuals.
The club joined the Scottish Football Association shortly afterwards, by which time its membership had swelled to 120,[3] and asked for exemption from the first two rounds of the preliminary stages of the 1894–95 Scottish Cup, on the basis that the same boon was usually granted to Edinburgh University A.F.C. (so games were played after the start of term), and the club anticipated using University affiliates. However the request was refused,[4] and club was plunged into the first preliminary at Penicuik Athletic with a reserve XI as its first choice players were unavailable, losing 4–2[5]
The club's first home match was against the more proletarian amateurs of Adventurers, in the second round of the 1894–95 East of Scotland Shield, the East of Scotland Association being more generous in allowing a first round bye; the visitors won 8–1.[6] The Casuals did pick up a 3–0 win over Mossend Swifts the next month, the ethos and exclusivity of the club demonstrated by a note that "the coarseness of the visitors' play was a matter of comment by the few spectators that were present".[7] By this time the club had attracted players from newly-professional sides who wanted to stay amateur, such as Goodfellow and Davidson from Heart of Midlothian, Lee from Hibernian, and Smith and Cowie from Leith Athletic.[8]
The club's final home game was also against the Adventurers, the failure of the experiment made apparent by "less than half-a-dozen spectators" watching a 3–1 defeat.[9] The club continued into 1895–96, and lost 4–3 at Raith Rovers in the Qualifying Cup; the result being so close as the Rovers had to scramble to put together a team at the last minute after six players were suspended for "irregularities", the side including some "rugbyites".[10] In the first round of the Shield, the Casuals lost 5–0 at Polton Vale,[11] and a 5–2 defeat at Penicuik Athleric[12] seems to have been the club's last match. The club was effectively replaced by Trinity, a junior club which turned senior in August 1896, and which also cleft to amateurism.[13]
Colours
editThe club wore maroon and white shirts with blue knickers.[14] This may have been inspired by Edinburgh University, which wore maroon and white at least until 1884.[15]
Ground
editThe club played at Denham Green, in the Trinity area.[16]
Notable players
edit- George Goodfellow, who played for Heart of Midlothan in the 1891 Scottish Cup final[17]
See also
edit- Edinburgh City and Athenian, two other attempts to form high-class amateur football clubs in Edinburgh in the professional era
References
edit- ^ "Edinburgh Football Notes". Scottish Referee: 3. 13 August 1894.
- ^ "Football, Athletic, and Cycling Notes". Edinburgh Evening News: 4. 17 August 1894.
- ^ "East of Scotland Football Association". Linlithgowshire Gazette: 4. 1 September 1894.
- ^ "Admitted". Scottish Referee: 2. 24 August 1894.
- ^ "Football and cricket notes". Edinburgh Evening News: 4. 3 September 1894.
- ^ "Edinburgh Casuals v Adventurers". Dundee Courier: 5. 8 October 1894.
- ^ "Edinburgh Casuals v Mossend Swifts". Linlithgowshire Gazette: 8. 10 November 1894.
- ^ "Montrose". Dundee Evening Telegraph: 3. 14 December 1894.
- ^ McPartlin, Patrick. "Bonnington, Granton, Trinity, and Newhaven". Scotland's Ghost Grounds. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ "Raith Rovers v Casuals (Edinburgh)". Fife Free Press: 2. 7 September 1885.
- ^ "Polton Vale v Edinburgh Casuals". Dalkieth Advertiser: 3. 26 September 1895.
- ^ "Other matches". Edinburgh Evening News: 3. 21 October 1895.
- ^ "The E.S.F.A.". Scottish Referee: 3. 11 September 1896.
- ^ M'Dowall, John (1895). Scottish Football Annual 1895–96. Glasgow: Hay Nisbet. p. 88.
- ^ M'Dowall, John (1883). Scottish Football Association Annual 1883-84. Glasgow: W. Weatherston. p. 51.
- ^ M'Dowall, John (1895). Scottish Football Annual 1895–96. Glasgow: Hay Nisbet. p. 88.
- ^ "Raith Rovers v Casuals (Edinburgh)". Fife Free Press: 2. 7 September 1885.