Westmarch XI F.C.

Westmarch XI
Full nameWestmarch XI Football Club
Founded1886
Dissolved1903
GroundUnderwood Park

The Westmarch XI was an association football club from Paisley, Renfrewshire, which was once runner-up in the Scottish Junior Cup.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey map Renfrewshire XII.2, published 1897, of Paisley, showing the locations of Underwood Park (bottom left) and Love Street (top right). Caledonia Park was probably the field numbered 2540 to the north of Underwood Park.

History

The club was formed in 1886 as a Junior side affiliated with St Mirren; in common with a number of other such clubs, such as the Queen's Park Hampden XI or the Third Lanark Cathkin XI, rather than being named a reserve or Junior side, the entity took its name from the parent club's ground.[1] The club retained the name after St Mirren was forced to move from Westmarch in 1894, and for two years the Westmarch XI and St Mirren played at different grounds.

However, at the start of the 1896–97 season, St Mirren formed another junior side - simply called St Mirren Juniors - to fill the gap at Love Street when the senior side was playing away.[2] Although the Westmarch XI continued for the season as affiliated with St Mirren, St Mirren Juniors and Westmarch XI even having fixtures with each other,[3] from the 1897–98 season the Westmarch XI switched affiliation to the now-nearer Abercorn F.C.,[4] moving to the latter's Underwood Park.[5] This was a help to Abercorn, as the Westmarch admission fees could offset Abercorn's debts,[6] and the club even made a bid to join the Glasgow Junior League, which was declined as the League did not (yet) want to look outside the city.[7]

The club signed off its affiliation with St Mirren by winning the Renfrewshire Junior Cup for the first time, beating Greenock Volunteers 2–0 at Cappielow Park, thanks to an own goal and a Keith goal from a corner;[8] and the club proposed a new league (along with St Mirren Juniors) for Renfrewshire and Dumbartonshire clubs in 1897–98.[9] The league did not take off in that form until 1898–99, and after three middling seasons, the league collapsed in 1901–02, the XI losing a play-off match against Overton for the truncated title.[10]

Westmarch soon outpaced St Mirren Juniors, including beating their rivals 6–0 in the 1897–98 Scottish Junior Cup,[11] and in 1898–99 reached the Junior Cup Final, a backs-to-the-wall late 1–0 win over holders Dalziel Rovers in the semi-final at Helenslee Park being considered a major shock.[12] The XI however lost 4–1 to Parkhead in the final, at Meadowside, albeit the result did not represent the pattern of play, Parkhead scoring two late breakaway goals as the XI dominated the second half.[13]

The club also had success at county level in Cup competitions. In 1900–01, the Paisley Charity Cup was played by Junior clubs for the only time, and Westmarch took the trophy.[14] It also won the Renfrewshire Junior Cup for the second and last time in 1898–99, again at Cappielow, with three first-half goals against Port Glasgow Athletic Juniors.[15]

The club remained strong until the 1902–03 season, joining the Glasgow & District Junior League, and being ranked 4th (out of 10) in the uncompleted table;[16] however the club dissolved in August 1903,[17] seemingly unexpectedly as the club's secretary had just been named as a vice-president of the League.[18] The name was revived briefly in 1909 by Paisley White Star for Scottish Junior Cup ties.[19]

Colours

The club is known to have worn white shirts in 1898–99,[20] which were also Abercorn's colours at the time,[21] so the club may have worn the same colours as its parent club. It would therefore have worn black and white stripes before 1897[22] and white afterwards.

Ground

As the name suggested, the club played originally at Westmarch.[23] When St Mirren was forced to move to Love Street in 1894, the Westmarch XI did not follow, but instead moved to Caledonia Park,[24] on Mackean Street,[25] the former home of Paisley Athletic, and much closer to Abercorn than to St Mirren. In 1897 the club confirmed its shift of allegiance by moving to Underwood Park.[26]

Notable players

A number of players were called up from the club's ranks to play for the parent club, including:

One Westmarch player won a Junior international cap while with the club - defender William Herd, who appeared against Ireland in 1899.[31]

References

  1. ^ "Football". Paisley Daily Express: 3. 22 October 1886.
  2. ^ "Junior Jots". Scottish Referee: 3. 21 August 1896.
  3. ^ "Paisley & District Juniors". Scottish Referee: 3. 1 February 1897.
  4. ^ "Abercorn (Westmarch XI)". Scottish Referee: 3. 13 August 1897.
  5. ^ "Paisley's opening game". Scottish Referee: 3. 9 August 1897.
  6. ^ "Junior jots". Scottish Referee: 3. 2 August 1897.
  7. ^ "Paisley & District juniors". Scottish Referee: 3. 9 July 1897.
  8. ^ "Renfrewshire Junior Cup final tie at Cappielow". Greenock Telegraph: 4. 31 May 1897.
  9. ^ "A league for Renfrew and Dumbarton". Scottish Referee: 3. 19 July 1897.
  10. ^ "Renfrewshire Junior Leagues". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Scottish Junior Cup". Dundee Courier: 7. 29 November 1897.
  12. ^ "Among the Juniors". Bridge of Allan Gazette: 3. 6 May 1899.
  13. ^ "Parkhead v Westmarch Eleven". Glasgow Herald: 10. 15 May 1899.
  14. ^ "Junior jots". Scottish Referee: 3. 3 June 1901.
  15. ^ "Renfrewshire Junior Cup Final Tie". Greenock Telegraph: 4. 22 May 1899.
  16. ^ "Scottish Junior League". Scottish Football HIstorical Archive. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  17. ^ "Paisley & district". Scottish Referee: 3. 3 August 1903.
  18. ^ "Glasgow & District League". Paisley & Renfrewshire Gazette: 6. 18 July 1903.
  19. ^ "Gossip on athletics". Greenock Telegraph: 6. 25 November 1910.
  20. ^ "Junior secretaries' addresses". Scottish Referee: 6. 19 September 1898.
  21. ^ Moor, Dave. "Abercorn". Historical football kits. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  22. ^ Moor, Dave. "St Mirren". Historical football kits. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  23. ^ "Football". Paisley Daily Express: 3. 22 October 1886.
  24. ^ "Football". Paisley Daily Express: 3. 7 December 1894.
  25. ^ "Football". Paisley Daily Express: 3. 18 January 1895.
  26. ^ "Paisley's opening game". Scottish Referee: 3. 9 August 1897.
  27. ^ "James Dunlop". Cairters Corner. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  28. ^ "Death of "Sailor" Hunter". Wishaw Press: 24. 21 January 1966.
  29. ^ "report". Daily Record: 6. 1 June 1900.
  30. ^ "George Black". Thistle Archive. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  31. ^ "The Junior international in Belfast". Belfast News-Letter: 3. 27 March 1899.
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