Blantyre Victoria (Scotland)

Blantyre Victoria is a Scottish football club from the town of the same name, a couple of miles north of Hamilton and a few more south of Glasgow in Lanarkshire. 'The Vics' were formed in 1890 by Sam Dawson, who remained with the club until he died in 1929. 

Initially, the club played at a ground on Glasgow Road, becoming members of the SJFA, and reaching the Junior Cup semi-final in 1893-94. Vics became a 'Senior' club to enable them to enter the Scottish Cup for the 1894-95 season, going on to play Heart of Midlothian in a home tie the following season, which ended in a 1-12 defeat.

However, the change in status failed to pay dividends as the club was dissolved in 1897, before being refounded in 1900 by a collection of teenagers who paid for it out of their own cash. Vics moved into Craighead Park, which would later become home to their local rivals, Blantyre Celtic. 

They moved to Castle Park when another local club, Blantyre Hibs, folded. Local league success followed before the side reached the final of the Junior Cup in 1943-44, going down to Glasgow Perthshire 1-0 at Hampden Park in front of 44,840 spectators. Vics completed a treble of other cup successes in the same season.

A second Junior Cup final was reached in 1949-50. On this occasion, Cumnock Juniors were defeated as goals from Gill, Swan, and Rennick were scored, with 44,402 in attendance. Skiper Alec Young headed to Aberdeen, where he would win a league title winners medal, while younger players were given their opportunity to shine.

None more so than Billy McNeil, who started his career at Castle Park, following in the footsteps of his manager, Jock Stein, from the early 40s, playing for the Vics. In the late 60s, Joe Jordan learned his football at the club before moving on to Morton and then greater honours. Hughie Smith was in charge of the side when it won the Junior Cup in 1969-70.

Penicuik Athletic were defeated in a replay at Hampden as Jim Lynn netted the winning goal. Dally Duncan was manager when the Central League title was lifted in 1979-80, before the Junior Cup was won for a third time in 1981-82 in front of live TV cameras from Ibrox, as a goal from John McGurk was enough to defeat Baillieston.

Rivals Blantyre Celtic folded in 1982, which saw a big money-spinning home game disappear, while finances in general suffered at the Vics. Former player McNeill arranged for his Celtic side to play a friendly at Castle Park, which raised funds to build the new pavilion, while Tommy McLean and his Motherwell side did the same.

The Central League Division One title, along with two cups, were won in 1995-96 before reaching the Junior Cup semi-finals the following season, where Pollok proved too strong. Back in Division Two after a few years of decline, Vics won promotion in 2005-06 under manager Willie Harvey, before they dropped back down a couple of seasons later.

Blantyre recovered to win the title in 2008-09 but were relegated once more in 2010-11 after new boss Ian Rankin was replaced by Alan Shields, who in turn was succeeded by Brian Crawford, who lasted just a few weeks before the arrival of Davie Greig. The Division Two title was won in 2013-14, followed by Division One twelve months later.

Vics found themselves in the SJFA West of Scotland Super League First Division when Greig departed in December 2015. He was replaced by Murdie MacKinnon, who lasted a few months before the appointment of John Gibson. His side was relegated in 2016-17, before they won promotion in 2018-19.

Like all SJFA clubs, Blantyre Victoria joined the SFA West of Scotland League, where they were placed in the Premier Division for the 2021-22 season after two abandoned campaigns owing to the worldwide pandemic. They dropped down to the First Division, which was the seventh tier on the national league pyramid, a season later.

The team was relegated to Division Two at the end of the 2024-25 season.

Blantyre Victoria FC will play in the West of Scotland Division Two in the 2025-26 season. 

My visit

Tuesday 26th January 2010

My final port of call on my minor groundhop on a dark winter's day was Blantyre Victoria FC, who are based just north of Hamilton. The ground was further away from the station than I thought, although my pre-planning came in handy as I took a shortcut across a public park. 

I found the entrance to Castle Park on Forrest Street. The first signs for me gaining admission did not look promising, as the imposing turnstile block was all locked up. As usual, I wasn’t about to give up, so I walked down the road, which mainly consisted of light industry opposite.

I found an open gate and ventured inside. It looked as though Vics had honoured their former famous names by refusing to update the ground since their departures. The terracing was crumbling, and the covered roofs on the far side contained more holes than a colander.

If I hadn’t done advance research, I would have had to flip a coin as to whether the ground was still in use or not. It was homely enough, but it did need serious remedial work. Maybe my review is unfair? I would have liked to see it in its prime.

There was the rare sight of a few seats, albeit in a ropey condition, in the open in front of the changing rooms. Once I had taken my snaps, I returned to the station for the train back to Glasgow, rather than attempting a visit to fit in any more grounds in the fading light.