Bellshill & Clydesdale United lasted just two years, while a new Belshill Athletic had been set up in 1903 to replace it. Orbiston Park, Douglas Park, and Brigade Park were all used in the formative years of the club, before it settled on Brandon Park in August 1903. The legendary local boy, Hughie Gallagher, played for the club in 1920, eleven years after Matt Busby had been born in the town.
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| The Black and Yellows limber up at Brandon Park It was the club's home for close to a century |
A couple of local leagues were won before Athletic became Glasgow Junior League champions in 1925-26. Either side of that, the Lanarkshire League Cup was lifted on six occasions. It is thought that Bellshill became the first club in the UK to have shirt sponsorship, with The Derby Hotel emblazoned across the players' chests in the 1973-74 season.
The SJFA Central Region Division B title was secured at the same time as the sponsorship deal, before the team went on to be crowned Division C champions in 1986-87. The late 1990s saw the club bought by a local businessman, Stephen McGhee, who had huge plans.
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| The Sir Matt Busby Sports Centre allowed the club to return home |
The Central Region Division Two title was lifted in 2000-01 before 'The Hill' were placed in the West Region Super League Division One after the restructuring of Junior football. Brandon Park was sold and replaced by the impressive New Brandon Park in the Hattonrigg area of the town.
New signings were made as the club spent a lot of money attracting some big names, including Tommy Coyne and Rob McKinnon. Promotion as champions was achieved in 2003-04, as Belshill joined the top level of regional Junior football in the Super League Premier Division.
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| The majestic turf of Rockburn Park |
Owner McGhee was said to be in talks with at least one professional club to move them into New Brandon Park and change their name while improving facilities. McGhee had a big falling out with the committee, departed, and locked the club out of their ground, which would lie derelict for years to come.
The team was relegated back to the First Division in 2009-10, as the club became the tenants of Blantyre Victoria before moving into the basic facilities at the Sir Matt Busby Sports Complex in their home town shortly after as the team went down another level to Central League Division One in 2010-11.
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| The homely but limited Rockburn Park |
The club moved home grounds to share Fullarton Park with Vale of Clyde in the east end of Glasgow from the start of the 2011-12 season. Robert Downs was appointed manager in December 2012. A move back to Bellshill followed in 2015, following the appointment of Brian McGinty as manager a few months earlier, when permission was granted to improve the pitch at Rockburn Park to the standards required to stage Junior football.
Locals got behind the club, with many volunteering, with promotion to the Super League Division One being won in 2014-15. McGinty was replaced by David Lilley, who lasted a season in charge of the side as they dropped back down to Central League Division One after just one season, with a second successive relegation to Division Two following, as any possible playing budget was spent instead on ground improvements.
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| The extremely limited Sir Matt Busby Sports Centre |
The club was placed in Division One for the 2018-19 campaign following the restructuring of the SJFA. Like all other clubs formerly belonging to the association, they joined the SFA West of Scotland League. Two seasons were then abandoned because of the worldwide pandemic, with Derek Wilson in charge of team affairs from April 2020 to October 2021, when Gary Elliott was appointed.
The Hill were placed in the eighth tier Division Three for the 2021-22 season after their season in Conference A. The team won promotion in 2023-24 under joint bosses Dean Muir and Neely Rowatt, who also led the side to back-to-back quarter finals of the Junior Cup. The club made a bid to purchase Rockburn Park around this period to develop it further.
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| Rockburn Park |
Johnny Fallon was appointed as manager in January 2015, as Belshill completed the season in a mid-table berth.
Bellshill Athletic FC will play in the West of Scotland Second Division in the 2025-26 season.
I was a little behind schedule as I failed to see the exit at the more convenient side of the station. However, I was soon on track and going along Main Street. I could see the centre in front of me. and soon came across the Sir Matt Busby Sports Complex
My visit
Tuesday 26th January 2010
Tuesday 26th January 2010
I called into Bellshill after visiting Motherwell on a visit up to the Glasgow area. I had my map at the ready to find the Sir Matt Busby Sports Centre as I only had thirty minutes before the next train would take me to Cambuslang.
I was a little behind schedule as I failed to see the exit at the more convenient side of the station. However, I was soon on track and going along Main Street. I could see the centre in front of me. and soon came across the Sir Matt Busby Sports Complex
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| Not much to photograph at the Sir Matt Busby Sports Centre |
It was extremely basic in facilities. The pitch consisted of an up-to-date artificial surface and was surrounded by a railing and hard standing. The grounds perimeter fencing was high, green, netted wire fencing. Once I'd taken my limited choice of photos, I headed on to a far more substantial venue, the Somervell Park home of Cambuslang Rangers.