St Anthony's FC
Ground: McKenna Park
Capacity: 1,500
Club Founded: 1902
League: West of Scotland League Third Division - 9th Tier (current level)
St Anthony's FC has a long and proud history as a football club in Glasgow's West End, as they continue to play at their basic but homely McKenna Park home.
Club History
Early Years
The football club is based in the Cardonald area of Glasgow. Initially, the team played at a basic ground on Hamilton Street, now Neathen Street in Govan. The players had to change at the League of the Cross Hall in Hamilton Street because the ground was unenclosed and had no pavilion. The club took up status with the SJFA in 1905.
‘The Ants’ had a spell as one of the foremost junior clubs in the country, in Scottish non-league football, being crowned as Scottish Junior League Champions in 1916-17. The club retained their title the following season. They also reached the final of the Scottish Junior Cup, where they were defeated 1-0 after a replay by Glencairn.
Star Players Progress
Further Junior League titles were added in the early 1920's. The team were Junior Cup runners-up in 1924-25 after a 2-1 replay defeat in the final against Saltcoats Victoria. The era had seen several St Anthony’s stars progress beyond the junior game. Bobbie Bruce went on to play for Aberdeen, Middlesbrough and Scotland.
Ginger Dunn progressed to Hibernian and then Everton. He was one of Scotland’s Wembley Wizards in 1928. John Gilchrist and Tommy McInnally starred for both Celtic and Scotland, while John McKay went on to represent Celtic, Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough and Scotland, and several other players progressed.
The Conveyor Belt of Talent
The Ants lifted the West of Scotland Cup in 1937-38, with Bobbie Evans starring for the green and white hoops a few years later before he moved on to win honours with Celtic, Chelsea and Scotland. He was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Willie Gallacher, Peter Lamb and John Duffy were among the star players at the club in the 1940s, as all three went on to have spells at Celtic Park. St Anthony’s won the Scottish Central League Division ‘C’ title in 1947-48. However, St Anthony’s then struggled. The club were left homeless for many years before securing the use of McKenna Park
Recent Years
They moved to the venue in Cardonald Park in the shadow of the M8 motorway in 2003. St Ants were on the way back after becoming champions of the West of Scotland Central District Second Division in 2002-03 before the Ants were relegated a level twelve years later. Like most Junior clubs, St Anthony's joined the SFA West of Scotland League.
They were placed in the Second Division in 2022-23 with Danny Taylor as manager. Two seasons later, the team was relegated to the ninth-tier Third Division as managers continued to come and go.
My visit
Thursday 18th May 2017
My day out in Glasgow before that evening’s Premiership match at Firhill between Partick Thistle and Celtic was going well. My first venue, Renfrew, was open after alighting from my morning flight. The 77 bus had dropped me off at the edge of Govan.
A five-minute walk up alongside the A739 dual carriageway took me to Shieldhall Road. I went across and saw the locked gates to McKenna Park along Fulbar Road. I hopped over the fence and wandered into Cardonald Park, looking for views of the football ground.
The hedge surrounding it was pretty thick. I managed to find a slight gap at the top end, where no doubt fans had gone out to retrieve stray balls in the past. I also followed the park around to the other end to get some additional shots.
McKenna Park was a basic but tidy enclosure, with a few steps of open terracing down one side. The changing rooms and club building were set back from the pitch at the Fulbar Road entrance. I got the best photos on offer before heading through the industrial-laden streets below the M8 motorway to visit the new home of Benburb FC.