Vale of Leven F.C.

Not to be confused with Vale of Leithen F.C..

Vale of Leven

Full name

Vale of Leven Football & Athletic Club

Nickname(s)

The Vale

Founded

1872 (original club)
1939 (current club)

Ground

Millburn Park, Alexandria

Capacity

3,000

Chairman

Angus Wallace

Manager

Hugh Hamill

League

SJFA Central District Second Division

2014–15

SJFA Central District Second Division, 9th

Website

Club home page

Home colours

Away colours

Vale of Leven Football Club are an association club based in the town of Alexandria, Scotland, in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed the Vale and formed in 1939, they play at Millburn Park. They play in the Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region, and wear blue and white strips.

History

Original club

In the early days of Scottish football, Vale of Leven (based in Alexandria) and their neighbours Renton were real powers in the land. Vale won the Scottish Cup three times in succession (1877, 1878 and 1879). In 1878 they travelled down to England and beat the FA Cup winners, The Wanderers, 3-1 at Kennington Oval. The Wanderers had the advantage that the game was played under the English throw-in rule, but the Vale's Scottish passing game proved superior to the English game of individual dribbling.^[1]^[2] The club also won the Celtic Society Cup in shinty in 1879.

Vale of Leven was a founder member of the Scottish Football League when it was formed in 1890. By this time, the club was being eclipsed by the rising stars from Glasgow and Dumbarton. In their second season they failed to win a single game and finished last. Rather than face re-election for the second time, the club withdrew and joined the rival Scottish Alliance where they played for a single season.

Between 1893 and 1902 the Vale played only friendly matches and in cup competition before joining the Scottish Football Combination. In 1905 they applied successfully for readmission to the Scottish League when the Second Division was extended with two additional places. They finished as runners-up in 1907 and in 1909 but did not receive the votes they needed to be elected to the First Division. As the following decade wore on, Vale of Leven struggled and regularly finished near the foot of the table. When the Second Division was suspended in 1915, Vale joined the Western League.

After World War I ended Vale of Leven returned to the Scottish League for the third time as members of the reformed Second Division. After a decent fourth-place finish in their first season, the club was relegated to the new Third Division in 1924. This ill-fated competition was abandoned in 1926 when it became clear that the cost of meeting match guarantees and additional travel expenses were beyond the means of its members.

After a season playing in the Scottish Alliance, financial constraints forced the club into a local district league before being discontinued in 1929: victims of the Great Depression which had proven so disastrous for many small Scottish football clubs at professional and amateur level. There was every intention of reviving the club once local economics made it viable; however, unlike previous occasions they were struck off the SFA club roll after withdrawing from their Scottish Qualifying Cup match against Dykehead

In the meantime Millburn Park continued to be used by a new amateur side, Vale of Leven Old Church Old Boys Association (usually known as "Vale Ocoba"), who took part in the Scottish Cup from 1931 until 1938, and who enjoyed success in first the West of Scotland Amateur League and then the Scottish Combinations: ironically, they also won the Scottish Qualifying Cup (North) in 1937. Despite the church team name, Vale Ocoba appeared to be a flag of convenience for the Vale of Leven Football & Athletic Club struck off the SFA's roll, as events proved.

Original club colours: Dark blue shirts, dark blue shorts, red socks.

Modern club

Milburn Park

Vale Of Leven OCOBA were invited to be part of a reconstituted Scottish Football Alliance, along with Babcock & Wilcox (a works team), fellow former Scottish League and Alliance member Galston, Girvan Athletic, another former Scottish League member Nithsdale Wanderers, Queen's Park Strollers (Queen's Park third team), and Stranraer, which they duly did, but as Vale of Leven Football & Athletic Club - "Vale Ocoba" promptly vanishing from the face of the earth.

Disaster struck however when the start of World War II obliged the league to be suspended due to restrictions on travel by December 1939. In order to survive, Vale Of Leven promptly joined the ranks of the Scottish Junior Football Association - suffering an abrupt vacancy in their Central League due to the bankruptcy of Springfield Athletic - and thus bringing to a final end 67 years of membership of the Scottish Football Association they'd helped to create.

Technically, the current club is unattached to the former senior club, but in reality it is the continuation of it. Scottish Junior football has a number of clubs (e.g. Arthurlie, Beith, Royal Albert, Port Glasgow Athletic) that were forced to fold as Senior sides due to financial reasons or as a result of the collapse of the old Scottish Division Three in the late 1920s. (Some initially found a home in the Scottish Alliance, until this too was discontinued at the behest of the Senior sides.) This is more prevalent on the West Coast where no non-amateur Senior league exists any longer. The most recent example of this trend has been the former Junior turned Senior turned Junior again side Clydebank.

Vale of Leven should not be confused (but frequently are by non-Scots) with the slightly differently named East of Scotland League club Vale of Leithen. Most Scottish teams with the name "Vale of" had their name inspired by the Alexandria side, who along with Queen's Park and Third Lanark toured throughout Scotland in their early years doing exhibition matches to increase interest in football.

Notable former players

Former professionals that played for the modern club include:

Danny O'Donnell

Honours

Scottish Cup
- Winners 1877, 1878, 1879
Scottish Qualifying Cup
- Winners 1909, 1937
Celtic Society Cup (shinty)
- Winners 1879
Scottish Junior Cup
- Winners 1953
Central Junior Football League
- B Division champions 1969-70
- C Division champions 1978-79
- D Division champions 1946-47
Evening Times Cup Winners Cup
- Winners 1947, 1970
Kirkwood Shield
- Winners 1951, 1954, 1958, 1965
Dunbartonshire Junior Cup
- Winners 1940, 1965
Dunbartonshire Junior Charity Cup
- Winners 1943, 1946, 1947, 1953, 1954
Erskine Hospital Charity Cup
- Winners 1970

References

↑ The Old Vale and its Memories
↑ Dumbarton Herald 18 April 1878

External links

Official website

Scottish Football Association

Founder members	Clydesdale Dumbreck Eastern Granville Kilmarnock Queen's Park Third Lanark Vale of Leven

Chief Executives	John McDowall George Graham Willie Allan Ernie Walker Jim Farry David Taylor Gordon Smith Stewart Regan

Affiliates	Amateur FA Junior FA Schools' FA Welfare FA Women's FA Youth FA

SJFA West of Scotland League Central District Second Division: 2015–16

Ashfield Benburb Cambuslang Rangers East Kilbride Thistle Forth Wanderers Gartcairn Juniors Glasgow Perthshire Lanark United Newmains United Port Glasgow Royal Albert Vale of Leven

Defunct and former Scottish football clubs

Former Scottish Football League members	Abercorn Airdrieonians (1878) Armadale Arthurlie Ayr Ayr Parkhouse Bathgate Beith Bo'ness Broxburn United Cambuslang Clackmannan Clydebank Cowlairs Dumbarton Harp Dundee Wanderers Dykehead Edinburgh City Galston Gretna Helensburgh Johnstone King's Park Leith Athletic Linthouse Lochgelly United Mid-Annandale Nithsdale Wanderers Northern Peebles Rovers Port Glasgow Athletic Renton Royal Albert Solway Star St Bernard's Third Lanark Thistle Vale of Leven

Former Highland League members	Caledonian Elgin Caledonian Inverness Celtic Inverness Citadel Inverness Thistle Inverness Union

Former East of Scotland League members	Edinburgh Athletic Tollcross United

Former South of Scotland League members	5th Kirkcudbrightshire RV Cronberry Eglinton Lanemark Mauchline Springbank Stranraer Athletic Tarff Rovers Whithorn

Other senior clubs	23rd Renfrew RV Aberdeen (1881) Airdrie Alexandra Athletic Ayr Academicals Ayr Thistle Barholm Rovers Barrhead Bellstane Birds Blythswood Bon Accord Bridge of Allan Bute Rangers Callander Campsie Clifton & Strathfillan Clydesdale Coylton Coila Crown Dumbreck Dundee East End Dundee Harp Dundee Our Boys Eastern Gairdoch Grahamston Grangemouth Granville Grasshoppers Inveraray Kilsyth Wanderers Kirkcaldy United Laurieston Lochgilphead Orion Oxford Redding Athletic Rovers Shawfield Amateurs Slamannan Southern Strathmore (Arbroath) Strathmore (Dundee) Thornliebank Vale of Bannock Vale of Leven Rovers (Alexandria) Vale of Leven Rovers (Glasgow) Victoria United West End Western

Other junior clubs	Arbroath SC Baillieston Juniors Bankfoot Athletic Blackburn Athletic Blantyre Celtic Burnbank Athletic Duntocher Hibernian Glenbuck Cherrypickers Maryhill Hibernians Parkhead Port Glasgow Athletic Juniors Shawfield Strathclyde

Scottish Football League (1890–2013)

≫ Scottish Professional Football League (2013–present)

Divisions	Premier Division (1975–1998) First Division (1975–2013) Second Division (1975–2013) Third Division (1994–2013)

Cup competitions	League Cup Challenge Cup

Clubs	Aberdeen Abercorn Airdrieonians (1878) Airdrieonians (2002) Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Annan Athletic Arbroath Armadale Arthurlie Ayr Ayr Parkhouse Ayr United Bathgate Beith Berwick Rangers Bo'ness Brechin City Broxburn United Cambuslang Celtic Clackmannan Clyde Clydebank Cowdenbeath Cowlairs Dumbarton Dumbarton Harp Dundee Dundee United Dundee Wanderers Dunfermline Athletic Dykehead East Fife East Stirlingshire Edinburgh City Elgin City Falkirk Forfar Athletic Galston Greenock Morton Gretna Hamilton Academical Heart of Midlothian Helensburgh Hibernian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Johnstone Kilmarnock King's Park Leith Athletic Linthouse Livingston Lochgelly United Meadowbank Thistle Mid-Annandale Montrose Motherwell Nithsdale Wanderers Northern Partick Thistle Peebles Rovers Peterhead Port Glasgow Athletic Queen of the South Queen's Park Raith Rovers Rangers Renton Ross County Royal Albert Solway Star St Bernard's St Johnstone St Mirren Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer Third Lanark Thistle Vale of Leven

Seasons	1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13

Clubs Stadia Monthly awards Representative team

Coordinates: 55°58′53″N 4°34′41″W / 55.98149°N 4.57794°W / 55.98149; -4.57794

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