Our document of the month for December focuses on Dunblane Rovers F.C.
Dunblane had two main football teams in the early 20th Century: Dunblane F.C (also known as Dunblane Wanderers or ‘The Heather’) and Dunblane Rovers. The history of Dunblane F.C. has been covered by Andy Mitchell in his excellent book on the club.
Within our collections we hold three minute books for Dunblane Rovers F.C (PD183). The minute books run from 1921-1934 and provide a fascinating insight into local football in Dunblane and the region. The minute books mainly cover the administrative duties of the club. The great thing about them, however, are the small details they include.
At the end of every meeting that takes place, the chairman confirms the team that is due to play the next match. This example from 14 August 1923 shows the team picked to play against King’s Park Juniors at Duckburn Park. What makes this entry special, however, is that it shows the formation of the team!
Match reports for the games listed in the minutes also appear within the local newspapers. The match against King’s Park Juniors above, for example, has a detailed report in the Stirling Observer. It describes the action, number of spectators and confirms that King’s Park Juniors won the game 4-2.
The minutes also highlight that team selection could be a controversial issue. On 11 August 1925 Dunblane Rovers player J. McAlpine had been debating whether to transfer to Cowie Juveniles. After agreeing to play for Cowie, McAlpine was expelled from the entering the pavilion at Duckburn Park!
It wasn’t only player issues that Dunblane Rovers had to deal with. After a match against Stirlingshire Juniors on 27 Dec 1930, the referee had submitted a report regarding the conduct of Dunblane Rovers supporters at the match.
Fixtures, results and goalscorer lists are sometimes recorded within the minute books. This example for the 1921-1922 season shows how Dunblane Rovers faired whilst this example shows the list of goal scorers for the 1923-1924 season. Baird was the top scorer with 16 goals.
The team did have success in the Scottish Junior League Victory Cup. They won the competition two times: 1929 and 1930. These images from the Stirling Observer show the team that won the competition.
