The Clyde Football Club was founded and played on the banks of the River Clyde at Barrowfield in 1877.
Sitting on the edge of Bridgeton, Barrowfield Park lay in a triangle of land enclosed by Carstairs Street, Colvend Street and the river Clyde. Although no stadium photographs have emerged it appears the ground consisted of a grand stand running north-south, a pavilion and tennis courts at the southern end and a bicycle track surrounding the pitch.
The club founded then has no resemblance to a modern professional football club. Clyde F.C. The first mention of Clyde was in Monday’s Evening Times of 17 September 1877:
“Clyde v T. Lanark Clyde opened their season at Barrowfield with a match against the 3rd Lanark Volunteers. In the end the 3rd were victors by 3 goals to 1.”
This very short report was common at the time as sport was of little significance and football competed with racing, bowling and quoiting for the limited column space available.
Although most fixtures were informal, the Scottish Cup had existed since 1873. Soon there would also be the Glasgow Merchants’ & Charity Cup and the Glasgow Cup that in their time were hotly contested major competitions.
Clyde joined the Scottish Football League in 1891. Vale of Leven provided the opposition for Clyde’s first League fixture on Saturday, 15 August 1891. In a dream introduction to League football Clyde triumphed 10–3.
Clyde said farewell to Barrowfield in the spring of 1898. Across the river lay an area of undeveloped land known as Shawfield. With a new League season only a matter of months away, Clyde had the monumental task of transforming and enclosing the area into a venue suitable for first-class football. The move was largely financed by Clyde becoming incorporated and issuing shares in “The Clyde Football Club Limited”.
Celtic, were the inaugural opposition at Shawfield Stadium on 27 August 1898. A healthy crowd of 10,000 turned up to see a goalless draw.
Clyde finished 2nd in Division Two but were not elected to Division One (automatic promotion/relegation didn’t appear until 1921). Promotion was finally earned the following season. The years up to World War I would be far more successful and probably represent the most consistent period of success for the club……
For more info visit http://www.clydefc.co.uk/
