View source for Bo'ness F.C.

{{Short description|Former association football club in Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = Bo'ness
| image    =
| fullname = Bo'ness Football Club
| nickname = the Half Nabs,<ref name="Bo'ness F.C.'s Jubilee">{{cite journal |title=Bo'ness F.C.'s Jubilee |journal=Lothian Courier |date=11 December 1931 |page=7}}</ref> the Blues<ref>{{cite journal |title=Exit the "Blues" |journal=Lothian Courier |date=11 November 1932 |page=7}}</ref>
| founded  = 1878
| dissolved = 1945
| ground   = [[Newtown Park, Bo'ness|Newtown Park]], [[Bo'ness]]
| pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=_whitecollarplain|pattern_ra1=|pattern_so1=_bluetop_2whitestripes
| leftarm1=0000FF|body1=0000FF|rightarm1=0000FF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=000000
}}

'''Bo'ness Football Club''' was a [[association football|football]] club based in [[Bo'ness]], [[Scotland]]. The club was a member of the [[Scottish Football League]] from 1921 to November 1932,<ref name = "Crampsey293">{{harv|Bob Crampsey|1990|p=293}}</ref> and played at [[Newtown Park, Bo'ness|Newtown Park]]. Their home kit consisted of royal blue shirts and white shorts.<ref>[http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Bo_ness/bo_ness.htm Club history and kits]</ref>

==History==
The club claimed a foundation date of 1881, although there is reference to a Bo'ness Football Club existing in 1878.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Bo'ness Football Club |journal=Lothian Courier |date=27 April 1878 |page=3}}</ref>  The earliest record of a match is of a pair of fixtures against the [[Grasshoppers F.C.|Grasshoppers]] club's second XI of [[Bonnybridge]] in late 1881.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Football |journal=Lothian Courier |date=5 November 1881 |page=3}}</ref>  The club moved to Newtown Park in 1886, opening the ground with a fixture against [[Dumbarton F.C.]], losing 4–0.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Bo'ness |journal=Rutherglen Reformer |date=20 August 1886 |page=5}}</ref>

It joined the Eastern Football Alliance in 1891, but the league failed to complete its first season. After winning the [[East of Scotland Shield]] in 1894–95, Bo'ness returned to competitive league football in 1901 as a member of the [[Central Football Combination]] and eventually ended up in the [[Central Football League]]. Along with much of the membership of the group, Bo'ness were admitted to the newly expanded [[Scottish Football League Second Division]] in 1921.<ref name = "Crampsey293"/> After five seasons of mid-table finishes, the club won the Second Division championship in 1927 and were promoted to the [[Scottish Football League First Division|First Division]].<ref name = "Crampsey293"/>

The club was relegated back to the Second Division after just one season. Bo'ness then struggled financially, like many other clubs in the region, due to the decline of the local coal and shale oil industries.<ref name = "Crampsey83">{{harv|Bob Crampsey|1990|p=83}}</ref> Bo'ness offered free admission to local unemployed people after 30 minutes of play.<ref name = "Crampsey82">{{harv|Bob Crampsey|1990|p=82}}</ref> The club struggled to raise the £50 match guarantee to visiting clubs in 1931, but was surprisingly re-elected.<ref name = "Crampsey88">{{harv|Bob Crampsey|1990|p=88}}</ref> The failure to pay the match guarantees to [[Stenhousemuir F.C.]] and [[Brechin City F.C.]] in October 1932 meant that the club was expelled from the League; the blame was put on "industrial depression and the opposition of dog racing in neighbouring towns".  The club had an overdraft at the time of £500 and the club's record of 4 wins, 2 draws, and 8 defeats was expunged.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Downfall of Bo'ness |journal=Lothian Courier |date=11 November 1932 |page=7}}</ref>

Bo'ness continued as a non-league side until 1939,<ref name = "Crampsey293"/> appearing in the [[Scottish Football Alliance]], Edinburgh and District League, Scottish Football Combination and the [[East of Scotland Football League]]. Future [[Scotland national football team|Scotland international]] [[Alex Munro (footballer born 1912)|Alex Munro]] also came through the ranks at this time. The club survived [[World War II]] but merged with local side '''Bo'ness Cadora''' to form junior club '''[[Bo'ness United F.C.|Bo'ness United]]''' in 1945.<ref name = "Crampsey293"/>

==Stadium==

*1881–1885: Field at site of Parish church<ref name="Bo'ness F.C.'s Jubilee">{{cite journal |title=Bo'ness F.C.'s Jubilee |journal=Lothian Courier |date=11 December 1931 |page=7}}</ref>
*1885–1886: Soo Cra Park<ref name="Bo'ness F.C.'s Jubilee">{{cite journal |title=Bo'ness F.C.'s Jubilee |journal=Lothian Courier |date=11 December 1931 |page=7}}</ref>
*1886–1945: Newtown Park.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Football |journal=Lothian Courier |date=18 August 1944 |page=3}}</ref>

==Scottish Football League record==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center; width:550px"
|-
!scope=col|Season
!scope=col|Division<ref>M. Robinson, ''Football League Tables, 1888–2003'', Cromwell Press, 2003</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fchd.info/BONESS.HTM|title=Bo'ness|publisher=Football Club History Database|access-date=6 November 2017}}</ref>
!scope=col|{{Abbr|P|Played}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|W|Won}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|D|Drawn}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|L|Lost}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|F|Goals for}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|A|Goals against}}
!scope=col data-sort-type="number"|{{Abbr|Pts|Points}}
!scope=col data-sort-type="number"|{{Abbr|Pos|Position}}
|-
!scope="row"|[[1921–22 Scottish Football League|1921–22]]
|Division Two 
| 38 || 16 || 7 || 15 || 56 || 49 || 39
|[[1921–22 Scottish Division Two|6th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1922–23 Scottish Football League|1922–23]]
|Division Two 
| 38 || 12 || 17 || 9 || 48 || 46 || 41
|[[1922–23 Scottish Division Two|7th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1923–24 Scottish Football League|1923–24]]
|Division Two 
| 38 || 13 || 11 || 14 || 45 || 53 || 37
|[[1923–24 Scottish Division Two|13th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1924–25 Scottish Football League|1924–25]]
|Division Two 
| 38 || 16 || 9 || 13 || 71 || 48 || 41
|[[1924–25 Scottish Division Two|6th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1925–26 Scottish Football League|1925–26]]
|Division Two 
| 38 || 17 || 5 || 16 || 66 || 70 || 39
|[[1925–26 Scottish Division Two|8th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1926–27 Scottish Football League|1926–27]]
|style="background-color:#cfc;"|{{Sort|Division Two|{{0|{{up-arrow}}}}}}Division Two {{up-arrow|alt=promoted}}
| 38 || 23 || 10 || 5 || 86 || 41 || 55
|style="background-color:gold;"|[[1926–27 Scottish Division Two|1st]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1927–28 Scottish Football League|1927–28]]
|style="background-color:#fcc;"|{{Sort|Division One|{{0|{{down-arrow}}}}}}Division One {{down-arrow|alt=relegated}}
| 38 || 9 || 8 || 21 || 48 || 86 || 26
|style="background-color:#fcc;"|[[1927–28 Scottish Division One|19th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1928–29 Scottish Football League|1928–29]]
|Division Two 
| 35 || 15 || 5 || 15 || 62 || 62 || 35
|[[1928–29 Scottish Division Two|10th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1929–30 Scottish Football League|1929–30]]
|Division Two 
| 38 || 15 || 4 || 19 || 67 || 95 || 34
|[[1929–30 Scottish Division Two|13th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1930–31 Scottish Football League|1930–31]]
|Division Two 
| 38 || 9 || 4 || 25 || 54 || 100 || 22
|[[1930–31 Scottish Division Two|20th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1931–32 Scottish Football League|1931–32]]
|Division Two 
| 38 || 15 || 4 || 19 || 70 || 103 || 34
|[[1931–32 Scottish Division Two|14th]]
|-
!scope="row"|[[1932–33 Scottish Football League|1932–33]]
|Division Two
|0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|{{n/a|sort=21st}}{{efn|Bo'ness did not complete the 1932–33 season and their results were expunged from the records.}}
|}

{{Notelist}}

==Notable former players==
Players at the club who were also full internationals:
* {{flagicon|SCO}} [[George Allan (footballer, born 1875)|George Allan]]
* {{flagicon|SCO}} [[Willie MacFadyen]]
* {{flagicon|SCO}} [[Alex Munro (footballer born 1912)|Alex Munro]]
* {{flagicon|IRL}} [[Christy Martin (footballer)|Christy Martin]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

* {{cite book
  | author = Bob Crampsey
  | author-link = Bob Crampsey
  | title = The First 100 Years
  | year = 1990
  | publisher = [[Scottish Football League]]
  | isbn = 0-9516433-0-4
  }}

==External links==
* [http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Scottish_Football_League/Bo_ness/bo_ness.htm Club history and kits]

{{Defunct Scottish football clubs}}
{{Scottish Football League}}

[[Category:Bo'ness F.C.| ]]
[[Category:Defunct football clubs in Scotland]]
[[Category:Association football clubs established in 1882]]
[[Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 1945]]
[[Category:Football in Falkirk (council area)]]
[[Category:Scottish Football League teams]]
[[Category:1882 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:1945 disestablishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Bo'ness]]