Club History

Thanks to John Vass for the photograph.

In the records of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) it shows that a team was formed in Cumnock in 1875. This team played in New Station Field – now part of the new cemetery. Their colours were maroon jerseys and white shorts.

A new Club appeared in 1894 called Springbank – but by the end of the century Cumnock no longer played among the seniors. Teams like Cumnock Thistle and Cumnock Celtic continued and there was also Juvenile teams called Cumnock Rangers and West End. On 5th December 1902 the local newspaper the Cumnock Chronicle spoke about the formation of the Glaisnock Lads.

In the 1912 the Cumnock Chronicle asked, “Why is there not a good Junior team in Cumnock?”. However in that same year Cumnock Juniors were formed, principally by William McMillan, Joe Bain and Tom Burns. The first signings for the team were Hugh Hodge, William McCall, William Phillips and Clifford, Davidson., A. Neish, Shirkie,h Shearer, Sloan, Steele, W. Neish and Thomson. They played their first game at New Station Park on 13th August 1913 – a 3-3 draw with Cronberry. The first president of the team was Bailie Miller – with George Bridges as treasurer and William McGregor as secretary.    

In 1934, after moving to Townhead Park, Cumnock Juniors joined the Western League becoming Champions in seasons 1935-6, 1936-7and in 1952-3. In 1937, they won the first Vernon Trophy and took the League Cup for the first time. They were Ayrshire Regional League Champions in 1971-2 and 1973-4. They also won the Challenge Cup in 1915-6, 1917-8 and 1948-9. By 1978 Cumnock juniors had won all the trophies except the Scottish Cup and the West of Scotland Cup. In that year they were managed – for a short time by Eric Caldow, the famous Scottish internationalist who hailed from Cumnock.

In 1950 they reached the final of the Scottish Junior Cup. A crowd of over 49,000 gathered at Hampden Park in Glasgow to see them play Blantyre Victoria. Sad to say, they lost the game   3 – 0 but getting to the final was, in itself, a great achievement.

In 1950 a new grandstand was erected at Townhead Park. On 19th May 1979 the team were once again at Hampden Park to meet Bo’ness United in the final of the Scottish Junior Cup. This time they won the game 1 – 0. There was great jubilation in Cumnock that night.

Thank you to the Cumnock Living Memory Group for the above item.  

Scottish Junior Cup

  • Winners: 1978–79, 1988–89
  • Runners-up: 1949–50, 2007–08

Other Honours

  • Ayrshire Cup: 1915–16, 1917–18, 1948–49, 1980–81, 1989–90, 2007–08
  • Ayrshire District Cup: 1971–72, 1983–84, 1986–87, 1989–90
  • Ayrshire First Division winners: 1935–36, 1936–37, 1952–53, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1995–96, 1997–98
  • Ayrshire League Cup: 1936–37, 1948–49, 1952–53, 1966–67, 1970–71, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2001–02
  • Ayrshire Second Division winners: 1994–95
  • Ayrshire Super Cup: 1988–89, 1995–96, 1996–97
  • Cumnock & Doon Cup: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89
  • East Ayrshire Cup: 1995–96
  • Ayrshire Regional League:  1971-72, 1973-74, 1980-81, 1983-84
  • Jackie Scarlett League Cup: 1976-77, 1978-79, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1995-96, 1996-97
  • Irvine Times Cup: 1983-84, 1984-85, 1989-90
  • Cumnock & Doon Valley Cup: 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1995-96
  • Western League: 1935-36, 1936-37, 1952-53
  • Western League Cup: 1936-37 , 1948-49, 1952-53, 1966-67
  • Ayrshire Junior Callenge Cup: 1970-71
  • Ayr Consolation Cup: 1936-37
  • Ayrshire Charity Cup: 1937-38
  • Ayrshire District Cup: 1971-72
  • Festival Cup: 1951
  • Moore Trophy: 1952-53, 1953-54