Third Lanark A.C.

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Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football team that existed from 1872 to 1967 and were based in Glasgow. One of the great clubs of early Scottish Football, Third Lanark were the first high profile Scottish football club to be declared bankrupt and dissolved.

Third Lanark started as the football team for the Third Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers. Known as 3rd LRV the name was changed to Third Lanark A.C. when the official links with the military were severed. The club was a founder member of the Scottish Football League. They had also won the league championship in 1904, as well as winning the Scottish Cup in 1889 and 1905 and the Glasgow Cup in 1903, 1904, 1909 and 1963.

Third Lanark were known as Thirds, the Warriors, the Redcoats or the Hi-Hi.

Third Lanark played at Cathkin Park. This was previously known as Hampden Park (the second of three grounds to bear this name) before Queen's Park sold it to Third Lanark and moved to a new stadium of the same name. Cathkin Park is currently owned by Glasgow City Council, and remains of the terracing can still be seen.

The club was declared bankrupt and was liquidated in 1967. Boardroom corruption allegedly played a role in this; the chairman of Thirds, Bill Hiddleston, may have wished to personally profit from the sale of Cathkin Park for property development. Cathkin still stands as a monument to a once-great football club. Many Third Lanark fans began supporting Pollok in the Scottish Junior Leagues, and most still do so to this day.

However a youth team recently adopted the name Third Lanark Athletic, and are playing from Cathkin Park once more.

Recently Billy Connolly announced on a local radio station that he has always wanted to buy a Scottish football club and that he was interested in either buying financially troubled Partick Thistle or reviving Third Lanark with fellow legendary Scots showman Sean Connery. This was said in a rather informal and humorous manner. However, any person interested in taking on the Third Lanark revival campaign will have to be willing to spend a fair sum of money in order to seat the old stands, re-lay the pitch and pay the players more than just £20 as was demanded by the original Thirds footballers, to name just a few things. Talk of a revival did spark up hope among loyal Thirds fans who haven't seen their side play since 1967.

[edit] The End

The last day of season 1960/61 saw Third Lanark reach an historic landmark. They beat Hibernian 6-1 at Cathkin Park to reach a commendable 100 goals for the season, and their win secured an honourable third place in the most competitive First Division league table.

The 'scarlet' goalscoring machine of Goodfellow, Hilley, Harley, Gray and McInnes had done it again. What price that strike-force in the market of the 1990's.

Only a short four years later the club's ultimate agony began. One dismal chapter of events followed another, until season 1965/66 found Thirds kicking off in the Second Division, having been relegated as a consequence of their most disastrous season ever, bringing the club only three wins from 34 matches in the league.

There followed yet another two seasons of mediocrity and discontent, ending in the humiliating defeat at Boghead Park when Dumbarton recorded a 5-1 score line, on Friday, 28th April 1967. This game ended the football involvement of Thirds, as a senior professional club.

The following months brought a Board of Trade investigation, revealing constant player squabbles and bitter internal wrangles for power. These events finally took their toll and eventually a liquidator was appointed. Shortly after this move the dreaded announcement was made:

The former glory chants of Hi Hi Hi became only memories, as the club had died of shame.

Famous Players