Oldpark F.C.
| Full name | Oldpark Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Lambs,[1]The Mountain Boys[2] | ||
| Founded | 1880 | ||
| Dissolved | 1892 | ||
| Ground | Oldpark | ||
| Patron | Lord Ashley[3] | ||
| Secretary | John Baxter Jr[4] | ||
| League | Irish League | ||
| |||
Oldpark Football Club is an Irish former football club from north Belfast.
History
The club was founded in 1880 by members of the Oldpark Cricket Club.[5] It was subsequently a founding member of the Irish Football Association in 1880 and the Irish Football League in 1890.
The club's greatest honour was winning the Belfast Charity Cup in 1884–85, beating Cliftonville 1–0 in the final; the winning goal came early in the match, and was somewhat controversial, the umpires disagreeing whether the ball had crossed the line before goalkeeper Johns cleared it, but the referee deciding it had, "to the surprise and delight of the spectators".[6] It was also runner-up in the County Antrim Shield in 1890–91, losing 4–2 to the Black Watch.[7]
The club's 1891–92 Irish League season was a disaster, with only 2 wins in 14 matches, and, with the League cutting down on membership, was inevitably going to be voted out;[8] instead therefore of playing the similarly-doomed Ligoniel in a meaningless end-of-season league match, Oldpark instead visited Distillery for a more lucrative friendly, lost 5–1,[9] and folded.[10]
Colours
The club originally wore maroon, but resolved "unanimously" in September 1884 to change to royal blue and white.[11]
Ground
The club's ground was simply known as the Oldpark ground;[12] it was probably the cricket ground near Cliftonville's Solitude.
Notable players
Two Oldpark players earned national caps; "Cutter" Johnson and Robert Muir, who each collected two caps, in the same two matches, against Wales and Scotland in the 1885 Home International Championship.[13]
Honours
Senior honours
References
- ^ Belfast Evening Telegraph, 26 January 1892
- ^ "Football notes". Ulster Football and Cycling News: 4. 8 November 1889.
- ^ "Belfast Charity Cup". Belfast Morning News: 6. 27 April 1885.
- ^ "Oldpark Football Club". Belfast News-Letter: 7. 18 September 1884.
- ^ Northern Whig, 13 October 1880
- ^ "Belfast Charity Cup". Belfast Morning News: 6. 27 April 1885.
- ^ "Football". Belfast News-Letter: 3. 23 March 1891.
- ^ "Oldpark play Distillery". Belfast News-Letter: 3. 5 April 1892.
- ^ "Football". Tyrone Courier: 5. 9 April 1892.
- ^ Belfast Evening Telegraph, 21 November 1893
- ^ "Oldpark Football Club". Belfast News-Letter: 7. 18 September 1884.
- ^ "Oldpark F.C. v Distillery F.C.". Belfast News-Letter: 5. 24 October 1881.
- ^ "'Cutter' Johnston". NI Football. Retrieved 3 June 2025.