Orion F.C.

This article is about the Scottish football club. For the Costa Rican football club, see Orión F.C.

Orion
Full nameOrion Football Club
Nicknamethe Cocks o' the North[1]
Founded1885
Dissolved1903
GroundCattofield
Aberdeen
Original colours
1890s colours

Orion Football Club was a Scottish football team that played in the city of Aberdeen between 1885 and 1903.

History

The club came out of the Orion Cricket Club, and was founded at a club meeting on 3 October 1885, after the last cricket match of the season; J. D. Crow was named captain and James Dunn secretary and treasurer.[2] The club's first known match was a 2–0 defeat to Bon Accord F.C., in which the Orion club was said to have been "very good for a new club".[3][4]

The club made its Scottish Cup debut in 1886, and the luck of the first round draw sent the Orionians to the same Arbroath which had scored 36 against the Bons the previous season. Only 500 turned up to the match, following 5 hours of rain before kick-off, and although Orion kept the score down to 5 at half-time, the heaviness of the pitch and wind told against the Orion players' fitness, and Arbroath scored another 15 in the second half.[5] The clubs met again in the first round in the 1887–88 Scottish Cup, Arbroath this time scoring 18 without reply, the Orion goalkeeper[6] - praised for keeping the score down - declaring it a "grand exhibition game".[7] Orion never beat a non-northern side in the Scottish Cup proper. Its best run came in 1899–1900, when it won through the Scottish Qualifying Cup and beat Forres Mechanics in the first round proper, going down to Kilmarnock in the second.[8]

The club's first success came in the Aberdeenshire Cup in 1890–91; the original Aberdeen club had won the first three instalments, but, after a controversial quarter-final tie against Aberdeen Caledonian, the Caley ended up as Orion's final opponent. Orion came from behind to take an easy 4–1 win,[9] although the attendance was affected by Aberdeen playing a "spoiler" friendly against Arbroath the same day.[10]

Orion won two Northern League championships, in 1897 and 1899.[11] The club also won the Rhodesia Cup in 1898–99 (contested with the other two senior Aberdeen clubs, Aberdeen and Victoria United).[12]

At the end of the 1901–02 season, the local council wrote to the three main town clubs in relation to the unsafe conditions of their grounds.[13] The financial difficulties led to Aberdeen looking to lease out the Pittodrie ground to Hibernian, which was facing eviction from Easter Road, and the shock of the proposal led to local discussions about forming a single Aberdeen club to join the Scottish Football League,[14] led by Orion's George Alexander.[15] Following discussions between the clubs and the Crescent Cricket Club (which owned Pittodrie), a deal was signed on 10 April 1903 to merge the three clubs under the Aberdeen name.[16]

Colours

The club's original colours Bismarck brown jerseys and hose;[17] by 1889 it had adopted its normal colours of maroon and white vertical stripes.[18][19] For its last season it wore white jerseys and knickers with navy hose.[20]

Grounds

The club's first match was at the Recreation Grounds in Aberdeen,[3] moving to Cattofield by 1893.

Scottish Cup Record

1886–87

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 11 September Arbroath A 0–20

1887–88

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 6 September Arbroath A 0–18

1889–90

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 7 September Victoria United H 3–1
R2 28 September Aberdeen A 1–2

1890–91

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 6 September Aberdeen H 1–5

1893–94

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 25 November Leith Athletic H 2–11

1894–95

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 24 November Dundee A 1–5 3,000

1896–97

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 24 January Falkirk A 0–2

1897–98

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 8 January Dundee Wanderers A 2–3 5,000

1898–99

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 14 January Kilmarnock H 0–2 5,000

1899–1900

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 13 January Forres Mechanics A 1–1 1,000
R1 R 20 January Forres Mechanics H 4–1 2,000
R2 27 January Kilmarnock A 1–10 3,000

1900–01

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 23 January Ayr A 2–2 2,000
R1 R 23 January Ayr H 1–3 1,000

1902–03

Round Date Opponent H/A Score Orion Scorer(s) Attendance
R1 24 January Nithsdale Wanderers A 0–1 500

Honours

Northern League
Aberdeenshire Cup
  • 1890–91, 1894–95, 1896–97, 1898–99, 1900–01[21]
Aberdeenshire Charity Cup
  • 1893–94,1895–96, 1897–98[21]
Aberdeen Charity Cup
  • 1888–89, 1890–91[21]
Gershon Cup
  • 1893–94, 1894–95, 1896–97[22]
Rhodesia Cup
  • 1898–99, 1901–02[23]
ADFA Hospital Tournament

References

  1. ^ "Round the country". Scottish Referee: 1. 11 September 1899.
  2. ^ "Orion C.C.". Aberdeen Press and Journal: 3. 5 October 1885.
  3. ^ a b "Orion v Bon-Accord". Aberdeen Journal: 6. 9 November 1885.
  4. ^ There are claims that Orion had entered the Scottish Cup for 1885 and the invitation went to Bon Accord instead; however Orion had not formed by the time Cup entries closed, and Bon Accord had been established for over a year.
  5. ^ "Scottish competition". Aberdeen Press and Journal: 7. 13 September 1886.
  6. ^ Probably J. Diack.
  7. ^ "Arbroath v Orion (Aberdeen)". Arbroath Guide: 4. 10 September 1887.
  8. ^ "Season 1899-00". Beautiful Dribbling Game. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  9. ^ "Argus on the final". Aberdeen Evening Express: 4. 18 February 1891.
  10. ^ ""Look at this picture and on that"". Aberdeen Evening Express: 4. 18 February 1891.
  11. ^ "Northern Football League 1891–1920". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  12. ^ "scottish-football-historical-archive.com". scottish-football-historical-archive.com.
  13. ^ "Aberdeen football grandstands". Aberdeen Press and Journal: 3. 27 May 1902.
  14. ^ "The Hibs and Pittodrie". Aberdeen Press and Journal: 3. 18 November 1902.
  15. ^ "The Hibs-Pittodrie Question". Aberdeen Press and Journal: 8. 19 November 1902.
  16. ^ "Aberdeen football and Scottish League". Aberdeen Press and Journal: 4. 11 April 1903.
  17. ^ M'Dowall, John (1888). Scottish Football Annual 1888–89. Glasgow: Hay Nisbet. p. 81.
  18. ^ M'Dowall, John (1888). Scottish Football Annual 1889–90. Glasgow: Hay Nisbet. p. 81.
  19. ^ M'Dowall, John (1899). Scottish Football Annual 1899–1900. Glasgow: Hay Nisbet. p. 70.
  20. ^ "Aberdeen - Historical Scottish Football Kits". www.historicalkits.co.uk.
  21. ^ a b c "Aberdeenshire & District Cup". Scottish-Football-Historical-Archive. 20 June 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Gershon Cup". Scottish-Football-Historical-Archive. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Rhodesia Cup". Scottish-Football-Historical-Archive. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  24. ^ "FOOTBALL". Press and Journal. 21 May 1888. Retrieved 21 September 2021. (via) British Newspaper Archive.
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