Wellington Park F.C. (Northern Ireland)

Wellington Park
Full nameWellington Park Football Club
Nickname(s)the Parkites[1]
Founded1882
Dissolved1887
GroundStranmillis (1882-85)[2]
Eglantine (1885-86)[3]
Colin View (1886-87)[4]
Hon. SecretaryJ. T. Gibb
CaptainW. E. King[5]

Wellington Park Football Club is a former Irish football club from Belfast.

History

The club was founded in 1882 by members of Rugby Lacrosse Club.[6][7] It hit the ground running; the club's second match was against the oldest Irish club, Cliftonville, in October 1882, and Park won 3–2, although Cliftonville was one man short.[8]

It reached the final of the Irish Cup in 1884, losing 5–0 to Distillery at Ormeau Road, the ground of Ulster F.C., in front of a crowd of 2,000.[9]

The club wound up at the end of the 1886–87 season and was reformed as Rugby Football Club, now playing rugby union.[10] Rugby F.C. in turn folded in 1890 and some of its former members helped form Collegians rugby club, while others formed the Windsor rugby club.[11]

Colours

Although the lacrosse and rugby clubs wore maroon,[12] the football club wore white jerseys.[13]

Notable players

  • John Gibb[14] and George Magee[15] both earned caps for Ireland while registered as Wellington Park players.

References

  1. ^ "Irish Association Challenge Cup - Final Tie". Belfast News-Letter: 8. 21 April 1884.
  2. ^ Northern Whig, 8 October 1883
  3. ^ Belfast News-Letter, 19 October 1885
  4. ^ Belfast News-Letter, 25 October 1886
  5. ^ "Football". Northern Whig: 7. 2 September 1882.
  6. ^ Neal Garnham, The Origins and Development of Football in Ireland being a reprint of R. M. Peter’s Irish Football Annual of 1880 (Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1999), p. 172
  7. ^ Belfast News-Letter, 19 October 1885
  8. ^ "Cliftonville F.C. v Wellington Park F.C. (Association Rules)". Northern Whig: 7. 16 October 1882.
  9. ^ "Irish Association Challenge Cup - Final Tie". Belfast News-Letter: 8. 21 April 1884.
  10. ^ Northern Whig, 1 October 1887
  11. ^ Belfast Evening Telegraph, 1 October 1890 and 22 October 1890
  12. ^ "Pickings". Ulster Football and Cycling News: 6. 19 June 1891.
  13. ^ "Spherical notes". Sport (Dublin): 8. 21 November 1885.
  14. ^ "Scotland v Ireland". Northern Whig: 7. 28 January 1884.
  15. ^ "International match". Dundee Courier: 4. 16 March 1885.


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