Albion Rovers F.C.

Early years

Albion Rovers were formed in 1882, through a merger of two Coatbridge sides Albion FC and Rovers FC, and played at Meadow Park from that year. After reaching six local cup finals in their first nine years and losing all of them, Rovers finally won a trophy in their tenth year by defeating Royal Albert 5–2 in the Larkhall Charity Cup Final, and followed this up eight days later with a 5–3 triumph over Airdrieonians in the Airdrie Charity Cup Final. The club joined the Scottish Football League Second Division in 1903, following a small expansion in numbers. Rovers' greatest success in the pre-war era was winning the Scottish Qualifying Cup in 1913–14 by defeating Dundee Hibernian 3–0 in the Final at Tynecastle. In 1915, the League scrapped their second tier and Rovers were forced to join the Western Football League. Rovers re-joined the League after the War and moved to their current Cliftonhill home. The first match at the ground took place on 25 December 1919 v St Mirren.

Jimmy Conlin

A fast and tricky winger on the field, and a colourful character off it, Jimmy Conlin played for Rovers from 1901 to 1904, helping the club win the Scottish Combination Championship in 1901–02. He was transferred to Bradford City and played for England (the country of his birth) against Scotland at Hampden Park in 1906. He was subsequently transferred to Manchester City for £1,000, which made him the most expensive footballer in the world at the time, jointly with…

SFL Division Two (second tier): Winners 1933–34 Runners-up 1913–14, 1937–38, 1947–48 SFL Second Division (third tier): Winners 1988–89 SPFL League Two (fourth tier): Winners 2014–15 Scottish Football League Third Division (fourth tier): Runners-up 2010–11 Scottish Cup: Runners-up 1919–20 Scottish Qualifying Cup: 1913–14 Lanarkshire League: 1900–01 Lanarkshire Cup: 1899–1900, 1920–21, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1981–82, 1986–87 Scottish Football Combination: 1913–14 SFL Promotion to Second Division play-offs: 2010–11; 2011–12