Albion Rovers F.C.
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| Full name | Albion Rovers Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Wee Rovers |
| Founded | 1882 |
| Ground |
Cliftonhill, Coatbridge, Scotland |
| Capacity | 1,238 |
| Chairman | Ronnie Boyd |
| Manager | Darren Young (player/manager) |
| League | Scottish League One |
| 2015–16 | Scottish League One, 6th |
| Website | Club home page |
Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and, as of the 2016–17 season, play in League One, the third tier of the Scottish football league system. Founded in 1882 as the result of an amalgamation of two other teams, the club joined the Scottish Football League initially in 1903 before returning in 1919 and, although they have spent most of their time in the lower divisions, have maintained their league membership since. Their sole major honours during that time have been wins in the lower two divisions of the senior league system.
The club's stadium, Cliftonhill, known as the Exsel Group Stadium for sponsorship purposes, opened on 25 December 1919.
Albion Rovers were formed in 1882 from a merger of the two Coatbridge sides Albion FC and Rovers FC, and played at Meadow Park from that year. The club joined the Scottish Football League Second Division in 1903 along with Ayr Parkhouse following a small expansion in numbers. Rovers settled into the League reasonably well, albeit without ever clinching promotion. By 1915 the Scottish Football League had been merged into a single division structure, with the second division scrapped. The Rovers moved to join the Western Football League and whilst members of this set-up moved to their current Cliftonhill home in 1919. They were close to returning to the Scottish League in 1917 but lost out in a vote amongst Clydebank, Vale of Leven and Stevenston United F.C.
With their new stadium completed, Rovers returned to the single division Scottish League for the 1919–20 season. Although they finished rock bottom that season the club also enjoyed possibly their finest hour when they defeated Rangers in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup, before losing 3–2 to Kilmarnock in the Final. Local folklore has it that Rovers' goalkeeper Joe Shortt had to be bailed out of police custody on the morning of the Final and that his subsequent performance at Hampden had been affected by the lingering effects of his alcohol consumption the night before.
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