Scottish Football Teams. Stirling Albion.

Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King’s Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. Its highest league position came in 1958–59 with a 12th-placed position in the top flight. Its only major success is in the league where it has won the second tier of Scottish football on four occasions, the last coming in 1964–65. The club has more recently competed in the third or fourth tier following league re-construction in 1975 and 1994.

Stirling’s home ground is Forthbank Stadium, a 3,808 capacity stadium in the east of the city near the banks of the River Forth. Before the stadium was opened in 1993, the club was based at Annfield Stadium which had been the home of the club since it was founded in 1945.

History

Origins

Stirling Albion was founded in 1945 after the town’s previous football team King’s Park had failed to survive the Second World War. King’s Park’s ground (Forthbank) had been damaged during the war, having been hit by a German bomb on 20 July 1940. This was one of only two bombs to fall on the town during the Second World War.

The new club was the brainchild of local businessman Thomas Fergusson, a local coal magnate, and he purchased the Annfield estate to build a new stadium. Annfield was situated within a quarter of a mile from the town centre and would be the home of The Binos until 1992.

The name ‘Albion’ supposedly came from the make of Fergusson’s coal trucks. This however is an urban myth. Albion Coal lorries were used as grandstands but the club was named at a meeting of fans long before a ball was kicked. (Reference, Stirling Journal Newspaper, 1945.) The name Albion was chosen because it was an old word for Great Britain and held meaning for the founder.