ABOUT AUFC
About Ayr United Footbal Club
History of Ayr United FC (1910 to present)
History of Ayr United FC
Prior to 1910, the town of Ayr had two senior clubs in the Scottish Football League - Ayr FC and Ayr Parkhouse. It is a fair assessment that neither club had ever set the heather on fire in football terms as both were at best mediocre Second Division sides. Indeed the biggest achievement of any senior club from the town had occurred over 30 years previously, in 1877 when Ayr Thistle - a forerunner to Ayr FC - reached the semi final of the Scottish Cup only to lose 9-0 to the eventual winners, Vale of Leven.
Talk of amalgamation between the clubs had been rife for a number of years and a couple of previous attempts at joining forces had failed due to the fierce rivalry between the two clubs.
However in 1910, they finally agreed to merge in the hope that the new club could bring top class football to the town. The amalgamation is an historic event not only for football in Ayr but for Scottish football in general as the merger of Ayr FC and Ayr Parkhouse remains to this day, the only merger in the Scottish game involving two Scottish League sides.
The new clubs home ground was Somerset Park, originally the home of Ayr FC from 1888, although Parkhouse's former home, Beresford Park, remained in use by the club for reserve fixtures and local ties until the mid 1920's.
Playing in a strip consisting of a crimson and gold hooped jersey (Ayr FC) and navy blue shorts (Parkhouse), Ayr United, immediately set their sights on promotion to the First Division. In their opening league fixture, they defeated Port Glasgow Athletic 2-0 and at the end of their first season, occupied the runners-up spot in the Second Division, a position that neither Ayr nor Parkhouse had ever achieved previously.
In the new clubs' second season, 1911/12, the Second Division Championship was secured but this was in the days before the introduction of automatic promotion and relegation and the clubs' application to join the top flight was denied.
However after this feat was repeated the following season, the top league members could no longer ignore Ayr United and in 1913, the club were admitted to the First Division.
Ayr United more than held their own in the top league and in 1915/16, the club achieved its' highest ever league position when they finished behind Celtic, Rangers and Morton in 4th place.
Some great players played for the club during this period, like Jimmy Richardson, a league championship winner in England with Sunderland. His scoring feats with the club earned him international recognition. Neil McBain also began his association with the club that would arguably lead to him being the greatest 'Honest Man' of all. In a remarkable career, he would go on to play to for Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton, as well as international honours for Scotland before returning to Somerset Park as manager of the club on two separate occasions.
In 1923, a record crowd of 15,853 saw Ayr defeat Rangers 2-0 in a Scottish Cup tie - denying the Ibrox club their dream of achieving the 'double' in their golden jubilee season. The following season, the record crowd figure at Somerset Park was broken again after 16,721 people paid to witness Ayr's 1-0 Scottish Cup win over local rivals Kilmarnock.
In 1924, Wembley played host to its' first ever international fixture as England and Scotland fought out a 1-1 draw. Scotland's two full backs that day, Jock Smith and Phil McCloy, were both Ayr United players. During the 1920's, other Ayr players like Johnny Crosbie, Jimmy Hogg and Jimmy Nisbet also played for Scotland with Nisbet's 3 gaps gained in a tour of the continent in 1929, earning him the recognition as the clubs' most capped player.
Ayr remained in the top flight until they suffered the fate of relegation for the first time in 1924/5 but they bounced back in 1927/8 season by storming to the Second Division Championship. This was achieved thanks to the amazing goalscoring exploits of Jimmy Smith. Smith netted an incredible 66 goals for Ayr in just 38 league matches. To this day it remains a British goalscoring record and one that is unlikely ever to be beaten.
In 1931, keeper Bob Hepburn played for Scotland in an international against Ireland. This honour came about due to the unfortunate circumstance in a game at Ibrox that saw Celtic keeper John Thomson lose his life. Thomson had previously spent a brief period on loan at Somerset Park as a teenager in 1926, playing two matches for the clubs' Reserve side. Hepburn's cap was to be the last for an Ayr player until 1975. In 1934, a new crowd record was set when 23,651 turned up at Somerset Park for a Scottish Cup tie against Celtic that the Glasgow side won 3-2.
Relegation was suffered again in 1936 but the club immediately bounced back by winning the Second Division Championship in 1936/7 season. The goals of another club legend, Terry McGibbon, ensuring that Ayr's demise was as brief as possible.
United remained in the top league until organized league football was suspended in 1939 following the outbreak of the Second World War. 'Unofficial' football continued but in 1940, the clubs' Board of Directors decided that the club should close down for the duration of the war - although wartime fixtures involving players from the forces were occasionally played at Somerset Park. Upon the resumption of football in 1945/6, Ayr were placed in B Division. This enraged some supporters as Ayr had been an established top flight club prior to the outbreak of the War but the games ruling bodies felt that the re-organisation of the new leagues should reward those clubs who had continued to play in the various wartime competitions.
Following the war, the game grew in popularity and large crowds were drawn to grounds throughout the country. But it was not a good time for Ayr United on the park. Despite many top players such as Norrie McNeil and Malky Morrison playing for the club, United struggled to achieve promotion back to the level of the game that their supporters believed they out to be playing.
In 1950, Ayr were only 7 minutes away from reaching the League Cup final but conceded two late goals that gave Motherwell a 4-3 win at Ibrox.
In 1955, Peter Price put pen to paper to sign for Ayr from non-league Gloucester City. Over the next 6½ years, his goal scoring exploits turned him into an Ayr United legend. In total he found the back of the net 213 times in competitive matches for the club and remains the clubs' all time record goal scorer. His tally of 45 goals in 1955/6 secured the clubs place back in the First Division. This however only lasted one season but his tally of 55 goals in 1958/9 ensured that the club secured the Second Division title and with it promotion.
Another player from this era who can be classed as a United legend is Sam McMillan. He made his United debut as a 15 year old trialist in 1953 in a 2-0 defeat by Queen's Park at Hampden, earning him the honour of being the youngest player ever to have played for the club. A one - club man, over the next 22 years, the classy inside-forward scored over 100 goals for the club, captained the side, coached the Reserve Side to the Scottish Reserve League Championship in 1971/2 and was a worthy assistant to Ally MacLeod until he left the club in 1975 following the appointment of Alex Stuart as manager.
In 1959/0, Sam had the audacity to sit on the ball during a match at Ibrox that Ayr won 3-0! Three weeks later he scored twice as Ayr defeated Celtic 3-2 at Parkhead - the only occasion that the club have done the 'away' double over the Old Firm.
After relegation the following season, the club fell into a severe decline that at one time questioned its' very existence. The low point came in season 1964/5. In November that season, a national newspaper reported that the clubs' directors were considering withdrawing the club from the senior ranks of the game and at the end of the season, only Brechin City prevented Ayr from officially being the worst team in Scotland.
However unknown to anyone at this time, the club had already made arguably the most important signing it's history. During his heyday with Third Lanark, St.Mirren, Blackburn Rovers and Hibs, Ally MacLeod had made a name for himself as an outstanding outside left. For Blackburn he had played in the 1960 FA Cup Final but after his return to his first love, Third Lanark, the Cathkin Park club were in serious financial trouble that was eventually to lead to their demise in 1967. Given Ayr's financial plight at that time, it could easily be viewed that MacLeod jumped out of the frying pan into the fire but ultimately Third Lanark's loss proved to be Ayr United's gain.
Signed in 1964 as a player, Ally became player coach before taking over the hotseat in 1966. In his first season as manager, MacLeod signalled to a new post war generation that the good times were about to return. The Second Division Championship was won and although the club made a swift return to the lower league, promotion again was secured in 1968/9.
The lessons learned in the clubs previous flirtation with the top flight was to prove to be invaluable. In their first home league match of the 1969/0 season, United stunned Scottish football with an amazing 3-0 win over Hibernian. In their next home game, on 13th September 1969, a new record attendance of 25,225 was set for the visit of Rangers. Goals from Jacky Ferguson and Cutty Young gave Ayr an unforgettable 2-1 win. One month later, Ayr traveled to Hampden to play Celtic in the semi final of the League Cup. This was the era of Jock Stein and the Parkhhead club, European Champions only two years earlier, were to go on an contest the final of Europe's premier club competition once again later that season. But at Hampden, the part timers from Ayr gave the Glasgow giants an almighty fright in a match that ended 3-3. Ayr had actually led at one point in extra time but five days later, Celtic eventually won the replay 2-1 but not before the Somerset Park side had taken an early lead.
In 1973, Ayr United reached the semi final of the Scottish Cup for the first time, controversially losing 2-0 to Rangers in front of a crowd of 51,158. To this day, that remains the record attendance for any match involving Ayr United. For his feats as manager of the club, Ally MacLeod was voted Ayr's Citizen of the Year.
League reconstruction resulted in the creation of the Premier League in 1975. Such was the status that Ayr had achieved in the Scottish game, that they had the 'audacity' to qualify for the new top ten set up courtesy of their league position the previous season, despite the fact that they were the only part time team in the league.
Everybody's tip for the drop, United's hopes were dealt a severe blow when Ally MacLeod announced that he was quitting as manager to take up the post as boss of Aberdeen. Alex Stuart was appointed manager and in his first game in charge, Ayr scored an amazing 3-0 win over Rangers at Somerset Park. However Ayr flirted with relegation and their fate was decided on the final day of the season in a match that will never be forgotten by those Ayr fans who witnessed the game. Needing to win, Ayr trailed at half time to an early Motherwell goal. In the second half, Malky Robertson missed a penalty but with just quarter of an hour remaining, Davie McCulloch fired United level.
Then with just over five minutes to go, Gerry Phillips squeezed a Crammond cross over the line to put Ayr ahead. Or had he? The referee had adjudged that the ball had gone out of play before Crammond had reached it and awarded a corner. Under pressure from the United players, he agreed to consult his linesman. The consultation appeared to last an eternity. The silence of the crowd was deafening and you could cut the tension with a knife before the referee eventually pointed to the centre spot and Ayr held on for a historic 2-1 win.
Ayr remained in the top ten set up until 1978 when they eventually suffered the fate of relegation. However even during that campaign, Celtic were defeated twice at Somerset Park.
Sadly, Ayr have never returned to the top division although the ambition of everyone at the club is to once again play regularly at that level.
Following the departure of Alex Stuart, Ally MacLeod resigned from his post as manager of the Scottish National side to take over the reigns once again at Somerset Park. His stay was brief, lasting only 77 days during which time he took Ayr from the bottom to the top of the First Division. Following his departure to Motherwell, Willie MacLean was appointed as manager.
The late 1970's and early 1980's are remembered for the 'quality' of the players who came up through the youth system. Stevie Nicol, Robert Connor and Alan McInally all moved on to bigger clubs and played for their country while Ian McAllister went on to become a one-club stalwart until his enforced retirement from the game in 1990.
The return of MacLeod, for the third time in November 1985, couldn't prevent Ayr from slipping into the basement league for the first time since league re-organisation but in the two years they spent in the Second Division, MacLeod built a side that strolled to the Second Division title in 1987/8. The forward line of Sludden, Templeton and Walker scoring over 90 goals in all competitions between them.
Towards the end of that season, millionaire businessman David Murray made a bid to buy the club but his offer was deemed to be unsuitable by the clubs' shareholders and the bid rejected.
In 1990, the club re-introduced full time football but the move failed to pay dividends on the park, while off it, the club slipped into another financial crisis. Ayr reached the final of the Centenary Cup, a one-off competition for clubs outwith the Premier League to celebrate the centenary of the Scottish Football League, but lost 3-2 to Dundee after extra time.
Ally MacLeod's links with the club were finally terminated and George Burley took over the reigns. With little money, he took the club into the final of the B&Q Cup, a new annual competition based on the Centenary Cup format, only to lose 1-0 to Hamilton.
Burley was sacked in December 1993 and replaced by Simon Stainrod. As the financial plight of the club hit home, United slipped into the Second Division, now the third of four leagues in Scotland. In October 1994, Barr Holdings, whose Chairman Bill Barr was a former club secretary, bought a majority interest in the club and began the arduous task of turning around the clubs' finances.
In 1995, Stainrod was replaced as manager by Gordon Dalziel. He mustered an experienced side that won the Second Division title in 1996/7 and then immediately dismantled the squad and rebuilt a team to ensure that the club could consolidate it's position in the top flight. But despite being among the favourites to gain promotion in recent years back into the Scottish Premier League, the club have failed to achieve that goal. Possibly one of the major factors for the failure to achieve success on the park was the failure off it to secure a new home for the club.
In 1998, the club lodged plans for a new 10,200 seater stadium in the Heathfield area of the town. The plans included a retail development that was to contribute a significant sum to the cost of building the stadium but due to the fact it was considered to be an 'out of town development' a prominent councillor on South Ayrshire Council announced that the plans were unlikely to be successful because of the retail development. A fans campaign, United for Heathfield, won overwhelming public support for the plans. Over 8,000 people signed a petition on one day in favour of the proposed development and over 800 people turned up to the public hearing when South Ayrshire Councillors gave the proposals their full consent. Local MP's and MSP's backed the development and a Scottish Executive Public Inquiry also supported the plans. However the Scottish Ministers eventually killed off the plans in October 2002 when although they granted permission for the stadium, they refused planning consent for the retail development that was required to pay for it.
On the park, the club gained a reputation as a Cup side. Many SPL sides like Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Dunfermline, Dundee and their city rivals United all suffered at the hands of United in Cup ties. The Scottish Cup semi final was reached in 2000 and again in 2002, only for Ayr to lose out to both halves of the Old Firm. But the greatest occasion in the history of the club occurred in the League (CIS) Cup when an Eddie Annand penalty gave Ayr a 1-0 win over Hibernian and a place in the clubs first ever national Cup Final. On St.Patrick's Day 2002, 12,000 Ayr fans graced Hampden Park for a final clash against Rangers. The Honest Men gave a good account of themselves before finally losing out to the multi million pound Ibrox side.
Six days later, Ayr were back at Hampden Park, this time in the semi final of the Scottish Cup and again despite going down, this time to Celtic, it was not until late in the game that the Champions elect killed off United's hopes.
Again United's performance earned them much praise in the national media. As the memory fades, many may look at the scorelines of the two games and reflect that Ayr were well beaten but their performances against the odds in both games was summed up by this quote from Celtic boss Martin O'Neill. "They (Ayr) were magnificent. They probably didn't deserve to get beaten 4-0 last week and they most certainly didn't deserve to get beaten 3-0 tonight. Their Cup exploits have been extraordinary and it took three great goals to win this game."
Now Ayr's accent has switched onto youth. Successive Scottish Youth League titles and a place in the final of the Scottish Youth Cup indicate the success in recent years of the youth set up at Somerset Park and now the future of the club is in their hands. In November 2002, former youth coach Campbell Money took over the mantle as the clubs' Director of Football, undertaking the role of coaching/picking the first XI amongst his duties.
In September 2003, Donald Cameron, the clubs' vice-chairman, purchased the remaining Barr Holdings shares in the club to become its' new owner and with it, the next chapter in the history of Ayr United has to be written.
