Forfar Athletic

Origins

The club was founded in 1885 when the second team of the older Forfar club, Angus F.C. broke away to form Forfar Athletic. Angus FC had been the town's senior club for a number of years, and on 24 September 1883, amalgamated with the Junior club Forfar West End, which became the 2nd XI, taking the name Angus Athletic.

The success of Angus Athletic in junior cup competitions and against other senior sides prompted the second string to go it alone, and in May 1885 it started playing as Forfar Athletic. Forfar played its first match on 16 May 1885 when it defeated Dundee Our Boys 1–0.

The new club originally played in a strip of black and white one-inch hooped jerseys with blue knickers, changing to blue and black vertical stripes (imitating the old Angus colours) in 1889. The key match shifting the balance of power was a 3–1 win over Angus in the first round of the 1885–86 Scottish Cup; Angus was dissolved shortly afterwards.

On 1 September 1888 the club recorded their record win when they defeated Lindertis, a side from nearby Kirriemuir, 14–1.

Into the League

The club were admitted into the Scottish Football League in the 1921–22 season, entering the new Second Division, finishing 14th out of 20 teams in their first season. In the 1923–24 season a third division was established, Forfar were relegated into that division in the 1924–25 season by finishing bottom of Division Two. The club were lucky; 12 of the 16 teams in that division were relegated as the division was to be scrapped the following season; Forfar however managed to gain promotion. National competitions were suspended with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. In this period Alex Troup was a key player for the club – he went on to play for Dundee and Everton. The club's biggest defeat also came in this period, on 2 January 1930, when they lost 2–12 to King's Park.

Post-war highs and lows

When the league resumed in the 1946–47 season Forfar found themselves in the C Division (a reconstituted Third Division) of the league. Promotion to the B Division was won in the 1948–49 season and the club remained in the B division and its successor Second Division until finally winning the divisional championship in the 1983–84 under manager Doug Houston. This was considerable progress from the 1973–74 season when the club finished bottom of the division. The late 1970s and the 1980s can probably be considered the club's most successful period – at the end of the 1985–86 season the club were just one point below promotion to the Premier Division.

This era also saw a succession of good cup runs, meeting Rangers in the League Cup semi-finals in 1977–78 (losing 5–2 after extra time) and again in the Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden Park in the 1981–82 competition, forcing a 0–0 draw in the first game and earning a replay which ended 3–1 to Rangers. In the 1986–87 Scottish Cup the club came within a few seconds of knocking Dundee United, then flying high after beating FC Barcelona at the Nou Camp, out of the cup in the quarter-finals, but United scored to gain a replay, which they subsequently won.

Various kit colours were used throughout this period. In the 1950s and early 1960s, a green home strip was used. Later the team adopted lighter blue with varying navy. The nickname "The Sky Blues" was introduced in the 1982–83 season to aid marketing, however it sometimes became confused with the nickname of English club Coventry City. The nickname was dropped by the club during the early 1990s, It is however still sometimes used by the media.

Hegarty, Campbell & McPhee (1990–2000)

The club continued in the First Division until 1991–92, when they finished bottom under the management of Paul Hegarty. The side won just five matches and lost twenty seven. Following a demonstration outside the main stand at Station Park, Hegarty was summarily dismissed, to be replaced by Tommy Campbell. The Loons remained in the Second Division until the close season of 1994, when league reorganisation saw the Loons find themselves in the new Third Division.

A successful campaign saw the club win the inaugural Third Division Championship with a 1–0 win at Ross County on 15 April 1995, Bobby Mann netting the goal. Despite a promising start to the 1995–96 season, Forfar were relegated back to the Third Division under the continued management of Campbell and the captaincy of Ian McPhee. In late 1996, McPhee took over as player-manager following the departure of Campbell to neighbours Arbroath, taking his side on an impressive run of results that saw them achieve promotion on goal difference ahead of Ross County.

Forfar survived a season in the Second Division, but were again relegated back to the Third Division at the end of the 1998–99 season. The club were promoted again the following season, finishing in third place as a minor league reconstruction took place, however McPhee resigned as manager in November 2000 following a poor start to the 2000–01 season, stating "I have put the club before myself – I could have been selfish, but Forfar football club is more important than Ian McPhee."

Neil Cooper (2000–2003)

McPhee was replaced by Neil Cooper, who led Forfar to Second Division safety by the end of the 2000–01 Second Division season, sending Queen's Park down on goal difference.

Cooper's only full season in charge, 2001–02, saw Forfar finish third in the Second Division. The Loons also reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, where they faced Rangers at Station Park. The match was televised live by BBC Scotland, and although the Loons lost 6–0, the club received a considerable cash bonus as a result of the tie.

Cooper remained manager until January 2003 when he moved back to become head youth coach for his former club Aberdeen, leaving the Loons in a strong league position.