Heart Of Midlothian

Early years

The club was formed by a group of friends from the Heart of Midlothian Quadrille Assembly Club. The group of friends bought a ball before playing local rules football at the Tron from where they were directed by a local policeman to The Meadows to play. Local rules football was a mix of rugby and association football. In December 1873 a match was held between XIs selected by Mr Thomson from Queen's Park and Mr Gardner from Clydesdale at Raimes Park in Bonnington. This was the first time that association rules had been seen in Edinburgh. Members from the dance club viewed the match and in 1874 decided to adopt the Association rules. The new side was Heart of Mid-Lothian Football Club. The exact date of the club's formation was never recorded; however, 1874 is regarded as the year of formation as it was when association rules were taken on, although Tom Purdie claimed the club was formed in 1873. The earliest mention of "Heart of Midlothian" in a sporting context is a report in The Scotsman newspaper from 20 July 1864 of The Scotsman vs Heart of Mid-Lothian at cricket. It is not known if this was the same club who went on to form the football club, but it was common for football clubs in those days to play other sports as well.

The club took its name from historic county Midlothian, dating from the Middle Ages, as well as the 1860 Heart of Midlothian mosaic on the Royal Mile, which marks the historic entrance to the Old Tolbooth jail; the jail was demolished in 1817 but was kept fresh in the mind by Walter Scott's 1818 novel The Heart of Midlothian.

Led by captain Tom Purdie the club played its matches in the East Meadows and in 1875 Hearts became members of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and were founder members of the Edinburgh Football Association. By becoming members of the SFA Hearts were able to play in the Scottish Cup for the first time. Hearts played against 3rd Edinburgh Rifle Volunteers F.C. in October 1875 at Craigmount Park in Edinburgh. The game ended in a scoreless draw. A replay was held at the Meadows which again finished 0–0. Under rules at the time both clubs progressed to the next round with Hearts losing out to Drumpellier in the next round.

In the 1884–85 season, clubs in Scotland struggled to attract quality players who preferred to play professionally in England. After an 11–1 win in the Scottish Cup over Dunfermline a protest was raised against the club for fielding two professional players, which was against the rules at the time. Hearts were suspended by the SFA for two years - the first ever suspension of an SFA club. They were readmitted after a change of the club's committee.

Early success

Hearts had considerable success in the early years of the Scottish Football League, winning the league championship in 1895 and 1896. They also won four Scottish Cups in a 15-year period from 1891 to 1906. The team played against Sunderland in the 1894–95 World Championship, but lost with a 5–3 score. Hearts did win the World Championship title in 1902, beating Tottenham Hotspur 3–1 in Tynecastle Park, after a 0–0 in London a few months earlier.

Hearts in World War I

Do not ask where Hearts are playing and then look at me askance. If it's football that you're wanting, you must come with us to France!

In November 1914, Heart of Midlothian comfortably led the First Division, having started the 1914–15 season with eight straight victories, including a 2–0 defeat of reigning champions Celtic.