A history of Penicuik Athletic by Club President, John Fraser
A Wikipedia History of Penicuik Athletic - CLICK HERE
The origins of organised football in Penicuik can be traced back to 1882, when several clubs operated in the area.
Penicuik
Athletic
were
formed
in
1888
at
a
meeting
in
the
Royal
Hotel
in
Penicuik
and
established
a
pitch
at
Hays
Park
at
the
back
of
the
Royal
Hotel
adjacent
to
Hays
Garage.
Somerfields
Supermarket
and
car
park,
the
main
road
and
Penicuik Health Centre now stand on the site.
In
the
late
19th
century
football
was
increasing
in
popularity
throughout
Scotland
and
in
1893
the
East
of
Scotland
League
was
formed
and
Penicuik
Athletic
were
a
senior
club.
Numerous
newspaper
reports
of
the
early
matches
still
survive.
In
1904,
the
club
adopted
junior
status
as
at
that
time
junior
football
was
still
amateur
unlike
today
when
it
is
semi-professional.
The
club
name
was
changed
to
Penicuik
Juniors.
A
high
point
came
in
1910
when
the
Juniors
reached
the
semi-final
of
the
Scottish
Junior
Cup
only
to
lose
narrowly
to
Kilwinning
Rangers.
Three
of
Penicuik's
players
were
"capped"
for
the
Scottish
Junior
International
team
that
year.
The
1930s
saw
the
club
revert
to
the
East
of
Scotland League and Scottish Cup ties were played in Penicuik against Heart of Midlothian and St. Mirren.
Penicuik
Athletic
were
members
of
the
East
of
Scotland
league
from
season
1930/31.
They
were
League
Champions
for season 1931/32 and King Cup winners (see photograph) in season 1935/36.
In
the
early
1950s
the
Athletic
established
a
new
pitch
at
Eastfield
Park
on
ground
previously
owned
by
the
Shotts
Iron
Company,
operators
of
the
tragic
Mauricewood
Pit.
The
new
ground
was
opened
with
a
match
against
a
strong
Hibernian
side
which
the
Athletic
lost
5
–
0.
Penicuik
Athletic
rejoined
the
Juniors
and
for
the
next
25
years
one
man,
Dick
Walker,
became
largely
responsible
for
keeping
the
club
going
through
some
great
times
and
some
very
lean
times.
He
put
heart
and
soul
together
with
countless
hours
of
effort
and
energy
into
the
club
as
committee
member
and
honorary
secretary
and
ranks
among
the
great
unsung
heroes
in
Junior
Football
history.
He
was
quite
simply,
Mr.
Penicuik
Athletic.
In
1966
the
Athletic
reached
the
semi-final
of
the
Scottish
Junior
Cup
only
to
lose
by
the
narrowest
of
margins
to
local
rivals
Bonnyrigg
Rose.
Inspired
by
their
progress
the
Athletic
went
one
better
in
1969
reaching
the
final
of
the
Scottish
Junior
Cup
which
was
played
at
Hampden
Park
(CLICK
HERE)
for
more
info
and
photos
of
the
Final.
Yet
again
the
Athletic
were
to
lose
by
the
narrowest
of
margins,
this
time
in
a
replay
against
Blantyre
Victoria.
In
another coincidence, three Penicuik players were selected for the Scottish Junior team.
The
1970s
saw
probably
the
most
successful
period
in
the
clubs
history
when
a
social
club
was
built
at
the
ground.
Many
local
trophies
were
won
and
the
team
was
considered
as
one
of
the
leading
teams
in
the
East
of
Scotland.
However the biggest prize of all, the Scottish Junior Cup still eluded the Athletic despite the club’s best efforts.
The
club’s
fortunes
fell
into
decline
both
on
and
off
the
park
in
the
1980s
and
the
Social
Club
was
forced
to
close
in
1986
with
mounting
debts.
The
park
had
been
used
as
security
for
various
loans
and
the
creditors
put
the
park
up
for
sale
to
clear
the
debts.
The
team
continued
to
play
despite
the
off-field
problems
and
were
showing
signs
of
revival
when
a
near
fatal
blow
was
delivered
as
the
ground
was
sold
on
to
be
developed
into
a
supermarket
which
stands
on
Eastfield Park today.
Throughout
the
1990s
several
initiatives
were
embarked
on
to
secure
a
new
pitch
but
for
a
variety
of
reasons
were
unsuccessful.
The
last
and
ultimately
successful
project
to
establish
a
pitch
which
met
the
criteria
laid
down
by
the
Scottish
Junior
Football
Association
grew
out
of
an
initiative
by
three
local
Midlothian
Councillors,
Russell
Imrie,
David
Fletcher and Adam Montgomery to improve recreational facilities in Penicuik.
Season
2002/03
Penicuik
Athletic
were
accepted
back
into
the
re-organised
East
Region
(with
the
introduction
of
the
Super
League)
and
took
their
place
in
the
second
division
in
season
2002-3.
The
long
awaited
first
game
was
played
at
Armadale
in
the
1st
Round
of
the
League
Cup
on
Thursday
6th
August
2002,
resulting
in
a
5
–
1
defeat.
Over
500
spectators
turned
up
at
the
new
pitch
in
Penicuik
Park
on
Saturday
8th
August
to
witness
a
no
scoring
draw
in
a
league
match
against
Harthill
Royal.
Re-entry
into
the
Scottish
Junior
Cup
saw
a
win
against
Blackburn
before
defeat
in
the
next
round
against
an
experienced
Renfrew
Juniors.
Penicuik
just
missed
out
by
a
point
on
promotion
to
the
first
division
after
a
1
–
0
defeat
in
their
final
league
match
against
West
Calder
which
was
controversially
switched
to
be
played on a Thursday night.
Season
2003/04
saw
promotion
again
narrowly
missed
with
another
third
placed
finish.
However,
the
club
won
its
first
trophy,
the
Supplementary
Cup
when
a
late
Brian
Hancock
goal
secured
victory
over
Whitburn
Juniors
in
the
final
played at Eastfield Park in Blackburn.
Promotion
to
the
1st
Division
was
secured
in
season
2004
-
5
when
Penicuik
won
the
second
division
title,
their
second
success
since
re-starting.
As
a
result,
Penicuik
Athletic
were
awarded
Midlothian
Council’s
Senior
Team
Award
in
their
annual Greatest Achievement in Sport awards.
Season
2005/06
Penicuik
finished
as
runners
up
to
Camelon
Juniors
in
the
1st
Division,
narrowly
missing
out
on
promotion
to
the
East
Super
League.
Second
place
gave
Penicuik
entry
into
the
new
Premier
League
of
the
East
Region.
Eight
of
the
teams
in
the
new
league
were
based
on
the
other
side
of
the
Forth
with
the
longest
trip
requiring
a
visit
to
Montrose
Roselea.
Penicuik
were
beaten
finalists
in
the
pre-season
League
Cup
going
down
by
the
odd
goal
to
Musselburgh Athletic.
Season
2006/07
The
Athletic
found
the
going
tough
in
the
new
Premier
League
and
narrowly
escaped
one
of
the
three
relegation
slots
back
to
the
District
League.
Relegation
was
avoided
by
beating
Scottish
Junior
Cup
finalists
Kelty
Hearts
in
the
last
league
match
of
the
season
in
front
of
over
500
fans.
Penicuik
lost
in
the
final
of
the
Brown
Cup
to
Bonnyrigg Rose after defeating Scottish Junior Cup finalists Linlithgow Rose in an earlier round.
Season
2007/08
saw
Penicuik
improve
their
position
in
the
Premier
League
by
finishing
in
sixth
place
in
the
twelve
team
league.
Irvine
Meadow
came
to
Penicuik
in
the
first
round
of
the
Scottish
Junior
Cup
and
won
by
four
goals
to
three
while
the
club
did
not
progress
beyond
the
third
round
stage
in
any
of
the
local
cup
competitions.
At
the
end
of
the
season,
Willie
McGinlay
who
had
been
team
manager
since
the
team
started
playing
again
in
2002,
stood
down
for
business
and
personal
reasons.
Stuart
“Snowie”
McKean,
who
had
a
distinguished
junior
playing
career
with
Armadale
Thistle and Bonnyrigg Rose and had been Willie.s assistant took over as the new manager.
Season
2008/09
saw
a
further
improvement
in
the
league
position
with
Penicuik
finishing
in
fourth
place.
Penicuik’s
best
performance
in
the
local
cup
competitions
was
reaching
the
semi
final
of
the
St.
Michael’s
Cup
only
to
lose
out
at
home to Linlithgow Rose in a penalty shoot out.
Season
2009/10
Penicuik
had
a
poor
start
to
the
new
season.
Failure
to
qualify
from
the
sectional
league
cup
was
followed
by
a
first
round
knock
out
in
the
Scottish
Junior
cup.
A
run
of
only
one
win
in
seven
league
matches
before
an
enforced
break
for
bad
weather
saw
Penicuik
drop
into
second
bottom
spot
in
the
Premier
League.
Team
manager,
Stuart
(Snowy)
McKean
stepped
down
and
was
replaced
by
former
player
Brian
Ryrie
and
current
player
Craig
Meikle,
chosen
from
a
strong
list
of
applicants.
Despite
losing
their
first
match
in
charge,
sufficient
points
were
gained
from
the
remaining
league
fixtures
to
claim
seventh
spot
in
the
league,
finishing
clear
of
the
three
relegation
spots.
There
were
second
round
exits
in
both
the
East
of
Scotland
and
Fife
&
Lothians
Cup.
The
St.
Michael's
and
Brown
Cups
went
uncontested because of the length of the break for the bad weather. Season 2010 - 11
Season
2010/11
Several
changes
were
made
to
the
playing
squad
for
the
new
season
and
the
league
position
showed
an
improvement
with
fifth
place
being
achieved.
A
missed
penalty
in
the
last
minute,
when
the
scores
were
level,
proved
costly
in
the
first
round
Scottish
Junior
cup
tie
at
Kilwinning
as
the
home
replay
was
lost.
Penicuik
did
not
progress
from
their
league
cup
section
but
enjoyed
good
runs
to
the
semi
finals
of
both
the
East
of
Scotland
and
Fife
and Lothians Cup, losing to Newtongrange Star and Bo'ness United respectively.
Season
2011/12
Promotion
to
the
Super
League
was
the
target
for
the
season
and
it
went
right
down
to
the
wire.
Penicuik
went
in
to
their
last
league
game
of
the
season
at
Broxburn
needing
a
win
to
gain
the
second
promotion
spot
but
lost
out
to
the
home
side
who
were
promoted
in
their
place.
Penicuik
finished
fourth
in
a
very
tight
finish.
Broxburn
were
also
Penicuik's
downfall
in
the
League
Cup
where
Penicuik
topped
the
section
but
were
pipped
by
Broxburn
who
successfully
appealed
against
Livingston
fielding
an
ineligible
player
in
their
tie,
and
as
a
result
progressed
to
the
knock
out
stages.
Early
exits
were
suffered
in
both
the
East
of
Scotland
and
Fife
and
Lothians
Cup.
After
first
and
second
round
Scottish
Junior
Cup
wins
against
Glenrothes
and
Glasgow
Perthshire,
junior
giants,
Auchinleck
Talbot
proved too strong in the third round, handing out a six goal defeat at Auchinleck.
Season
2012/13
-
Promotion
to
the
Super
League
was
once
again
the
aim
for
the
season.
Due
to
a
re-organisation
of
the
league
set
up,
the
number
of
teams
in
the
Super
League
was
increased
from
twelve
to
sixteen
which
meant
that
the
top
four
teams
in
the
twelve
team
Premier
League
would
be
promoted.
However,
Penicuik
lost
out
again
in
the
last
fixture
of
the
season.
Despite
beating
Broughty
Athletic
on
the
last
day,
Armadale
Thistle
recorded
an
away
win
at
Dundee
Violet
to
edge
Penicuik
out
by
a
point.
In
the
Scottish
Junior
Cup
Penicuik
were
drawn
away
to
opposite
sides
of
the
country
in
Dunbar
and
then
Girvan.
The
reward
for
reaching
round
three
was
a
trip
to
meet
Kelty
Hearts
and
because
of
the
winter
weather
the
match
was
postponed
eight
times
before
being
moved
to
the
neutral
venue
of
Oakley.
A
goal
in
the
seventh
minute
of
added
time
finally
brought
the
tie
down
in
Kelty’s
favour.
Some
revenge
was
exacted
on
Broxburn
in
the
opening
league
cup
match
but
defeats
to
Livingston
and
Bonnyrigg
meant
that
Penicuik
did
not
qualify
from
their
section.
Second
round
exits
were
made
in
both
the
East
of
Scotland
Cup
and
Fife
And
Lothians
Cup
to
Ballingry
Rovers
and
Newburgh
respectively
as
Penicuik
had
managed
to
be
drawn
away
from
home
in
every
cup
draw
in
the
season.
The
long
postponement
of
the
Scottish
Junior
Cup
tie
against
Kelty
meant
that
Penicuik
were
faced with a heavy end of season midweek schedule to complete their league games which ended in disappointment.
History
Season
2013/14
-
Proved
to
be
an
eventful
season.
The
club
was
celebrating
125
years
since
Penicuik
Athletic
was
originally
founded
in
1888.
Matches
against
both
Hibs
and
Hearts
legends
took
place
together
with
a
celebration
dinner.
A
commemorative
booklet
was
also
produced.
New
floodlights
were
installed
at
the
park
further
enhancing
the
facilities.
Several
new
players
were
added
to
the
squad
with
Daryll
Young,
Jocky
Lister,
Craig
Dickson,
Dean
Knight
and
Gordon
Harris
joining
from
the
under
–
21’s
and
the
experienced
Greig
Ross
and
Ryan
McCallum
joining.
Last
season’s
joint
manager,
Bryan
Ryrie
stood
down
to
leave
Craig
Meikle
as
team
manager.
This
was
the
first
year
of
the
new
sixteen
team
East
Region
league
set
up.
Two
promotion
spots
and
a
playoff
spot
with
the
third
bottom
team
in
the
Super
League
were
on
offer
in
the
Premier
League.
There
was
no
League
Cup
at
the
start
of
the
season,
with
clubs
moving
straight
into
club
action.
Penicuik
got
off
to
a
bad
start
losing
our
first
game
at
home
against
Kirriemuir
Thistle.
However,
after
winning
comfortably
away
to
Kirkcaldy
YM
we
never
looked
back.
After
a
long
campaign
involving
trips
to
Kirriemuir,
Montrose,
Dundee,
Perth
and
Fife,
promotion
was
secured
with
a
single
goal
win
at
Livingston
with
four
games
still
to
play.
The
East
Premier
League
title
was
won
with
a
two
goals
to
one
home
victory
against
long
time
league
leaders
Fauldhouse
with
two
games
still
to
go.
The
excitement
of
winning
the
title
was
tempered
by
the
tragic
death
of
popular
club
physio
Jeff
Gray
who
collapsed
in
the
dug
out
during
a
home
league
match
against
Bathgate
Thistle.
A
match
against
Bonnyrigg
Rose
had
been
arranged
to
switch
on
the
new
floodlights
and
also
became
a
commemorative
match
in
memory
of
Jeff.
Penicuik
Athletic
also
turned
in
their
best
performance
in
the
Scottish
Junior
Cup
since
the
1980/81
season
by
reaching
the
fifth
round.
After
beating
Glasgow
giants
Pollok
in
the
fourth
round,
Penicuik
went
out
in
a
replay
at
Irvine
Meadow
by
the
odd
goal
in
seven.
The
club
went
out
of
both
the
East
of
Scotland
and
Fife
and
Lothian’s
Cups
to
super
league
sides
Bo’ness
United
and
Ballingry
Rovers
respectively
in
penalty kick shoot outs.