Bon Accord F.C.

Bon Accord Football Club was a football team from Aberdeen, Scotland who suffered the worst defeat in any Scottish senior football match, losing 36–0 to Arbroath on 12 September 1885 in a first round match of the 1885-86 Scottish Cup. Thirteen goals were scored by centre-forward John Petrie, a Scottish Cup and joint world record.

Not to be confused with Shotts Bon Accord F.C..

Bon Accord
Full nameBon Accord Football Club
Nickname(s)the Bons[1]
Founded1884
Dissolved1892
GroundRecreation Grounds
SecretaryWilliam M'Lean, Arthur Jaffray

History

The club was founded in 1884. Bon Accord (French "good agreement") is a motto of Aberdeen, also used metonymically for the city itself.[2]

Contrary to urban myth, the club did have experience before the 1885–86 Scottish Cup tie against Arbroath; one of its earlier matches was a 5–3 win against Aberdeen Rovers.[3]

Game v Arbroath in the Scottish Cup
Main article: Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord

Bon Accord was drawn at home, but conceded the right to host the game to Arbroath.[4] Arbroath was 15–0 up by half time, and scored another 21 goals past Andrew Lornie[5] in the second half. The Scottish Athletic Journal at the time wrote "The leather was landed between the posts 41 times, but five of the times were disallowed. Here and there, enthusiasts would be seen scoring sheet and pencil in hand, taking note of the goals as one would score runs at a cricket match."[6]

Later history
Happier times for Bon Accord, beating Stonehaven 9–0 in the first qualifying round of the Scottish Cup in 1891–92

Bon Accord was a founder member of the Aberdeenshire and District Football Association. The club played in the Aberdeenshire Cup from 1889 to 1892, its best performance being winning through two rounds (including a 10–0 away win at Aberdeen Harp) before losing to the original Aberdeen.[7][8]

The club entered the Scottish Cup in 1891–92, by which time the Scottish Football Association had brought in preliminary rounds. In the 1st preliminary round (5 September 1891), Bon Accord won 9–0 at Stonehaven, with goals from Forsyth (3), Hay (2), Clark (3), and Macfarlane,[9] but it lost 5–2 at home to the original Aberdeen in the 2nd round (26 September 1891), a tie notable for having the first penalty-kick in Aberdeenshire football, scored for Aberdeen by Key past Thomson.[10]

The club's final match was in aid of the Scottish Junior Football Association, against a team of select junior players; the club's dissolution may have been down to a 4–1 victory over Victoria United,[11] as in the aftermath seven of its players were recruited by Aberdeen, and another three emigrated.[12] A Junior side - founded as Junior Bon Accord in 1890 - soon adopted the name.

Colours

The club's original colours were black and white striped shirts (in the context of the time, this refers to hoops) and white knickers.[13] There is a reference to players wearing plain white shirts for the tie with Arbroath, taken from their cricket whites, but this is probably apocryphal and based on the erroneous belief that Bon Accord was a re-named Orion Cricket Club.

From 1890 to 1892 the club wore dark blue.[14]

Ground

The club's home was the Recreation Grounds in Aberdeen.[15] In 1891 the Bons replaced Caledonian F.C. (Aberdeen) at the Holburn Grounds.[16]

References
  1. "Athletics v Bon Accord". Aberdeen Journal: 2. 26 October 1891.
  2. bonaccord Scottish National Dictionary
  3. "Football". Aberdeen Journal: 6. 9 February 1885.
  4. "Bon-Accord v Arbroath". Bridge of Allan Gazette: 3. 19 September 1885.
  5. Strachan, Graeme. "The Scottish Cup scoring duel which made Arbroath FC world famous". Courier. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  6. Thacker, Gary (22 August 2019). "The day a 36-0 win (probably) wasn't the biggest scoreline of the day in Scotland". These Football Times.
  7. "Aberdeenshire & District Cup". Sfha.org.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  8. Aberdeen later merged with Orion F.C. & Victoria United to form Aberdeen.
  9. "Bon-Accord v Stonehaven". Aberdeen Journal: 7. 7 September 1891.
  10. "Bon-Accord v Aberdeen". Aberdeen Journal: 7. 28 September 1891.
  11. "Other matches". Aberdeen Journal: 7. 14 March 1892.
  12. "Football notes". Aberdeen Evening Express: 4. 30 March 1892.
  13. McDowall, John (1885). Scottish Association Annual 1885–86. Glasgow: H. Nisbet. p. 72.
  14. M'Dowall, John (1891). Scottish Football Annual 1891–92. Glasgow: Hay Nisbet. p. 97.
  15. McDowall, John (1885). Scottish Association Annual 1885–86. Glasgow: H. Nisbet. p. 72.
  16. "Scottish Cup tie - second round". Aberdeen Press and Journal: 7. 28 September 1891.
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