Hanover F.C. (Edinburgh)
{{short description|Association football club in Scotland}}
{{for|the Northern Irish club of the same name|Hanover F.C.}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}
{{infobox football club
|clubname =Hanover
|image =
|caption =
|fullname =Hanover Football Club
|nickname =the Hanoverians{{cite journal |title=Football |journal=Scotsman |date=13 September 1875}}
|shortname =
|founded =1875
|dissolved =1884
|ground =East Meadows
|capacity =
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|owner =
|chrtitle =Captain
|chairman =J. Bull{{cite journal |title=Hanover v Bathgate |journal=Lothian Courier |date=11 October 1879 |page=3}}
|ceo =
|mgrtitle =Secretary
|manager =
|league =
|season =
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| leftarm1 = ADD8E6
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Hanover Football Club was a football club from the city of Edinburgh.
History
The club was formed in 1875,{{cite web |title=Club Directory |url=http://sfha.org.uk/club-directory.htm |website=Scottish Football Historical Results Archive |access-date=27 October 2022}} and was a founder member of the Edinburgh Football Association later in the year.{{cite web |title=East of Scotland Shield |url=http://sfha.org.uk/eosshield.htm |website=Scottish Football Historical Archive |access-date=5 March 2023}} The first fixture recorded for the club was a 1–1 draw with 3rd Edinburgh Rifle Volunteers on the Meadows in September 1875.{{cite journal |title=Football |journal=Scotsman |date=13 September 1875}}
Hanover was one of the four sides which took part in the first Edinburgh Association cup, losing to the 3rd E.R.V. in its one tie.{{cite journal |title=report |journal=Scotsman |date=13 December 1875}}
Hanover's first entry to the Scottish Cup was in 1876–77, and the club lost in the first round to Edinburgh Thistle.{{cite journal |title=The Association Cup Ties |journal=Scotsman |date=2 October 1876}} The club improved its playing strength for 1877–78, retaining the previous season's players and developing a large membership, making it "one of the most promising of the district clubs", and although not as physically strong as the other side, considered a speedy side.{{cite journal |title=Association football in Scotland |journal=Scotsman |date=6 October 1877}} The club's work was rewarded with a win in the first round of the Scottish Cup, 1–0 against the Thistle, and only going out to the strong Hibernian in a replay.
However that Cup win would be the club's only win in the Scottish Cup, despite entering every year until 1881–82. The club had more success in the Edinburgh Cup, regularly reaching the fourth round, although it had only one more semi-final appearance (in 1878–79).
The club did reach one final; in the 1878–79 President's Cup, a one-off tournament for a trophy presented by the President of the Edinburgh FA. Hanover brought in four players from the Govan club in order to gain an advantage in the final, which led to a protest from opponents Heart of Midlothian, and the game only went ahead after the regulations were checked and there found to be no rule against it. The match, at the Powderhall Stadium, ended 4–4, and Hearts scored the winner in extra-time.{{cite journal |title=Heart of Midlothian v Hanover |journal=Scotsman |date=12 May 1879}}
By 1882 the club had fallen behind the two big Edinburgh clubs, and for a friendly with Hearts could only muster 10 players, and even that was only achieved by borrowing two from the short-lived Elgin club of Stockbridge Park.{{cite journal |title=Hanover v Heart of Mid-Lothian |journal=Daily Review |date=6 February 1882}} The club's last competitive fixture was a defeat to Bo'ness in the Edinburgh Consolation Cup in 1884; this was a new tournament for clubs eliminated in the earlier rounds of the Edinburgh Cup.
Colours
The club played in light blue jerseys, white knickerbockers, and light blue stockings.{{cite book |last1=Dick |first1=William |title=Scottish Football Annual 1876–77 |date=1877 |publisher=Mackay & Kirkwood|page=100}} Perhaps not coincidentally these were the colours of the Guelphic Order, particular to the House of Hanover.
Ground
The club originally played at the East Meadows, in common with all of the early Edinburgh clubs. From 1880 to 1881 it played at the Royal Gymnasium,{{cite journal |title=Dunfermline v Hanover (Cup tie) |journal=Glasgow Herald |date=20 September 1880 |page=6}}{{cite journal |title=Hanover v Heart of Midlothian |journal=Scotsman |date=14 February 1881}}{{cite journal |title=Hanover v Bo'ness (Consolation Cup tie) |journal=Lothian Courier |date=5 April 1884 |page=3}} although it played its final Scottish Cup tie with Brunswick F.C. at Tynecastle.{{cite journal |title=Hanover v Brunswick |journal=Scotsman |date=12 September 1881}}
External links
- [https://www.londonhearts.com/scores/sc/hanover.html Scottish Cup results]
- [http://sfha.org.uk/eosshield.htm Edinburgh Cup results]