Partick Thistle

Partick Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club. They were formed in 1876 in the burgh of Partick (administratively independent of Glasgow till 1912 when it was incorporated into the city).

They originally played on what is now the site of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum[?] next to the river Kelvin and had a number of other homes in Partick before finally settling at Firhill Park in the Maryhill district of Glasgow in 1909.

The club won the Scottish Cup in 1921 beating Rangers 1-0 in the final, and more famously they won the Scottish League Cup in 1971 by defeating Celtic 4-1 in the final. They have never won the Scottish Football League but have finished in third place on three occassions.

They were traditionally one of the top clubs in Scotland, but since the mid 1980s they have declined.

In 1998 the club almost went out of existence. Faced with massive debt it looked as though they would certainly go bankrupt until the supporters organised a 'Save the Jags' campaign (the Jags being the club's nickname). This managed to ensure the clubs survival although they were relegated to the Second Division that year.

In 2001 they managed to win promotion from the Second Division to the First Division, and the following year they managed to win promotion from the First Division to the Scottish Premier League, the top division in Scottish football.

The club's fans traditionally come from the North-West area of Glasgow and pride themselves on being anti-sectarian[?] in opposition to the Protestant loyalties of Rangers and the Catholic loyalties of Celtic. Their traditional rivals (other than Rangers and Celtic) are Clyde[?].

Famous players of the past include Alan Rough[?], Alan Hansen[?] and Mo Johnston[?].

Honours

• Third Place in Scottish Football League: 1947-48; 1953-54; 1962-63

• Scottish Football League, Division Two Champions: 1896-97; 1899-00; 1970-71

• Scottish Football League, First Division Champions: 1975-76; 2001-02

• Scottish Football League, Second Division Champions: 2000-01

• Scottish Cup Winners: 1920-21; (runners up: 1929-30)

• Scottish League Cup Winners: 1971-72; (runners up: 1952-53; 1955-56; 1957-58)

• Glasgow Cup Winners: 1935; 1951; 1952; 1954; 1960; 1981; 1989

• Involvement in European Competitions:

Fairs Cup, 1963-64; UEFA Cup, 1972-73; and Intertoto Cup, 1995-96

External links

• Official Club Website (http://www.ptfc.co.uk)
  
• Unofficial Website (Popular with Thistle Fans) (http://www.ptfc.net)