Alloa Athletic FC is currently the only Scottish League side playing in Clackmannanshire, and they can trace their origins all the way back to 1878 beginning life as Clackmannan County. They traditionally play in a strip with black hoops with either orange or gold stripe hence their nickname “The Wasps”.
They have been comparatively successful given Alloa is a relatively small town and they have played at the highest level and have reached the quarter-final stages on the main cup competitions on numerous occasions.
They joined the Scottish League in 1921 and took it by storm – winning the Second Division title by 13 points. However, their stay in the top flight was short-lived and they finished bottom of Division One the following season. They once again tasted the heady heights of Division One when they were promoted in 1938-39. Sadly Germany’s European tour also known as WWII put an end to the 1930-40 season after 5 games. Their 17th place that season remains their highest league finish.
When football resumed in 1946-47 they were placed in Division B where they finished a credible 5th. Since then Alloa has been a bit of a YoYo team bouncing between the lower divisions but has never looked like regaining top tier status.
They have had plenty of minor cup wins including 14 Stirlingshire Cups and they lifted the Scottish Challenge Cup in 1999 beating Inverness Caledonian Thistle 5-4 on penalties in one of the best finals in the competition (4-4 after extra time).
Their most recent Cup success was reaching the final in 2015.
If you fancy taking in a game get down to the Recreation Ground (Indodrill Stadium) and providing its not a big cup game you should be able to pay at the gate.
A Little Bit of Wasps Trivia
- Alloa’s only Capped Player is Jock Hepburn who won one cap for Scotland in 1891.
- Alloa made it third time lucky when winning the Central Football League in 1912–13 having finished runners up the two previous seasons.
- William Crilley (Wee Willie Crilley) remains the clubs leading scorer with 49 goals in their title-winning season of 1921-22. He was 5feet – 3″ tall hence the nickname.
- Their first-ever Scottish Lague game was against Stenhousemuir on 20th August 1921 a 1-0 win.
- Their two biggest defeats to date are both 10-0 and both times at home!
- Alloa played in every Stirlingshire Cup Final between 1904-5 and 1912-13
- In 2014-15 Alloa beat Glasgow rangers 3-2 in the Scottish Challenge Cup Semi-Final
A Brief Alloa Athletic Chronology
1878 Founded then Clackmannan County
1879 Changed name to Alloa FC
1883 Became Alloa Athletic
1883-4 Entered Scottish Cup For The First Time (lost 5-0 to Falkirk
1885-6 Won their first trophy – The Fife Cup
1906-07 the Scottish Football Union Champions
1912-13 Central Football League Winners
1921 Elected into the Scottish League Division Two
1921-22 Scottish League Division Two Champions 1923 Relegated to Division One
1938-39 Scottish League Division Two runner-up Promoted to Division One
1939-40 Season ended after 5 games due to WWII – 17th at the time in Division One.
Post-WWII
1946-47 Dropped to Division B for first post-World War II season
1947-48 Two points deducted for fielding unregistered players
1976-77 Scottish League Division Two runner-up Promoted to Division One
1977-78 Relegated to Division Two
1981-82 Scottish League Division Two runner-up Promoted
1982-83 Finished 6th In Division One
1983-84 Relegated to Division Two
1984-85 Scottish League Division Two runner-up Promoted to Division One
1985-86 Relegated to Division Two
1988-89 Scottish League Division Two runner-up Promoted to Division One
1989-90 Relegated to Division Two
1994-95 Placed in Division Three on league re-organisation
1997-98 Scottish League Division Three Champions
1999-00 Scottish League Division Two runner-up Promoted to Division One
21st Century
2001 Relegated to Division Two
2001-02 Promoted to Division One
2003 Relegated to Division Two
2005-06 Escaped relegation after play-offs
2009-10 Scottish League Division Two runner-up (lost in promotion playoff)
2010-11 Relegated to Division Three
2011-12 Scottish League Division Three Champions
2012-13 Scottish League Division Two runner-up Promoted after play-offs
2015-16 Relegated to Scottish League One
2016-17 Scottish League One runner-up (lost in playoffs)
2017-18 Promoted to Championship after play-offs
2019-20 Season ended early due to Covid-19.
2020-21 Relegated to League Two
Alloa Honours
League Title Wins
Scottish Division Two 1921–22
Scottish Third Division 1997–98, 2011–12
Central Football League: 1912–13
Scottish Football Union: 1906–07
Cup Wins
Scottish Challenge Cup
Winners
1999
Finalists
2001, 2015
Stirlingshire Cup
Winners
1904–05, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1924–25, 1933–34, 1946–47, 1955–56, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1981–82, 1996–97
Finalists
1905–06, 1906–07, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1921–22, 1923–24, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1960–61, 1968–69, 1983–84, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01
Fife Cup Winners
1885–86, 1895–96, 1897–98
Finalists
1883–84
Records
Biggest win: 9–0 v Selkirk, Scottish Cup 1st round, 28 November 2005
Record Crowd: 15,467 v Celtic, Scottish Cup 5 February 1955
Biggest Home attendance 13,000 v Dunfermline Athletic 26 February 1939
Highest League Finish: 4th Division one 1939-40
Best Scottish Cup Run: Quarter-Finals 1938-39, 1960-61, 1988-89. Most recently lost 1-0 to Hibernian.
Scottish League Cup Run: Quarter-Finals 1948-49, 1950-51, 1965-66, 2016-17, 2020-21. Most recently lost to Hibs again this time 2-1!
Club Details
The information below will come in useful if you are planning to take in a game or just want to keep abreast of their performances.
Address
Alloa Athletic FC
Indodrill Stadium
Clackmannan Road,
Alloa
Clackmannanshire
FK10 1RY
Tel:- 01259 219596
E-Mail:-fcadmin@alloaathletic.co.uk
Alloa On Social Media
So there you have it our quick guide to the club. If you want to see who else plays in the area check out our other Scottish Club Team Pages. Or for more information on the city itself, why not have a look at our Alloa visitor guide.
jordonc ✅