South Western F.C.

South Western Football Club (sometimes referred to as Glasgow South Western)[nb 1] was a Scottish football club active in the 19th century. Their home ground was Copeland Park in Govan,[nb 2] situated close to Ibrox railway station.[1]

The club competed in the Scottish Cup from the 1876–77 to 1883–84 seasons, reaching the quarter-finals twice. In 1877–78 they won the initial match against the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, before losing 2–1 when they tie was replayed following a protest by their opponents.[2] They reached the same stage again in 1879–80, losing 6–1 to Pollokshields Athletic.[3]

John Campbell of South Western played for Scotland in an international match against Wales in March 1880.[4]

Despite joining the newly formed Glasgow Football Association in April 1883,[5] South Western made their final appearance in the Scottish Cup in September of that year, losing 8–1 against Battlefield in the first round.[6] Shortly afterwards, having already absorbed Luton,[5] it was reported that they were considering amalgamating with another local club, Pilgrims, for whom some of the South Western players had been guesting.[7] Within the next couple of months, South Western had been absorbed by Pilgrims, who took over the use of Copeland Park.[8]

A club of the same name re-emerged in the area in 1885 (a merger of two local teams, Beaconsfield and Woodbourne) and joined the newly-founded Scottish Junior Football Association a year later; they survived until 1894.[9]