16 August 1890 - The Second Oldest League In The World

On 16 August 1890, the Scottish Football League kicked off its very first season. It is the world's second-oldest football league, two years younger than England's Football League.

Although the Scottish Football Association had existed since 1873, the teams competed in the Scottish Cup and in irregular matches among themselves. By 1890, interest in Scottish football had increased, so that the growing number of teams needed an ordered schedule. As a result, a group of eleven teams organized the Scottish Football League. The eleven were Abercorn, Cambuslang, Celtic, Cowlairs, Dumbarton, Heart of Midlothian, Rangers, Renton, St. Mirren, Third Lanark, and Vale of Leven. Scotland's oldest club, Queen's Park, were invited join, but declined.

Four matches were played on that opening day: Rangers beat Hearts, 5-2; Celtic lost 1-4 to Renton; Cambuslang crushed Vale of Leven, 8-2; and Dumbarton drew 1-1 with Cowlairs. Renton were expelled during the season for using professional players, but returned to the league the following season. The SFL also deducted four points each from Celtic, Cowlairs, and Third Lanark for fielding professional players.

Rangers and Dumbarton finished that first season tied for first on points. After they drew a playoff match 2-2, the SFL declared them joint champions.

6 August 1875 - Jock Stein's Other Club

On 6 August 1875, a group of Irish-born football enthusiasts in Edinburgh's Cowgate neighborhood created Hibernians, named after the Roman word for Ireland. The club went on to play a significant role in the progress of Scottish football.

From the moment of its creation, the club had strong religious ties. Their first manager (and one of the founding members) was a priest, Canon Edward Hannon. Also, all players were required to be members of the Catholic Young Men's Society, an early sign of sectarianism in Scottish football that later came to a head in the Old Firm rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. In fact, when Celtic was formed in 1887, many of the first players were borrowed from Hibernians.

For reasons that have never been explained, Hibernians failed to attend the meeting at which the Scottish Football League was formed, and thus were not included in the nascent league. That failure made it difficult for the club to schedule matches and ultimately led to its near-demise in 1891, when it ceased operations. It reformed in 1892, however, as Hibernian F.C. The newly-named club joined the SFL Second Division in 1893 and was promoted to the First Division for the 1895-96 season.

The early 1900s were successful for Hibs, who won the Scottish Cup in 1902 and the league title in 1903, but began to decline in the 1920s as the Old Firm began to rise.

Hibs enjoyed a renaissance in the 1950s, when they were managed by Scottish coaching legend Jock Stein. They won the league in 1952 and finished second in 1950 and 1953 (both times to Rangers). In 1955, they became the first British team to play in the European Cup, making it to the semifinals of the inaugural tournament in 1955-56 before losing to Stade de Reims 3-0. Stein left after that season to manage Celtic, whom he transformed into a dominant side.

Hibs currently play in the Scottish Premier League, where they finished in sixth place in the 2008-09 season.

9 July 1867 - The Oldest Firm In Scotland

On 9 July 1867, a group of unidentified men in Glasgow formed Scotland's first football club, Queen's Park FC. It was the first football club in the world outside of England and Wales.

Queen's first recorded match came more than a year later when, on 1 August 1968, they defeated Glasgow's now-defunct Thistle FC by the score of 2-0. Two years later, in 1870, Queen's joined the English Football Association and advanced to the final of the FA Cup in 1884 and 1885, losing to Blackburn Rovers both times.

Shortly after Queen's establishment, other clubs began to sprout up across Scotland and, in 1873, Queen's joined with eight other clubs to form the Scottish Football Association. They dominated the new league, not conceding a goal until 1875 and not losing a match until December 1876. They also won the first three Scottish Cups (1874-76). In all, they've won the Scottish Cup ten times, a number second only to Celtic and Rangers.

Queen's were so dominant in the early years, in fact, that when Scotland faced England on 30 November 1872, all eleven Scottish players were from Queen's. (The match was a scoreless draw.)

As the surrounding clubs turned professional at the turn of the century, Queen's remained staunchly committed to its principles as an amateur club. They joined the Scottish Football League First Division in 1889, but found it difficult to compete against the professional sides and were relegated to the Second Division in 1922. They last played in the top flight from 1956 to 1958 and have since bounced among the second, third, and fourth tiers.

Still playing as the Scottish Football League's only amateur side, they are currently in the fourth tier (known as the Third Division after the introduction of the Scottish Premier League in 1998).

3 June 2008 - A Comparison To Icarus Might Be Appropriate Here

On 3 June 2008, Gretna F.C. resigned from the Scottish Football League.

The club, located in southern Scotland near the English border, was founded in 1946 by soldiers returning home from World War II and played originally in the Carlisle and District League, run by the English Football Association. Despite being a Scottish club, it continued to play in leagues run by England and Wales before finally joining the Scottish Football League in 2002. Gretna entered the SFL's Third Division as a replacement for Airdrieonians F.C., who had dissolved that year.

In 2005, Gretna then began a meteoric rise through the SFL ranks, first winning the Division Three title that year, then winning the Division Two title in 2006 and the Division One title in 2007, and earning promotion to the Scottish Premier League for the 2007-08 season. Along the way, Gretna made it to the 2006 Scottish Cup Final, but lost to Heart of Midlothian on penalties after drawing 1-1 through extra time. Gretna's success during that period was driven in large part by the funds provided by millionaire owner Brooks Mileson.

During the 2007-08 SPL season, however, the club began to struggle. Mileson became ill and withdrew his financial support, leaving the club nearly £4M in debt. Greta began missing payments to its players and, on 12 March 2008, the club's financial woes resulted in it being placed in administration. Later that month, in an effort to cut expenses, the club sacked over 23 players, coaches, and support staff, including captain Chris Innes and eight other members of the senior squad.

Gretna were officially relegated from the SPL on 29 March 2008 after losing 2-0 to St. Mirren, though they went on the win their final SPL match, a 1-0 victory over Hearts. On 29 May 2008, the SFL further relegated them all the way back down to the fourth-tier Third Division as a consequence of their financial situation. The club's administrators were unable to find a purchaser for the club to replace Mileson, so the club officially announced its resignation from the SFL on 3 June and was formally liquidated on 8 August 2008.

On 2 June 2008, Gretna supporters announced the creation of a new club, Gretna 2008 F.C. Officially unrelated to the previous club, the new Gretna plays in Division One of the East of Scotland Football League where it finished in fourth place for the 2008-09 season.