Bon Accord F.C.

Bon Accord Football Club were a football team from Aberdeen, Scotland who suffered the worst defeat in any Scottish senior football match, losing 36–0 to Arbroath on 12 September 1885 in a first round match of the Scottish Cup. Thirteen goals were scored by centre-forward John Petrie, a Scottish Cup and joint world record. The Bon Accord goal keeper was Andrew Lornie.

Game v Arbroath in the Scottish Cup

Main article: Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord

Arbroath were 15–0 up by half time, and scored another 21 goals in the second half. The Scottish Athletic Journal at the time wrote The leather was landed between the posts 41 times, but five of the times were disallowed. Here and there, enthusiasts would be seen scoring sheet and pencil in hand, taking note of the goals as one would score runs at a cricket match."^[1]

Bon Accord F.C. (1890)

The name Bon Accord was used for another team from Aberdeen founded in 1890, who entered the Scottish Cup competition in 1891–92 and 1903–04 seasons. Whether they were related to the same Orion Cricket Club is unclear, however it is extremely unlikely in those days that anyone else would willingly have taken on such an ignominious name.

In 1891, in the 1st Round (5 September 1891), they thrashed Stonehaven away 8–0, but then lost 5–2 at home to Aberdeen (this Aberdeen in time merging with Orion FC & Victoria United to form Aberdeen in the 2nd round (26 September 1891).^[2]

Bon Accord Juniors

In the 1980s, Bon Accord re-emerged in the North East Junior leagues, courtesy of the largesse of Bryan Keith - the former head joiner of Fyvie Castle and founder of the Bon Accord Glass company - as part of his own Bon Accord Sports Club.

Moving the side from their Findon Park ground in the fishing village of Findon (which ironically was taken over by their derby rivals Parkvale - giving up on trying to win a following in Aberdeen dominated by the other Junior sides of Banks O'Dee, Aberdeen East End and Sunnybank), Bon Accord played at the custom built Keith Park in the Hillhead, Bridge of Don area of Aberdeen, and played in blue and white halved tops, blue shorts and socks.

However, when Bryan Keith left the club to become chairman of Montrose, Keith Park and the Bon Accord Sports Club was bought by the University of Aberdeen, who eventually renamed Keith Park as the Hillhead Sports Centre. By the summer of 1997 Bon Accord FC were no more. Top Aberdeenshire Amateur side Wilson's XI (named after founder Norman Wilson) returned Keith Park to Junior football when they, after 17 years in amateur football, joined the grade in 2000, before they rebranded themselves Hillhead Juniors in 2006.

A Bon Accord City AFC, made up of Bon Accord Juniors and Wilson's XI members who opposed the takeover and renaming, currently play in the Aberdeenshire Amateur leagues, playing (ironically) at Aberdeen University's Balgownie Playing Fields, the former playing fields of Wilson's XI.

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