In 1880, cricket club Bainsford Bluebonnets founded a football team called Bainsford Britannia. In November the following year the football team changed its name and East Stirlingshire Football Club was born.

The club was a force to be reckoned with towards the end of the 19th century. In reaching the quarter-finals of the 1888-89 Scottish Cup, The Shire crushed Stenhousemuir 10-1 and Vale of Bannock 11-2. That 11-2 win is a club record, but The Shire’s cup dream was shattered by a bunch of upstarts from the east end of Glasgow called Celtic, who beat them 2-1.

Two years later the goals were flying in again and The Shire were back in the last eight of the Scottish Cup. They trounced Grangemouth 8-2 and knocked out Camelon 10-6 in a replay after an initial 3-3 draw. Hearts, the eventual winners, ended the run with a 3-1 victory and it was to be 90 years before The Shire progressed as far again.

Wales international Humphrey Jones was one of the club’s first heroes. He won 14 caps between 1885 and 1891 - five of them against England and Northern Ireland in 1889 and England, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 1890 – while he was a player with The Shire.

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