When I was younger, about 9 or 10 years old, I always wondered how Stirling Albion were one of the youngest teams in the Scottish League (Clydebank, now defunct, were formed in 1967 if I remember correctly). I learned that before Stirling Albion were formed in 1945, the professional team in the (then) town was King's Park F.C. All I really knew was that the only bomb to fall on Stirling during World War 2 fell on their ground, and they subsequently went out of business. Sounds simple really, but there was more to it!
According to Wiki, their ground, Forthbank Park, was used in the late 19th century, and the club entered the Scottish League in the 1921/22 season. They weren't that great, a bit like modern day Stirling Albion, not the worst team but certainly not topping the upper leagues. Apparently there were some alleged financial irregularities as the bomb landed on Forthside making it easier to go out of business and start again under another name. This caused a bit of a stir, however Stirling had a professional team once more.
I set out on a quest to find out where exactly Forthbank Park was. The home of Stirling Albion, Forthbank Stadium, is named in honour (as well as being built on the banks of the Forth)! Annfield, Stirling's home from 1945 to 1991 was easy to find, but I could find no remnants of the old ground.
Thankfully, someone came up with an Ordnance Survey map of 1896 showing a football ground to the east of the railway tracks at KFC, where the John Player's Bowling Green is/was found (not sure if it still exists). First question answered, I know where this team played. There isn't much that I can find on the history of this club, so now I hope to find out more!
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