The Lanarkshire Junior Football League was a football league competition operated in Lanarkshire under the Scottish Junior Football Association which operated from 1891, being the oldest-running regional competition of its kind until a merger in 1968.
The league was formed in 1891, at which point six of the ten finalists in the 5-year history of the Scottish Junior Cup had been from Lanarkshire (not counting those in the city of Glasgow under its boundaries of the time) indicating a strong presence at Junior level, with teams forming in many towns and villages involved in the thriving coal mining and steelworking industries. However, by 1895 a rival Glasgow Junior Football League was formed, and that quickly became a superior competition due to the abundance of players, higher attendances and lower costs associated with travelling. The proximity of the big city also caused problems for the Lanarkshire league organisers, with the clubs based in their territory consistently seeking to join the GJL, while the short distances involved made it feasible to do so whenever they were considered a useful addition. Some Lanarkshire clubs also switched between their local league and the Scottish Junior Football League, which had no specific territory but also existed in the shadow of the Glasgow-based league until it folded in the 1940s.
Unlike the GJL and the Western Junior Football League (the equivalent based in Ayrshire), the Lanarkshire league was not involved in the Intermediate dispute relating to compensation payments due to clubs joining Scottish Football League teams, although several of its members defected to the rebel group, some never returning; during those clubs' four-year absence from the Scottish Junior Cup, Lanarkshire's Burnbank Athletic reached the final twice. When then dispute was resolved in 1931, a new regional knockout tournament, the West of Scotland Junior Cup, was carried over from the Intermediate setup, and after a few years the Lanarkshire league clubs were invited to take part, although as in the Scottish Cup, teams were involved in the latter stages only occasionally (5 wins in 34 editions), the competition being dominated by the GJL's successor, the Central League. Unlike most of Junior football, the Lanarkshire league went into abeyance for five years during World War II, with clubs playing in the 'Lanark & Lothians Junior League' during the conflict.
In 1968 the Junior football system across Scotland was reorganised, with Lanarkshire's league (which now only had ten member clubs due to defections, and several clubs folding as traditional industries declined and entire communities dispersed) merging into the Central setup. It was the first Scottish Junior league to be established, at the time of its dissolution it was the longest-running.Lanarkshire Junior League, Scottish Football Historical Archive
Champions Key: Club also won the Scottish Junior Cup (doubles in bold).Club were also runners-up in the Scottish Junior Cup. SeasonLanarkshire Junior Leagues, Scottish Football Historical Archive, 20 September 2020 WinnerRunner-upOther member in Scottish Cup final1891–92Newmains ThistleHaywood Wanderers1892–93Blantyre VictoriaLarkhall Thistle1893–94Blantyre VictoriaLongriggend Wanderers1894–95Mossend CelticLongriggend Wanderers1895–96Larkhall ThistleLongriggend Wanderers1896–97Burnbank AthleticDalziel Rovers1897–98Dalziel RoversMossend Celtic1898–99Dalziel RoversHolytown Thistle1899–1900Holytown ThistleCadzow Oak1900–01Burnbank AthleticCadzow Oak1901–02Burnbank AthleticCarluke Rovers1902–03Burnbank AthleticBellshill AthleticLarkhall Thistle1903–04Burnbank AthleticDalziel Rovers1904–05Dalziel RoversBellshill Athletic1905–06Blantyre VictoriaBurnbank Athletic1906–07East Benhar HeatherbellQuarter Huttonbank1907–08Quarter HuttonbankNewton VillaLarkhall Thistle1908–09Quarter HuttonbankMossend Hibernian1909–10Larkhall UnitedCleland Rangers1910–11Blantyre VictoriaLarkhall UnitedBurnbank Athletic1911–12Burnbank AthleticLarkhall United1912–13 Larkhall ThistleFauldhouse West Rovers1913–14 Larkhall ThistleMossend Hibernian 1914–15Larkhall UnitedMossend Hibernian 1915–16Burnbank AthleticBlantyre Victoria1916–17Blantyre CelticMossend Hibernian1917–18ClelandNewarthill Thistle1918–19Not played1919–20Blantyre VictoriaBlantyre Celtic1920–21 ClelandBlantyre Celtic1921–22ClelandBlantyre Celtic1922–23Carluke RoversBlantyre Victoria1923–24Shotts United Fauldhouse United1924–25Shotts United Cadzow St Anne's1925–26 Wishaw JuniorsCadzow St Anne's1926–27Blantyre VictoriaFauldhouse United 1927–28Coalburn UnitedLaw ScotiaBurnbank Athletic1928–29Burnbank AthleticDouglas Water Thistle 1929–30Coalburn UnitedShotts Battlefield 1930–31Shotts Battlefield Larkhall ThistleBurnbank Athletic 1931–32Larkhall ThistleForth Wanderers 1932–33Douglas Water ThistleLarkhall Thistle 1933–34 Royal Albert Athletic Wishaw Juniors 1934–35 Wishaw Juniors Royal Albert Athletic 1935–36 Royal Albert AthleticLarkhall Thistle 1936–37 Royal Albert Athletic Wishaw Juniors 1937–38Holytown UnitedNewarthill Hearts 1938–39 Stonehouse VioletColtness United 1939–40New Stevenston UnitedCarluke Rovers 1940–41Burnbank AthleticCarluke Rovers 1941–42Not played 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45Burnbank Athletic 1945–46 Wishaw JuniorsLarkhall Thistle 1946–47Burnbank AthleticColtness United 1947–48Larkhall ThistleMount Ellon United 1948–49Newarthill HeartsForth Wanderers 1949–50New Stevenston UnitedCleland 1950–51Thorniewood United Stonehouse Violet 1951–52Larkhall ThistleShotts Bon Accord 1952–53 LesmahagowCarluke Rovers 1953–54Coltness UnitedThorniewood United 1954–55Douglas Water Thistle Stonehouse Violet 1955–56Thorniewood UnitedDouglas Water Thistle 1956–57Carluke RoversColtness United 1957–58Shotts Bon AccordCarluke Rovers 1958–59Carluke RoversThorniewood United 1959–60Thorniewood UnitedLanark United 1960–61Shotts Bon Accord Thorniewood United 1961–62Shotts Bon Accord Thorniewood United 1962–63Shotts Bon Accord Wishaw Juniors 1963–64Thorniewood UnitedShotts Bon Accord 1964–65Shotts Bon Accord Larkhall Thistle 1965–66Forth WanderersCarluke Rovers 1966–67Shotts Bon Accord Larkhall Thistle 1967–68Shotts Bon Accord Larkhall Thistle Notes
List of winners
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center; font-size:100%" |- ! Club ! Winners ! Runners-up ! First win ! Last win |- |Burnbank Athletic | 10 | 1 |1896–97 |1946–47 |- |Shotts Bon Accord | 7 | 2 |1957–58 |1967–68 |- |Larkhall Thistle | 6 | 8'' |1895–96 |1951–52 |- |Blantyre Victoria | 6 | 2 |1892–93 |1926–27 |- |Thorniewood United | 4 | 4 |1950–51 |1963–64 |- |Carluke Rovers | 3 | 6 |1922–23 |1958–59 |- | Wishaw Juniors | 3 | 3 |1925–26 |1945–46 |- |Dalziel Rovers | 3 | 2 |1897–98 |1904–05 |- | Royal Albert Athletic | 3 | 1 |1933–34 |1936–37 |- |Cleland | 3 | 1 |1917–18 |1921–22 |- |Larkhall United | 2 | 2 |1909–10 |1914–15 |- |Douglas Water Thistle | 2 | 2 |1932–33 |1954–55 |- |Quarter Huttonbank | 2 | 1 |1907–08 |1908–09 |- |New Stevenston | 2 | 0 |1939–40 |1949–50 |- |Shotts United | 2 | 0 |1923–24 |1924–25 |- |Coalburn United | 2 | 0 |1927–28 |1929–30 |- |Blantyre Celtic | 1 | 3 |colspan=2|1916–17 |- |Coltness United | 1 | 3 |colspan=2|1953–54 |- |Forth Wanderers | 1 | 2 |colspan=2|1965–66 |- | Stonehouse Violet | 1 | 2 |colspan=2|1938–39 |- |Mossend Celtic | 1 | 1 |colspan=2|1894–95 |- |Newarthill Hearts | 1 | 1 |colspan=2|1948–49 |- |Shotts Battlefield | 1 | 1 |colspan=2|1978–79 |- |Holytown Thistle | 1 | 1 |colspan=2|1899–1900 |- | Lesmahagow | 1 | 0 |colspan=2|1952–53 |- |East Benhar Heatherbell | 1 | 0 |colspan=2|1906–07 |- |Newmains Thistle | 1 | 0 |colspan=2|1891–92 |- |Holytown United | 1 | 0 |colspan=2|1937–38 |- |Mossend Hibernian | 0 | 4 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Longriggend Wanderers | 0 | 3 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Bellshill Athletic | 0 | 2 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Fauldhouse United | 0 | 2 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Cadzow Oak | 0 | 2 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Cadzow St Anne's | 0 | 2 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Lanark United | 0 | 1 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Cleland Rangers | 0 | 1 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Fauldhouse West Rovers | 0 | 1 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Haywood Wanderers | 0 | 1 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Mount Ellon United | 0 | 1 |colspan=2|N/A |- |Newton Villa | 0 | 1 |colspan=2|N/A |- |}Notes'''
References
Scottish Junior FA Structure, Scottish Junior Football Association