The original Thistle club was among the oldest in Scotland, formed in the wake of rudimentary versions of the game played on Glasgow Green which themselves had roots in the traditional Handsel Monday holiday mass-participation events,[5] introduced to the city by men from Callander in Perthshire.

[9] At the time, the area was becoming both densely populated and heavily industrialised, and several aspiring teams formed among the tenements and factories.

[17][18] This new site was only a short distance away from the streets where their core support resided[19] but on the opposite bank of the River Clyde; in previous and future decades it would have been easily accessible via Rutherglen Bridge at Shawfield, but the move took place between the demolition of the old bridge at that site (1890) and the completion of its replacement (1896),[11] making travel more difficult during those years via a temporary wooden structure.

Although they had struggled in the Alliance competition (finishing bottom of 12 teams in 1891–92 and fifth of 10 the following year),[20] Thistle's Campbell, Mackie, and Gemmell were selected for the prestigious Glasgow v Sheffield match in 1892.

[4] A group of Thistle supporters almost immediately formed a new club, Strathclyde F.C., named after the street where Beechwood Park stood.