In the latter third of the 19th century, Scottish football grew rapidly. In 1870, there were perhaps half a dozen clubs playing the common game of football, but just 3 years later, the Scottish Football Association organised its first Cup competition and 16 teams entered. Less than 20 years later, more than 150 teams came up to compete from every city, town, village and even hamlet in the country. Few survived the boom years; some dropped down the scale to find their level while others disappeared entirely.

This is the story of one such club, Fair City Athletic, which blossomed in Perth, becoming the city’s predominant club, but missed by a whisker making it onto the major stage when seemingly well-set. The tale is set amongst the social and sporting history of Perthshire never before recorded.