The West District Men’s Hockey Association was founded in 2nd June 1900, a year prior to the Scottish Hockey Association. Outdoor hockey’s popularity was on the rise in the late 1800’s and clubs were beginning to form and compete against one another. The earliest clubs were mostly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and the Glasgow clubs got together to form the West District Hockey Association in 1900. After it’s foundation, the West promptly challenged the East District to a game, which took place in Edinburgh, in 1901. Inter district games were common during the early years but competitive league hockey was not. The Scottish Hockey Association frowned upon competitive leagues, although there does seem to have been unofficial leagues taking place.
A number of clubs have risen and fallen throughout the history of the West District. Clubs still playing today that were around back near the districts formation include:
It wasn’t until 1951 that the SHA permitted official leagues in the districts for clubs to compete for trophies. The first officially recognised competitive West District League took place in the 1954-55 season and was won by Western Hockey Club. At the time, the league was won based on win percentages. Teams would play any number of games, record the scores and a win percentage would be worked out.
13 teams competed in the first season
A south-west district was formed by the Scottish Hockey Association in 1927. This covered areas from Paisley, down the south side of the Clyde and into Ayrshire. Clubs that were involved that are still about today include GHK (formed as Cochrane Park in 1899), Greenock (formed as Clutha in 1921), and Anchor (formed in 1923).
The first competitive league in the South-West district took place in the 1957-58 season with 9 teams competing.
Babcock & Wilcox won the first season with a win percentage of 83.3%.
In the 1960-61 season, a second division started with clubs entering 2nd XI’s. This didn’t continue, initially, however by 1963, enough clubs were interested in competing that two divisions became a mainstay. The top team of division 2 would swap places with the bottom side from division 1 each season. The 1963-64 season also saw the introduction of a points system to decide who the champions were. Two points were awarded for a win, with one for a draw and zero for a loss. Goal difference was used to split those tied on points. This season was integral as it ensured each club played one another home and away. Clubs would still compete regularly against clubs from other districts, but games between those in the division would take preference.
Popularity in the game continued to grow throughout the 60’s and 70’s and by 1975 the South-West district had merged with the West District. Three divisions of 28 different clubs were competing across the district.
Two teams were promoted and relegated from each divisions. However, 1975 also saw the formation of Scottish Hockey’s National Leagues. 20 clubs from the West District applied and were accepted to join the league which had its first official season in the 1975-76 season.
The increasing popularity of the sport saw over 45 teams competing over six divisions in the early 80’s, and again, by the early 90’s a
high of 58 teams from 28 different clubs competed across six divisions. By the mid 80’s, the top division was made up of nearly entirely 2nd XI’s of clubs that competed in the National League. Numbers of teams remained above 50 until the 1997-98 season when Scottish Hockey introduced Regional Leagues. This allowed several 2nd XI teams to move up into the second tier of Scottish Hockey competitions. By the 1998-99 season, the district was organising four divisions for 27 different clubs, but the increased use of Astro-turf facilities saw the slow decline of clubs. The early 00’s also saw the move to online communications, which has left the history books bare, so little is recorded during this period.
Accurate records have been documented from 2011-12 when the district got its first website. Team numbers had dropped to below 40 for the first time since the early 70’s, however many clubs were still flourishing, with bigger Glasgow Clubs being able to field 5th, 6th, and 7th XI’s. The 2019-20 season saw the league season interrupted by the global COVID pandemic. This meant that hockey ceased temporarily until the restart of the leagues in the 2021-22 season. With several clubs struggling during COVID, it was understandable that the number of teams competing in the first league after COVID was at a low of 34. However, since then, numbers playing the sport continue rise, with the introduction of new teams seeing an increase in competitive hockey in the West District.
The early years of West District Hockey were dominated by Western Hockey Club. They won eight out of the first nine seasons of competitive hockey. However, during the 1960’s, it was Stepps who took the limelight, winning five seasons in a row. The 70’s saw Western and Stepps both fighting for the title, with Clydesdale winning twice as well. Clydebank Technical College won their one and only West District League Title in 1978-79.
As the National League was taking off, 2nd XI’s took over the mantle of 1st XI’s, with Western and Clydesdale tussling over the league titles in the early 80’s. The 1980’s saw the emergence of real West District powerhouse, however, as Kelburne Hockey Club won their first division one title in 1986-87. They would go on to win it an unprecedented thirteen times in a row until Western finally grappled it off them in the 1999-00 season. Throughout the 00’s, Western 3rd XI regained dominance, with seven out of nine titles going to the Auchenhowie side. Since the 2010-11 season, six different clubs have won the John S. Dick trophy with Western only retaining it twice and Kelburne zero times in the last fourteen years. Western hold the record for the most West District titles, with 24. Kelburnes 13 seasons in a row looks like a seemingly impossible record to beat.
