BERWICK HOPE SCOTS VOTE WITH THEIR FEET

The fear is that a YES vote today could cause English football club Berwick Rangers problems, especially if there was a border control established between England and Scotland. It could be a disaster and make it extremely hard for the club to still be a part of the SPFL. Most fans will be delighted if the No vote prevails. Berwick is closer to Edinburgh than Newcastle and most of the squad are Scottish, so competing north of the border seems obvious. Having to go through "customs" would prove a pain!

An SFA spokesman would only say: “Berwick Rangers remain a Scottish Football Association member club.”

The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed is near to the Scottish border and is closer to Edinburgh than to Newcastle upon Tyne. The old town is on the Scottish side of the traditional border, the River Tweed, and Berwick has formerly been part of Scotland. Berwick Rangers were officially formed on 7 January 1884 after a match was played in the town between a team of millworkers from Dunbar and a team of railway clerks from Newcastle. For much of the club's history it was believed that they had formed in 1881, though recent research indicates that 1884 is the more likely date of formation. Their first competitive match was against another team from Berwick, 'The Royal Oaks' on 16 February 1884. Berwick Rangers won the match by "one goal and two tries [sic] to nil". Note the old scoring system, similar to rugby!!

Berwick Rangers joined the Scottish Football Association in 1905 and entered the Scottish Border League that year, followed by the Border Amateur League (1908–09). The club joined the East of Scotland League immediately after the First World War, a new competition formed to replace the Borders League. The club made several attempts to join the North Northumberland League but were not invited. It was not until 1951 that they were admitted to Scottish League Division C Division (North & East). This third tier, made up largely of reserve sides, had been created in 1946 and was regionalised in 1949. The division was scrapped in 1955 and Berwick, along with the other non-reserve teams, were placed in an enlarged Division B (renamed Division Two the following season). Berwick Rangers have played in the Scottish Football League ever since, despite low attendances and frequent financial problems.

Following their foundation, the club had had a nomadic existence before eventually settling down at Shielfield Park in 1954.

Probably their greatest success was in 1967, when they beat Rangers 1–0 in the Scottish Cup under the management of player manager Jock Wallace. It was the highlight of a memorable cup run, which had seen them break a club record in beating Vale of Leithen 8–1 in the first round. The result sent shockwaves around Scottish football and led to a number of the Rangers players leaving Ibrox; it was also the club's greatest home attendance of 13,365. They then played Hibernian in the following round but lost 1–0 in front of a crowd of nearly 30,000.