# Ulster F.C.
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox football club |
clubname = Ulster F.C. |
image = |
fullname = Ulster Football Club |
nickname = the Red Hand[Belfast News-Letter, 5 January 1892]|
founded = {{start date and age|1877}} |
ground = Prospect 1877-79
[Ulster Cricket Ground](/source/Ulster_Cricket_Ground) 1879-1930s|
capacity = |
chairman = |
manager = |
league = [Irish Football League](/source/Irish_Football_League) |
season = |
position = |
| pattern_la1=_black_hoops|pattern_b1=_blackhoops|pattern_ra1=_black_hoops| leftarm1=FF0000|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FF0000|shorts1=000000|socks1=FF0000
}}
'''Ulster Football Club''' is a defunct Irish [association football](/source/association_football) club that was based in [Ballynafeigh](/source/Ballynafeigh), [Belfast](/source/Belfast).
==History==
It was initially founded in 1877 as a [rugby](/source/rugby_union) club, but later switched codes to [association football](/source/association_football). It was subsequently a founding member of the [Irish Football League](/source/Irish_Football_League) in [1890](/source/Irish_League_1890-91). The club later switched back to rugby and continued playing into the 1930s.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}}
The club was founded by members of [Ulster Cricket Club](/source/Ulster_Cricket_Club) and played its home games at the [Ulster Cricket Ground](/source/Ulster_Cricket_Ground). It is listed as a rugby club in Richard M. Peter's ''Irish Football Annual 1880'' and during the 1879–80 season it played 24 games, taking on, among others, local rivals [North of Ireland](/source/North_of_Ireland_F.C.) and [Queen's College, Belfast](/source/Queen's_University_R.F.C.).[Neal Garnham ''The Origins and Development of Football in Ireland''. Ulster Historical Foundation, 1999. {{ISBN|0-901905-93-3}}]
On October 24, 1878, the club hosted a demonstration game between two Scottish association football teams, [Queen's Park](/source/Queen's_Park_F.C.) and Caledonian. This game is recognised as the earliest organised association football match played in [Ireland](/source/Ireland).[Neal Garnham ''The Origins and Development of Football in Ireland''. Ulster Historical Foundation, 1999. {{ISBN|0-901905-93-3}}] Ulster duly played a game in April 1879 to Association rules against Queen's College at Ormeau Road, the sides drawing 3–3, Ulster's goals coming from a scrimmage, C. Thompson, and A. Murray;[{{cite journal |title=Ulster v Queen's College (Scottish Association rules) |journal=Northern Whig |date=7 April 1879 |page=8}}] but otherwise the club continued playing rugby, before switching to association football for the 1882–83 season.
During the 1880s and early 1890s, both Ulster and its home ground played a prominent role in the early history of association football in Ireland. Ulster reached the [Irish Cup](/source/Irish_Cup) final on three occasions, winning the competition in [1887](/source/1887_in_Ireland) after defeating [Cliftonville](/source/Cliftonville_F.C.) 3–0 in the final.[[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesn/nilcuphist.html Northern Ireland - Cup Finals]] They were also founder members of the [Irish Football League](/source/Irish_Football_League) and finished as runners-up during its first two seasons, [1890–91](/source/Irish_League_1890-91) and [1891–92](/source/Irish_League_1891-92). The club was a member of the League for six seasons in total: four between [1890](/source/Irish_League_1890-91) and [1894](/source/Irish_League_1893-94) and two from [1901](/source/Irish_League_1901-02) to [1903](/source/Irish_League_1902-03).[[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesn/nilhist.html Northern Ireland - Final League Tables 1890-1998]] In between times, the club reverted to rugby, playing in the [Ulster Senior League](/source/Ulster_Senior_League_(rugby_union)) from 1894 to 1901.[Belfast News-Letter, 24 July 1894] During the 1880s, Ballynafeigh also hosted several [Irish Cup](/source/Irish_Cup) finals and [Ireland](/source/Ireland_national_football_team_(1882-1950)) international games.[[https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng-intres1872.html England - International Results 1872-1899]][[https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/scot-intres1890.html Scotland - International Matches 1881-1890]]
==Colours==
The club played in black and red.[{{cite journal |title=Ulster v Black Watch |journal=Belfast News-Letter |date=24 November 1888 |page=3}}]
==Honours==
*'''[Irish Cup](/source/Irish_Cup)''' 1:
**[1886–87](/source/1886%E2%80%9387_Irish_Cup)
==Notable former players==
===Ireland internationals===
Twelve Ulster F.C. players represented [Ireland](/source/Ireland_national_football_team_(1882-1950)) at international level, winning 44 caps between them.[[https://nifootball.blogspot.com/2006/12/club-by-club.html Northern Ireland’s Footballing Greats]][{{cite web |url=http://www.weltfussball.de/spieler_profil/fred-mckee/ |title = Fred McKee |publisher = weltfussball.de |language=de |access-date = 22 Aug 2014}}] Reynolds also went on to play for [England](/source/England_national_football_team).
{|
|- style="vertical-align:top"
||
* [Bill Cunningham](/source/Bill_Cunningham_(footballer))
* [William Fox](/source/William_Fox_(footballer))
* [Jack Hastings](/source/Jack_Hastings)
* [Jack Henderson](/source/Jack_Henderson_(Irish_footballer))
* [William McCabe](/source/William_McCabe_(footballer))
* [Alec McCartney](/source/Alec_McCartney)
||
* [Fred McKee](/source/Fred_McKee)
* [Bob Moore](/source/Bob_Moore_(Irish_footballer))
* [Jack Reid](/source/Jack_Reid_(footballer))
* [Jack Reynolds](/source/Jack_Reynolds_(footballer_born_1869))
* [Jimmy Watson](/source/Jimmy_Watson_(Irish_footballer))
* [James Williams](/source/James_Williams_(Irish_footballer))
|}
==See also==
*[Ulster Cricket Club](/source/Ulster_Cricket_Club)
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Former Irish League senior clubs}}
Category:Ulster F.C.
Category:Rugby clubs established in 1877
Category:Association football clubs established in 1877
Category:Defunct rugby union teams in Ireland
Category:Defunct rugby union teams in Northern Ireland
Category:Defunct association football clubs in Northern Ireland
Category:Defunct Irish Football League clubs
Category:Association football clubs in Belfast
Category:1877 establishments in Ireland
Category:Former senior Irish Football League clubs
Category:Rugby union teams in County Antrim
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ulster F.C.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_F.C.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_F.C.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.