The History of Newtongrange Star
1963/64
STORY OF THE SEASON
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    Supporters were optimistic ahead of 1963/4. Having won the Mid / East Division title the previous season, as well as reaching the St Michael Cup Final, many people expected a repeat performance. They were to be very disappointed.

    Star endured their lowest league finish for many years, winning only 9 games from their 22 game programme. As far as Cup competitions went, the name of Newtongrange Star was nowhere to be seen when the Finals came around. Things hit a real low when Star were beaten 6-0 at Newbyres Park by Arniston Rangers in a League game – prompting the comment that was ‘the worst team ever to wear the Star blue’.

    Star’s real problem was inconsistency. Their better results included a 5-0 win away to Dunbar and a 7-2 win at Haddington. At the other end of the scale were that hammering at Arniston and a 5-0 defeat at Tranent.

    Star had a bye in Round 1 of the Scottish Junior Cup and then defeated Benburb 7-1 in Round Two. However, another Glasgow side in the shape of Ashfield came to Victoria Park and won 6-1 in Round 3. Wins over Penicuik, Easthouses and Haddington took Star to the East of Scotland Cup Semi Final where they lost 2-1 to Dunbar in a match played at Musselburgh. Therewere early exits from the St Michaels Cup and Brown Cup at the hands of Whitburn and Bonnyrigg respectively.

    Jimmy Veitch had signed for Dumbarton at the start of the season but it was on a ‘delayed transfer’. He remained with Star until their Scottish Cup exit. His goals were vital in the first half of the season but after his departure the team found it more difficult to find the net. The problem was exacerbated when his striking partner, Tommy Brown, also joined Dumbarton late in the season.

    Like many other clubs Star were struggling badly to draw crowds. Despite the fact that admission was just 1/- (5p) for League games and 1/6 (7 and a half pence) for Scottish Cup ties, crowds were poor. It was just too easy to go and watch Hearts and Hibs who were producing good football in those days.

    Bonnyrigg won the Mid / East Division with a late run of wins and took the overall title by defeating Whitburn in the Play Off.

    Source: Newtongrange Star FC match programme [4-Apr-2009]
EDINBURGH & DISTRICT LEAGUE MID/EAST DIVISION
Pld W D L F A Pts
Arniston Rangers 22 12 7 3 31
Dunbar United 22 12 4 6 28
Bonnyrigg Rose 17 12 4 1 28
Penicuik Athletic 21 12 3 6 27
Tranent Juniors 20 10 5 5 25
Musselburgh Athletic 20 11 1 8 23
Preston Athletic 22 9 3 10 21
Newtongrange Star 22 9 2 11 20
Dalkeith Thistle 22 7 2 13 16
Loanhead Mayflower 21 5 3 13 13
Easthouses Lily 22 4 4 14 12
Haddington Athletic 22 3 0 19 6
The league was won by Bonnyrigg Rose
Opponents Venue F A Scorers Team Info
Arniston Rangers H 0 3
A 0 6
Bonnyrigg Rose H 1 2 ?
A
Dalkeith Thistle H 0 3
A 1 3 ?
Dunbar United H 2 4 ?
A 5 0 Brown 2, Veitch 2, Slater
Easthouses Lily H 2 2 ?
A
Haddington Athletic H 7 1 ?
A 7 2 T. Brown 5, Colbert 2
Loanhead Mayflower H
A W W ?
Musselburgh Athletic H 1 5 A. Thomson
A 5 3 Colbert, ?
Penicuik Athletic H 2 3 ?
A 0 1
Preston Athletic H
A 0 1
Tranent Juniors H 2 1 ?
A 0 5
SCOTTISH JUNIOR CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 Bye
2 H Benburb 7 1 Veitch 4, Brown 3
3 H Ashfield 1 6 McGillvray
EAST OF SCOTLAND CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 A Penicuik Athletic 3 3 ?
H Penicuik Athletic W W ?
QF A Easthouses Lily 5 2 Brown 3, ?
SF N Dunbar United 1 2 ?
ST MICHAELS CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 Bye
2 A Whitburn Juniors 1 3 Veitch Farrow, Brown, Kidd, Aitchison, Marshall, Owens, Bogie, Thomson, Slater, Veitch, Corbett.
BROWN CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H Bonnyrigg Rose 2 3 ?