Third Lanark Athletic Club started as the football team of the Third Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, part of the Volunteer Force. The team played on the regimental drill ground at Victoria Road in Glasgow before moving into the first Cathkin Park in Cathcart Road in 1875. Third Lanark grew quickly to prominence and became one of the leading Scottish sides, reaching the final of the Scottish Cup in 1876 and 1878. In 1889 they met Celtic in their third final, a match they won 3-0  but which had to be replayed after a protest by Celtic over the state of the pitch (which was ankle deep in snow). Third Lanark won the replayed match 2-1. The following year, the club helped form the Scottish League and by the end of the century, they had won the Glasgow Cup three times.  Lanark turned professional in 1893 and in 1903 they severed all regimental links:  the club re-registered with the Scottish FA as Third Lanark Athletic Club. The following season, they won the Scottish First Division, an achievement made all the more remarkable because they were without a ground at the time and played all their home games at Hampden or at their opponents’ ground. In 1905 they moved into New Cathkin Park purchased from Queen’s Park and formerly known as (Old) Hampden Park. They won the Scottish Cup for the second time in 1905 and in 1906 they reached the final again but were beaten by Hearts. Victory in the Glasgow Cup of 1908 was the high water mark for the club – there would be no more honours although they remained a modest mid-table side until 1925 when they finished last and were relegated to the Second Division. Aside from a brief return to the top level (1928-29), Third Lanark were stuck in the Second Division until 1931 when they won the divisional championship. They were relegated again in 1934 but bounced back immediately, once again as champions of Scottish Division Two. A Scottish Cup final appearance in 1936 rekindled hopes of a return to former glory but they were beaten by Rangers. After the Second World War, the club played in Division “A” (top level) until they were relegated in 1954. They won promotion in 1958, reaching the League Cup final the following year. In 1961 they finished in third place in the First Division. The club then went into a decline that would bring about its destruction.  In 1965  Lanark won only three league games, collecting a meagre seven points and were duly relegated. There followed two seasons of mediocrity and disappointment in the Second Division, culminating on 28th April 1967 with a humiliating defeat 1-5 at the hands of Dumbarton. Behind the scenes the club was riven by internal squabbles and power struggles and, over the summer, Third Lanark was declared bankrupt and its assets liquidated.  Rumours of boardroom corruption have persisted to the present day.