Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. were formed in 1895 at the 'Old Jail' office in Rutherglen. The Glens played their first-ever game on 15 August 1896 against the Ibrox XI (
Rangers' junior string in those days) and the Glens won 1–0. The Southcroft team joined the
Glasgow Junior League and won it in 1899–1900 to take possession of the "Evening Times Trophy". The Glens' moment did not arrive until season 1901–02 when they won the
Scottish Junior Cup, the Glasgow League Championship, and the Glasgow Exhibition Championship. The team brought the Scottish Junior Cup to Rutherglen for the first time by beating
Maryhill 1–0 at
Meadowside includes future
Scotland senior international forwards
Jimmy McMenemy and
Alec Bennett, both natives of the town. It was not until 1918–19 that the Glens won the Scottish Junior Cup again, beating
St Anthony's 1–0. Glencairn's third Scottish Junior Cup win was in season 1926–27 and the satisfaction was all the greater because it was
Cambuslang Rangers, their great local rivals, who were defeated 2–1. The Glens won the Scottish Junior Cup again for the last time in season 1938–39 when
Shawfield (the other local rivals, from
Oatlands) went down 2–1. Glencairn's recent success has been in their rise through the junior leagues in which they were crowned champions of both the
West of Scotland League Central District First Division in 2009 and the
West of Scotland Super League First Division in 2010. In 2020, the club confirmed their intention to leave the separate Junior setup and join a proposed feeder division for the
Lowland Football League, part of the
pyramid system below the professional level of the Scottish game. ==Crest==