The club was formed in 1885 under the name of Wishaw Thistle and was successfull in lifting the Lanarkshire Junior Cup in each of its first three seasons of competition. Wishaw was one of only four surving Clubs to enter the first ever Scottish Junior Cup in 1886/87. A year later in 1888 Wishaw became only the second club to lift the premier trophy in Junior football, beating Maryhill 3-1 (after two replays arising from protests over crowd problems). The Club then immediately 'turned senior' and over the next 30 odd years won a number of trophies including, in 1909 beating Arbroath in the final of the Scottish Consolation Cup. Senior League football in Scotland started with the formation of the Scottish Football League in 1890/91. The following year in 1891/92 Wishaw joined what was effectively the second tier of Scottish Football - the Scottish Football Federation.

SCOTTISH FOOTBALL FEDERATION 1891/92

Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

 

Pts
Arthurlie   22 16 3  3 107 38 35
Albion Rovers    22 15 1 6  88 51 31
Hurlford  22 11 4 7  58 51 26
Falkirk  22 11 3 7  61 49 25
Wishaw Thistle 22 10 4 8  69 71 24
Pollokshaws  22 10 2 10  73 58 22
Royal Albert 22 10 1 11  70 54 21
Kilmarnock Athletic 22 7 3 12  46 67 17
Clydebank  22 7 3 12  46 87 17
Glasgow Wanderers 22 7 2 13  44 88 16
Burnbank Swifts  22 4 6 11 49 80 14
Motherwell    22  4 6 12 58 80   14

 Followers of the 'mighty' Well may wish to have a double take at the above table. This league only lasted 2 seasons and Wishaw then moved on to the Scottish Alliance League. Wishaw reverted back to junior status in 1919 when 'thistle' was dropped from the club's name. The 'intermediates' dispute saw Wishaw side with the rebel clubs before returning to the junior fold when'peace' resumed. The West of Scotland Junior Cup was added to the trophy cabinet in 1934. By the 1950's Wishaw had accumulated 2 Lanarkshire league titles, 3 league cups, 3 Central cups, 9 Lanarkshire challenge cups and 7 Hozier cups. Reorganisation took Wishaw into the Central League where the club has languished in the lower divisions. In 1993 financial problems saw the club lose it's home ground of Recreation Park (now built over with private housing) and having to ground share with long time rivals Coltness United. The club almost folded in 1997, but a group led by Owen Dunn fought to keep the club alive until late in season 2001/02 when despite their best efforts the club had to withdraw from its fixtures. The Flood brothers led another rescue group at the start of season 2002/03 and although failing to achieve their real aim of promotion, the Floods guided the club to the 4th round of the Scottish cup twice before leaving the club at the start of season 2005/06. Wishaw Juniors are now 'owned' on behalf of the community by a Board of Trustees led by former Motherwell F.C. Chairman John Chapman. All day to day matters regarding the operation of the club are carried out by a small volunteer committee.