Bon Accord 1960.

1958. After their annual friendly at the Duthie Park, the two opposing departments of the (then) Post Office (Postal and Telecoms) retired to a local hostelry for post match drinkies. Those present decided to amalgamate and enter a team into the Aberdeenshire Cricket Association (The Grades). Thus, Bon Accord Cricket Club was born (Bon Accord being the motto of the city of Aberdeen).

As has always been the case in a football-centric community, recruiting young players proved difficult and the club relied on veterans, like ex-Aberdeenshire spinner John Angus, Jimmy Reid, Tom Watts and Sandy Raeper. However, the first club captain was a youngster, Jim Morrison, (current President) and he led his side to an unlikely trophy in their initial season (1959), The Bons defeating Westburn to lift the Reid Cup, a trophy the club would win again in 1962.

This first incarnation of The Bons proved difficult to beat but never reached any great heights and indeed spent most of the 1960's in the lowest grade. The lack of replacements for an ageing squad of players became a serious problem and led to the club pulling out of the Grades from 1967-1969.

Rebirth

Bon Accord 1980.

Re-entry to the Grades was made possible (in 1970) with an influx of "semi-youngsters" bolstering what remained of the original veterans. Some of these new players would become legends and form the nucleus of a side that would go on to achieve relatively great things. Doug Laing, Doug Cruickshank, Alan Hunter, Fraser Murray, Brian Neave, Barry Allan, Frank Dale and the great Syd Stephen. Bon Accord's first promotion (from G3 to G2) came about in 1976 and in an effort to build on that success, in 1977, the club changed it's name to P.O. Bon Accord to attract members of the Post Office playing for other grades clubs.

Came the harvest in 1980, when the club tasted some serious success under the captaincy of Doug Laing. The Bons won Grade 3, the Reid Cup, the Duncan Cup and the Thompson Shield (awarded for league and cup doubles). Their stay in Grade 2 lasted until relegation in 1985 although those years at a higher level helped the development of a new batch of players, like Andy Meres, Graham Morrison (left), Ian and Graham Hunter. The class of 1970, however, were coming to the end of their careers and the recurring problem of finding fresh blood resurfaced and the club was "opened" to accept membership from outwith the Post Office.

Bon Accord 1987.

A new batch of young players boosted the clubs ranks and success was soon forthcoming. Mike Brown, Ian Jamieson, Neil Greig (all from Anchorians), Graham Stewart, Tan Choudhry and Dave Goulding helped the side achieve great things in Grade 3 (especially in cup games) and eventually this group of players escaped from Grade 3 in 1988 and the following season won promotion again. Grade 3 to Grade 1 in two easy stages!!

That first taste of Grade 1 got off to a remarkable start. In our first ever G1 fixture, Ian Jamieson (left) took an incredible NINE wickets, against Inverurie, for no runs. ZERO runs. The rest of the season was a major disappointment as the club failed to adjust to the higher altitude of the big league (and the absence of the LBW law) and were relegated only to bounce straight back up the following season. Much wiser, the club fared much better and became a solid, mid table side through the 1990's until another influx of new players catapulted The Bons to an unprecedented level of success.

The Golden Years

Bon Accord 1999.

1998 was a notable year for the club. An erratic batsman called Nawaz Mirza made his debut, Andy Meres was made captain and he also started up the Bon Accord website (actually first appeared online after the 1997 season). However, Meres spent most of the actual season recuperating from injury and Mac Ahmed led the side. Mac lifted the P&J Sevens trophy that season and the website began to attract new players. The following season, Fazal Awan joined the club as did Chris Hughes, Mark Napier and Glenn Christie and hopes were high for a successful 1999 campaign.

What followed was the stuff of dreams. The club ended Cults' domination of G1 by taking the title and adding the Aberdeenshire Cup and Turriff Cup into the bargain. Ironically, the only trophy The Bons failed to win was the P&J Sevens, a trophy they've won every year since. Much of the success of the 1999 team was built on a backbone of Asian players, Nawaz, Fazal, Mac and Malik (left) and as a result, the club became a magnet for Asian players. On the debit side, there was much jealousy amongst rivals and incidents of racism.

Small Clubs 2006.

The club won G1 again in 2002 and the Aberdeenshire Cup in 2005, under new captain Malik who would lead the side to perhaps The Bons greatest achievement, winning the Scottish Small Clubs Cup in 2006 in addition to a third G1 title, another Turriff Cup win and the Sevens (now the Thistle Sports Sevens) for a record ninth time (eight in a row).

2008 will see the club in it's healthiest state ever, with a large squad of (mostly) youngish, talented players like Brian Veldsman, Shaffique, Youssef and Ashutosh, all under the shrewd wing of Andy Win.