Part 1.
Origin of the name and start of Rugby League - 1913.

In 1913 the Members of the Arncliffe Presbyterian Church, mostly Scotsmen or of Scottish descent, decided to form a Cricket & Baseball team to play in the local competition. As Sport was the only form of relaxation and entertainment in those days there was plenty of teams in all sports.
The Arncliffe area had all types of team names, Waratahs, Wanderers, Royals, Ionas, Corinthians and more.
They had to find an apt name and Arncliffe Scots was the obvious choice. The Baseball team dropped out early but the Cricket Club continued as a one and sometimes two team Club.
In 1926 some 18-year-olds from the Cricket Club formed a Rugby League team to play in the St George Junior B Grade competition. The following year, 1927, they had both B and C Grade teams competing as well. By the end of the 1928 season Arncliffe Scots had won its first two premierships in the A & C Grades.
As further Grades were added Arncliffe Scots (who had now adopted the "Thistle" as their emblem) fielded sides in every grade and became the strongest side in the District, winning competitions in every grade regularly and supplying more players to the St George District Club than any other Junior Club. The Club colours were black and gold with jerseys made from the distinctive Royal Stewart tartan.
The Cricket Club also carried on, now with more teams as most players were playing both sports.
Both Clubs did not bother with many officials; the players were doing both jobs. The most senior man who counselled all the youngsters was Frank "Woody" Ward, a top Cricketer and later represented Australia as a leg break bowler.
The Rugby League Club continued on until the start of the Second World War when it lapsed owing to the loss of senior players and organisers who were called up for service.
Throughout these years the Club also had a fine reputation for Sportsmanship and good conduct. Outside of the many players who went on to represent St George 1st Grade, the Club also supplied top officials in Alex Mackie who was later elected St. George Club President and Glyn Price who became the Leagues Club Secretary. Arthur Davis and Aub Oxford (both ex-players) became First Grade referees in the Sydney competition. Arthur was also President of the N.S.W. Referees for many years. Aub became famous as the referee who abandoned a match between N.S.W and England at the Sydney Cricket ground.
The home ground for Arncliffe Scots was Cahill Park, Arncliffe. Mr. Cahill who owned the ground was a patron so they played and trained on the ground for virtually nothing. Cahill Park was also St George's home ground for many years.
 

Part 2.
Rebirth of the Rugby League Club - 1947.

A group of young Arncliffe men who had been playing Rugby League socially as the "Turrella Tigers" expressed a desire to reform the Arncliffe Scots team after its demise during the War. They enlisted the help of "Tiger" Black and Glyn Price who called a meeting and invited Percy Davis to attend; this meeting would mark the return of Arncliffe Scots to the St George Rugby League competition. It was also at this meeting that Percy Davis was elected President and so remained for the next forty years.
Once again Arncliffe Scots fielded numerous sides including an A Grade team. The colours were changed to Red, Black and Gold as another team had chosen the original colours of Black & Gold during the War years. The "Thistle" remained the Scots emblem.
The Club went from strength to strength with teams in every available grade. It continued to supply St George with many fine players including the first two Australian players to be elected, Johnny King and Ross Kite, both champion wingers.
Other great players to play for Scots include evergreen Pat Jarvis who represented his state and country and Bruce Starkey playing 1st grade for St George.
The A Grade competition was very strong with thousands attending matches on Sundays held at Prince Edward Park (where the St George Leagues Club now stands).
The finest recorded history of the Arncliffe Scots A Grade was from 1953 to 1959 when they won 6 out of eight competitions.

Part 3.
The Formation of the Arncliffe Scots Licensed Club - 1960.

In 1960 the Arncliffe congregational Church on Forest Road was For Sale and it was suggested that Arncliffe Scots purchase the property and start a licensed club. The cost of the property was 8000 pounds a godly sum in those days, especially for a Rugby League Club that was broke and had no money at the end of every season.
A meeting was called to discuss the formation of the Club and the elected Secretary Percy Davis was given instructions to start proceedings. The Directors at St George Leagues Club were approached for assistance and after a short meeting agreed to purchase the building and back them fully. Baden Wales, President of the St George Leagues Club suggested that the Club be named the "Arncliffe Scots, Sports & Social Club" the reason being that it would be hard in those days to get a licence as the Arncliffe Scots Leagues Club. The Licencing Police at Kogarah were contacted for advice and assistance then the only remaining obstacle was the congregational minister who wanted to sell but was against the idea of a licensed Football Club.
It was at this time that an alternate site was found alongside the railway station in Burrows Street. This site was well known to many of the local people as "Dettmans" a builders store and premises. The agents were Raine & Horne and there were 3 other interested parties, the price was 15,000 pounds, which was a huge increase on 8,000 pounds for the Church site. Once again Baden Wales was contacted and he gave the go ahead with St George's' full backing. Advertisements were put in the local papers "The Leader" and "The St George Call". A letter was lodged at the council and was approved for the change of occupancy.
A bank loan of 25,000 pounds was arranged through the ANZ bank providing the Club could raise 1500 pounds itself. This proved the hardest part, debentures were issued at 10 pounds each and finally 1700 pounds was raised.
All the young men in the Football Club, some volunteers and the first Club President John Grant who had played before the war all joined in to help prepare the new Club premises.
A general meeting was called and the first Board of Directors was elected with three categories and three Directors representing each: Rugby League, Sporting and Social.
Finally a licence was issued with the magistrate stating " It is not usual practice to grant a licence to a Club of this nature but in view of this Clubs' fine record and dedication, I grant them a licence".
The Clubs' building was eventually ready and it opened its doors for trading on 27th September 1962. Percy Davis was elected Secretary Manager, a position he held for 18 years.
The Club has prospered since the start, with the opening day one to remember in Arncliffe. All the St George Leagues Club Directors where there including Frank Facer. Probably the most important thing that came out of this was the fulfillment of the promise to the Licencing Court that the Club would promote and financially support all sports in the Arncliffe District.
The Cricket Club started up again and was the strongest Club in the St George District. Women's Netball and Basketball were early joiners. The Women's Basketball, particularly in the early years were NSW Champions for five years with players in both State and Australian sides.

All this is owed mainly to the efforts and support of all Sporting teams in the Arncliffe Scots proud club history.