Eagley F.C.
| Full name | Eagley Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Eagles | |
| Founded | 1874 | |
| Ground | Dunscar Sports Complex | |
| Chairman | Brian Catterall | |
| Manager | Paul Marriott | |
| League | West Lancashire Prem | |
| Website | Club home page | |
|
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Eagley F.C. are an association football club based in the village of Eagley, near Bolton in Greater Manchester.
They are members of the Lancashire Football Association, and in the 2011–12 season their senior team is playing in the West Lancashire League Premier Division, which is at the 11th level of the English football league system.
Eagley FC play their home games at the Dunscar Sports Complex, which is also home to Eagley Cricket Club and Eagley Tennis Club. The club's colours are yellow shirts and dark blue shorts.
Eagley is a club with a proud football history. The original Eagley FC was formed in 1874, and was one of the first clubs in Lancashire playing under association football rules. They were one of the founder members of the Lancashire Football Association in 1878, and in 1878–79 they were the first recorded opponents of Preston North End, later to become the first ever English football champions. That season they were the winners of the Turton Football Club Challenge Cup, the first football cup played for in Lancashire,[1] and entered the FA Cup for the first time.[2] In 1879–80 they were one of the competitors in the first Lancashire Cup competition.[3]
With the rise of professional football, the original Eagley FC was disbanded. Many years later they were revived as Eagley Mills FC, who played in the Manchester League and in 1959–60 were winners of the Lancashire Amateur Shield.
The 1970s saw the club decline until 1980 when a group of local enthusiasts stepped in to try to revive Eagley to some of its former glories. In 1981 the club appointed ex Walker Institute stalwart Paul Thompson as Manager with Peter Conroy as his assistant. This led to a further period of huge success in the combination plus a Lancashire Junior Shield Final appearance, losing 3-2 to Latham & Burscough and an excellent 2-1 Hospital Cup Final victory over Little Hulton. A new phase of the clubs history was entered into on joining the West Lancashire League for the 1988/89 season. After 2 seasons settling into the league, the club appointed Terry Finney as Team Manager, immediately the club tasted success, being promoted to the Premier Division as Champions. Terry's success continued over the next 8 seasons with the club making appearances in the West Lancashire Presidents & Richardson's Cup finals, along with 4 Hospital Cup finals, winning 2. During this period the club suffered a major blow when the clubhouse was completely destroyed by fire in August 1992. With much work & effort the Football & Cricket Clubs joined together to rebuild a new clubhouse which is still used and enjoyed by many today.
[edit] References
- ^ History Of Turton Football Club, by WT Dixon. Yore Publications (reprint). 1909.
- ^ Reyes Padilla, Macario (27 January 2001). "England FA Challenge Cup 1878–79". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engcup1879.html. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ^ The Lancashire Cup - A Complete Record 1879-80 to 2006-07, by Gordon Small. A SoccerData Publication on behalf of the Lancashire Football Association. 2007. ISBN 978-1-905891-04-7.
Coordinates: 53°36′57.82″N 2°26′03.29″W / 53.6160611°N 2.4342472°W
