Accrington F.C.
Full name | Accrington Football Club |
---|---|
Founded | 1878 |
Dissolved | 1896 |
Ground | Thorneyholme Road, Accrington |
Capacity | 53°45′53″N 2°21′29″W / 53.7646°N 2.3580°W |
League | Lancashire Combination |
1895–96 | Record expunged |
Accrington Football Club was an English football club from Accrington, Lancashire, who were one of the founder members of The Football League.
History
Accrington F.C. was formed following a meeting at a local public house in 1876. The Owd Reds played at Accrington Cricket Club's ground in Thorneyholme Road, still in use for that sport today.[1]
The club was part of the revolt against the Football Association in 1884 over professionalism, after being expelled from the FA the previous year for paying a player. They were one of the original twelve teams forming the Football League on 17 April 1888. Accrington's best season was in 1889–90, when it finished sixth in the table. However, in the 1892–93 season the team finished fifteenth (of 16) and was relegated after losing a test match 1–0 against Sheffield United at Trent Bridge. Accrington then resigned from the league rather than play in the Second Division, becoming the first of the founding Football League clubs to leave the League.
Shortly afterwards, Accrington F.C. suffered financial problems, which eventually led to its demise. The club continued outside the league until 1896, when it finally folded following a 12–0 defeat on 14 January against Darwen in the Lancashire Senior Cup.
Accrington did not have a Football League team again until in 1921–22 the Lancashire Combination league's Accrington Stanley (formerly a local rival), became a member as part of a major expansion of the league.
League and Cup history
Season | Division | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | FA Cup | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1881–82 | n/a | Second Round | |||||||||
1882–83 | n/a | First Round | |||||||||
1883–84 | n/a | Second Round | Disqualified[2] | ||||||||
1884–85 | n/a | First Round | Disqualified[3] | ||||||||
1885–86 | n/a | Second Round | |||||||||
1886–87 | n/a | First Round | |||||||||
1887–88 | n/a | Third Round | |||||||||
1888–89 | Football League | 7 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 48 | 48 | 20 | First Round | |
1889–90 | Football League | 6 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 53 | 56 | 24 | Second Round | |
1890–91 | Football League | 10 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 28 | 50 | 16 | Second Round | |
1891–92 | Football League | 11 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 40 | 78 | 20 | Second Round | |
1892–93 | First Division | 15 | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 57 | 81 | 23 | Second Round | Relegated[4] |
1893–94 | Lancashire League | 4 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 51 | 39 | 26 | First Round | |
1894–95 | Lancashire League | 12 | 26 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 62 | 63 | 22 | – | |
1895–96 | Lancashire Combination | Record expunged | – | Folded in January | |||||||
All-time League results:[5] | 123 | 35 | 33 | 55 | 226 | 314 | 103 | ||||
All-time FA Cup results:[6] | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 29 | 12 |
International players
During its short life, the club had three players selected for England:[7]
- George Haworth - 5 caps (1887–1890)
- Joe Lofthouse - 1 cap (1890)
- Jimmy Whitehead - 1 cap (1893)
References
- ^ Accrington Cricket Club - Early Days (1846–1890)
- ^ Accrington defeated Blackburn Park Road - 3:2, but both teams were disqualified
- ^ Accrington defeated Southport Central - 3:0, but was disqualified
- ^ Relegated after Test Match (Sheffield United - Accrington 1:0) / Resigned from Football League
- ^ Included Test match against Sheffield United (Sheffield United - Accrington 1:0 on 22 April 1893)
- ^ Not included match against West Bromwich Albion (Accrington - West Bromwich Albion 3:1 on 18 January 1890) that was declared void
- ^ England Players' Club Affiliations - Accrington
External links
- Association football clubs established in 1876
- Association football clubs disestablished in 1896
- Defunct football clubs in England
- Sport in Hyndburn
- History of Lancashire
- The Football League founder members
- Defunct Football League clubs
- Accrington
- 1876 establishments in England
- Lancashire Combination
- Football clubs in Lancashire
- 1896 disestablishments in England