Manchester Association F.C.
| Full name | Manchester Association Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1875 | ||
| Dissolved | 1888 | ||
| Ground | Hullard Hall | ||
| |||
Manchester Association F.C. was an English association football club from Eccles, founded in 1875 in order to revive the association game in Manchester.
History
[edit]The instigator of the club was a former Nottingham Forest player, Fitzroy Norris, and the new club included a number of men who had been active with the former Hulme Athenaeum club. The first practice session took place in November 1875[1] and its first match was against students at Liverpool University in January 1876.[2]
The club first entered the FA Cup in 1877–78, losing at Darwen by a score of 3–0 or 4–1; Manchester had started the match with only nine men, and two goals in the match were disputed,[3] but, given the result was not in doubt, the clubs did not submit a request to the Football Association for arbitration.
Manchester Wanderers
[edit]In October 1878, Birch F.C. split its footballing section from its rugby football section, and the football side started playing under the name Manchester Wanderers at Brooks Bar in Whalley Range.[4]
In 1879, Association and Wanderers merged, playing under the Manchester Wanderers name at Brooks Bar until 1882, when the club reverted to Manchester Association.
Post-merger
[edit]In 1883–84, the club beat Stoke in the first round of the FA Cup, thanks to an early example of man-marking; full-back Walker and half-back Sumner "appearing to have received special instructions to look after" the Stoke forward Ted Wilson, who had starred for Cambridge University, and the two centre-forwards Newby and Bassett "had orders to keep Johnson [Stoke centre-forward] as quiet as possible".[5][6] In the second round, Manchester became the first English club to play a Cup tie in Scotland, when drawn away to Queen's Park. However, in front of nearly 3,000 spectators, the club went down to a 15–0 defeat, seven goals coming in the first half-an-hour.[7] McCallum in the Queen's Park goal did not touch the ball with his hands; nevertheless the teams dined together after the match.[8] It was the club's last FA Cup appearance; as most clubs turned professional, the Association remained amateur and "gentlemanly".[9]
The club was a founder member of the Manchester Football Association and reached the final of the Manchester Cup in 1885–86, losing to Newton Heath L&YR. It entered the competition in 1887 but lost 11–0 at home to Blackburn Rovers in the first round of the Lancashire Senior Cup in October, watched a large number of spectators.[10] The last recorded match for the club was a 7–3 home defeat to the Blackburn Bohemians in April 1888;[11] the Manchester Wanderers name was briefly revived in 1900.[12]
Colours
[edit]The club's original colours were scarlet and black hoops, bought from a Deansgate outfitter.[13] By 1876 they had changed to blue and French grey "harlequin" pattern (quarters) shirts, with white shorts and blue stockings.[14]
In 1880, when playing under the name Manchester Wanderers, the club wore white,[15] but by 1887 at the latest the club was wearing blue and white quartered shirts and white shorts.[16]
Ground
[edit]The club originally played at a ground near Eccles railway station,[17] but in 1877–78 moved to Brooks Bar,[18] which was later taken over by West Manchester. From 1885 at the latest[19] it played at a purpose-built ground, known as Hullard Hall, as it was close to Hullard Hall Farm, just off the Chorley Road. The ground had four stands and a pavilion.[20]
References
[edit]- ^ "Manchester Association Football Club". Athletic News. 27 November 1875.
- ^ "Manchester Association v Liverpool Casuals". Athletic News. 15 January 1876.
- ^ "match report". Blackburn Standard: 8. 10 November 1877.
- ^ "report". Athletic News: 2. 23 October 1878.
- ^ "Football". Manchester Courier: 3. 12 November 1883.
- ^ Manchester's line-up was given as being in 2-2-6 formation, although in practice it appears to have been a 2-2-2-4; Stoke's was the contemporary 2-3-5.
- ^ "Queen's Park v Manchester". Glasgow Herald: 10. 3 December 1883.
- ^ "match report". Sheffield Daily Telegraph: 4. 3 December 1883.
- ^ "Manchester". Athletic News: 3. 13 September 1887.
- ^ "Lancashire Senior Cup Competition - First Round". Blackburn Standard: 7. 8 October 1887.
- ^ "Manchester v Blackburn Bohemians". Manchester Courier: 7. 2 April 1888.
- ^ "The Football Field". The Manchester Guardian. 5 February 1900. p. 5.
- ^ "The Association Football Club". Athletic News. 13 November 1875.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1876). Football Annual. p. 165.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1880). Football Annual. p. 111.
- ^ James, Gary (2008). Manchester - A Football History. James Ward.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1876). Football Annual. p. 165.
- ^ "Manchester Association Club". Manchester Courier: 3. 8 October 1883.
- ^ "Manchester & District v Liverpool & District". Athletic News: 3. 17 March 1885.
- ^ Ordnance Survey. "Lancashire CIV.14". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 7 November 2023.