DARWEN FC
Darwen FC were formed way back in 1870 - they qualified for the FA Cup Semi-Final in 1881 and were football league members from 1891 to 1899. In 1892 the club lost 12-0 to West Bromwich Albion which is still to this day a record defeat for the top division in the English game - it was equaled in 1909 when Nottingham Forest beat Leicester Fosse by the same scoreline.
During the 1898-99 they set two records being the most goals conceded in a football league season (141) and losing eighteen consecutive games.
They joined the Lancashire League when they left the football league and moved to The Anchor Ground where AFC Darwen still play.
Arguably their most famous moment was in 1931 when they beat football league side Chester in front of over 10,000 people in the FA Cup to earn a tie at Arsenal (then managed by Herbert Chapman) at Highbury. The final score was an 11-1 defeat with The Gunners so impressed by the Lancashire side they gifted them a red kit - colours which the club and AFC Darwen still wear today.
Darwen FC were founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982 and they remained in that league until in 2009 the 134 year old club, after a few years of financial problems, were wound up in the High Court and they ceased to exist.
A new club AFC DARWEN were formed for the start of the 09/10 season starting in the West Lancashire League - the club were in eighth position in the North West Counties League Division One (North) when football was suspended for the 2019/20 season.
ABERDARE ATHLETIC
A name which many fans from a certain corner of Hertfordshire will know very well as Aberdare Athletic inflicted Watford's heaviest defeat in their history up until September 2019 when Manchester City beat them 8-0 in the Premier League. Athletic's 8-1 win against them in January 1926 was also equaled by Crystal Palace's 8-1 win in September 1959.
The Welsh side were formed in 1893 and spent a total of six seasons in the football league from 1921 to 1927 when they failed re-election and were replaced by Torquay United.
In their six season stay in the football league they were members of Division Three (South) with their best finish being their first season when they finished in eighth in between Watford and Brentford. They were joined by fellow Welsh side's Swansea Town (now Swansea City), Merthyr Town (who became Merthyr Tydfil) and Newport County. Add Wrexham and Cardiff City to that list and those are the only six Welsh sides ever to compete in the football league.
Merthyr is only a six mile journey from Aberdare so for two small towns to have a football league side at that time was pretty impressive.
A newly merged side called 'Aberdare and Aberaman Athletic' rejoined the Southern League where Athletic had played prior to their stint in league football - the club split in 1928 with 'Aberaman Athletic' continuing to play and the Aberdare side folding. The merged side re-formed after World War II but there was a further split in 1947. Their Ynys Stadium had a capacity of 23,000 with a top crowd of 16,000 recorded for a 1923 FA Cup tie against Preston North End.
The beginnings of The Great Depression brought large scale unemployment to the area with crowds decreasing and the club were unable to sustain their place in the football league.
ABERDARE TOWN (the club was renamed in 2012) still continue to play football in the Welsh Football League and were in fifteenth (of 16) place of Division Two (Step four of the Welsh football pyramid) when football was suspended for the 2019/20 season.
The Northumberland club joined the football league in the same year at Aberdare Athletic and were members of Division Three (North) for eight seasons - their highest position was eighth place in 1924 - Wolverhampton Wanderers won the division that season. They are an answer to a pub quiz question as they are the Northernmost team ever (to date) to play in the football league.
They were replaced in 1929 when they failed to achieve re-election and were replaced by York City.
The club played in a number of leagues and reached the semi-finals of the last FA Amateur Cup in 1973/74 losing to eventual winner's Bishop's Stortford in a replay.
Ashington's famous Portland Park ground where they spent their football league years was used up until 2008 when they moved to their new ground Woodhorn Lane. Portland Park had seen a crowd of 13,199 against Rochdale in the FA Cup Second Round in 1950. Nearly 2,000 people (1,954) saw their last game against Seaham Red Star in 2008.
The Colliers were in fifteenth position of the EBAC Northern League Division One (Step Five) when football was suspended in March 2020. There top crowd was 444 when Sunderland Ryhope CW visited Woodhorn Lane in September.
The club were formed in 1909 and joined the Southern League which at the time had other Welsh sides in Cardiff City, Newport County and Swansea Town as members. In 1920 the club were elected to join the football league with the formation of the new Division Three with the South division made up entirely of the previous season's Southern League First Division. Despite finishing 21st in the Southern League which usually would of see relegation the Welsh side were a new member of the football league. Their first season was their best finishing in eighth place between Millwall and Luton Town - there was then a gradual decline culminating in 21st, 20th and 22nd (of 22 clubs) between 1927 to 1930. The club left the football league to be replaced by Thames AFC* - Who are not be confused with West Ham United (formerly Thames Ironworks). The club dropped back down to the Southern League but ceased to play in 1934.
* Thames Association Football Club were members of the football league from 1930 to 1932 and played at The West Ham Stadium in Custom House. The club still holds the record for the lowest known attendance for a Saturday Football League match when just 469 people saw them play Luton Town in December 1930.
Merthyr Tydfil FC were founded in 1945 and played at Penydarren Park and were members of the Southern League for most of their history. They did play in the Conference between 1989 and 1995 where their top finish was 4th place in 1991/92 when Colchester United won the title. The club were dissolved in 2010 due to financial problems and a new club was 're-formed' as MERTHYR TOWN - they have since moved up from the Western League Division One to the Southern League Premier Division - the new club had financial problems during the 17/18 campaign when a squad made up of youth players travelled to Chesham United and lost 13-1.
The BetVictor Northern Premier League side will not be on many people's lists of former football league clubs - they were members from 1896 through to 1912 as members of the Second Division. Their best placed finish was sixth in 1905 when Liverpool won the second tier of the English game.
In 1910 and 1911 Trinity finished 18th of 20 clubs and in 1912 they finished bottom of the table with just five wins in thirty-eight games and weren't re-elected to the league - they were replaced by Lincolnshire rival's Lincoln City! Trinity moved back to the Midland League and did apply for re-election several times but had no success.
Their Northolme Ground was opened in the 1850s as a cricket ground with Trinty playing their from 1884. Their first home football league game in 1896 was against Manchester City (what happened to them?) on 12th September with a crowd of 2,000 watching a 1-1 draw. They did also the Bowling Green Ground and even Lincoln City's Sincil Bank stadium when cricket was being played at the ground.
Trinity were mid-table in the BetVictor Northern Premier League and are currently managed by former professional player Curtis Woodhouse who is probably most well known for his time with Sheffield United and Birmingham City - The blues paid a reported transfer fee of £1,000,000 for his services in 2011. He is also a professional boxer with a record of 24 wins and 7 defeats from 31 fights.
The Derbyshire town is one of the smallest ever to have hosted a football league side. In 1886 the club were formed as GLOSSOP NORTH END but were known as GLOSSOP FC from 1899 to 1992. In 1898 they were elected to the football league second division and finished as runner's up to Manchester City. They dropped the 'North End' from their title to avoid confusion with Preston North End and in season 1899/00 they spent their one and only season in England's top flight. Local business man Sir Samuel Hill-Wood bankrolled the club then and later became an MP and chairman of Arsenal during their successful period in the 1930s. They stayed as members of the football league until 1915. Their last home game in the football league was on 17th April 1915 when just 500 spectators saw a 1-1 draw with Stockport County.
In 2015 Glossop North End were title winners of the North West Counties Premier League and gained promotion to the Northern Premier League. They were in the step four Division One South-East when football was recently suspended.
Their old North Road ground (which they vacated in 1955) was also home to 'Northern Nomads' who were runner's up in the FA Amateur Cup in 1914 and went one better in 1926 beating Stockton 7-1 in the final.
Another club many won't name as a former football league side as their stay was a very brief one between 1892 and 1894. The original club was formed in 1874 and named after the ruling monarch being Queen Victoria. It's a great fact that The Vics have:
1) been FA Cup Semi-Finalists (lost 9-1 to Blackburn Olympic in 1883/84)
2) been runner's up in the Welsh Cup twice* (lost to Druids in 1882 and Bangor in 1889)
3) been founder members of both the football league Second Division, the Northern Premier League and the Alliance Premier League (now the Vanarama National League)
4) won the FA Trophy (beat Bangor Cirty in a replay at Stoke City in 1984 after a 1-1 draw at Wembley) - The Vics had had to wait nearly 100 years to gain revenge for the Welsh Cup defeat against the Welsh side!
5) been semi-finalists in the FA Vase (they lost to eventual 2019 winner's Chertsey Town on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw aggregate)
* many English clubs close to the border used to enter the Welsh Cup - In fact between 1932 when Swansea Town (Now Swansea City) lifting the trophy and when Lovell's Athletic won in 1948 it was a run of English sides who won - Chester City (2), Bristol City, Tranmere Rovers, Crewe Alexandra (2), Shewsbury Town, South Liverpool and Wellington Town (later became Telford United) all were winners!
The club lost their historic Drill Field ground they had played at since formation in 2002 and moved to a new stadium (Victoria Stadium) in 2005. In January 2012 they left this ground and it was sadly demolished at the end of the 2011/12 season.
The Vics continued playing ground-sharing at Stafford Rangers, Flixton and now at Witton Albion whose ground is a stone's throw from where the Victoria Stadium was located.
A breakaway club '1874 Northwich' was formed in 2012 who currently groundshare with Barnton FC where The Vics played during the 17/18 season.
1874 also reached the semi-final of the FA Vase in 2018 where they lost to Thatcham Town.
Both clubs currently play in the Step 5 North West Counties League which 1874 were top of up until the abandonment of football - Victoria were in tenth place.
The league game at Wincham Park (Witton Albion) on Wednesday 12th February ended 3-3 in front of a crowd of 557.
Founded in 1876 the club are one of the most famous names in the early histroy of the game. They will celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2026. They are one of only two teams to have won both the FA Amateur Cup and the FA Cup. In the 1881 FA Cup final they defeated Old Etonians by a scoreline of 3-0 in front of 4,000 people at Kenington Oval. Just a few years later the Amateur Cup was lifted in 1894 by beating Casuals at the Athletic Ground in Richmond. The club were runners-up a year later to Middlesborough and lifted the famous trophy again in 1897 after beating Stockton 4-1 in a replay at Feethams after a 1-1 draw at Tufnell Park.
Nowadays, the club's first XI play in the Premier Division of the Arthurian League alongside their historical rival's Old Etonians. They play in the grounds of the Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey - the team was formed of former pupils of the school.
The Arthurian League is not part of the Football Pyramid but is affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance and is described as a competition between teams of alumni of leading British independent schools.
They have dominated the league recently being crowned Champions in 2011,, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019 - they were top of the league up until football was suspended in March.
The league games between Old Carthusians and Old Etonians ended 1-1 and in a 3-1 victory for Old Carthusians this season.
This year will be their 150th anniversary as the club were officially founded in 1871 although some sources set the date as early as 1865 or even 1863. The OE's won the FA Cup twice in 1879 and 1882 as well as being runner's up on four occasions in 1875, 1876, 1881 and 1883. They last played in the FA Cup in 1887/88.
They last won the Arthurian League title in 2005 - they were third in the table up until football being suspended.
The Arthurian League has another famous old name as a member club who have lifted the FA Amateur Cup. "Old Malvernians" defeated Bishop Auckland 5-1 in 1902 final - they also won the London Senior Cup in 1903 but nowadays play in Division One alongside Lancing Old Boys and Old Reptonians to name two teams.
Formed in October 1882 and just under 20 miles from Darwen. It was formed by members of Nelson Cricket Club who were inspired after seeing a Burnley v Blackburn Rovers game formed their own football club.
The club were founder members of Division Three (North) in 1921 and won the title in 1922 to gain promotion to the Second Division where they spent one season and dropped back down spending another seven seasons in the football league before dropping back down to the Lancashire League. Their first away win in the their one season stay in the second tier came in March when they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Nelson had a famous tour of Spain in 1923 when they beat both Real Ovideo (2-1) and Real Madrid (4-2) which made them the first Enlgish team to beat Los Blancos in Spain.
The club now play at Victoria Park and were in fourteenth place of the North West Counties League Division One (North) when football was suspended for the 2019/20 season - The same division as AFC Darwen.
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