I HAVE always been fascinated by the assorted histories of now defunct football clubs. Many of these sides had famous old grounds and attracted bumper attendances.
Some have been reformed by loyal supporters and therefore appear nowadays in new guises amidst football betting and live betting stakes.
Here is a selection of past teams with more to follow in my future nostalgia blogs…
NEW BRIGHTON AFC
Sandheys Park was the home ground of New Brighton from 1921 until World War Two.
In 1924/25, a local derby against Tranmere Rovers saw the ground’s record Football League attendance of 15,173 registered.
In 1942, Sandheys Park was badly damaged during a bombing raid. Following the end of the war, the site was requisitioned by the local council to build temporary housing on. As a result, the football club moved to the Tower Athletic Ground.
New Brighton were members of the Football League from 1923 until 1951, when they failed to gain re-election. They then played in the Lancashire Combination and Cheshire County League before disbanding in 1983.
However, New Brighton were re-launched 1993. They became members of the West Cheshire League Division Two and staged their home matches at Harrison Drive.
But the club folded again in the close season of 2012, having been unable to raise a new committee to replace the outgoing one.
Furthermore, New Brighton Town AFC were established last year and play in the Wallasey and District Sunday Football league.
SOUTH LIVERPOOL FC
South Liverpool were founded in April 1935 to respond to the increasing south-end population in Liverpool. They became one of the top Non-League sides in the North West of England for many years.
Affectionately nicknamed ‘South’, the club unsuccessfully applied for election to the Football League on 10 occasions. The idea was to have another high quality team playing professionally in the Liverpool area.
Unfortunately, their much-loved Holly Park home was lost in 1989 and a groundshare was necessary at nearby Bootle FC.
Severe financial problems caused South Liverpool to fold in 1991 but long-standing supporters reformed the club the following year.
They currently play in the North West Counties League Premier Division with matches hosted at the Jericho Lane Community Football and Fitness Hub in Otterspool.
Meanwhile, the site of the original Holly Park venue in Garston is now covered by Liverpool South Parkway rail station.
No trace of the football ground exists but Merseytravel have erected a board at the entrance showcasing South Liverpool FC’s history.
Inside the station is a Ferenc Puskas plaque, which was unveiled in late 2018 to commemorate the fact that the Hungarian football legend played at Holly Park during a charity game in May 1967.
RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS FC
Rushden & Diamonds FC were formed by a merger of local teams Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992, taking Rushden’s place in the Southern League Midland Division.
Based at Nene Park, Irthlingborough, a succession of three promotions saw R&D rise up to the Football League by 2001 and they were Division Three champions in 2003.
However once the financial backing of their main benefactor began to dry up, the Diamonds suffered relegations in 2004 and 2006 and dropped back into Non-League football in the Conference (now the National League).
Worst was to follow in June 2011 when Rushden and Diamonds were expelled from the Conference for financial reasons with reported debts of around £750,000.
The club entered administration on 7th July 2011 and subsequently folded. Nene Park was eventually demolished.
Nevertheless, supporters got together to form a phoenix team called AFC Rushden & Diamonds. They returned to senior football in Division One of the United Counties League in the 2012/13 season.
Bringing the story up to date, AFC Rushden & Diamonds are currently members of the Northern Premier League Midlands Division and groundshare with Rushden & Higham United FC at Hayden Road in Rushden.
ASHFORD TOWN FC
Ashford Town were originally formed in 1881 and played at Essella Park from 1931 onwards. The record crowd at this venue was 6,525 against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup First Round in 1958.
The club sold Essella Park in 1987 to enable the purchase and development of a state of the art new stadium called The Homelands at Kingsnorth on the town’s outskirts.
However, Ashford Town sadly folded in 2010 due to unpaid debts. A phoenix club called Ashford United FC launched the following year at the same ground.
United are currently members of the Isthmian League South East Division and continue to use Ashford Town’s unusual club nickname of the ‘Nuts and Bolts’.
BRADFORD PARK AVENUE FC
Bradford Park Avenue were formed in 1907 and joined the Football League a year later. They played at the Park Avenue stadium where the record competitive attendance was 34,429 against Leeds United on Christmas Day 1931.
There was a small pavilion called the ‘Doll's House’ in one corner of the ground – similar to the ‘Cottage’ at Fulham FC. The club reached the FA Cup Quarter-Finals in 1912/13, 1919/20 and 1945/46.
Park Avenue sadly dropped out of the Football League in 1970 after failing to gain re-election. They had four more seasons as a Non-League club before folding. On 3rd May 1974, the shareholders agreed to liquidate the company with debts of £57,652.
After re-forming as a Sunday League side in 1975, the club returned to what was left of the old Park Avenue ground in 1987/88. However they had to move out at the end of that season when an indoor cricket centre was built on part of the pitch.
Bradford Park Avenue were relaunched as a semi-professional team in 1988 and steady progress has been made up the Non-League Pyramid. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League East Division. Home matches are played at the Horsfall Community Stadium which has a capacity of 3,500 on Cemetery Road in Bradford.
Meanwhile, the old Park Avenue site is now used as a minor sports ground. Only a perimeter wall from the original football stadium remains and some of the bricked-up terrace entrances can still be seen.
HEREFORD UNITED FC
Southern League underdogs Hereford United made national headlines due to a fabulous 2-1 home victory eclipsing top flight Newcastle United in an FA Cup Third Round Replay in February 1972. They were elected to the Football League later that year.
After a spell down in the Conference between 1997 and 2006, Hereford United had another six years back in the Football League before being relegated again to Non-League.
On 19th December 2014, Hereford United were wound up by a High Court judge. The petition was brought by HM Revenue and Customs who were reportedly owed £116,000.
A phoenix club called Hereford FC was subsequently formed by supporters. They inherited the Edgar Street stadium and won rapid promotions from the Midland League up through the Southern League to their present position as established members of the National League North.
ABERDARE ATHLETIC FC
Originally founded back in 1893, South Wales based Aberdare Athletic ascended from the Southern League to the Football League Third Division South in 1921.
They spent six seasons in the League - their best performance being in 1921/22 when they finished 8th.
Based at the Athletic Ground, Aberdare Athletic’s record home gate was recorded as 16,000 against Preston North End for a Third Round FA Cup tie in 1923.
In 1926/27, Aberdare Athletic finished bottom of the Third Division South and failed to gain re-election to the Football League with Torquay United taking their place.
However, Aberdare’s loss of their Football League membership was extremely controversial. There was a spoilt ballot paper in the first vote when Aberdare and Torquay tied.
At that point, Aberdare’s club secretary claimed that one of the voting scrutineers was “an interested party”. Aberdare subsequently lost the second ballot.
These days the Athletic Ground in Aberdare has long since been demolished. But a complicated descendent of the original club are now called Aberdare Town FC and currently play in the South Wales Premier League Championship Division at the Aberaman Park ground on Cardiff Road in Aberdare.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
