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DeutschRotherham Town F.C. (1878)
| Full name | Rotherham Town Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1878 (as Lunar Rovers) | |
| Dissolved | 1896 | |
| | ||
Rotherham Town F.C. was a football club based in Rotherham, England. The club was a member of the Football League between 1893 and 1896.
History
[edit]The original club was founded in 1878 as Lunar Rovers, becoming Rotherham in 1882, and eventually Rotherham Town.[1] In 1889 the club became a founder member of the Midland League. They were champions in 1892 and 1893, and were subsequently elected to the Second Division of the Football League in 1893.
The club lost the Wharncliffe Charity Cup in 1889–90 in unusual circumstances; the final with Staveley ended 1–1, and Staveley could not to play extra-time because of travel difficulties, so Town was told to walk the ball into the goal to claim the match. Somehow Town managed to miss and there was nobody to take the subsequent goal-kick.[2] The game was eventually replayed with Staveley winning.
The club's League tenure lasted just three seasons, finishing in 14th, 12th and 15th place (out of 16). At the end of the 1895/96 season they failed to apply for re-election and subsequently folded.[3]
The club played at Clifton Lane and Clifton Grove.
Arthur Wharton, the man widely regarded as the first ever black professional footballer, played for the club from 1889 to 1894.[4] Liverpool Football Club played their first ever fixture against Rotherham Town on 1 September 1892 in a friendly fixture, Liverpool won 7–1, the first ever opponent to score at Anfield was Rotherham striker Charlie Leatherbarrow.[5]
A second Rotherham Town formed in 1899, going on to merge with Rotherham County in 1925 to form Rotherham United.
League and cup history
[edit]| Rotherham Town League and Cup history[6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Position | FA Cup |
| 1883–84 | 2nd Round | ||
| 1884–85 | 1st Round | ||
| 1885–86 | 1st Round | ||
| 1886–87 | 2nd Round | ||
| 1887–88 | 2nd Round | ||
| 1888–89 | 2nd qualifying round | ||
| 1889–90 | Midland League | 3rd/11 | 4th qualifying round |
| 1890–91 | Midland League | 7th/10 | 4th qualifying round |
| 1891–92 | Midland League | 1st/11 | 3rd qualifying round |
| 1892–93 | Midland League | 1st/13 | 3rd qualifying round |
| 1893–94 | Football League Division 2 | 14th/15 | 1st qualifying round |
| 1894–95 | Football League Division 2 | 12th/16 | 1st qualifying round |
| 1895–96 | Football League Division 2 | 15th/16 | 4th qualifying round |
Honours
[edit]- Midland League
- Champions 1891–92, 1892–93
Records
[edit]- Best league performance: 12th, Football League Division 2
- Best FA Cup performance: Second round, 1883–84, 1886–87, 1887–88
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Rotherham United Archived 9 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine The Beautiful History
- ^ "Local sports and pastimes". Long Eaton Advertiser: 8. 26 April 1890.
- ^ Gone But Not Forgotten Archived 11 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine Gottfried Fuchs
- ^ The Footballer Archived 15 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine ArthurWharton.com
- ^ Liverpool's First Ever Game Archived 11 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine This Is Anfield
- ^ FA Cup Archive Archived 13 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine The FA
- ^ Rotherham Town Archived 18 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine WildStat
- ^ Rotherham Town Archived 5 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine Football Club History Database
- ^ "British Newspaper Archive". Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2014.