Gateshead Association Football Club was a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
,
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly βAbout North East E ...
, England. The club was formed in
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
in 1899 as South Shields Adelaide Athletic. After success in the
North Eastern League
The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England.
The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although som ...
prior to
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, they were voted into the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1919. Financial problems in the late 1920s saw the club relocate to Gateshead in 1930, adopting the name of their new town. They remained in the Football League until 1960, when they were surprisingly voted out of the Football League and replaced by
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
, despite not having had to apply for
re-election
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
since 1937. They subsequently played in regional leagues before folding in 1973. In order to replace them, another South Shields club was then moved to Gateshead, becoming
Gateshead United.
History
South Shields
The club was established in 1899 by Jack Inskip and was named South Shields Adelaide Athletic after the Adelaide Street area of the town where the founders were from.
[From humble beginnings to the Football League]
Shields Gazette, 13 December 2012 Success in their early years saw the club win the South Shields Junior Alliance, the 'A' Division of the South Shields Juvenile League, the Shields & District League in 1904β05 and then the Tyneside Junior League.
[History of South Shields FC]
South Shields F.C. In 1905 they were founders of the Tyneside League and were its inaugural champions.
Non-League Matters After retaining the title the following season,
[ they joined the ]Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, Ψ¬Ψ¨ΩΩ Ω
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in 1907. After finishing fourth in their first season,[Northern Alliance 1890β1915]
Non-League Matters they were accepted into the North Eastern League
The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England.
The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although som ...
.[North Eastern League 1906β1933]
Non-League Matters The club were runners-up in their first season in the league.[
In 1910 the club was renamed South Shields after it became a limited company.][ Former England international Arthur Bridgett was appointed manager in 1912 and they were runners-up again in 1912β13,][ and applied for ]election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
to the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
. However, they failed to receive a single vote.[Dave Twydell (2001) ''Denied F.C.: The Football League election struggles'' Yore Publications, p14] The following season saw them win the league title, after which they applied for Football League membership again, receiving a single vote.[ The club retained the league title the following season;][ another attempt at gaining entry to the Football League was more successful as they finished third with 11 votes, but the two clubs up for re-election, ]Leicester Fosse
Leicester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home ...
and Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
received 33 and 21 votes respectively.[ The club's two championship winning seasons saw them lose only four matches and score 293 goals in
76 games.][ During ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the club played in the Tyneside Combination, which they won in 1915β16, and the Northern Victory League.[
When football resumed after ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Football League was expanded by four clubs. South Shields applied and with 28 votes, they were elected to the Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...
.[ The club's first seven seasons saw them finish in the top half of the table every season except 1922β23.] However, after finishing nineteenth in 1926β27, they ended the following season bottom of the table and were relegated to the Third Division North
The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...
.[ With the club suffering from financial problems, in 1930 they relocated to nearby ]Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
and were renamed Gateshead Association Football Club.
Gateshead
In August 1930, Gateshead A.F.C. started a new era when 15,545 supporters watched them beat Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
2β1. In 1931β32 Gateshead missed out on promotion on goal average, finishing runners-up to Lincoln City. With the club's performances in decline thereafter, they finished second-from-bottom in 1936β37 and were forced to seek re-election. However, they were easily re-elected, winning 34 votes to the 12 received by the most successful non-League club, Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
. The club's fortunes improved after World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countriesβincluding all of the great powersβforming two opposin ...
and they were runners-up again in 1949β50, but there was still only one promotion place. In the 1950s the club enjoyed some relatively successful FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871β72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
runs; after reaching the fourth round in 1951β52 season, the following season saw them reach the quarter-finals. The run included a third round win over Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, before wins over Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
and Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
led to a quarter final match at home to Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
,[ with a crowd of 17,692 seeing the away team win 1β0.] During this time the club regularly included the brothers Tom and Jack Callender, whose combined appearances for Gateshead, established a record for the most by two brothers at a single club.
In 1958 the Football League was restructured, with the regional Third Divisions reorganised into Division Three
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920β21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
and Division Four
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958β59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992β93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...
. A fourteenth-place finish in 1957β58 saw Gateshead placed in Division Four. In 1959β60 they finished in the bottom four of Division Four, forcing them to seek re-election. Despite not finishing bottom and having only had to face re-election on one previous occasion, the club received fewer votes than non-League Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
and were voted out of the league.[Twydell, p20]
Gatehead subsequently dropped into the Northern Counties League
The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England.
The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although s ...
, a newly-formed replacement for the North Eastern League (which later adopted the name of its predecessor). Playing alongside South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
, a club formed in 1936 to replace them when they had moved to Gateshead, they finished fourth in the League and won the League Cup in their first season.[ They applied to rejoin the Football League, but received only three votes, well below the 32 received by ]Hartlepools United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded in 1908 as Har ...
, the worst-placed Football League club.[ Another attempt at the end of the 1961β62 season saw them receive four votes, again well short of re-entry.][ In 1962 they switched to the ]North Regional League
The North Regional League was a football competition in Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former b ...
, which was largely composed of reserve teams of Football League clubs, and again put themselves forwards for the Football League elections at the end of the 1962β63 season, receiving four votes again. Despite winning the league in 1963β64,[ they again only won four votes in the Football League election process.][Twydell, p21] Further attempts in 1965 (four votes) and 1966 (one vote) were also unsuccessful.[ In 1968 the club were founder members of the Northern Premier League. However, after finishing bottom of the table in 1969β70, they dropped into the ]Wearside League
The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in northern England. It consists of three divisions which sits at steps 7 to 9 (or levels 11 to 13) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Di ...
, replacing their reserve team. The club were Wearside League runners-up in 1970β71 and after another failed attempt to re-enter the Football League (receiving no votes) subsequently joined the Midland League
The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9β12 of the football pyramid.
History
Th ...
. However, after two seasons the club folded in 1973.
History was repeated the following year as the new South Shields club was moved to Gateshead to become Gateshead United.
Reserve team
South Shields Adelaide Reserves were champions of the Shields and District League in 1905β06 and 1906β07, before joining the Tyneside League in 1908.[ They then switched to the ]Wearside League
The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in northern England. It consists of three divisions which sits at steps 7 to 9 (or levels 11 to 13) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Di ...
in 1909.[Wearside League 1892β1919]
Non-League Matters They were runners-up in 1910β11, but left at the end of the 1911β12 season,[ returning to the Tyneside League.][ Echoing the success of the first team, they won back-to-back Tyneside League titles in both 1913β14 and 1914β15.][ When the club was elected to the Football League, the reserve team took over from the first team in the North Eastern League, which they won in 1923β24 and finished as runners-up in 1928β29.][
After becoming Gateshead reserves in 1930, the reserves remained in the North Eastern League.][ They were runners-up in 1947β48,]
Non-League Matters but along with the other Football League reserve teams, they transferred to the North Regional League
The North Regional League was a football competition in Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former b ...
in 1958.[ The reserves rejoined the Wearside League in 1967, where they played until being replaced by first team in 1970.][Wearside League 1960β1988]
Non-League Matters
Ground
South Shields Adelaide initially played on a pitch at Hartington Terrace,[ before moving to Stanhope Road. In 1908 they moved to ]Horsley Hill
Horsley Hill was a football and rugby league ground and greyhound racing track in South Shields.
History
South Shields RLFC were established in 1902 and played at Horsley Hill during the 1902β03 and 1903β04 seasons. They were voted out of ...
.[Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888β2005'', Yore Publications, p68, ] The club's record attendance of 24,348 was set for an FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871β72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
fifth round match against Swansea Town on 19 February 1928.[
When the club relocated to Gateshead, they played at ]Redheugh Park
Redheugh Park (pronounced ''red-yuff'') was a football stadium in Gateshead, England. The stadium was built in 1930 when South Shields F.C. moved to Gateshead from Horsley Hill and became Gateshead AFC. It was their home for more than 40 years ...
until 1973, when they moved briefly to the Gateshead Youth Stadium,[Smith & Smith, p110] before folding later in the year.
Honours
*North Eastern League
**Champions 1913β14, 1914β15
**League Cup winners 1960β61
*North Regional League
**Champions 1963β64
*Tyneside Combination
**Champions 1915β16
*Tyneside League
**Champions 1905β06, 1906β07
*Shields & District League
**Champions 1904β05
*Durham Challenge Cup
The Durham County Challenge Cup (commonly known as the Durham Challenge Cup) is an annual football competition held between the clubs of the Durham County Football Association which was first played in 1884. It is the senior county cup for the ...
**Winners 1910β11, 1913β14
*Black Cup
**Winners 1912β13, 1913β14[
*Ingham Infirmary Cup
**Winners 1913β14][
]
Records
*Best FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871β72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
performance: Quarter-finals, 1952β53[
*Most appearances: Jack Callender, 470 (1946β1958)][
]
See also
*Gateshead A.F.C. players
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, ...
* Gateshead A.F.C. managers
References
{{former Football League members
Defunct football clubs in England
Defunct football clubs in Tyne and Wear
Association football clubs established in 1899
Association football clubs disestablished in 1973
1899 establishments in England
1973 disestablishments in England
Defunct English Football League clubs
Defunct football clubs in County Durham
Former English Football League clubs
Northern Football Alliance
North Eastern League
North Regional League
Northern Premier League clubs
Wearside Football League
Midland Football League (1889)