Great Harwood F.C. was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

football club based in

Great Harwood Great Harwood is a town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, located north east of Blackburn and adjacent to the Ribble Valley. Great Harwood is the major conurbation of the 'Three Towns'; the three towns being Great Harwood, Clayton- ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

. Their colours were Red and White, latterly represented by an All Red playing kit and they played at the Showground , Wood Street, Great Harwood.

History

Founded in the 1880s Great Harwood joined Division Two of the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

in 1908. 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 league was reduced to a single division from which the club was eventually relegated in the summer of 1947 following the re-introduction of Division Two . They were later crowned

Champions in 1968–69 and subsequently became founder members of the Northern Premier League. At the time the side featured several former Football League players including ex-England internationals Ronnie Clayton and

Bryan Douglas Bryan Douglas (born 27 May 1934) is an English former footballer who played as a winger. During his career, he played for Blackburn Rovers from 1954 to 1969, totalling 438 league appearances and 100 goals. He also earned 36 caps and scored 1 ...

, and ex-Welsh international Roy Vernon. In 1970–71 under the management of

Tommy Cummings Thomas Smith Cummings (12 September 1928 – 12 July 2009) was an English football player and manager. Cummings was born in Sunderland, County Durham and started his football career at Hylton Colliery Juniors. Such was his quality as a centr ...

they reached the first round of the

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 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

for the first and only time, losing 6–2 at home to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

. In the summer of 1978 financial problems caused the club to fold. Following the demise of the club, Great Harwood Wellington became the town's leading football club as they adopted the name Great Harwood Town and immediately took over tenancy of the Showground.

Honours

*Lancashire Combination **Champions 1968–69

Former players

1. Players that have played/managed in the Football League or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
2. Players with full international caps.
3. Players that hold a club record or have captained the club. * Adam Blacklaw * Ronnie Clayton * Alan Cocks *

Willie Irvine William John Irvine (born 18 June 1943) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Born in Eden, County Antrim, into a large family, he grew up in the nearby town of Carrickfergus. He did well at school ...

* Les Latcham * Sammy Todd * Richard Dinnis

References

{{Borough of Hyndburn culture Defunct football clubs in England Sport in Hyndburn West Lancashire Football League Lancashire Combination Northern Premier League clubs Association football clubs disestablished in 1978 Great Harwood 1978 disestablishments in England Defunct football clubs in Lancashire Association football clubs established in the 19th century