Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional
football club based in
Cleethorpes,
North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the
English football league system, following the victory in the
2022 National League play-off Final. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was founded as Grimsby Pelham Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Grimsby Town a year later, and moved to its current stadium,
Blundell Park, in 1898.
Grimsby Town are the most successful team of the three professional clubs in historic
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
, being the only one to play top-flight English football. It is also the only club of the three to reach 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 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
semi-final (doing so on two occasions, both times during the 1930s). It has also spent more time in the English game's first and second tiers than any other club from Lincolnshire. Notable former managers include
Bill Shankly, who went on to guide
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 populat ...
to three League titles, two
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 ...
s and a
UEFA Cup triumph, and
Lawrie McMenemy
Lawrence McMenemy MBE (born 26 July 1936) is an English retired football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war Englis ...
who, after securing promotion to the then Third Division in 1972, moved to
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
where he won the
FA Cup in 1976.
Alan Buckley is the club's most successful manager; he had three spells between 1988 and 2008, guiding the club to three promotions and two appearances at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
during the
1997–98 season, winning both the
Football League Trophy and 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 t ...
play-off Final. In 2008, Buckley took Grimsby to the capital again, but lost out to
MK Dons in the final of the Football League Trophy. The Mariners had also reached the
Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
play-off Final in 2006 at the
Millennium Stadium in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, but lost the match 1–0 to
Cheltenham Town, Later trips to Wembley in 2013 and 2016 saw them defeated in the
FA Trophy final by
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
and
F.C. Halifax Town respectively, having also lost at the venue in the 2015
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
play-off final to
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
before finally gaining promotion by winning the 2016 final against
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
. Grimsby were again relegated out of the Football League in 2021, but secured an immediate promotion at the first attempt with victory over
Solihull Moors in the
2022 National League play-off final at the
London Stadium
London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is located ...
.
Grimsby Town's relegation in 2010 made them the sixth club to compete in all top five divisions of English football (after
Wimbledon,
Wigan Athletic,
Carlisle United,
Oxford United and
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
, and before
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
,
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
and
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
). Grimsby's 1939
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 ...
semi-final attendance of 76,962 versus
Wolverhampton Wanderers is still a record at
Manchester United's
Old Trafford stadium. In 1954 they became the first English club to appoint a foreign manager, Hungarian
Elemér Berkessy
Elemér Berkessy (20 June 1905 – 7 July 1993), also referred to as Emilio Berkessy or Emil Berkessy, was a Hungarian footballer and coach.
Playing career
Berkessy joined Ferencváros in 1928, and with them he was the champion of Hungary twice, ...
. The club's record appearance holder is
John McDermott, who made 754 appearances between 1987 and 2007, while their leading scorer is
Pat Glover, with 180 goals (1930–39).
History
Early years (1878–1918)
Grimsby Town was formed in 1878 after a meeting held at the Wellington Arms public house in Freeman Street, Grimsby.
Several attendees included members of the local Worsley Cricket Club who wanted to form a football club to occupy the empty winter evenings after the cricket season had finished.
The club was originally called Grimsby Pelham, this being the family name of the
Earl of Yarborough, a significant landowner in the area.
In 1880 the club purchased land at Clee Park which was to become their ground until 1889 when they relocated to
Abbey Park, before moving again in 1899 to their present home,
Blundell Park. The original colours were blue and white hoops, which were changed to chocolate brown and blue quartered shirts in 1884.
In 1888 the club first played league football, joining the newly formed 'Combination'. The league soon collapsed and the following year the club applied to join the
Football League, an application that was refused. Instead the club joined the
Football Alliance
The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92.
History
In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...
. In 1890 the club became a limited company and in 1892 finally entered the Football League, when it was expanded to two divisions.
The first game was a 2–1 victory over
Northwich Victoria.
The
1901–02 season saw promotion to the First Division, having finished as champions; two seasons later they were relegated and within a decade they would be a non-League side again, failing re-election in 1910 and falling to 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 9–12 of the football pyramid.
History
T ...
. However, they finished as champions at the first attempt and at the subsequent re-election vote, replaced local rivals
Lincoln City in the Football League.
Grimsby Town and
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
were the only two professional teams which had official permission to play league football on
Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
because of the demands of the fish trade, but that tradition has now disappeared following the dramatic reduction of their trawler fleets in recent years.
Inter-War years (1918–1945)
This was the most successful period in the club's history. The first full season 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 club were relegated to the new Third Division; in the initial 1920–21 season they played against the former members of the
Southern League who had been invited to form the new division, but after a year an equivalent Third Division North was created and Grimsby moved across to that. By 1929 they were back in Division One, where they stayed (with a brief break from 1932 to 1934) until 1939, obtaining their highest-ever league position, 5th in Division One, in the 1934–35 season.
In 1925 they adopted the black and white stripes as their colours.
Three Grimsby Town players, forward
Jackie Bestall, goalkeeper
George Tweedy
George Jacob Tweedy (8 January 1913 – 23 April 1987) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a one club player for Grimsby Town and earned one cap for England.
He played 347 league games in a World War II interrupted care ...
and defender
Harry Betmead each received a solitary
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
cap during the period 1935–1937. They remain the only players from the club to have received full England honours.
Grimsby reached the semi-final 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 ...
in 1936, the game was played at
Huddersfield Town's Leeds Road
Leeds Road was a football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 season. It was the home of Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from 1908 to 1994 and was ...
, but lost 1–0 to
Arsenal, with the goal coming from
Cliff Bastin
Clifford Sydney Bastin (14 March 1912 – 4 December 1991) was an English footballer who played as a winger for Exeter City and Arsenal. He also played for the England national team. Bastin is Arsenal's third-highest goalscorer of all time.
C ...
five minutes before half time.
On 20 February 1937, the club's record attendance of 31,651 was recorded when the club met
Wolverhampton Wanderers in 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 ...
.
[ ]
Grimsby also reached the semi-final 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 ...
on 25 March 1939, Grimsby played
Wolverhampton Wanderers, in a FA Cup semi-final at
Old Trafford. The attendance of 76,962 remains Old Trafford's largest ever attendance.
The Mariners lost the game 5–0 after goalkeeper
George Moulson was injured early in the match. With the rules forbidding
substitutes for injuries, Grimsby had to play with 10 men and an outfield player in goal.
Post-war decline (1946–1970)
With the resumption of the Football League for the 1946–47 season 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 countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
the club was relegated at the end of the 1947–48 season and has never returned to the highest level.
Much of the 1950s and 1960s were spent alternating between the Second Division and the Third Division North, later the Third Division. From July 1951 to January 1953 they were managed by
Bill Shankly.
His main problems were that Grimsby had been relegated twice in recent seasons, dropping from the First to the Third Division, and some good players had been transferred before he arrived.
Shankly believed he still had good players to work with and was able to buy some additional players on the transfer market for low fees.
Grimsby made a strong challenge for promotion in 1951–52 but finished second, three points behind Lincoln City (only one team was promoted from Division Three North, with one from Division Three South).
Grimsby's aging team made a bright start in 1952–53 with five straight wins but eventually slipped and finished in 5th place.
In 1953–54, Shankly became disillusioned when the board could not give him money to buy new players. He was reluctant to promote some promising reserves because of loyalty to the older players (a fault that was to resurface at Liverpool years later) and he finally resigned in January 1954, citing the board's lack of ambition as his main reason.
Shankly's record in league football at Grimsby was 62 wins and 35 defeats from 118 matches.
[ Shankly went on to win the Football League, FA Cup and UEFA Cup with ]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 populat ...
.
Grimsby became the first English football club to appoint a foreign manager with the appointment of Hungarian Elemér Berkessy
Elemér Berkessy (20 June 1905 – 7 July 1993), also referred to as Emilio Berkessy or Emil Berkessy, was a Hungarian footballer and coach.
Playing career
Berkessy joined Ferencváros in 1928, and with them he was the champion of Hungary twice, ...
in 1954. Shortly afterwards Allenby Chilton
Allenby C. Chilton (16 September 1918 – 15 June 1996) was an English footballer.
Playing career
Chilton started his career with Seaham Colliery before joining Liverpool as an amateur in the summer of 1938, but he never played a senior game ...
became Grimsby's first player-manager, he joined late in the 1954–55 season from Manchester United and was unable to stop them having to apply for re-election, but the following season under his management they were champions of Division Three North – the only club ever to go from re-election to promotion in one season. Chilton continued as manager at Grimsby Town until April 1959 when he joined Wigan Athletic as manager for one season during 1960–61.
In 1968 Grimsby slipped into the Fourth Division for the first time. The following season the club had to apply for re-election to the league having finished second from bottom. It was in this season that the lowest-ever attendance for a Football League match at Blundell Park was ever recorded; 1,833 saw a 2–0 defeat to Brentford. Arthur Drewry, a local businessman, married the daughter of Grimsby Town's chairman, and subsequently served as a director of the club before his own chairmanship.[Our Association Football Correspondent. "Mr. Arthur Drewry." ''The Times'', London, 27 March 1961, pg 19.] Drewry became President of the Football League and Chairman of the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
after Grimsby, before he was elected as the 5th President of FIFA.
Revival of the 1970s (1970–1980)
Grimsby Town broke their transfer record in 1972 with a fee of £20,000 for the signing of Phil Hubbard
Philip Gregory Hubbard (born December 13, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He won a gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics and after graduating from the University of Michigan, played for the Detroit Pistons a ...
. In the same year 22,489 people witnessed a home victory against Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
that saw the club promoted as Division Four Champions. This turnaround was credited to the appointment of Lawrie McMenemy
Lawrence McMenemy MBE (born 26 July 1936) is an English retired football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war Englis ...
as manager.
The club stayed in Division Three until relegation in 1977 but were promoted again in 1979. A year later they finished as Third Division Champions under the stewardship of George Kerr and returned to the second tier of the English game, a level they had not been at for 16 years.
A popular myth has it that in 1976 the local Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
and then Foreign Secretary Anthony Crosland
Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 191819 February 1977) was a British Labour Party politician and author. A social democrat on the right wing of the Labour Party, he was a prominent socialist intellectual. His influential book '' The ...
invited the then United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
to watch the Mariners play Gillingham. Despite this being widely reported in the media, with some outlets claiming Kissinger subsequently became a Grimsby fan, in reality Kissinger's Boeing 747 simply stopped off for a two-hour breakfast discussion with Crosland on the issue of Rhodesia at nearby RAF Waddington before flying directly to Nairobi. However, Crosland's decision to force the US foreign policy leader to fly from London to Lincolnshire for their Saturday morning meeting was influenced by his desire to stay in his constituency and watch his local football team.
Return to the Second Division (1980–1987)
The first season back (1980–81) saw the club finish 7th. Work started that year on a new £1 million stand, originally called the Findus Stand (now known as the Young's Stand) after the former Barrett's Stand had been declared unsafe, the stand opened for the first time on 29 August 1982, as the Mariners played hosts to Leeds United. In the 1983–84 season the club finished 5th in the Second Division after spending most of the latter part of the campaign in the top three promotion places. This was their highest league finish since the 1947–48 season. Grimsby Town's stay in the Second Division ended in 1987, having spent much of the 1986–87 season in the top half of the table, but a run of 8 losses and 2 draws in the final 10 games saw them fall from 8th to 21st.
Another decline and another revival (1987–1997)
1987–88 saw Grimsby Town suffer a second consecutive relegation, placing them in the Fourth Division. The club's financial situation was also dismal, and as the 1988–89 season began, the task at Grimsby was to avoid relegation to the Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
, avoid expulsion from the FA and avoid going out of business completely. This was achieved, finishing 9th. Following the resignation of Dave Booth
David Booth (born 2 October 1948) is an English association football, football manager and former player.
Early years
Booth was brought up in Darton near Barnsley and attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield where he played rugby and ...
in 1986 (to pursue outside business interests) the club had two managers in two years ( Mick Lyons and Bobby Roberts). Alan Buckley was appointed after the 1988 relegation and by 1991 had led the club to two successive promotions with the chairman at that time being Peter Furneaux. Grimsby were to remain in football's second flight for six years. Buckley's crop of players consisting of some of the most popular and biggest cult heroes in the club's history; players such as Shaun Cunnington
Shaun Cunnington (born 4 January 1966) is an English former professional footballer and former manager of Evesham United
Career
Having started playing with Bourne Town, most of his playing career was spent in the second tier of English footb ...
, Keith Alexander, Mark Lever, Dave Gilbert, Steve Livingstone, Paul Futcher, Paul Groves and Clive Mendonca made the club a solid second-tier side (the Second Division became Division One in 1992 upon the creation of the Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
from the old First Division). In 1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
, Grimsby finished 9th in the new Division One, and until well into April they were in the hunt for a play-off place that would have given them the chance of a third promotion in four years. They dipped to 16th place a year later, though they were never in any real danger of relegation.
The Mariners began to produce homegrown talent from the club's youth academy, including Jack Lester
Jack William Lester (born 8 October 1975) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, who is a first team coach at EFL Championship side of Sheffield United.
As a player Sheffield born Lester played as a forward from 1994 ...
, John Oster, Gary Croft and Peter Handyside
Peter David Handyside (born 31 July 1974) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1992 until 2007.
Despite being Scottish, Handyside played his entire career in England, having initially came through the y ...
.Buckley departed Grimsby in October 1994 to join West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
and he was replaced by defender Brian Laws
Brian Laws (born 14 October 1961) is an English former professional footballer and manager.
Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of ...
. Laws steered Grimsby to a 10th-place finish in his first season as manager. During his tenure, Laws became famous for a changing-room altercation after a defeat at Luton with Italian striker Ivano Bonetti, which left the latter with a fractured cheekbone, and caused the popular player to leave the club at the end of the season. Grimsby finished 17th and were in the battle to avoid relegation right up to the penultimate game of the season. In the 1996–97 season the Mariners were relegated from Division One. Despite flowing goals from Clive Mendonca, notably good performances from John Oster and newcomer Kingsley Black, Grimsby failed to save themselves. The club had suffered from the losses of Gary Croft, who made a £1.7 million move to Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
and ever present goalkeeper Paul Crichton.
Double Wembley season (1997–98)
The 1997–98 season saw the return of Alan Buckley as manager, after an unsuccessful period at West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
, for Grimsby Town's most successful post-war season. In the summer of 1997, Buckley succeeded in bringing in players to the club who were to be instrumental in the club's upcoming season; former skipper Paul Groves was re-signed from West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
, and Kevin Donovan and David Smith also joined the club from Albion. The mid-season capture of Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
midfielder Wayne Burnett proved to be a great bit of business for Buckley. After a seemingly poor start to the League campaign, performances improved, which propelled the club into a promotion battle with Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
, Bristol City and an expensively assembled Fulham (at the time the only club at this level to have spent seven-figure sums on players), with Grimsby finishing the season in 3rd place.
A good run in the League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
saw the Mariners knock holders Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
and fellow Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
out of the competition before finally losing out to 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 populat ...
. A decent run of form had ignited the careers of such younger players as Daryl Clare, Danny Butterfield and Jack Lester
Jack William Lester (born 8 October 1975) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, who is a first team coach at EFL Championship side of Sheffield United.
As a player Sheffield born Lester played as a forward from 1994 ...
who were becoming an integral part of the Blundell Park set-up. The Mariners went on to dump Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
out of the Football League Trophy Northern section area final, which would see the club book its first trip to Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
. The club were drawn against Southern section champions AFC Bournemouth and in a tight game, an equaliser from substitute Kingsley Black took the game into extra time, and in the 112th minute Grimsby secured the game courtesy of a golden goal
The golden goal or golden point is a rule used in association football, lacrosse, field hockey, and ice hockey to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the end of normal time. It is a type of sud ...
from Wayne Burnett. This was the first major trophy awarded to the club following its first appearance at Wembley. It took only four weeks for Grimsby to return to the stadium though, this time to face Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
in the Division Two play-off Final. Town won the game 1–0 thanks to a first half Kevin Donovan goal which gave the club a historic Wembley double and the Mariners promotion back to Division One.
Back in the second tier (1998–2003)
The 1998–99 season saw Grimsby Town finish in 11th place, but the 1999–2000 season saw Grimsby struggle and finish 20th, avoiding relegation at the expense of Buckley's old club Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
. The 2000–01 season saw a boardroom change with Doug Everitt taking over from Bill Carr. Everitt dismissed manager Alan Buckley just two games into the season, replacing him with Lennie Lawrence
Robin Michael Lawrence (born 12 December 1947) is an English former football manager, player and football consultant who is non-executive director at EFL League Two side Hartlepool United.
Lawrence was a semi-professional at Croydon, Carshalto ...
, who earlier in his managerial career had guided both Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
into the top flight. The new manager chopped and changed the playing squad around and brought in some expensive loan signings from abroad such as Zhang Enhua
Zhang Enhua (; 28 April 1973 – 29 April 2021) was a Chinese professional football player and coach.
As a player, he was a defender from 1994 to 2006 and represented Dalian Wanda FC, Grimsby Town, Tianjin Teda and South China while internati ...
, Menno Willems signing from Vitesse for 160K, David Nielsen and Knut Anders Fostervold. Despite this, the club struggled to avoid relegation, only securing their place in Division One on the last day of the season with a win over promoted Fulham.
The Mariners started the 2001–02 season strongly, topping the league table after five games. The cluib advanced to the third round of the League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
where they met holders 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 populat ...
at Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
. In one of the club most famous victories, Grimsby held the Premier League team to a 0–0 draw after 90 minutes taking the game into extra time. Despite Gary McAllister scoring a penalty following a David Beharall handball to put the Reds 1–0 up, loan signing Marlon Broomes equalised before ex- Everton youth player Phil Jevons hit a 35-yard strike into the top corner of Chris Kirkland
Christopher Edmund Kirkland (born 2 May 1981) is an English football coach and former professional goalkeeper who is now the head goalkeeping coach at Colne. As a player, he made 321 league and cup appearances in an 18-year professional career ...
's goal to give the club a historic victory. Grimsby's push for promotion faltered and the team's form declined rapidly, with Lawrence being dismissed halfway into the season. Paul Groves, the skipper, was chosen to replace him and he steered them to a 19th in the final table, enough to avoid relegation, but a disappointing end to a season which had begun so promisingly. The season was overshadowed by loanee Martin Pringle's footballing career being ended after a leg-breaking tackle by Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
defender Dave Challinor, This was also aggravated more by the referee Mike Dean only awarding Challinor a yellow card for the horrific career ending challenge., As well as the collapse of ITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network. Its main shareholders were Carlton Communications plc and Granada plc, owners ...
putting enormous strain on finances for the club.
The 2002–03 season would bring relegation with The Mariners finishing bottom of Division One and were relegated after five successive seasons at this level. At the time only one of their previous 12 seasons had been spent below the second tier of English football.
Demise to the fourth level (2004–2010)
The sudden collapse of ITV Digital
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network. Its main shareholders were Carlton Communications plc and Granada plc, owners ...
had left the club with debts of over £2 million, £700,000 of which was owed to the Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation t ...
and a further substantial amount to their bankers, Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...
. The collapse had seen a lot of the smaller clubs playing in the second tier of English football struggle to make ends meet. Coupled with this, it meant first-team players such as Danny Coyne
Daniel Coyne (born 27 August 1973) is a Welsh football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a goalkeeper who played between 1992 and 2018. He came through the youth ranks at Tranmere Rovers during the 1992–93 season. ...
and Georges Santos moved on to other clubs. For the new season, the club also had to supply its own kits following the closure of long serving kit suppliers Avec Sportswear. Grimsby Town played the season using the brand "Grimsby Town Sports".
Groves was dismissed in February 2004 following a poor stretch of games that had seen the club drop down the table, his replacement Nicky Law was sacked himself only a few months later as Grimsby were relegated for a second consecutive season. Russell Slade
Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage.
Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional ...
was appointed as the new manager in May 2004.
In 2005, director John Fenty became the controlling shareholder in the club after a search for outside investors failed, and a sale of shares to the local public was poorly received. He owned a 51% majority stake in the club and has made significant loans to the club to ensure its continued operation. Former Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
chairman John Elsom also joined the board of directors along with racehorse stable trainer and owner Michael Chapman in December 2002.
Having guided Grimsby to a mid table finish in his first season, Russell Slade began the 2005–06 season with a good start to the season and much improved results and performances had seen Grimsby Town rise to the top of Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
. A good run in the League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
saw Town beat Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
away at Pride Park
Pride Park is a business park on the outskirts of the city centre of Derby, England. Developed in the 1990s, It covers 80 hectares of former industrial land between the River Derwent and railway lines. Pride Park Stadium and Derby Arena are bot ...
in round one, and defeat Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
side Tottenham Hotspur at home in the second round, with Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala hitting an 87th-minute winner. The Mariners eventually suffered elimination by Alan Shearer's Newcastle United in the third round, losing 1–0 at home. Grimsby would fall out of the promotion places on the final day of the season and after defeating Lincoln City in the Play-off semi finals they would lose 1-0 to Cheltenham Town in the final at the Millennium Stadium. On 31 May, manager Russell Slade
Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage.
Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional ...
left the club after failing to agree terms on a new contract.
Slade's Assistant Graham Rodger was his replacement but by November he had been dismissed following a poor start to the season, he was replaced by Alan Buckley who arrived back with The Mariners for a third time but could only produce a bottom half finish in League Two. During the 2007–08 season the club enjoyed a good run in the Football League Trophy and on 4 March 2008 Grimsby booked their place at the new Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
after beating Morecambe in a two-legged Northern Final. A Paul Bolland goal in the away first leg was enough to see Town through. They went on to play MK Dons in the Final on 30 March, losing 2–0 after Danny Boshell missed an early penalty. The season ended with eight straight defeats. After a 13–game winless streak in the league stretching from 22 March 2008, on 15 September 2008 Alan Buckley was sacked as manager for a second time. The board appointed Mike Newell as manager. The Mariners would finish 22nd in League Two narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day. Following another slow start to the season, and despite previous backings from the Grimsby Town board, on 18 October 2009 the club's official website declared they had sacked Mike Newell due to "irretrievable breakdown". Neil Woods
Neil Stephen Woods (born 30 July 1966) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is academy manager at Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a striker from 1983 to 2000 for Doncaster Rovers, Rangers, Ipswich Town, Bra ...
was controversially made permanent manager on 23 November 2009. The other main candidate for the job was former boss Russell Slade
Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage.
Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional ...
, but the board decided upon Woods ahead of Slade. Almost immediately Woods was dealt a blow when the club decided to do a U-turn and sell captain Ryan Bennett to 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 ...
for £500,000 despite rejecting this offer in the summer and the player only recently signing a new four-year deal. Grimsby under Woods struggled and despite winning four and drawing one of their last six games to give them a chance of league survival going into the last game of the season., they were defeated 3–0 by Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...
, and thus were relegated from the Football League for the first time in nearly 100 years.
Non-League (2010–2016)
Neil Woods
Neil Stephen Woods (born 30 July 1966) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is academy manager at Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a striker from 1983 to 2000 for Doncaster Rovers, Rangers, Ipswich Town, Bra ...
was relieved of his duties on 24 February 2011 after 15 months in charge, . leaving the club in 9th position in the Conference National. On 23 March 2011, former Boston United managerial duo of Rob Scott and Paul Hurst were announced as the new joint managers. They finished the 2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
season in 11th on 62 points.
On 19 September 2011, John Fenty resigned as chairman of Grimsby Town with immediate effect, a position he had held for 7 years.
Following an 11th place finish in 2012, The Mariners enjoyed a positive cup run in the 2012–13 season FA Trophy and reached the final at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
where they played Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
on 24 March 2013. Grimsby went ahead in the second half with 20 minutes left to go, through an Andy Cook strike. However, they conceded a penalty with 9 minutes left and Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
equalised. This took the game to extra time, and then penalties, where Grimsby lost the shoot-out 4–1. Grimsby finished the season in good form, with a 9 match unbeaten run, finishing the season with a 3–0 win against Newport County. This led them to finish in 4th place with 83 points. They faced Newport County again straight away in the play-off semi-finals, where they were knocked out by a 1–0 loss in both legs. The managerial duo was broken up on 6 September 2013 due to Rob Scott being suspended and Paul Hurst was placed in sole charge of the team.
Grimsby came third in the Conference Premier 2014–15 season, and secured a play-off spot. Grimsby reached the 2015 Conference Premier play-off Final
The 2015 Conference Premier play-off Final, known as the 2015 Vanarama Conference Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was a football match between Bristol Rovers and Grimsby Town played on 17 May 2015 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was t ...
against Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
in front of a Conference record 47,029 crowd at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
. The game was forced to penalties where Jon-Paul Pittman
Jon-Paul Pittman (born 24 October 1986) is a football coach and former professional player, currently Assistant Under 18 Coach at Brentford.
Pittman began his career in Aston Villa's academy before moving to Nottingham Forest where he spent e ...
missed the penultimate penalty in their 5–3 shootout.
Grimsby's highest attendance in the 2015–16 season was in the 2–0 victory over local rivals Lincoln City, a gate of 7,650 which also was the highest attendance of all the clubs in the 2015–16 season. Grimsby would play in the final of the FA Trophy, but they lost, the final result was 1–0 to Halifax Town
FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...
. The week before, Grimsby Town beat Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
3–1 in the 2016 National League play-off Final
The 2016 National League play-off Final, known as the 2016 Vanarama National League Promotion Final for sponsorship purposes, was an association football match between Forest Green Rovers and Grimsby Town on 15 May 2016 at Wembley Stadium in Lon ...
at Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, seeing Grimsby promoted back to League Two after a six-year absence from the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
.
Return to the Football League (2016–2021)
After promotion, manager, Paul Hurst, released a number of players, many of whom were pivotal to the previous season's promotion push. On 24 October 2016, Paul Hurst was appointed as 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 ...
manager, Chris Doig also left Grimsby and made Hurst's assistant at Shrewsbury, thus leaving Dave Moore and Stuart Watkiss
Stuart Watkiss (born 8 May 1966) is an English football coach and former professional player who is the assistant coach of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur.
As a player, he was a defender and notably played in the Football League with Wolv ...
as caretaker managers. On 7 November 2016, Marcus Bignot, then manager of non-League side, Solihull Moors, was officially announced as the new Grimsby Town manager, along with the appointment of Micky Moore as his assistant. During the January Transfer Window, Bignot brought in a total of 6 players permanently, including Solihull Moors midfielder, Jamey Osborne, and Gateshead midfielder, Sam Jones. Omar Bogle
Omar Hanif Bogle (born 26 July 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for side Newport County.
A youth product of West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City and Celtic, Bogle made his senior debut for Hinckley United ...
, Grimsby's top scorer at that point in the season, left the club for Wigan Athletic. On 10 April 2017, Marcus Bignot was relieved of his duties from the club. His replacement was Russell Slade
Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently managerial consultant of League Two club Stevenage.
Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional ...
, who joined the club for the second time as manager on 12 April 2017. Slade's assistant was former Grimsby player, Paul Wilkinson. The Mariners would finish 14th, with a total of 62 points. Slade was sacked on 11 February 2018 after seeing the team fail to win in 12 league games, with eight losses, he left the team 17th in League Two. Paul Wilkinson took over as caretaker manager following the sacking. During this time, Grimsby faced further defeats against Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
and Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
. Michael Jolley was appointed as the new manager on 2 March 2018 and twice secured Grimsby's Football League status as well as securing cup runs that culminated in 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 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
tie away at Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
and a League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
tie at Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. Jolley left the club by mutual agreement and was replaced on a temporary basis by assistant manager Anthony Limbrick.
On 29 December 2019, Ian Holloway
Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who was most recently the manager of Grimsby Town.
A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League ...
joined Grimsby Town as manager, at the same time becoming a share-owner in the club, On 23 December 2020, just under one year later, Holloway left the club abruptly in controversial circumstances by announcing on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that he was to resign with immediate effect. His decision was down to several boardroom issues, a big loss in form and his unwillingness to work with a consortium looking to buy out John Fenty. which left Ben Davies as caretaker manager for two games.
On 30 December 2020, Paul Hurst was re-appointed as permanent manager, however he could not prevent the club from being relegated back to the National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
following a 3-2 defeat to Exeter which confirmed their return after a 5 year stay back in the Football League.
New Takeover (2021–)
On 5 May 2021, local businessmen Jason Stockwood and Andrew Pettit under their company 1878 Partners completed their takeover of the football club after buying out majority shareholder John Fenty.
In the 2021-2022 season they finished sixth in the National League. They defeated Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
in the quarter-final of the playoffs, and Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
in the semi-final before defeating Solihull Moors by two goals to one (after extra time) to win promotion to EFL League Two on 5 June 2022 at The London Stadium
London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is located ...
.
Colours and strip
The original 1878 kit of Grimsby Pelham, featured a shirt with narrow horizontal stripes in royal blue and white, with long white shorts and black socks. Between 1884 and 1910, various kit colours were introduced, with the most common colours being variations of pale blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
and chocolate brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...
, worn with white shorts and black socks. Other kits from this period include:
*1897–1898 – Plain white shirt, with royal blue shorts and socks
*1904–1906 – Pale red shirt, with black shorts and socks
*1906–1908 – White shirt with red collar and cuffs, red shorts, black socks with red bands
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
and white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
vertical stripes were adopted in 1910 and with a few exceptions, they have rarely been missing from the kit design ever since and have become one of the most recognisable features of the club. The 1911 kit included the black and white striped t-shirt, white shorts and black socks. Exceptions from the traditional bar-stripe kit:
*1935–1936 – Plain white shirt featuring the coat of arms of the County Borough of Great Grimsby, black shorts and red socks
*1958–1959 – White shirt with black pin stripes, black shorts, red socks
*1960–1962 – White shirt with black collar and cuffs, red shorts, red socks
*1963–1966 – White shirt with black pin stripes, black shorts with white stripe, white socks with black bands
*2006–2007 – Black and white halves, black shorts, black socks
Since the introduction of the black and white bar stripes in 1910, the GTFC kits have featured exclusively red, black and white. The only exceptions to this are the corporate colours used in a sponsor logo and the yellow/gold trim used between 2001 and 2003. The official GTFC club logo first appeared on the club kit in 1974.
Stadium
Grimsby Town play their home games at Blundell Park in Cleethorpes. This is the club's fourth stadium. They originally played at Clee Park until 1879, they then moved to Lovett Street for a single season, before returning to Clee Park for a further nine years. The Mariners then moved to Abbey Park until 1899 before a move to Blundell Park, the club's current stadium.
In 1953 the club introduced its first floodlights to the ground and with that enabling Grimsby Town to play night-time fixtures.[ ] Tall floodlights were purchased second hand from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1958 and installed in 1960 at a cost of £9,000 which was raised by the supporters club, they have illuminated matches ever since when required. However, in 2019, these original lights were replaced with newer, brighter lights. Luckily, 3/4 of the original pylons remain! The stadium has had an all-seated capacity of just under 10,000 in recent years, being in and around 27,000 before the stadium was made all seated in 1995. The club's demise from the second tier of English football, down to the fourth meant the expansion seating was removed. This brought the overall capacity down from around 12,000 to what it is today. Situated inside the Findus Stand at Blundell Park, is "McMenemy's Function Suite", named after former manager Lawrie McMenemy
Lawrence McMenemy MBE (born 26 July 1936) is an English retired football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war Englis ...
.
Since the late 1990s, there have been plans for a new 20,200-seat stadium at nearby Great Coates
Great Coates is a village and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England. It is to the north-west and adjoins the Grimsby urban area, and is served by Great Coates railway station.
The northern part of the parish extends to the Humber Es ...
– tentatively titled the Conoco Stadium after a naming rights deal with the American energy corporation ConocoPhillips. There have been numerous delays to the development of the new stadium. The plans have been met with resistance from many residents of the local area surrounding the proposed stadium site, but other factors have also slowed progress. One of the most notable difficulties for the club was in demonstrating how it planned to finance the scheme. As a result, they later amended their proposal to include a retail park on the site, which would help to fund the development. This raised other problems, due to a rival proposal by the property developer Henry Boot
Henry Boot (1851–1931) was the founder of Henry Boot PLC.
Henry Boot was the eldest surviving son of Charles and Ann Boot. He was born on 9 December 1851 in Heeley, a small village two miles outside Sheffield. Henry's father had described him ...
, who are continuing with plans for their own retail park, which will be in direct competition with the Grimsby Town site and which has also been approved by the local council. Henry Boot attempted to have the football team's development plan stopped, by asking for it to be sent for judicial review by the Government, however their attempt failed. Currently, the Grimsby Town stadium development proposal has satisfied all the conditions that were imposed by planning officials and consent for the project has been granted. Initial estimates had suggested that the club would be able to move to the new stadium for the start of the 2011–12 season. However, as a result of the ongoing global recession, the club has halted all progress on the new development and it is unlikely that any work will begin until an upturn in the economy.
As of the 2012–13 season, the GTFC Supporters Trust known as the 'Mariners Trust' has taken over responsibility for the operation of most of the bars at the stadium, which hopefully will lead to refurbishment, and new ideas from fans as to how the bars operate.
Plans were underway to relocate the club to land at the side of the Peaks Parkway
The Peaks Parkway is part of the northern end of the A16 road, in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. It was conceived in the 1970s and follows part of the trackbed of the former East Lincolnshire Railway between and .
Following on ...
in Grimsby. As of 2020, new plans have been agreed with the council, Grimsby Town FC and The Freemen of Grimsby to build the stadium on recently cleared land off Freeman Street.
Rivalries
Grimsby Town's geographical region pits them against three main professional rivals, two of which like Grimsby are from the former county of Humberside. Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
, on the north bank of the Humber Estuary have traditionally been viewed as Grimsby's main rival but a contrast in their recent fortunes has meant that the two clubs have not met in the League since 1987, prior to a 2020 EFL Trophy victory for Hull the clubs had last met in 1997 when The Mariners won 1-0 in the same competition. The closest football club to Grimsby are Scunthorpe United, The Iron are mainly regarded as Town's biggest rival although historically Scunthorpe have played most of their football in divisions below The Mariners. In the mid 2000s Grimsby's fall from the second tier to the fourth was followed closely with Scunthorpe earning several promotions, with the 2004–05 season being the only campaign both sides met in the same division before being reunited once more in 2019. Games involving all three former Humberside clubs are known as the Humber derby.
In more recent times games against Lincoln City (a Lincolnshire derby) has been Grimsby's primary derby game, although historically Lincoln are another local side who have predominantly spent a lot of time in lower divisions to the ones Grimsby have regularly featured in, Town's relegation to League Two in 2004 renewed this rivalry with notable games being the play-off semi-final in 2006 in which Grimsby ran out 3–1 winners on aggregate. In a contrast to Mariners fans regarding Scunthorpe as their main rival, supporters of Lincoln City would regard Grimsby as theirs. A slight rivalry with Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
intensified between 2000 and 2004, with the two clubs competing with each other in relegation battles over four seasons in both the First and Second Division but the clubs have not met since this period. Barnsley, 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 ...
and Boston United are three other examples of clubs who have shared some kind of rivalry with Grimsby in past seasons, whilst they were in the second and fourth tiers respectively. There are two other clubs within the Borough of Grimsby who are on the football ladder, Grimsby Borough and Cleethorpes Town, coupled with other Non-League sides in Lincolnshire such as Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
, games with these clubs only form pre-season friendlies or fixtures in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup.
Mascot
The Mighty Mariner is Grimsby Town's mascot. He wears the club's home strip and normally parades in front of the Pontoon Stand as well as tormenting the opposition's fans. He also plays football with the mascots and warms up the Grimsby Town fans. Up until 1998, there were two club mascots, Mighty and Mini Mariner, and until then they used to wear yellow fishing rain coats, before Mini was dropped, and Mighty was given the home strip to wear. Formerly, the mascot was a character named "Harry Haddock
The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas wher ...
", so-called after Grimsby's fishing industry, who is actually a rainbow trout.
Supporters
The newly rebranded Mariners Trust has been working with the fans and the club on a number of projects and events with the aim of improving the match day experience for the fans. It has a new Junior Mariners section, works with similar GTFC-friendly organisations like the internet mariners and the PPAG and is run by volunteers of 400+ members and continues to encourage GTFC fans to join and get involved. Since the late 1990s Grimsby Town have had a Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
n supporters group based in Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
and Sweden. Mariners fans since 2006 have also had a friendship with the supporters of Belgian club Eendracht Aalst.
Actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
who is most widely known for creating and portraying the characters Ali G and Borat
''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' ( Kazakh / Russian: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charle ...
was spotted at Grimsby Town's home game against Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
during the 2013–14 season. He watched The Mariners 1–0 defeat before talking to fans in the Blundell Hotel dressed in a Grimsby shirt and hat. Cohen had been in the town to think of ideas for a new film and had also visited the town's fish docks. In December 2013 it was announced that Cohen would be appearing in a new film called '' Grimsby''. Notable Mariners fans include Soccer AM
''Soccer AM'' is a British football-based comedy/talk show, produced by Sky Sports.
First broadcast in 1995, the programme currently airs on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football at 10.30am on Saturdays during the f ...
presenter and comedian Lloyd Griffith, American actor and television presenter Adam Richman
Adam Montgomery Richman is an American actor and television host. He has hosted various dining and eating-challenge programs on the Travel Channel and History Channel.
Early life and education
Richman, an only child, was born into a Jewish fa ...
. Despite not being from Grimsby or England for that matter the Man v. Food presenter came out in saying he is a supporter of the club, and was involved in a BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in before the 2013 FA Trophy final between Grimsby and Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
. In 2015 Richman contributed to a fan fundraiser "Operation Promotion" and in June 2020 became a club shareholder.
Grimsby-born actor Thomas Turgoose, who starred as the lead role character Shaun Fields in the drama film '' This Is England'' and the TV follow-up's '' This Is England '86'', '' This Is England '88'' and '' This Is England '90'', is a season ticket holder. He appeared as a guest on Sky show ''Soccer AM
''Soccer AM'' is a British football-based comedy/talk show, produced by Sky Sports.
First broadcast in 1995, the programme currently airs on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football at 10.30am on Saturdays during the f ...
'' in 2007 sporting a Grimsby Town shirt.
Other famous fans include politician Norman Lamont
Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer in ...
, former professional snooker players Mike Hallett
Mike Hallett (born 6 July 1959) is an English former professional snooker player and commentator.
Career
Hallett was born in Grimsby on 6 July 1959. Having won the national under-16 title in 1975, he turned professional in 1979. His world ran ...
and Dean Reynolds
Dean Reynolds (born 11 January 1963 in Grimsby) is an English former professional snooker player whose career spanned twenty years from 1981 to 2001.
Career
Before turning professional, Reynolds won the first-ever Junior Pot Black in 1981, b ...
, singer and songwriter Ella Henderson and BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
to show four 30-minute shows named ''GTTV''. The show mainly focused on player and staff interviews and, match reviews. After the first four shows had aired, the project was eventually scrapped.
Grimsby Town has popped up in two British films, being mentioned as one of Mike Bassett's former clubs in ''
play-off semi-final is the main feature of Season 1, Episode 18 of the documentary ''
. The episode features a segment about the club and an interview with Grimsby chairman Jason Stockwood.
In 2019, it was announced that Grimsby Town would enter the world of female football with the launch of its first ever affiliated women's team. The 2019/20 season saw the team venture into the Lincolnshire Women's League for the very first time led by newly appointed manager Dale Houlston. This was the 7th tier of the women's football pyramid, essentially the very bottom rung of the ladder.
In a season that was cut short in March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Grimsby Town Women remained undefeated, winning every competitive game that they played. They were just two games away from certain promotion when the season was cut short, as well as reaching the League Cup Final and the Lincolnshire Women's County Cup Final. Sadly none of those Cup Finals took place because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the summer of 2020, the FA announced that following a restructure to the leagues, Grimsby Town Women would be promoted to the 6th tier of the women's football pyramid, meaning that the team commenced the 2020/21 season in the East Midlands Women's Regional Football League, Division 1 North. The 2020/21 season also saw Grimsby Town Women enter The FA Women's Cup for the very first time.
Grimsby Town Women commenced the 2021/22 season very strongly and led the league as strong favourites to gain promotion once again. In November of this season, manager Dale Houlston inexplicably resigned his position, having played 7 games, winning 6 and drawing just 1. Their dominance in the division at this time saw them score 30 goals in just 7 games, conceding just once. It was a mystery why Houlston felt the need to resign, given that he was such a enthusiastic ambassador for women's game, and had done so much to champion the formation of women's football at the club.
The following players have played in a major top flight league and have moved to Grimsby Town later in their career.
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The following players have gone on to play top flight football in a major league after first playing with Grimsby Town.
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Players signed to, and have played for Grimsby Town that have had full international caps during their careers.
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