Leadgate Park F.C. was an English association football club based in the village of Leadgate,

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 �About North East E ...

History

The club was founded in the late 1880s; the team was at least active in January 1889. Leadgate Park entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1892, receiving a bye in the first qualifying round in place of Sunderland Albion. However, the team was eliminated by Tow Law in the next round. The club applied for election to the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

in July 1895 as the number of clubs was being increased from nine to ten. However, the application was unsuccessful as

Crook Town Crook Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Crook, County Durham, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Sir Tom Cowie Millfield. The club won the FA Amateur Cup five times. History Crook Town Footba ...

and Darlington St Augustine's were chosen to replace

Howden-le-Wear Howden-le-Wear is a village in County Durham, in England. Howden-le-Wear is approximately 1 mile south of the large market town of Crook Crook is another name for criminal. Crook or Crooks may also refer to: Places * Crook, County Durha ...

. Nevertheless, Leadgate Park were accepted into the league soon afterwards, and finished eighth in the division in the 1896–97 season. In 1899, Leadgate Park switched to the

Northern Football Alliance The Northern Football Alliance is a football league based in the North East, England. It has four divisions headed by the Premier Division, which sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System. The top club in the Premier Division ...

. They played in the league for two seasons, ending each campaign in eighth place. The club was forced to return to the Northern League in 1906 when the Northern Alliance banned clubs from County Durham. Leadgate Park attained their highest league finishes in 1906–07 and 1911–12, placing fourth out of 12 teams. Competitive football was stopped in 1915 due to the outbreak of the First World War, and upon resumption of league play in 1919 Leadgate Park joined 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 ...

. In the same season, the team reached the fifth qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time, but were knocked out by

West Stanley South Moor is a village in County Durham, in England. It is located to the south-west of Stanley, County Durham, Stanley on the northern slope of the Craghead valley. It is a well-developed village, yet still semi-rural, containing a main street ...

. The club struggled in the league over the following years, never finishing in the top half of the table. In 1925, having conceded over 100 goals in 38 matches, Leadgate Park left the North Eastern League and subsequently disbanded.

Records

* FA Cup **Fifth Qualifying Round 1919–20, 1921–22, 1923–24 *

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...

**Semi-finals 1896–97

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. * George Bertram * Cyril Hunter

References

{{reflist, 2 Defunct football clubs in England Defunct football clubs in County Durham Association football clubs disestablished in 1925 1925 disestablishments in England Northern Football Alliance Northern Football League North Eastern League Association football clubs established in the 19th century