Mid Rhondda Football Club was an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team, based in
Tonypandy
Tonypandy is a town, community and electoral ward located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, the town ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
that was formed in 1912. Mid Rhondda were one of the earlier South Wales teams to form, as competition from
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
within the
Rhondda Valleys was very strong. The team played in both the
Southern and
Welsh League
The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournamen ...
s, and should have been promoted to the first division of the Southern League after topping the second Division during the 1919–20 season. This though was denied them by a restructuring of the league, which in turn saw the club flounder and collapse by 1928.
Club history
The adoption of football in Tonypandy
The Mid Rhondda Ground was built in the early part of the 1910s, as an attempt to form the 'best athletics ground in Wales'.
[Young (2003) p.4] It was built by the Mid Rhondda Athletic Company, and officially opened on 13 April 1913.
The company raised £3,000 to complete the venture, and when complete it housed an outer cycle track with an inner field for the promotion of
football,
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
and foot running.
Although housing large events, such as an annual
horse show
A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer ...
, there appeared to be little sign of the Athletic Company recouping their outlay, until the committee of the Mid Rhondda Social and Athletic Club decided to embrace professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
in 1908.
[Young (2003) p.5]
On 20 April 1908, the world's first rugby league international between the
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 ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
national sides took place on the Mid Rhondda Ground. 15,000 paying spectators turned out to watch an exciting game which Wales won 35–18.
[Young (2003) p.6] The gate receipts were enough to impress the committee to compete in the
Northern Union and in 1908,
Mid-Rhondda RLFC were formed, playing not only in the Northern League but also in the
Welsh League
The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournamen ...
and
Challenge Cup. Although the team performed well on the pitch, and hosted international competition from the touring Australia side, the venture was unprofitable.
The rugby league crowds averaged between 3,000 and 4,000,
[Young (2003) p.8] but when the Mid Rhondda Ground hosted the 1909 final of the South Wales and Monmouthshire Football cup, a crowd of 8,000 was recorded.
Association football was traditionally more popular in north Wales, but the cup final between local Rhondda team Ton Pentre F.C. and the newly formed
Merthyr Town F.C.
Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system.
The football club was o ...
showed the Mid Rhondda Club that "soccer was the coming game".
Mid-Rhondda RLFC folded at the end on the 1908–09 season, and plans were put into action to form an association team.
The Formation of Mid Rhondda F.C.
Early attempts to form a football club were placed on hold when industrial unrest spread through the Rhondda during 1910 and 1911. The coal mining area of the valleys experienced several strikes centred on the Glamorgan Colliery in Llwynypia, neighbouring Tonypandy.
The events game to a climax in 1911 with the
Tonypandy riots
The Miners Strike of 1910-11 was an attempt by miners and their families to improve wages and living conditions in severely deprived parts of South Wales, where wages had been kept deliberately low for many years by a cartel of mine owners.
Wha ...
, where the town centre was vandalised and looted.
In 1912, with the events of the previous years settled, an attempt was made to introduce a football team in Tonypandy.
[Young (2003) p.9] The Mid Rhondda Football Club was set up, and a Board of Directors founded. All were from the Tonypandy area and were a cross section of tradesmen and workers representatives. Amongst the shareholders was
D.A. Thomas, the owner of the Cambrian Combine of collieries, which had been at the heart of the strike just a year prior.
The club applied to join the
Southern League and was accepted even though the club had yet to select a team. With a fortnight to go before the start of the 1912–13 season the club was facing closure due to lack of funds, but good press encouraged the promoters to carry on and a week later the team had a manager and enough players for a starting XI.
The club's swift growth earned them the nickname ''The Mushrooms'', though normally called ''The Mush''.
Their first season in the Second Division of the Southern League saw them face the first teams of
Cardiff City,
Swansea Town,
Croydon Common
Croydon Common Football Club was an amateur and, later on, professional football club based in Croydon.
History
The team formed in 1897 as an amateur church team competing in local leagues. They turned professional in 1907, joining the Southern L ...
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 ...
. Mid Rhondda made a steady if unspectacular start to their professional career, finishing 8th out of 13 teams in their first season.
[Twydell (2001), p.35]
The promoters were happy with the club's progress in their first season, and over the next few seasons the team were often supported by crowds of over 10,000.
[Young (2003) p.11] Despite some good figures these crowds were inconsistent. The home clash with
Newport County in 1913 for example witnessed just 3,000 spectators, leading to financial concerns.
The team finished a respectful 7th in the 1913/14 season, in an expanded league of 16 clubs. The 1914/15 season saw a drop in fortunes with the team winning just 3 of their 12 games and ending 12th from 13.
The club suspended play during the First World War, and the club lay dormant until the first season after the war.
1919–20 season
Of all the seasons of the club's existence, 1919–20 was the most notable. With more funds available the committee of the Mid Rhondda Club made a decision to push the first team for promotion to the First Division, emulating Cardiff City.
They turned to a local ex-international footballer
Haydn Price to manage the team.
He joined Mid Rhondda as secretary manager and immediately signed as captain former Aston Villa player,
Joe Bache
Joseph William Bache (8 February 1880 – 10 November 1960), was an English footballer who played for Aston Villa.
Joe Bache was a prolific centre forward for Aston Villa between 1900 and 1919. He played for the England national team seven ti ...
.
Bache brought experience to the team, but it was the signing of an untested young player from Durham,
Jimmy Seed
James Marshall Seed (25 March 1895 – 16 July 1966) was an English footballer and football manager.
Despite being born in Blackhill, Seed was brought up in the village of Whitburn on the coast just to the north of Sunderland, the family movin ...
, that would be Haydn's most important signing.
Seed had started his career as a seventeen-year-old with
Sunderland, and showed great potential in the reserves. During the war, Seed was posted to the front and was gassed in the trenches.
[Young (2003) p.12] On his return to training with Sunderland, he was told that because of lung problems his career was finished.
Price disagreed and signed Seed.
Seed played "non-stop football" from the time he joined Mid Rhondda, and his lungs appeared to recover. By the end of his first season Seed was signed by
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
for £1,000, and enjoyed a long career with both Spurs and
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 ...
as well as making five appearances for
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 ...
. Another notable player on Mid Rhondda's books at this time was future Wales international,
Dai Collier.
A highlight of the season was when Mid Rhondda played local rivals
Ton Pentre
Ton Pentre () is a village in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historically part of Glamorgan, Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the community of Pentre. The old district ...
in a preliminary round of the FA cup. 20,000 spectators watched the game, filling the ground with many more covering the mountainside overlooking the pitch.
More success was to come when the team won the
Southern League Division Two, amassing 37 points over 20 games, losing none and drawing only three games. They then took the
Welsh League
The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournamen ...
title, beating Cardiff City into second place, losing just five of the thirty games. They completed the season with a third trophy, beating Barry F.C. 1–0 at Merthyr to take the South Wales Cup.
[Young (2003) p.13]
The strength of the club at the time is best gauged by the challenge matches the team undertook against Football League clubs.
Due to the large following the club possessed, they were able to offer incentives to league clubs to travel to Tonypandy. These were teams that normally played
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
on the Saturday, then brought their first teams to the Rhondda for a Monday night encounter.
Crowds in excess of 15,000 and the substantial win bonus that was offered elevated these games above friendlies. These encounters included wins over
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
(3–1),
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 ...
(2–0) and
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
(1–0) in 1919 and a draw against Tottenham Hotspur and a narrow loss to
Aston Villa (1–2) in 1920.
Club demise
The club and supporters expected continued success for the 1920–21 season in the First Division of the Southern League. A new stand was built, and other ground improvements were added, including a press box and a gymnasium.
[Young (2003) p.15] Then ready for the new season, the Southern League was invited to form a
Third Division of
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 ...
. The current First Division of the Southern League became the new Third Division, and no promotions were accepted. Mid Rhondda remained in the Second Division.
From this, the team disintegrated. Price left for
Grimsby Town
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 t ...
and took five players with him, while the remaining players of the previous season found different clubs.
This was followed by a national coal strike in 1921 which crippled the South Wales valleys, and the Club was suspended by the
Football Association of Wales
The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...
for non-payment of debts.
The club reformed in 1922, mainly thanks to voluntary donations from local miners, but now known as Mid Rhondda United. The club rejoined the Southern League for the 1924–25 season and applied for Football League membership in 1925. However the economic depression of the 1920s worsened, and there was real poverty in the Rhondda and there was little money for entertainment.
The club continued until March 1928 when, with debts of £1,400, Mid Rhondda was forced to close when the banks called in its overdraft.
Honours
*
Welsh Football League
The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leag ...
champions: 1919–20
*South Wales FA Senior Cup – Winners: 1919–20
Notable players
:''See also
:Mid Rhondda F.C. players''
References
Bibliography
*
* {{cite book , last=Young , first=Paul , title=''The Mid and the Mush'' , year=2003
External links
Mid Rhondda on Football Club History DatabaseMid Rhondda United on Football Club History DatabaseThe Field of dreams is recaptured in the sun (Western Mail, 7 April 2007)
Association football clubs established in 1912
Association football clubs disestablished in 1928
Defunct football clubs in Wales
Southern Football League clubs
1912 establishments in Wales
1928 disestablishments in Wales
Welsh Football League clubs
Mining association football teams in Wales
Defunct Welsh football clubs in English leagues
Sport in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Valley