New Brighton Tower Football Club was a short-lived football club based in

New Brighton, Merseyside New Brighton is a seaside resort in Wallasey, Merseyside, England, at the northeastern tip of the Wirral peninsula. It has sandy beaches which line the Irish Sea and mouth of the Mersey, and the UK's longest promenade. At the 2011 Census, the ...

, England. Established in 1896, the club spent three seasons in the Football League before folding in 1901. They played at the Tower Athletic Ground.

History

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, New Brighton Tower were formed to play at an already-built stadium. The owners of the

New Brighton Tower New Brighton Tower was a steel lattice observation tower at New Brighton in the town of Wallasey, Cheshire (now in the Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside), England. It stood high, and was the tallest building in Great Britain when it opened ...

, a seaside attraction built to rival the

Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in ...

, decided there was a need to provide winter entertainment, and had built a stadium adjacent to the tower. The football club was formed in 1896 to provide the entertainment, and joined the Lancashire League at the start of the 1897–98 season. After finishing as champions in their first season, the club applied for election to the Football League. Although they were initially rejected, the league later decided to expand Division Two by four clubs and New Brighton Tower were accepted.New Brighton Tower
Historical Kits The club signed a number of new players, including some who had played international football, and was reasonably successful, finishing 5th (out of 18) in its first season, and 4th in their third season. However, with the club poorly supported (averaging gates of around 1,000), the cost of maintaining a professional football club became too high for the Tower's owners, and the club was disbanded in the summer of 1901, and replaced in the League by

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 ...

. In 1921, a new club was formed, New Brighton, who would also play in the Football League from 1923 until 1951, though initially they played at

Sandheys Park Sandheys Park was a football ground in New Brighton, England. It was the home ground of New Brighton A.F.C. from 1921 until World War II. History In 1921 the football club purchased a 3.5-acre site which had previously been used as a school pla ...

until the ground was destroyed by German World War II bombing. The tower was taken down during World War I, and the rest of the complex destroyed by fire in the late 1960s. The Team's nickname was the Towerites and their home kit in their first season was white shirts and blue shorts. This however changed for the following season to salmon pink shirts with a black trim and white shorts.

Honours

* Lancashire League **Champions 1897–98

Records

*Best FA Cup performance: First round, 1897–98, 1900–01

References

External links

New Brighton Tower Football League results
Football Site {{former football league members Association football clubs established in 1896 Association football clubs disestablished in 1901 Defunct football clubs in England Lancashire League (football) Defunct English Football League clubs Defunct football clubs in Merseyside 1896 establishments in England 1901 disestablishments in England New Brighton, Merseyside Defunct football clubs in Lancashire