Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is 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 ...

club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former home at

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...

, and was used to avoid confusion with Bradford derby rivals

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

. The club was founded in 1907 and moved from the Southern League into the Football League the next year. They were promoted into the First Division at the end of the 1913–14 season, but suffered consecutive relegations by 1922. They won the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

title in 1927–28 and remained in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

until 1950. Promoted from the Fourth Division in 1960–61, the club were relegated from the Third Division in 1963. The club failed in their Football League re-election bid in 1970 and spent the next four seasons in the Northern Premier League before disbanding. The present club is a

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

that was established in 1987. They moved from the

Central Midlands League The Central Midlands Football League is an English football league covering the northeast-central part of England. Formed in 1971 as the South Derbyshire League, changing name initially to the Derbyshire League before changing to its current nam ...

into the

North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern ...

in 1990, gaining promotion from Division Two in 1990–91. They moved into their present home at

Horsfall Stadium Horsfall Stadium is a sports stadium just off Halifax Road in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, south-west of the city centre. It is the home of Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. It was originally built as a running track in 1931, and was upgrad ...

in 1994 and won that season's North West Counties League Division One title, and then the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 2000–01. Relegated in two successive seasons in 2006, they won the Northern Premier League First Division title in 2007–08 and gained promotion from the Premier Division via the play-offs in 2012.

History

Rugby football

The original club was formed in 1863 as the Bradford Football Club, playing

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

, and achieved its first major success by winning the Yorkshire Cup in 1884. A member of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Bradford FC became a founding member of the breakaway

Northern Rugby Football Union Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

(after an internal RFU dispute over broken-time payments) in 1895. Bradford were runners-up the

1897–98 Challenge Cup The 1898 Challenge Cup was the 2nd staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Batley and Bradford at Headingley Stadium in Leeds. The final was played on Saturday 23 April 1898, where Bat ...

, won the

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

1903–04 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, and won the

1905–06 Challenge Cup The 1905–06 Challenge Cup was the 10th staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. The final was contested by Bradford F.C. and Salford at Headingley, Leeds in front of a crowd of 15,834 on Saturday 28 April 1906. ...

. In 1907, what is known as "The Great Betrayal" occurred when a narrow majority of members decided to abandon the Northern Union game (later known as

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 favour of

, still based at the Park Avenue ground. The minority faction left and formed a new club within the Northern Union,

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...

. Bradford Northern applied for and was granted Bradford FC's place in the

1907–08 Northern Rugby Football Union season The 1907–08 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the 13th season of rugby league football. Season summary League Champions were Hunslet who beat Oldham 12-2 in a replay after a 7-7 draw. It was the first time a team that did not finish top ...

Association football

Bradford FC began playing association football in 1895, alternating home Saturdays at Park Avenue with the Northern Union. The club shared the West Yorkshire League championship with Hunslet in 1895–96, also winning the Leeds Workpeople's Hospital Cup. Bradford played in the FA Amateur Cup in 1896–97, progressing to the FA Cup in 1897–98 and 1898–99. It entered the Yorkshire League in 1897–98, finishing next to last, and was banished to

Birch Lane Birch Lane was a rugby league ground in Bradford, England. It was the first long term home of Bradford Northern Rugby League Football Club, who played there for 26 years from 1908 to 1934 before moving to Odsal Stadium. For a short while it was a ...

the following season, closing down at the end of the 1898–99 season due to mounting losses. The success of cross-town neighbours Manningham after switching to association football, (where it was renamed Bradford City A.F.C.), prompted the Northern Union club to abandon rugby in 1907 and apply to join

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 ...

. They were not accepted, instead joining the Southern League (although the club was based in the north) and filling a gap left by Fulham (who joined the Football League). Their nearest opponents were Northampton Town, whose ground was 130 miles distant. In 1908, Bradford FC was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

to the

of the Football League. The club was promoted to the First Division in 1914 after finishing second, and achieved its highest-ever league position (ninth) at the end of the 1914–15 season. In 1914, Donald Bell, a man who would go on to win the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, played four games. At the outbreak of war, he asked to be released to serve. Rising to the rank of lieutenant, in 1916 he received the VC for conspicuous bravery on the Somme before being killed later that year. After the

First World War 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 began a steady decline, relegated to the Second Division in 1921 and to the

in 1922. In 1928, the club were the Division 3N champions and were promoted back to the Second Division. They were relegated again in 1950, and placed in the Fourth Division after a 1958 reorganisation. Although the club won promotion to the Third Division in 1961, they were relegated back to the Fourth Division in 1963. After several difficult seasons, in 1970 they were replaced in the Football League by

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 ...

. The club joined the Northern Premier League, selling Park Avenue in 1973 and sharing facilities with Bradford City. Bradford (Park Avenue) went into liquidation on 3 May 1974 with debts of £57,652 and immediately re-formed as a Sunday league club playing in the league club's former colours. After playing at Bingley Road and Hope Avenue in 1974 in Bradford Amateur Sunday League Division Four, the club moved to Avenue Road and won promotion in 1975. The next season, they were again promoted into the newly formed Bradford Sunday Alliance League. Although the stands and other buildings at Park Avenue were demolished in 1980, the playing field and terraces remained. The stadium was renovated for amateur football during the mid-1980s, and the Sunday League club played a full season there in 1987–88. However, it was forced to move out at the end of the season to accommodate an indoor cricket school on part of the pitch. A new club was formed to return Bradford (Park Avenue) to Saturday football for the 1988–89 season, joining the

West Riding County Amateur Football League The West Riding County Amateur Football League was a football competition based in Yorkshire, England. Formed in 1922, it had one division when it closed in 2019 due to a lack of participating clubs. The Premier Division sat at level 11 of the E ...

and then the

for 1989–90. The club moved to the

from 1990 to 1991, playing matches at rugby-league grounds such as McLaren Field and

Mount Pleasant, Batley Mount Pleasant stadium, officially known for commercial sponsorship purposes as Fox's Biscuits Stadium, is a rugby league stadium in Batley, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of the Batley Bulldogs. The Mount Pleasant pitch is sloped and ...

. The Sunday side formed in 1974 merged with the new Saturday club in 1992. In 1995, Bradford (Park Avenue) won the North West Counties League, re-joining the Northern Premier League and moving to Horsfall Stadium. At the beginning of the 2004–05 season they were founding members of the

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

, although they were relegated to the Northern Premier League at the end of the season (after finishing seventh) and to Northern Division North the following season. The club returned to the Northern Premier League as champions in the 2007–08 season. The club reached 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 ...

quarterfinals in 1912–13, 1919–20 and 1945–46. Since re-forming they have reached the first round three times, in 2003–04, 2011–12 and 2012–13. Since dropping into non-league football, the club's best FA Trophy performance has been the fourth round in 1998–99. In the FA Vase, the club reached the second round in 1994–95. In February 2008, chief executive Bob Blackburn unveiled plans for a 20,000-seat stadium at Phoenix Park in Thornbury, within the Leeds metropolitan district, but the site had to be sold before this was realised. In July 2008 Blackburn predicted on a supporters' forum that the club would reach the Football League within four years. In 2012, Bradford gained promotion to the Conference North by beating

F.C. United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park. Found ...

1–0 in the playoff final.

Colours

The traditional colours of Bradford (PA) were red, amber and black; they were inherited from the original Bradford RFC, and retained by the Bradford & Bingley RFC and

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

RLFC (all of whom claim a common genealogy). The fact that red, amber and black (with white) have been worn by three of the city's senior football clubs (Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC, Bradford RFC radford & Bingley RFCand Bradford Northern RLFC radford Bulls all descended from the original Bradford FC based at Park Avenue) has evoked the assumption that these were the official sporting colours of Bradford. The colours have also been used by other sports organisations in Bradford (such as cycling, hockey and athletics as well as being the principal colours used by Bradford University sports teams), principally as a red, amber and black band on a white shirt (as worn by Bradford Northern and as an away kit by Bradford (PA)). Red, amber and black are also the colours of the Bradford Cricket Club, formed in 1836. The cricket club played at

, where Yorkshire C.C.C. traditionally played several matches a season. Bradford FC was formed in 1863 by Bramham College alumni, and in 1880 joined Bradford CC at Park Avenue. In 1911, Bradford changed its colours to green and white after the appointment of former Celtic player

Tom Maley Thomas Edward Maley (8 November 1864 – 24 August 1935) was a Scottish football player and manager. Born in Portsmouth to a soldier from County Clare, Maley spent his entire playing career in Scotland, with Partick Thistle, Dundee Harp, Hibe ...

, brother of

Willie Maley William Patrick Maley (25 April 1868 – 2 April 1958) was an Irish-born Scottish international football player and manager. He was the first manager of Celtic Football Club, and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football histor ...

(who also played for Celtic before becoming their first manager). Avenue was the only club to wear green and white in the English First Division, between 1914 and 1921. The club reverted to red, amber and black with white in 1924, reviving green and white from 1958 to 1967. The reformed Bradford (Park Avenue) club has worn green and white since 1988. Avenue's club crest was the 1907 version of the Bradford coat of arms; this has also been used by the re-formed club, although it was replaced by the municipality in 1974. Bradford's traditional rivals (Manningham RFC) and their successor, Bradford City, have worn claret and amber stripes; Bradford usually wears hoops. Bradford City also used the 1907 Bradford coat of arms as its crest until 1966. Red, amber and black has occasionally returned in away strips, notably the club's 2007 centenary shirt (which featured the three colours as hoops). During the 2012–13 season, the club introduced a white home shirt with a red, amber and black sash to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the original club. The club retained a green-and-white striped away shirt.

Name

Although officially Bradford Football Club, the club was obliged to append Park Avenue (the location of the club's original stadium) in brackets to its name in 1907 to avoid confusion with Bradford City. However the club was historically always referred to simply as Bradford in fixture lists, classified results and the national press. However, since dropping into non-league the Park Avenue (or simply PA) are used as City are by far the better known team.

Current squad

Backroom staff

Managers

Honours and achievements

Association football

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 ...

(second tier) *Second place promotion: 1913–14

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated t ...

(third tier) *Champions: 1927–28 *Second place promotion: 1922–23, 1925–26 Football League Fourth Division (fourth tier) *Fourth place promotion: 1960–61 Northern Premier League Division One / Premier Division (seventh tier) *Champions: 2000–01 *Play-offs winners:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Northern Premier League Division One North (eighth tier) *Champions: 2007–08 North West Counties Football League Division One (eighth tier) *Champions: 1994–95 North West Counties Football League Division Two (ninth tier) *Third place promotion:

1990–91 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 ...

Rugby league

*West Yorkshire League Championship: 1895–96 * Challenge Cup:

1905–06 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

* Yorkshire Cup: 1906–07

References

External links

* *
Ground profileHorsfall StadiumEarly history of the club (1895–99)Bradford (Park Avenue) History
{{Authority control 1907 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 1907 Sport in Bradford Football clubs in West Yorkshire Football clubs in England Southern Football League clubs Former English Football League clubs Northern Premier League clubs Central Midlands Football League North West Counties Football League clubs National League (English football) Phoenix clubs (association football) Fan-owned football clubs in England Founder members of the Northern Rugby Football Union Defunct rugby league teams in England Defunct English rugby union teams