Mossley Association Football Club is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

club in Mossley,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

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 ...

. Nicknamed ''the Lilywhites'' after the white shirts adopted in 1912, they are currently members of the and play at Seel Park.

History

The club was established as Park Villa.Early Days
Mossley A.F.C. After a season of playing friendlies and cup matches, they were renamed Mossley Juniors in 1904 and joined the Stalybridge & District League. In their first competitive league match the club lost 9–1 to Dunham Villa, but they recovered to beat Mossley Volunteers 2–1 the following week. The club transferred to the Ashton, Dunkinfield & District League in 1907,
Mossley A.F.C. and then the Oldham & District League in 1907 and the West End Amateur League in 1908. In 1909 they were renamed Mossley Association Football Club and joined Division Two of the Ashton & District League. They finished joint top of the table in 1909–10 before losing a championship play-off match 3–2 to Ashton St Peter's reserves. However, they did win the Ashton Junior Cup. The league was reduced to a single division the following season, with Mossley continuing as members. They won the league in 1911–12 and were runners-up in the next two seasons, also winning the Lady Aitken League Cup in 1913–14, beating Droylsden in a second replay. Mossley were Ashton & District League champions again in 1914–15, also winning the League Cup and the Manchester Junior Cup. In 1915 they joined the South East Lancashire League. However, despite leading the league in January, club officials decided to disband due to the war. They reformed for the 1916–17 and joined the Manchester Amateur League, but disbanded again in January 1917. The club was resurrected again in December 1918 and joined the Manchester Section of the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

for the truncated 1919 season, going on to finish as runners-up. Later in 1919 Mossley were founder members of the

Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Footb ...

, finishing as runners-up in the league and losing the League Cup final in the 1919–20 season.History
Mossley A.F.C. They won the League Cup the following season. In 1933–34 the club won the Manchester Junior Cup for a second time. They subsequently won Manchester Shield in 1937–38. Following

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Mossley finished bottom of the league in 1945–46. The 1949–50 season saw the club reach the first round 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 compet ...

for the first time. After beating Witton Albion 1–0, they lost 3–0 to

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

in a second round replay. In 1960–61 the club won the League Cup and the Manchester Intermediate Cup, winning the latter trophy again in 1966–67 and 1967–68. They reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 1969–70, losing 1–0 to

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 ...

in a replay, before going on to finish as runners-up in the league. After winning the

Manchester Senior Cup The Manchester FA Senior Cup (originally known as the Manchester and District Challenge Cup, later the Manchester Cup) is an annual football tournament held between the clubs of the Manchester Football Association which was first played in 1885 ...

in 1971–72, they moved up to the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

. The club won the Senior Cup for a second time in 1976–77. Another appearance in the FA Cup first round in 1977–78 saw them lose 3–0 to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

. However, the season ended with the club winning the Northern Premier League title and the League Cup.Honours
Mossley A.F.C. However, they were unable to be promoted to the

Alliance Premier League 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 ...

as their ground did not meet the requirements. The club were subsequently invited to play in a Non League Champion of Champions Cup match at the start of the following season, but were beaten by Southern League champions Worcester City over two legs. Mossley retained their league title in 1979–80. They also reached the

first round again, losing 5–2 to

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

, as well as reaching the final of the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The com ...

, in which they were beaten 2–1 by

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fore ...

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 Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. The club defeated Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time the following season, beating

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

1–0 before losing 3–1 at home to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ye ...

in the second round. They went on to finish as runners-up in the league, which they repeated in each of the next two seasons, as well as making further FA Cup first round appearances which ended in defeat by Stockport and

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 ...

. Although the club reached the FA Cup first round again in 1983–84 (losing to 5–0

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...

), they also finished bottom of the Northern Premier League, marking the end of their period of success. The Northern Premier League gained a second division in 1987, with Mossley becoming members of the Premier Division. They won the League Cup and the

Manchester Premier Cup The Manchester Premier Cup (also known as the Frank Hannah Manchester Premier Cup) is an annual English football knockout tournament involving teams from Greater Manchester, England. It is a County Cup competition of the Manchester Football A ...

in 1988–89, before winning the league's Challenge Shield in 1989–90 and the Manchester Premier Cup in 1990–91. However, the club were relegated to Division One at the end of the 1992–93 season, and then finished bottom of Division One in 1994–95, resulting in relegation to Division One of 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 ...

(which had been formed by merger of the Cheshire County League and the Lancashire Combination in 1982). They were Division One runners-up in 1998–99 and won the League Cup in 2002–03, before finishing as runners-up in Division One again the following season, earning promotion back to Division One of the Northern Premier League. Mossley were Division One champions in 2005–06 and were promoted to the Premier Division. However, they were relegated at the end of the following season, at which point the club were placed in Division One North. The club won the Manchester Premier Cup in 2011–12, and retained it the following season, which also saw the club finish fifth in

the league ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...

, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, they were beaten 1–0 by

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

in the semi-finals. The club won the Premier Cup again in 2014–15 and 2015–16.

Ground

The initially played at a former rugby ground in Luzley, earning the nickname the 'Luzleyites'. Seats were installed on the eastern side of the pitch and some at the southern end. In 1912 they moved to Seel Fold, which had previously been used as a rubbish tip and then a cricket field, using the adjacent Highland Laddie Hotel as their headquarters. The opening match was played on 23 September, a 4–0 win for Mossley against Stalybridge St Peters in the Ashton & District League.Seel Park
Mossley A.F.C. A record attendance of over 3,000 was set for a local derby against Mossley Celtic in the 1913–14 season. A 430-capacity stand was built on the Popular Side in 1920, with terracing installed on the same side in 1922. The stand was expanded to a capacity of 1,000 in 1927, with the ground becoming known as Seel Park in 1931. A new stand was built at the Mossley Park end in 1932 and a 300-seat stand erected on the Market Street side of the pitch four years later. The club's record attendance of 6,640 was set in 1946 for a Cheshire County League match against local rivals

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

. Mossley purchased the ground from Stamford Estates in 1948 for £1,200. The Popular Side stand was demolished in 1969 and replaced in 1971 when the club sold

Gary Pierce Gary L. Pierce (born c. 1952) is a former Arizona Corporation Commissioner and a former member of the Arizona House of Representatives. Political career In the House of Representatives, Mr. Pierce served as the Majority Whip (2005–2006). He ...

. Floodlights were installed the following year. A stand was built at the Park End in 1980. In 1987 the main stand had to be demolished due to storm damage, and was replaced with a 220-seat stand which was named for club president James Anderson. The ground was sold in 1988 to clear the club's debts, with

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan countie ...

becoming owners in 1990. The installation of new terracing began in 1996 and finished in 2008 when the Hanover Street side was completed.

Current squad

Honours

*Northern Premier League **Champions 1978–79, 1979–80 **Division One champions 2005–06 **Challenge Cup winners 1978–79, 1988–89 **Challenge Shield winners 1989–90 *North West Counties League **League Cup winners 2002–03 *Cheshire County League **League Cup winners 1920–21, 1960–61 *Ashton & District League **Champions 1911–12, 1914–15 **League Cup winners 1913–14 *Manchester Premier Cup **Winners 1988–89, 1990–91, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16 *Manchester Senior Cup **Winners 1971–72, 1976–77 *Manchester Shield **Winners 1937–38 *Manchester Intermediate Cup **Winners 1960–61, 1966–67, 1967–68 *Manchester Junior Cup **Winners 1914–15, 1933–34 *Ashton Challenge Cup **Winners 1921–22, 1922–23, 1929–30, 1934–35, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1961–62 *Ashton Junior Cup **Winners 1909–10

Records

*Best

performance: Second round, 1949–50, 1980–81 *Best

performance: Finalists, 1979–80 *Best

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...

performance: Quarter-finals, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2002–03 *Record attendance: 6,640 vs

, Cheshire County League, 1946 *Biggest win: 9–0 vs Urmston, Manchester Shield, 1947 *Heaviest defeat: 13–2 vs Witton Albion, Cheshire County League, 1926 *Most appearances: Jimmy O'Connor, 613 (1972–1987)300 club
Mossley A.F.C. *Most goals: David Moore, 234 (1974–1983)
Mossley A.F.C. *Most goals in a season: Jackie Roscoe, 58 (1930–31) *Record transfer fee received: £25,000 from Everton for

Eamonn O'Keefe Eamonn Gerard O'Keefe (born 13 October 1953) is an English-born Irish former professional footballer. He played as a forward, but in later years was moved into a midfield role. He moved from non-league Stalybridge Celtic to Plymouth Argyle, an ...

, 1979 *Record transfer fee paid: £2,300 to Altrincham for Phil Wilson, 1980

References

External links

* {{coord, 53, 30, 59.029, N, 2, 2, 39.592, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in Tameside Association football clubs established in 1903 1903 establishments in England Lancashire Combination North West Counties Football League clubs Northern Premier League clubs Cheshire County League clubs