Newcastle East End Football Club was an English football club which briefly played in the Northern League and 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 ...

in the late 19th century. Their entire history was played out during the

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Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

until eventually adopting the name Newcastle United following their rivals collapse. The club is most known for being one of two teams in Newcastle until 1892 when Newcastle West End collapsed, leaving Newcastle East End the only football team in Newcastle.

History

The club was formed in November 1881 after local

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side Stanley Cricket Club decided to form a footballing section. Based in the South

Byker Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series '' Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...

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part of Newcastle, the club played their first game, winning 5–0 against Elswick Leather Works reserves ers.

Name change from Stanley FC to Newcastle East End

Due to being confused with a side from

Stanley, County Durham Stanley is a former colliery town and civil parish in County Durham, North East England. Centred on a hilltop between Chester-le-Street and Consett, the town lies south west of Gateshead. Stanley was formerly divided into three distinct sett ...

, the club's name was changed to Newcastle East End Football Club in October 1882. The first game played under the new name was against Hamsterley Rangers, taking place on 7 October 1882, it ended 1–0 to East End. Early players for the club included the likes of William Findlay, Alex White and Tom Watson. Originally East End played their games at Stanley Street in Byker but moved a short distance to Chillingham Road, on the border between Byker and Heaton during 1884, near to a railway network. The club became founding members of the Northern League. East End was the first club from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

to become

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, which in 1889 was a huge step for a Northern football club. They also became a

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in March 1890, with capital of 1,000 pounds in ten shilling notes. During the three seasons in which East End participated in the Northern League, starting in 1889–90, they finished fourth, sixth and fourth again respectively; Middlesbrough Ironopolis were the dominant side in the league at the time, winning two of those seasons' titles. East End applied to join the First Division of the Football League in 1892; along with Ironopolis they polled only one vote. Both were asked to apply for 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 ...

and both declined. The club entered into the

and participated against

Sunderland Albion Sunderland Albion Football Club was an English association football club based in Sunderland, England, formed in 1888 and disbanded in 1892. The club was reformed in 2020 but has as of 2023 ceased operations again. Summary Sunderland Albion ...

in a qualifying round, eventually losing 4–2. Their second attempt a year later fared slightly better as the First Round was reached in a match which they lost to

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 ...

Name change from Newcastle East End to Newcastle United

Bitter local rivals from across the city, Newcastle West End, who also competed in the Northern League, had fallen into serious financial difficulties. Newcastle West End eventually collapsed in 1892 which then led some players and backroom staff to join with East End. Newcastle East End then acquired

St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Pa ...

, as it was superior to Chillingham Road. In December 1892, the club decided to adopt a new name for supporters as they now only had one team to support in Newcastle. Suggested names included Newcastle Rangers, Newcastle City and Newcastle United. The latter name was decided upon signifying that Newcastle now only have one team and it will unite all supporters together from their previous rivals. The name change was accepted by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

on 22 December, but the name change was not legally constituted as ''Newcastle United Football Club Co. Ltd.'' until 6 September 1895.

Colours

The original and most common colours of the club was red shirts, with white shorts and black socks. Despite the fact that this was the kit they first wore and indeed the kit originally passed on to Newcastle United after the merger, a second kit has gained more attention in some sources. The second kit was a brief change in colours during the mid-1880s, this kit was made up of a red and white striped shirt, with navy shorts and black socks. It is considered highly ironic in the History of Newcastle United, because the club's main rivals Sunderland used the same colours.

References

{{Newcastle United F.C. Association football clubs established in 1881 Association football clubs disestablished in 1892 Defunct football clubs in England Defunct football clubs in Tyne and Wear 1881 establishments in England 1892 disestablishments in England North Eastern League Newcastle United F.C. Sport in Newcastle upon Tyne

History

Name change from Stanley FC to Newcastle East End

Name change from Newcastle East End to Newcastle United

Colours

See also

References