Not been working on the Hardy Lane Scrapbook having come across information for my other history project which is "The Manchester Football Ground". This is one that has been simmering for a couple of years. The ground was in Whalley Range and was home of Manchester Football Club, which is still playing as Manchester Rugby Club. Back in the 1870's - 1890's there was football and you played either Association or Rugby Union rules, and sometimes your club would field teams in either code.
It's a fascinating story in that all the leading players of the era turned out at a ground that could hold a maximum of 10,000 in a suburb of Manchester. Internationals were staged, teams from Scotland and New Zealand played friendlies, and local sides like Newton Heath FC and Hurst FC met in cup competitions. That later two are better known by other names now...
Normal service resumes next week.
3 comments:
Strange coincidence.I read last night about the Whalley Range ground in F.Sparling's 'The Romance of The Wednesday'(as venue for cup semi-final replay c.1882) and wondered it's whereabouts.Sportinglandmarks.co.uk has it north of Kings Rd in Old Trafford - have they confused this with Kings Rd in Whalley Range proper where Whalley Range AFC now play? Ironically I discovered your site just before nipping down to my local Co-op...one I suspect you'll know very well...cheers,
It was played at Manchester Football club 's ground in Whalley Range. This was the home of Manchester Rugby Club one of the oldest and still in existence I think in Cheadle. The ground was entered by a path off Upper Chorlton Road, for Kings Road had not been built nor all the housing. If you look at the car park at the back of the red brick TA medical corps at the corner of Kings Road then that was were the pitch was. The ground is marked on the OS maps of that time and rugby, some big association football games, plus other sports. Strictly amateur.
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