The Early Years
Posted on: Fri 14 Mar 2008
The Beginning
The original Macclesfield Football Club was founded sometime in the mid 1800's by the late Col. J W H Thorpe, and in the early days played under Rugby rules on a field off Victoria Road called Bowfield Lane. About the year 1874, Macclesfield adopted the then strictly amateur Association Rules and moved to Rostrons Field near Coare Street.
After a few seasons they moved back to Bowfield Lane, which was to be their home for many seasons. At this time there were no leagues or organised competitions, but games were arranged with teams from Stoke, Congleton, Crewe, Leek and Stockport. In these early days a crowd of 200 and receipts of £5 were considered good and the players were all amateurs providing their own kit and travelling expenses.
Two Events, one in 1882 which shows the improving standard was the defeat of Blackburn Olympic on Victoria Road 3-2. This team composed of amateurs later went to London and beat Old Etonians in the Final of the English Cup. In the same year we played Blackburn Rovers twice and lost both matches, but as Macclesfield were playing English Cup matches, one wonders how near they got to the final.
Another event in 1887 shows how far Macclesfield were reaching to meet opposition. Vale of Leven from Scotland were the visitors to Victoria Road and were beaten 3-1. At the time the Scottish opponents were considered the best footballing outfit in the British Isles.
The Pride of Cheshire
The Macclesfield Club engaged the services of Mr John Alcock, landlord of the Oxford Road Tavern, to supervise a strict course of training for the Cheshire Senior Cup Final including dieting, no smoking, country walks and Turkish Baths to ensure Physical Fitness. John Alcock was to walk backwards from Macclesfield to Buxton in 2 hours and 43 minutes in 1895! He must have done something right as the Silkmen won 4-1!
Mr John Alcock supervised training again the following season and Macclesfield recorded their second Senior Cup triumph with a 1-0 win. A crowd of 10,000 saw the game and provided receipts of £170, as in the previous year a tremendous welcome awaited the team upon their return to Macclesfield.
Season 1890/91 also saw the first organised competition on a regular basis, a combination was formed of twelve local teams: Chester, Gorton Villa, Hyde, Leek, Denton, Northwich Victoria, Wrexham, Derby St. Lukes Witton and Macclesfield. It was extremely satisfying to beat Denton and Gorton Villa as both of these two teams had objected to Macc's inclusion on the grounds that their football was not of a high enough standard.
The Move to the Moss
In September 1891 the club moved from Victoria Road to our present home at Moss Rose, this was in spite of the critics who objected the proximity of a public house! Season 1891/1892 saw Macc finish third behind Everton and Northwich in the Combination.
The highlight of this season however, was the visit to the Moss Rose for a friendly game of Preston North End, then a dominant club in English Football. Macc lost 4-1 but this was no disgrace as the Preston team included seven internationals in their team which had shortly before beaten Hyde United 23-0 in the English Cup!
1893/1894 saw the arrival at Moss Rose of several imported players including an Irish international, McVicars. Several friendly games were also arranged that season, the highlight being a 2-0 win over First Division Middlesborough.
The Cheshire Senior Cup final that season was played at Northwich against Chester and the first game ended in a draw after extra time. The replay at Crewe saw the Silkmen run out winners by 2 goal to 1. Once again, on their arrival home, a tremendous welcome awaited the team.
Prior to the 1895/96 season and as a result of financial problems encountered the previous year, the Macclesfield club was incorporated into a limited company under the title of the Macclesfield Football and Athletic Club Ltd. 500 shares of £1 each were taken up. At the same time, many critics argued that finance and sport did not mix and within two years of incorporation these critics were proved only too right.
The End of an Era
In 1896/97 disaster overtook the club. The results on the field were a great disappointment and the directors of the newly formed company soon found themselves in financial difficulties. In April 1897 the team finished bottom of the Combination and the club was finally declared bankrupt.
New Tenants
The Moss Rose ground became vacant and was taken over by Hallifield FC, an amateur side who had been playing on Windmill St and who were members of the Stockport and District League.
Hallifield FC played so well in the 1898/99 season that they topped the table and the following season joined the North Staffs league as Macclesfield FC. However they had only a moderate season in the new league and in 1900 opted to join the Manchester League.
1908/09 season opened in a heatwave and saw a 3-2 win at Northwich, several new players had joined the club in close-season. These players did extremely well and by the end of the season the team finished 4 points clear of Northwich Vics in second place.
1910/11 made it fourth time lucky when they became champions of the Cheshire Senior Cup for the first time in fifteen years, the team also finished the season as champions of the Manchester League.
After WW1
After the First World War the club was reformed in August 1919 under the title of 'The Macclesfield Football Club'. Meetings were held in the Park Green school and Mr Walter Brown, who had bought the stands and fixtures on the Moss Rose ground when the club went into liquidation during the war, gave the Management committee permission to use them again.
The club entered the Cheshire League and won their first home match at home to Crighton, receipts of £70 being taken. At the time the team composed mainly of local players.
During the 1920's there was little success at the Moss Rose. 1922/23 was the most successful when Macclesfield reached the semi-finals of both the Cheshire Senior Cup and the Challenge Cup, losing to Altrincham and Sandbach respectively. The following season saw the departure of the Macclesfield fans' idol Benny Boardman who was transferred to Stockport County.
Thirties Success Story
Season 1929/30 was the most successful since the war. The semi-final bogey was overcome when Nantwich Town were beaten in the final of the Cheshire Senior Cup at Crewe. Macclesfield almost achieved a double challenging Port Vale who eventually became League Champions.
At the end of the 1930/31 season Macclesfield clinched the title with 58 points from 40 games, they also won the Challenge Cup and recorded their most successful season so far. Season 1932/33 saw the Blues carry on from the previous season, they again won the league championship, this time with sixty-three points from forty-two games.
Record Breaker
Season 1933/34 saw Albert Valentine play for the club; he still holds the club goalscoring record with an amazing eighty-three in league and cup matches that season.
In March 1936 the club was suffering severe financial problems and the public of Macclesfield was given the opportunity to decide whether the club should continue. Although the club's plight was met with indifference in the town, enough money was raised to enable them to carry on during a difficult period.
The following three seasons before the start of the war saw little success at Moss Rose, the team finishing in the latter half of the table on each occasion.
The War Years
In 1940, under war conditions, Macclesfield won the Cheshire Senior Cup with a 3-2 victory over Northwich at Crewe. Cheshire League football was suspended in 1939, but continued later as wartime football, the league consisted of two sections, the top club of each section playing off for the championship.
Macclesfield resigned from the wartime league and no more football was played until 1946, apart from a friendly fixture against a team from the US Air Force.
The 'Modern' Club
In 1946 the present Limited Company was formed and the team were admitted to the Cheshire League.
The club started the new season with 21 directors, 15 professional playing staff and a brand new loudspeaker system installed at the Moss Rose Ground. The club finished poorly placed in the league, but did reach the semi-final of the Cheshire Senior Cup.
1947/48 One outstanding game worth mentioning was the league match at Chester. With Chester leading at one stage by five goals to one, the Silkmen staged a remarkable fight-back to return home winners by an incredible 6-5 scoreline.
In the Cheshire Senior Cup, they went down 2-3 at Winsford in the second round in front of a crowd of 9,003.
In 1960 the club reached the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, although they lost 7-2 at Southport. However the club went on to win the Cheshire League title and the forward line of Cunliffe, Bowyer, Smith, Gray and Goalen became perhaps the most famous ever at the Moss Rose.
On the Verge of Greatness
It is considered by many that this season 1960/61 was the beginning of the re-birth of Macclesfield Town Football Club. Under Frank Bowyer, the former Stoke City star, the Silkmen were to go from strength to strength during the next decade.
In 1962 the Silkmen finished Cheshire League runners-up to Ellesmere Port, and in 1963 they finished sixth.
Season 1962/63 also saw the club pay a record £1,000 for Pat Connolly from Crewe, a record which stood until the 1990's. In the same season, Johnny Mullington broke another record, this one still stands today, scoring eight goals in a match against Witton Albion.
Prior to season 1963/64 Frank Bowyer was forced to stand down from the Manager's job, and Albert Leake took over as caretaker boss. After an indifferent start, the Blues later went 27 games without defeat to storm home with the Cheshire League championship and the Cheshire Senior Cup.
Players making their debut that season included goalkeeper Wilf Hall, the former Ipswich star who went onto have a long association with the club before passing away in 2007.
Lighting Up Time
Season 1964/65 saw Macclesfield into the first round of the FA Cup for the second time in four years, but lost at Moss Rose to Wrexham. The season finished up with the Silkmen as Cheshire League runners-up to Wigan Athletic. 1965/66 and floodlights were erected at Moss Rose, the first ever match a 4-1 win over Northwich Victoria on the 1st September 1965.
The lights were officially turned on by Malcolm Allison and Stanley Matthews on 11th October, when 2,500 spectators witnessed a 3-2 in a friendly against Port Vale.
The first pre-season friendly of 1966 saw a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Israeli touring side Tel Aviv, whilst in the Inter-Town Cup at Buxton Frank Beaumont scored the goal to secure the Silkmen's first win at the Silverlands in over eight years.
FA Cup Heroics
The 1967/68 season started without a manager, but Keith Goalen soon took over as player-coach. In the FA Cup the Silkmen secured victory in a Moss Rose replay of their first round proper match against neighbours Stockport County. Fellow non-leaguers Spennymoor United were disposed of in the Second Round, a match which attracted an amazing gate of 7,002 which is still the record for the Moss Rose.
Saturday 27th January 1968 arrived, and 10,000 Macc folk travelled down to Craven Cottage to see the Silkmen lead 2-1 at half time, Fred Taberner and Brian Fidler being the goalscorers. In the second half, a harsh penalty decision gave the home side an equaliser. Only when the nation re-lived the game on 'Match of the Day' that evening did it become clear how close we had come to producing the shock of the season; the final score Fulham 4, Silkmen 2.
Goodbye Cheshire League
It became known that 1967/68 would be the Silkmen's last ever Cheshire League campaign, as we were to become founder members of the Northern Premier League the following season.
After playing games in hand, we finally hit the top of the table with a fine win at Altrincham on Good Friday in front of over 9,000 spectators, a record for the Cheshire League. A point from Oswestry Town subsequently clinched the championship as we ended an association with the Cheshire League lasting almost fifty years with our sixth and final championship.
The original Macclesfield Football Club was founded sometime in the mid 1800's by the late Col. J W H Thorpe, and in the early days played under Rugby rules on a field off Victoria Road called Bowfield Lane. About the year 1874, Macclesfield adopted the then strictly amateur Association Rules and moved to Rostrons Field near Coare Street.
After a few seasons they moved back to Bowfield Lane, which was to be their home for many seasons. At this time there were no leagues or organised competitions, but games were arranged with teams from Stoke, Congleton, Crewe, Leek and Stockport. In these early days a crowd of 200 and receipts of £5 were considered good and the players were all amateurs providing their own kit and travelling expenses.
Two Events, one in 1882 which shows the improving standard was the defeat of Blackburn Olympic on Victoria Road 3-2. This team composed of amateurs later went to London and beat Old Etonians in the Final of the English Cup. In the same year we played Blackburn Rovers twice and lost both matches, but as Macclesfield were playing English Cup matches, one wonders how near they got to the final.
Another event in 1887 shows how far Macclesfield were reaching to meet opposition. Vale of Leven from Scotland were the visitors to Victoria Road and were beaten 3-1. At the time the Scottish opponents were considered the best footballing outfit in the British Isles.
The Pride of Cheshire
The Macclesfield Club engaged the services of Mr John Alcock, landlord of the Oxford Road Tavern, to supervise a strict course of training for the Cheshire Senior Cup Final including dieting, no smoking, country walks and Turkish Baths to ensure Physical Fitness. John Alcock was to walk backwards from Macclesfield to Buxton in 2 hours and 43 minutes in 1895! He must have done something right as the Silkmen won 4-1!
Mr John Alcock supervised training again the following season and Macclesfield recorded their second Senior Cup triumph with a 1-0 win. A crowd of 10,000 saw the game and provided receipts of £170, as in the previous year a tremendous welcome awaited the team upon their return to Macclesfield.
Season 1890/91 also saw the first organised competition on a regular basis, a combination was formed of twelve local teams: Chester, Gorton Villa, Hyde, Leek, Denton, Northwich Victoria, Wrexham, Derby St. Lukes Witton and Macclesfield. It was extremely satisfying to beat Denton and Gorton Villa as both of these two teams had objected to Macc's inclusion on the grounds that their football was not of a high enough standard.
The Move to the Moss
In September 1891 the club moved from Victoria Road to our present home at Moss Rose, this was in spite of the critics who objected the proximity of a public house! Season 1891/1892 saw Macc finish third behind Everton and Northwich in the Combination.
The highlight of this season however, was the visit to the Moss Rose for a friendly game of Preston North End, then a dominant club in English Football. Macc lost 4-1 but this was no disgrace as the Preston team included seven internationals in their team which had shortly before beaten Hyde United 23-0 in the English Cup!
1893/1894 saw the arrival at Moss Rose of several imported players including an Irish international, McVicars. Several friendly games were also arranged that season, the highlight being a 2-0 win over First Division Middlesborough.
The Cheshire Senior Cup final that season was played at Northwich against Chester and the first game ended in a draw after extra time. The replay at Crewe saw the Silkmen run out winners by 2 goal to 1. Once again, on their arrival home, a tremendous welcome awaited the team.
Prior to the 1895/96 season and as a result of financial problems encountered the previous year, the Macclesfield club was incorporated into a limited company under the title of the Macclesfield Football and Athletic Club Ltd. 500 shares of £1 each were taken up. At the same time, many critics argued that finance and sport did not mix and within two years of incorporation these critics were proved only too right.
The End of an Era
In 1896/97 disaster overtook the club. The results on the field were a great disappointment and the directors of the newly formed company soon found themselves in financial difficulties. In April 1897 the team finished bottom of the Combination and the club was finally declared bankrupt.
New Tenants
The Moss Rose ground became vacant and was taken over by Hallifield FC, an amateur side who had been playing on Windmill St and who were members of the Stockport and District League.
Hallifield FC played so well in the 1898/99 season that they topped the table and the following season joined the North Staffs league as Macclesfield FC. However they had only a moderate season in the new league and in 1900 opted to join the Manchester League.
1908/09 season opened in a heatwave and saw a 3-2 win at Northwich, several new players had joined the club in close-season. These players did extremely well and by the end of the season the team finished 4 points clear of Northwich Vics in second place.
1910/11 made it fourth time lucky when they became champions of the Cheshire Senior Cup for the first time in fifteen years, the team also finished the season as champions of the Manchester League.
After WW1
After the First World War the club was reformed in August 1919 under the title of 'The Macclesfield Football Club'. Meetings were held in the Park Green school and Mr Walter Brown, who had bought the stands and fixtures on the Moss Rose ground when the club went into liquidation during the war, gave the Management committee permission to use them again.
The club entered the Cheshire League and won their first home match at home to Crighton, receipts of £70 being taken. At the time the team composed mainly of local players.
During the 1920's there was little success at the Moss Rose. 1922/23 was the most successful when Macclesfield reached the semi-finals of both the Cheshire Senior Cup and the Challenge Cup, losing to Altrincham and Sandbach respectively. The following season saw the departure of the Macclesfield fans' idol Benny Boardman who was transferred to Stockport County.
Thirties Success Story
Season 1929/30 was the most successful since the war. The semi-final bogey was overcome when Nantwich Town were beaten in the final of the Cheshire Senior Cup at Crewe. Macclesfield almost achieved a double challenging Port Vale who eventually became League Champions.
At the end of the 1930/31 season Macclesfield clinched the title with 58 points from 40 games, they also won the Challenge Cup and recorded their most successful season so far. Season 1932/33 saw the Blues carry on from the previous season, they again won the league championship, this time with sixty-three points from forty-two games.
Record Breaker
Season 1933/34 saw Albert Valentine play for the club; he still holds the club goalscoring record with an amazing eighty-three in league and cup matches that season.
In March 1936 the club was suffering severe financial problems and the public of Macclesfield was given the opportunity to decide whether the club should continue. Although the club's plight was met with indifference in the town, enough money was raised to enable them to carry on during a difficult period.
The following three seasons before the start of the war saw little success at Moss Rose, the team finishing in the latter half of the table on each occasion.
The War Years
In 1940, under war conditions, Macclesfield won the Cheshire Senior Cup with a 3-2 victory over Northwich at Crewe. Cheshire League football was suspended in 1939, but continued later as wartime football, the league consisted of two sections, the top club of each section playing off for the championship.
Macclesfield resigned from the wartime league and no more football was played until 1946, apart from a friendly fixture against a team from the US Air Force.
The 'Modern' Club
In 1946 the present Limited Company was formed and the team were admitted to the Cheshire League.
The club started the new season with 21 directors, 15 professional playing staff and a brand new loudspeaker system installed at the Moss Rose Ground. The club finished poorly placed in the league, but did reach the semi-final of the Cheshire Senior Cup.
1947/48 One outstanding game worth mentioning was the league match at Chester. With Chester leading at one stage by five goals to one, the Silkmen staged a remarkable fight-back to return home winners by an incredible 6-5 scoreline.
In the Cheshire Senior Cup, they went down 2-3 at Winsford in the second round in front of a crowd of 9,003.
In 1960 the club reached the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, although they lost 7-2 at Southport. However the club went on to win the Cheshire League title and the forward line of Cunliffe, Bowyer, Smith, Gray and Goalen became perhaps the most famous ever at the Moss Rose.
On the Verge of Greatness
It is considered by many that this season 1960/61 was the beginning of the re-birth of Macclesfield Town Football Club. Under Frank Bowyer, the former Stoke City star, the Silkmen were to go from strength to strength during the next decade.
In 1962 the Silkmen finished Cheshire League runners-up to Ellesmere Port, and in 1963 they finished sixth.
Season 1962/63 also saw the club pay a record £1,000 for Pat Connolly from Crewe, a record which stood until the 1990's. In the same season, Johnny Mullington broke another record, this one still stands today, scoring eight goals in a match against Witton Albion.
Prior to season 1963/64 Frank Bowyer was forced to stand down from the Manager's job, and Albert Leake took over as caretaker boss. After an indifferent start, the Blues later went 27 games without defeat to storm home with the Cheshire League championship and the Cheshire Senior Cup.
Players making their debut that season included goalkeeper Wilf Hall, the former Ipswich star who went onto have a long association with the club before passing away in 2007.
Lighting Up Time
Season 1964/65 saw Macclesfield into the first round of the FA Cup for the second time in four years, but lost at Moss Rose to Wrexham. The season finished up with the Silkmen as Cheshire League runners-up to Wigan Athletic. 1965/66 and floodlights were erected at Moss Rose, the first ever match a 4-1 win over Northwich Victoria on the 1st September 1965.
The lights were officially turned on by Malcolm Allison and Stanley Matthews on 11th October, when 2,500 spectators witnessed a 3-2 in a friendly against Port Vale.
The first pre-season friendly of 1966 saw a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Israeli touring side Tel Aviv, whilst in the Inter-Town Cup at Buxton Frank Beaumont scored the goal to secure the Silkmen's first win at the Silverlands in over eight years.
FA Cup Heroics
The 1967/68 season started without a manager, but Keith Goalen soon took over as player-coach. In the FA Cup the Silkmen secured victory in a Moss Rose replay of their first round proper match against neighbours Stockport County. Fellow non-leaguers Spennymoor United were disposed of in the Second Round, a match which attracted an amazing gate of 7,002 which is still the record for the Moss Rose.
Saturday 27th January 1968 arrived, and 10,000 Macc folk travelled down to Craven Cottage to see the Silkmen lead 2-1 at half time, Fred Taberner and Brian Fidler being the goalscorers. In the second half, a harsh penalty decision gave the home side an equaliser. Only when the nation re-lived the game on 'Match of the Day' that evening did it become clear how close we had come to producing the shock of the season; the final score Fulham 4, Silkmen 2.
Goodbye Cheshire League
It became known that 1967/68 would be the Silkmen's last ever Cheshire League campaign, as we were to become founder members of the Northern Premier League the following season.
After playing games in hand, we finally hit the top of the table with a fine win at Altrincham on Good Friday in front of over 9,000 spectators, a record for the Cheshire League. A point from Oswestry Town subsequently clinched the championship as we ended an association with the Cheshire League lasting almost fifty years with our sixth and final championship.
