The Spennymoor football club, from County Durham, was formed in 1904, chiefly at the instigation of local councillor and businessman Thomas Grant, who negotiated use of the Brewery Field, used previously by Tudhoe Rugby Club.
The club began playing in the Northern League in 1931–32 as Evenwood Town, reaching the first round of the FA Cup in the 1956–57 season. In 2005, the club merged with Spennymoor United, who had folded earlier that year and changed their name to Spennymoor Town. After the merger with Evenwood Town, Spennymoor Town was granted the lease from the town council and decided to carry on using The Brewery Field for their home games.
Spennymoor United were six times Northern League Champions, four times winners
of the old North Eastern League, on 16 occasions Durham Challenge Cup holders.
The club currently competes in the National League North,
the sixth tier of English football.
They reached the FA Cup first round 18 times, twice the
second and in 1937 at West Brom in front of a 23,000 crowd, the third.
Spennymoor have since faced Wigan Athletic, Tranmere Rovers, Chesterfield &
Rotherham United in the same competition.
Spennymoor United also reached the semi-finals of the
F.A.Trophy in 1978 (the first North East and the only Northern League side to
do so), Won the Northern League Cup five times, JR Cleator Cup, Northern
Counties East Premier Division and the UniBond League Cup.
Following the Northern League’s decision not to be part of
the pyramid, Spennymoor joined the Northern Counties East League and won the
Championship at their second attempt in 1993 for promotion to the UniBond First
Division, before promotion was secured on the last day of the season to the
UniBond Premier Division with a victory over Ashton United in front of a near
1,000 Brewery Field crowd.
The same season, Spennymoor became the first club from the
First division to win the UniBond League Challenge Cup, beating Hyde United 3-1
in the Final at Harrogate Town. Bad news followed at the end of the century
when the club lost its main sponsor and faced two disastrous seasons without
financial support which told on the field as the club was relegated into the UniBond
First Division.
The club did, however, bounce back under the leadership of
Jamie Pollock to gain promotion back into the Premier division in 2003 and the
season after the Moors were in the play offs for entry into the newly formed
Nationwide Conference North, but lost to Bradford Park Avenue 3-1. The Moors
social club was burned to the ground in an arson attack on Christmas Day 2003
and from then on the club had no income which caused a stutter in the club’s
progress.
In late 2012 and early 2013, a lot of upgrades were made to
the ground, including new floodlights, manufactured by local company, Thorn
Lighting, replacing the original ones that had been used for over 40 years.
Other improvements were made, such as a tunnel for the players leading into the
home and away dressing rooms and new dugouts on the far side of the pitch, as
well as new terracing and access for disabled fans.
A portfolio of players have played for the club and moved
onto the Football League over the years, most in particular Johnny Dixon who
captained Aston Villa in their 1957 F.A.Cup Final victory over Manchester
United, meanwhile John Collins – the father of comedian Frank Skinner – also
played for the club just before the Second World War.
This weekend, Spennymoor Town are set to host a
unique and ground-breaking fixture in association with Head For Change and the Solan Connor Fawcett Trust which will feature a game with NO heading. https://twitter.com/Head4Change
The game will involve a host of former professionals and
aims to show how 11-a-side football
works with heading restrictions and continue an “ongoing conversation about
the safety of players.”
The match, organised by charity Head for Change, will only
allow headers in the penalty box for the first half and then restrict all
heading during the second half.
Head for Change’s team on the day will be made up of former
players who have connections with Middlesbrough FC, while a mix of Spennymoor
Town and former professionals and semi-professional players will be on show for
Team Solan.
Press and coverage on the fixture has gathered serious
momentum in recent days, with national newspapers, radio stations and websites
covering the story.
Head For Change
Co-Founder Judith Gates, who’s husband Bill Gates played for Spennymoor United,
has been the driving force behind the project.
She said: “When I founded Head For Change, I approached Debra Swinburn, Board Member at
Spennymoor Town, and asked is there any chance of Bill’s first club hosting a game
in support of the charity. “Bill and I were both school kids together at
Spennymoor Grammar School, where he played for both the school and Spennymoor
United. It’s held a very special place in his heart. See this:
This weekend, fresh from
a 6-0 thumping of Farsley Celtic, in the league, the club travels to AFC Fylde in
the FA Cup, Second Qualifying Round.
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