This, I'm sure will never happening again, but just after the start of the 1919/20 season the footballing authorities closed down Leeds City and expelled them from the Football League.
Their fixtures were taken over by Port Vale. City's "crime" had been to make illegal payments to players during the First World War. That saw the need to auction off the club assets to pay the debts.
On 17th October 1919, representatives of 30 League clubs assembled at the Metropole Hotel in Leeds to bid for everything from boots to goalnets to....the players! The Yorkshire Post newspaper described it as "a melancholy spectacle" as the playing squad was sold as if they were cattle. Billy McLeod was bought by Notts County for £1250, John Hampson, to Aston Villa and Harold Millership to Rotherham County(as the club was kno;wn then) went for £1000 each. A £100 was the bargain price Lincoln City paid for Francis Chipperfield. Their whole squad went for around £10,000.
Almost slavery, but out of that hardship a new club was soon playing at the Elland Road, home of Leeds City....later Leeds United.
Leeds City above, founded in 1904 but dissolved just 15 years later after expulsion from the Football League. Their existence in English football was short, but it certainly wasn't quiet. It was a surprise that football took so long to begin in the city. They witnessed a friendly between Sheffield clubs in 1877, and had a few years with Hunslet FC and Leeds Steelworks from 1894, but the early 1900s provided their first real large city club. Gilbert Gillies led the side from 1904 but failed to bring success. The club were rooted to the Second Division throughout their 15-year life, even with the great Herbert Chapman leading them from 1912 onwards.Chapman is best known for his successes with Huddersfield and Arsenal, but he lays claim to guiding City to their highest ever finish of fourth in Division Two. The efforts on-the-pitch are far from why they are best known though. The Leeds City Scandal of 1919, centred around illegal payments, ultimately led to the club's demise. https://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/the-remarkable-story-of-leeds-city/172864
On this day in 1962, Leyton Orient played the club's only season in the top flight of the Football League (in those days, known as Division One) and in that season they recorded their record highest score of 9-2, against Chester in the Third Round of the League Cup! It proved to be a rare good day in front of goal for Leyton Orient with the O's only managing 37 goals in their 42 Division One outings. Orient finished a distant bottom in the First Division table that season.
1962 was a good year for Oxford United, founded in 1893, as a club originally known as Headington United, then featuring in the Southern League. In 1960 the club directors had decided to change the club name to Oxford United and for the next two seasons, Oxford Utd was the champion of their League. The next two seasons, Oxford Utd finished 18th and won promotion the following season, 1965. After two seasons in the Third Division, Oxford won promotion to Division Two, only to slip back one division after a couple of seasons. In 1984, there was another promotion, Oxford eventually finishing as Champions of Division Two, finding themselves in Division One, the pinnacle at the time. Twenty three years from joining the Football League, they had made it to the First Division (the top one at the time).
Tomorrow, Oxford Utd (presently 19th in League One) play at Sutton Utd in the Football League Trophy, group stage.
Also in 1962, Accrington Stanley dropped out the Football League, Fourth Division after just 33 games. In June that year, the Football League met to decide which club should take the empty slot in the coming season and Wigan Athletic was United's only opponent. Oxford won by 39 votes to 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment