DARWEN AND SUTER

Darwen....know where that is? Well once you find out where the club is located, then you will soon learn that the town had a football club making its debut in the "newish" Football League in 1892. It was their debut season, but not too successful. They started inconsistently and in their first games they were beaten three times, managed a draw but had two big wins; 5-2 v Accrington and 9-3 versus Stoke.Heavy defeats began to pile up; 0-5 v Notts County, Derby, Sunderland and Aston Villa all ran out 7-0 winners and Burnley scored 9 with no reply. Stoke avenged their 3-9 humiliation with a 5-1 win.

Darwen was featured in the Netflix production The English Game.

The likelihood of coming bottom could be avenged! At the beginning of April, Darwen was a point behind Stoke with two games in hand and within four of West Brom, whom they were scheduled to play twice. West Brom won 12-0, a Football League record. The League was only in its fourth season and the "black" memory still stands as a record. Then, Darwen took a point from West Brom 1-1, twelve days later but it was their last of the season. Second placed Preston beat them 4-0, Champions Sunderland won 7-1 and condemned West Brom, The Baggies, to become founder members of the new Second Division, the next season!!

In 1909, Darwen's top flight record was matched by Leicester Fosse who lost to Nottingham Forest 0-12. Fosse players did mention the celebration at a team mate's wedding two days earlier and maybe claimed it as a reason for their ineptitude. 

The record all-division League defeat was superseded by Halifax, who lost to Stockport 13-0 in 1934 and then matched by Newport against Newcastle twelve years later. Darwen had long left the League and failed to win re-election in 1899 after a run of 18 consecutive defeats, a record that still stands!

This remains a record, although Sunderland narrowly avoided equalling it in 2003 by losing 17 consecutive league games. They also set a record for the most goals conceded by a team in any Football League season, with 141.

Fergus Suter arguably the world's first professional footballer. He joined Darwen F.C in 1878. He made a controversial move to Blackburn Rovers in 1880. He appeared in four FA Cup finals, gaining three winner's medals.

In 2009 the 134-year-old Darwen F.C. therefore ceased to exist.

A successor club called AFC Darwen was formed in May 2009, joining the West Lancashire League. In June 2022, the club was based at the WEC Group Anchor Ground.