Park Grange F.C.
| Full name | Park Grange Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Grange/Grangeites[1] | |
| Founded | 1874 | |
| Dissolved | 1890 | |
| Ground | Sheaf House Ground[2] | |
|
| ||
Park Grange F.C. was an English association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
History
[edit]The club was formed as Providence (sometimes referred to as Sheffield Providence) in 1874, originally playing under Sheffield rules.[3] It competed in the FA Cup on three occasions under the Providence name before changing to Park Grange in the summer of 1882 following a merger.[4]
Providence years
[edit]The club's most competitive run in the Cup was its first, in 1879-80, when it received a bye in the first round and was drawn with Sheffield F.C. in the second. No other Sheffield clubs had entered the competition. Providence had "not generally been considered a formidable club", but had a "pushing executive" and, with a near-monopoly on choosing a squad for the competition, "got several of the crack players of the district to qualify for the tie under notice";[5] the Sporting Life described the match as "between the Sheffield Association and the Sheffield Club".[6] After a rapid thaw made Bramall Lane almost unplayable, and after Providence started the match with ten men, the tie ended 3-3, F.C. scoring a late equalizer from a scrimmage after a corner.[7] The replay, at the same venue, was won by F.C., perhaps because of a number of changes Providence made to the line-up and the consequent lack of integration, and partly because Sheffield had also strengthened by bringing in two players from Nottingham.[8]
The following season, the Wednesday also entered the competition, which removed a number of hitherto-available players from the club, and the draw was not kind, landing Providence with Blackburn Rovers, which was a professional club professing to be amateur. By 1881-82, other Sheffield clubs were entering, and Providence was forced to rely on its own membership.
Park Grange F.C.
[edit]In the summer of 1882, the club took over the Exchange and Perseverance clubs,[9] and changed its name to Park Grange. Under the latter name, the club enjoyed its best run in a local competition, being one of the final three teams in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup; after beating Mexborough 1-0[10] and losing 2–0 to Lockwood Brothers F.C. the club was declared runners-up.[11]
The only entries the club made to the FA Cup under the Park Grange name were in 1887-88 and 1888–89. In the former year, the club lost 6–3 at Long Eaton Rangers, with Rangers scoring in the first minute without Park Grange touching the ball; the Grange did bring the score back to 2-2 and 3–3 before Rangers broke clear in the second half.[12] It was the club's last appearance in the main rounds.
Exchange F.C.
[edit]The Exchange Cricket Club still existed and in 1888 Park Grange and the cricketers put on a joint athletics competition. Perhaps prompted by that, at the start of the 1888–89 season, the club changed its name to the Exchange Football Club.[13] However, despite a decent fixture list, the club "lost several of their most players"[14] and did not survive to the following season.
League and cup history
[edit]| Park Grange League and Cup history[15][16][17][18][19] | |
|---|---|
| Season | FA Cup |
| 1879–80 | 2nd Round |
| 1880–81 | 1st Round |
| 1881–82 | 1st Round |
| 1887–88 | 1st Round |
| 1888–89 | 3rd qualifying round |
Colours
[edit]The club originally played in red and white,[20] but from 1877, when, as the Sheffield rules merged with Football Association laws, the club changed to red and grey.[21]
Honours
[edit]
League[edit]None |
Cup[edit]
|
Records
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Long Eaton Rangers v Park Grange". Athletic News: 2. 18 October 1887.
- ^ "Football Notes". Sheffield Independent: 7. 27 March 1888.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1876). Football Annual. p. 153.
- ^ Sheffield Independent, 21 September 1882, page 4
- ^ "report". The Field: 840. 20 December 1879.
- ^ "report". Sporting Life: 1. 17 December 1879.
- ^ "report". Sheffield Independent: 8. 16 December 1879.
- ^ "report". Sheffield Independent: 8. 30 December 1879.
- ^ Perseverance, originally called Perseverance Temperance, was founded in 1870 and played at Norfolk Park; the club colours were white with a blue star, Charles Alcock Football Annual, 1873 edition.
- ^ "Football". Nottingham Evening Post: 4. 30 March 1885.
- ^ "Football - The Association Game". Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough: 2. 22 April 1885.
- ^ "report". Long Eaton Advertiser: 2. 22 October 1887.
- ^ "Exchange Football Club". Sheffield Independent: 8. 26 August 1889.
- ^ "Football Notes". Sheffield Independent: 8. 8 October 1889.
- ^ "Archived copy". thefa.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Club Sheffield Providence, England".
- ^ "Football Club History Database - Sheffield Providence".
- ^ "Club Park Grange, England".
- ^ "Football Club History Database - Park Grange".
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1876). Football Annual. p. 153.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1878). Football Annual. p. 102.