The Blackpool Football Club has become the 44th to compete in the Premier League and this holiday town is gearing up for the fans that will be coming to watch the football and have a short break in one of the Hotels in Blackpool. The history of this particular F.C. began some hundred and thirty years ago, with Rev. James Wayman founding the Victoria Football Club, in 1877. It originally played on Manchester’s Field in Blackpool, England. In the first couple of years, the Victoria club split up and its remaining members joined together to found the Blackpool St. Johns team. However, this team was to be a short-lived one, and a dispute among its players led to the formation of the Blackpool Football Club.
In 1888, the F.C. helped to found the Lancashire League. It competed in eight winning seasons and even scored a championship title in the 1893-94 season. In spring of 1896, the Blackpool Football Club developed into a Limited Company worth 2,000 pounds. Then, only two months later, it joined the Football League. Its first Football League match took place in Lincoln City on September 5th, 1896. The game drew 2,000 fans, and the club’s first League goal was scored by Charles Mount.
In that first League season, the Blackpool F.C. finished in eighth place in the Second Division. They scored 31 goals in a total of 30 games. For the next thirty years or so, Blackpool remained in Division Two with only occasional success. Following the Great War, the club attempted to rank into Division Two. Around this time, the famous George Mee joined up and made an incredible 195 consecutive appearances, becoming a club favorite in the 1920s. Other well-known players from the 1920s include Billy Benton, “Matty” Barrass, Jackie Meredith, Harry Bedford, and Jimmy Hampson.
In the 1922, Blackpool owners made the judicious decision to bring in Major Frank Buckley as team manager. With never before heard of training skills and a first class scouting system, he was invaluable to the club during his four year stay. A few years later, though, the club began to lose its financial grip and it was only with the help of The Supporters’ Club that enough cash was raised to keep the team afloat.
As the years passed, the Blackpool F.C. jumped into the First Division at last, and though it had difficulty holding its position at first, by the 1960s it had become a first class organization. In 1953, it even walked away with the F.A. Cup. Later, the club continued to sway in and out of Division One and financial woes deprived it of key players. A real comeback wasn’t realized until recently, when the Blackpool Football Club has run across some newfound success.
There are thousands of hotels and B&B’s so Accommodation in Blackpool is very easy to find, so when you come to visit Blackpool to watch the football, you can stay for the weekend and see what else Blackpool has to offer.
