Wearside Football League

Wearside Football League
Country England
Founded 1892
Divisions 1
Number of teams 20
Level on pyramid Level 11
Feeder to Northern League
Promotion to Northern League Division Two
Relegation to Durham Alliance Combination League
League cup(s) Monkwearmouth Charity Cup
Shipowners' Charity Cup
League Challenge Cup
Current champions Stockton Town
(2015-16)
Website official
2015-16 Wearside League

The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in England. It consists of a single division which sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Division Two. Following the 2007–08 season, Whitehaven moved up to the Northern League, as did Newton Aycliffe in 2008–09, Ryhope Colliery Welfare in 2011-12 and Willington in 2012-13. The league has had a second division in the past but currently only operates with one. For the 2015–16 season, 20 clubs are competing in the league. The Wearside League is fed by the Durham Alliance Combination League.

Despite its name, the league covers a much larger area than just Wearside; for the 2015–16 season it includes clubs as far south as North Yorkshire and as far west as Cumbria.

The league also operates three cup competitions: the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup and the Shipowners' Charity Cup, both of which have been contested since the 1890s, and the League Challenge Cup, which came into being in the 1930s.

Member clubs for 2016–17 season

History

The Wearside League came into being in 1892 at the instigation of Charles Kirtley, secretary of Sunderland Swifts. In June 1892, a letter written by Kirtley was published in the Sunderland Daily Post and The Herald in which he stated that he had been asked by several club secretaries about the possibility of forming an organisation to play home-and-home matches, so as to find out which was the best amateur team.[2] A similar letter was published in the Sunderland Daily Echo. At a meeting soon afterwards at the Central Coffee Tavern, eleven clubs agreed to form a league, which commenced playing later that year.

During the early years of the league most teams were extremely hard-up, and the league's archive records that one early club had no pitch but instead played on the sands by Sunderland Docks, and another had to play with an old rugby ball as they could not afford an association football ball. By the 20th century, however, the league was better off and was even able to organise matches to benefit local charities during World War I. After the Great War, the league was dominated for many years by colliery welfare teams – in the 1930s every league title was won by a pit team and the mining clubs continued to dominate right through to the 1970s, although an increasing number began to experience financial difficulties from the 1950s onwards due to shrinking workforces at the mines.

In 1964 the North Eastern League was disbanded and a number of its former teams joined the Wearside League. Around this time the team of the 24th Signal Regiment spent one season in the league but then had to withdraw as most of their players were posted overseas. In 1978 Blue Star became the first Wearside League club to reach the final of the FA Vase, and went on to win the trophy, the start of a run of success which would ultimately see them progress much higher up the non-league ranks. Three years later Whickham repeated the feat and also soon moved up to higher leagues. More recently, clubs such as Darlington Railway Athletic, North Shields, Newton Aycliffe, Ryhope Colliery Welfare and Willington have successfully moved up to the Northern League.

Past champions

This is a list of champions since World War II.

SeasonChampions
1945–46Birtley Town
1946–47Seaham Colliery Welfare
1947–48Easington Colliery Welfare
1948–49Easington Colliery Welfare
1949–50South Hetton
1950–51Sunderland 'A'
1951–52Sunderland 'A'
1952–53Boldon Community Association
1953–54Shotton Colliery Welfare
1954–55Boldon Community Association
1955–56Shotton Colliery Welfare
1956–57Shotton Colliery Welfare
1957–58Silksworth Colliery Welfare
1958–59Langley Park Colliery Welfare
1959–60Murton Colliery Welfare
1960–61Shotton Colliery Welfare
1961–62Ryhope Colliery Welfare
1962–63Ryhope Colliery Welfare
1963–64Ryhope Colliery Welfare
1964–65Horden Colliery Welfare
1965–66Ryhope Colliery Welfare
1966–67Reyrolle
1967–68Horden Colliery Welfare
SeasonChampions
1968–69Darlington Reserves
1969–70Horden Colliery Welfare
1970–71Horden Colliery Welfare
1971–72Horden Colliery Welfare
1972–73Horden Colliery Welfare
1973–74Blue Star Welfare
1974–75Boldon Community Association
1975–76Blue Star Welfare
1976–77South Shields
1977–78Whickham
1978–79Wallsend Town
1979–80Hartlepool United Reserves
1980–81Chester-le-Street Town
1981–82Seaham Colliery Welfare Red Star
1982–83Blue Star
1983–84Blue Star
1984–85Blue Star
1985–86Coundon TT
1986–87Annfield Plain
1987–88Whickham
1988–89Dunston Federation Brewery
1989–90Dunston Federation Brewery
1990–91Eppleton Colliery Welfare
SeasonChampions
1991–92Eppleton Colliery Welfare
1992–93South Shields
1993–94Hartlepool Town
1994–95South Shields
1995–96Marske United
1996–97Boldon Community Association
1997–98Annfield Plain
1998–99North Shields Athletic
1999–2000Nissan
2000–01Nissan
2001–02North Shields
2002–03Birtley Town
2003–04North Shields
2004–05Darlington Railway Athletic
2005–06Whitehaven
2006–07Birtley Town
2007–08New Marske Sports Club
2008–09Newton Aycliffe
2009–10Scarborough Town
2010–11Ryhope Colliery Welfare
2011–12Ryhope Colliery Welfare
2012–13Stockton Town
2013–14Stockton Town
SeasonChampions
2014–15Stockton Town
2015–16Stockton Town

References

  1. ↑ "Darlington launch Reserve Team in Wearside League". Northern Echo. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  2. ↑ "League History". Wearside Football League. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
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