North Shields Football Club is a football club based in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England. They have reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup twice in their history: in 1933–34 and 1982–83. Following their promotion from Northern League Division Two, they achieved promotion to Northern League Division One from which they were promoted from in 2022 as Champions to the Northern Premier League Division One East. They also won the FA Amateur Cup at Wembley in 1969, beating Sutton United. During the 2014–15 season, North Shields repeated their 1969 success by defeating Glossop North End 2-1 AET at Wembley in the final of the FA Vase.
History
North Shields Athletic 1896–1915 The club was formed in 1896 as North Shields Athletic playing initially in the South Shields and District League. They subsequently became members of the Northern Combination and were runners-up of this league in the 1900–01 season. The club moved to the Appleby Park ground at Hawkey's Lane, North Shields around 1900.
After eight seasons as a Northern Combination club, in 1904 North Shields Athletic joined the Northern Alliance. They soon were successful, winning the league for two successive seasons in 1906–07 and 1907–08. Following this the team were admitted to the North Eastern League and North Shields Athletic remained members until 1914–15 when competition was suspended owing to the First World War. At least two players, Alan Grenyer and Harry Chambers went on to play for the full England team after starting their careers with North Shields Athletic.
Preston Colliery 1919–1928 After the First World War the club emerged as Preston Colliery and upon resumption of football played the 1919–20 season in the Tyneside League. The following season they competed in the Northern Alliance and from 1921 they were re-admitted to the North Eastern League. Success proved elusive for the Preston Colliery team and after a next to bottom finish to the 1927–28 campaign they were relegated to Division 2 (which had been formed a few seasons earlier by absorbing the clubs' previous league, the Northern Alliance).
North Shields 1928–1992 The club became North Shields F.C. at the start of the 1928–29 season and were immediately divisional champions and promoted back to Division 1 of the North Eastern League where they remained playing (except for a seven-year suspension of the league caused by the Second World War) until 1958.
North Shields achieved their best to date performance in the FA Cup in reaching the second round proper in 1933–34 (this feat was not equalled for forty-nine years). In the first round Shields defeated Midland League Scarborough 3–0 at Appleby Park. They were drawn away in the next round to local rivals Football League Third Division North club Gateshead who won the tie, 1–0.
A few years prior to the war-time cessation, in 1936 the club saw their record attendance at Appleby Park of 12,800 in a local derby match against South Shields. In 1944–45 following the post war resumption of the league Shields won the league cup. Shortly afterwards in 1949–50 the team won the North Eastern League championship, achieved a second-placed finish in 1951–52 and took the League Cup winners crown again five years later. That season, 1956–57, was to be temporarily their penultimate as members of the North Eastern League as that league disbanded after the 1957–58 campaign.
The disbandment was caused by the withdrawal of Football League clubs' reserve teams - a fate that also befell the Midland League. The remaining teams from both leagues combined into a single Midland League. North Shields were runners-up of this grouping in 1959–60 (by three points to Peterborough United who were elected to the Football League for the following season).
This league arrangement was short-lived and from 1960 the north-eastern teams organised themselves into a ten-team Northern Counties League. North Shields were champions of this league in its inaugural 1960–61 season. The league was renamed the North Eastern League in 1962 but only survived a further two seasons.
Upon the folding of that league, North Shields joined the Northern League from the 1964–65 campaign and shortly thereafter achieved success. A year after joining they were runners-up and three years later with former Scotland defender Frank Brennan as manager North Shields recorded a unique quadruple in 1968–69 of league winners, league cup winners, FA Amateur Cup winners and joint winners of the Anglo Italian Amateur Cup (after an aggregate draw over two legs against Italian Amateur cup winners Almas).
The FA Amateur Cup was the highest ranked nationwide cup competition for amateur clubs and in the 1968–69 final North Shields beat Isthmian League club Sutton United in front of 47,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium. Shields were a goal down after only four minutes but won 2–1 with second half strikes from Richie Hall and Brian Joicey, both laid on by substitute Tommy Orrick a local shipyard worker.
North Shields continued in the Northern League until 1989, winning the league cup in 1971–72 and were league runners-up in 1983–84. "The Robins" achieved their best post-war FA Cup performance in 1982 progressing for the second time in their history to the second round proper. They won 1–0 at fourth division League club Halifax Town in the first round, Bede McCaffrey scoring the all-important goal. It was Shields first (and only to date) FA Cup victory over a Football League club. Third division league club Walsall were the visitors to Appleby Park in the second round and left with a 3–0 victory.
During the late 1970s, the whole structure of Non-League football was changing. North Shields had been an amateur club however in 1974 the Football Association had abolished the distinction between amateur and professional players. 1979 saw the creation of the Alliance Premier League at the head of a national pyramid structure with, from 1987, automatic promotion to the Football League. The Northern League remained outside of the pyramid structure and gradually lost its status to the Northern Premier League which was a direct feeder league to the Alliance. Indeed, the Northern Counties East League which was founded in 1982 to be part of the pyramid structure (and a feeder to the Northern Premier League) was becoming an alternative rival to the independent Northern League.
North Shields stepped into the integrated leagues in 1989 joining the Premier Division of the Northern Counties East League. Shields immediately made their mark with runners-up position in 1989-90 and again in 1990–91. These achievements were surpassed over the 1991–92 season with the winning of the Northern Counties East League championship and cup double. Under the managership of Colin Richardson the Robins claimed the number one spot (finishing 24 points clear over runners up Sutton Town) and the prize of promotion up the non-league pyramid to the second tier of the Northern Premier League.
But behind the scenes all was not well, with Director Chris Wynne claiming repayment of £98,000 debt. The club under financial administration set about selling its Appleby Park ground to settle the debt and fund a ground-sharing arrangement with Whitley Bay. However, insufficient funds were realised for the latter and with no ground on which to play Shields' membership of the Northern Premier League was terminated. It looked like the end of North Shields FC until a new company North Shields (1992) Ltd was formed with local councillors, business leaders and a couple of members of Geordie folk rock band Lindisfarne supporting it.
North Shields FC 1992– Despite it being a couple of weeks after the start of competition, North Shields were accepted into Division 2 of the Wearside League - a drop of 5 levels down the football pyramid. Former player Dave Callaghan became the manager and put a new team together. The club's stay at this level was short-lived, earning promotion - as 1992–93 division 2 runners-up - to Division 1 of the Wearside league. Initially the club played at their Appleby Park ground but after a few months relocated to St John's Green, Percy Main and thence for a couple of years from 1993 to 1994 on to Swallow Sports Ground, Wallsend. Thereafter, the club relocated back to North Shields to the Ralph Gardner Park which has since been developed into a 1,500-capacity stadium.
For four years in the late nineties (1995 to 1999), the club adopted the name of their forerunners, North Shields Athletic and under this name were Wearside League champions in 1998–99. The club name reverted to North Shields FC in 1999 and success continued with Wearside League runners-up and two league championships in the four seasons to 2003–04.
Following these successes the club rejoined, after a 15-year absence, the Northern League at division 2 level. The team endured a run of lower table finishes until Anthony Woodhouse arrived as player-manager in 2009 from local rivals Whitley Bay. In his second full season the club finished 4th. After a series of top eight finishes he was replaced in April 2012 by former Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa player Graham Fenton.
Two years later in 2014, North Shields F.C. clinched promotion to the Northern League First Division by winning the Northern League Second Division Championship - clinching the title with a 3–1 win at rivals South Shields. A then record attendance at their current ground of 1,312 was established at the Good Friday game in their final home game of the season against West Allotment Celtic - who were also promoted that season. Shields received the trophy after a 3–0 win.
Shields scored 141 goals, with a goal difference of +108 and 100 points. Gareth Bainbridge was the leading scorer with 55 goals, 47 of these in the league, a total greater than any other Northern League player. He was rewarded with the Northern League Player of the Year Award for 2013–14.
Success on a national level followed the next season when "the Robins" won the 2014–15 FA Vase beating champions of the North West Counties League, Glossop North End. The final took place at Wembley Stadium and similar to the North Shields Amateur Cup triumph 46 years previously they came from a goal down to win 2-1 (after extra time) with Gareth Bainbridge and Adam Forster scoring. Along the way, a new attendance record of 1,500 was established at the Shields' Ralph Gardner Park stadium at the semi-final second leg match against Highworth Town in which the Shields triumphed 2–0. They also finished 4th in the Northern League First Division and only five points behind champions Marske United.
Success on a regional level followed the next season when "the Robins" won the Northumberland Senior Cup beating Northern Premier League Premier Division, Blyth Spartans AFC. Northumberland Senior Cup final took place at St James' Park. There was a lot of build up to the game with favourites and holders Blyth Spartans who play in a higher league than North Shields looking to grab some silverware after missing out on promotion this season. The game ended 4–3 to North Shields adding another piece of silverware to their impressive collection. Goals came from Gary Ormston, 2 impressive goals from Gareth Bainbridge and with the scores at 3-3, Ryan Carr came up with the goods with a thunderbolt into the top corner sparking pandemonium on and off the field. The Robins comfortably wound down the remaining seconds, and Kevin Hughes lifted the cup for the thirteenth time in the club's history. The game attracted a crowd of 2321 with a healthy contingent from North Shields. They also finished 5th in the Northern League First Division and 24 points behind champions Shildon AFC. Also only 5 points from 3rd place with Morpeth Town AFC and Guisborough Town being level on 77 points.