History of Manchester City F.C. (1928–1965)

This page is about the history of Manchester City Football Club from 1965 to present. Other history pages related to Manchester City include History of Manchester City (1965-2001), History of Manchester City (2001-present)

This page chronicles the history of Manchester City in further detail from its early years in 1880 to 1965. See History of Manchester City F.C. for a history overview of Manchester City.

Formation and early years (1875–1894)

St. Mark's (West Gorton) (1880–1884)

Members of St. Mark's Church of England, West Gorton, Manchester, founded for humanitarian purposes the football club that would become known as Manchester City. Two churchwardens and the rector's daughter, Anna Connell, sought to curb local gang violence and alcoholism by instituting new activities for local men whilst high unemployment plagued East Manchester, specifically Gorton.

St. Marks (Gorton) in 1884 - the reason for the Maltese cross is unknown to this day

All men regardless of religion which was more prominent in the 1800s and Anna personally visited every home in the parish to drum up involvement - inviting both Protestants and Catholics to take part in recreational activities.

A church cricket club had formed in 1875 with it first match on the 13th November 1880 against the Baptist Church from Macclesfield, but no equivalent for the Winter months existed. Suggesting to the Church Warden, William Beastow, she surmised that the men’s daily routine would be better served via the church organising games in the manner of a new and increasingly popular sport in the late 1800s called ‘football’ which could be played in the winter. To rectify this, and as part of Connell's general push to intervene in social ills, churchwardens William Beastow and Thomas Goodbehere started a church football team called St Mark's (West Gorton) (sometimes written as West Gorton (St Mark's)) in the winter of 1880. Anna Connell is the only woman to have catalysed the formation of a major football club.

The team's first recorded match occurred on 13 November 1880, against a church team from Macclesfield. Ardwick wore a black shirt with white shorts rather than the sky blue colours we have to come to recognise from the modern day Manchester City.

In 1884, the club merged with another, Gorton Athletic, but the merger lasted only a few months before the clubs split again, the St Mark's representatives naming themselves Gorton A.F.C. and Gorton Athletic reforming as West Gorton Athletic.

Ardwick F.C. (1884–1894)

In 1887, Gorton A.F.C. turned professional and moved to a new ground at Hyde Road, renaming to Ardwick A.F.C. to reflect the new location in the east of the city. In 1889 an explosion at the nearby Hyde Road coal mine results in the death of 23 miners with Ardwick and Newton Heath, who both later became City and United, playing a friendly match under floodlights in aid of the disaster fund.

Ardwick gained wider fame in 1891 by winning the Manchester Cup for the first time, defeating Newton Heath 1–0 in the final. This success proved influential to the decision by the Football Alliance to accept Ardwick as a member for the 1891-92 season. The Alliance merged with the Football League in 1892, and Ardwick became founder members of Division Two. Financial troubles in the 1893-94 season led to a reorganisation within the club, and Ardwick turned into Manchester City, with Manchester City Football Club Limited formally becoming a registered company on April 16, 1894.

Manchester City (1894–1930)

The Manchester City team which won the FA Cup in 1904

In 1894 the club was reformed and manager Joshua Parlby acquired nineteen year-old Billy Meredith from Northwich Victoria. The future "Welsh Wizard" was extremely talented and won his first international cap for Wales in 1895. However, he continued to work underground as a miner during the week until 1896, when Manchester City finally insisted that he give up his colliery job.

Winning the Second Division in 1899 gave the club its first honours and promotion to highest level in English football, the First Division. The club went on to claim its first major honour on April 23, 1904, beating Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at Crystal Palace to win the most prestigious knockout tournament in English football, the FA Cup, and narrowly missing out on a League and Cup double by finishing runners-up in the League. In the seasons following the FA Cup triumph, the club was dogged by allegations of financial irregularities, culminating in the suspension of seventeen players in 1906, including captain Billy Meredith. Most of the players who were suspended went to local rivals Manchester United, forming the basis of United's first successful side. However attitudes in Manchester were different in prior to the 1960s and Mancunian players were encouraged to stay in Manchester to play for either City or United.

See also: Hyde Road and Maine Road

File:King george v 1924.jpg

King George V meeting the Manchester City players at Hyde Road in 1920

In 1920, the ground became the first football venue outside London to be visited by a reigning monarch; King George V attended the ground to watch a match between Manchester City and Liverpool. In November a fire caused by a cigarette end destroyed the Main Stand, and Manchester City began to seek a new home. Initial discussions raised the possibility of sharing Old Trafford with neighbours Manchester United, but United's proposed rent was prohibitive, so repair work was undertaken and Manchester City continued to play at Hyde Road.

Plans for the club to move to a new ground—Maine Road—in Moss Side were announced in 1922. The final Manchester City match at Hyde Road was a league fixture against Newcastle United on 28 April 1923, and in August 1923 a public practice game was the last football match played at Hyde Road. Manchester City began the 1923–24 season at Maine Road, which had an 80,000 capacity. However parts of Hyde Road were used elsewhere; the roof of the Main Stand was sold to Halifax Town, and erected at The Shay, where even in the 21st century, part of the Hyde Road roof is still in place. Within a decade of its demolition, all traces of the football ground had disappeared from Hyde Road. As of 2008, the site of the pitch is a bus depot, where training exercises for drivers take place.

The club reached the 1926 FA Cup Final, winning several ties by wide margins en route. However, in the final City were beaten 1–0 by Bolton Wanderers. Further disappointment followed in the league, when after a campaign characterised by erratic form, City were relegated on the final day of the season. The following season featured a close fought battle for promotion as the club sought an immediate return to the top division. The race for promotion went to the final match, with Manchester City and Portsmouth both in contention for the second of two promotion places. Manchester City's final match was a resounding 8–0 win against Bradford City. The watching crowd believed the result to be sufficient for promotion, but Portsmouth's match had been delayed by 15 minutes and was still in progress.

A late Portsmouth goal meant the final scoreline in their match was a 5–1 win, enough to give Portsmouth second place on goal average by a margin of one two-hundredth of a goal. The club won the Second Division championship the following season, gaining promotion to the top flight.

The club then consolidated their top flight status with an eighth place finish. The season also saw Tommy Johnson set a club record by scoring 38 goals.

Cup winners, champions then relegation (1930s)

FA Cup record, 1932-38
Year Round 1932 Semi-finalist 1933 Runners-up 1934 Champions 1935 Third round 1936 Fifth round 1937 Quarter-finalist 1938 Quarter-finalist

1930s team

Sam Cowan collecting the FA Cup from King George V after City triumph in 1935

In the 1930s Manchester City began to challenge for honours, regularly challenging for the prestigious FA Cup on numerous occasions in the 30s.

The team of the 1930s featured some famous names such as Matt Busby who would later go on to manage Manchester United, Frank Swift with hands the finger span of 12 inches who is still regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of all time, only the war hiatus preventing him for playing more times for England. the elusive but injury-prone striker Fred Tilson and influencial captain, Sam Cowan who introduced Tilson to the King at the final saying, "This is Tilson, your Majesty. He's playing today with two broken legs."

Third-place finish and FA Cup semi-final (1932)

The club finished third in the league in 1930, and were narrowly defeated by Herbert Chapman's Arsenal in the semi-finals of the 1932 FA Cup, losing to a last minute goal.

FA Cup runners-up: Cowan - "We'll win it next year"

In the early 1930s, Cowan became Manchester City captain, succeeding Jimmy McMullan. During his captaincy the club reached two further FA Cup finals. The first of these was in 1933, against Everton. During the match Cowan was up against Everton captain Dixie Dean. Both players were renowned for their heading ability. Matt Busby claimed that Cowan could "head a ball as far as most of us could kick it", but Dean prevailed in the aerial battle, scoring Everton's second goal with a header. The Daily Mail observed that Dean's presence gave Cowan a dilemma: "He was torn between a determination not to leave Dean and a desire to help his forwards. He broke down between the two." Everton were 3–0 victors, but when Cowan received his runner's up medal from the Duke of York, he remarked that he would come back next year to win. True to Cowan's word, City returned to Wembley the following year.

Finally FA Cup victory in 1934

City were gaining a reputation as FA Cup specialists of recent years and in 1934 during another cup run, 84,559 exuberant packed Maine Road to see City play Stoke City in the quarter-final, an attendance record which still stands to this day. In the 1934 FA Cup Final, Cowan became the first and thus far only Manchester City player to represent the club in three FA Cup finals. He captained City to a 2–1 victory over Portsmouth. As team captain Cowan held primary responsibility for motivating his fellow players and match tactics. This was typical for a captain of his era, as managers of the period were chiefly administrators who had little input into coaching and tactics.

The season after the FA Cup truimph, the club finished fourth in the league in the 1934-35 season and failed to build on their good FA Cup record of late losing 1-0 to Tottenham in the third round. In the following 1935-36 season City struggled finishing ninth in the league, however this proved to be the penultimate season that Manchester City would not have the honour of First Division champions.

Champions finally (1937)

City finally claimed their maiden First Division title in 1937 after being runners-up twice in 1903-04 and in 1920-21 and third place finished thrice in 1904-05, 1907-08 and 1929-30.

Reigning champions relegated (1938)

However they were relegated the following season, despite scoring more goals than any other team in the division. This event has been attributed to typical City syndrome and City remain the only reigning champions to be relegated in English football.

War hiatus (1939–1945)

After a season in the Second Division, play was suspended due to the onset of World War II. During this six year period, a Wartime League was introduced, however this was set up as sporting entertainment aimed at providing morale to the ordinary people in towns and cities across England. Some players chose to play for City during the war and some played as guests for other teams such as Frank Swift, whilst others like Jackie Bray joined the Royal Air Force in 1940 to help the war efforts and was awarded a British Empire Medal for his endeavours during the war.

Post war (1946–1964)

When play resumed in 1946, City regained top-flight status with a fifth Second Division championship title under the stewardship of former club captain Sam Cowan, winning the second division in 1946-47 convincingly.

Former Nazi paratrooper Bert Trautmann - initially despised in Britain but soon entered gained huge popularity with his brave saves which resulted a broken neck in the 1956 FA Cup Final, somehow Trautmann managed to play the last 15 minutes of the match

There have only been two world-class goalkeepers. One was Lev Yashin, the other was the German boy who played in Manchester - Trautmann.

—Lev Yashin

Bert Trautmann (1949-1964)

The club courted controversy in 1949 by signing German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann as a replacement for England international Frank Swift, who had retired. Trautmann's story was soon scribed in English football folklore and it is hard to think of a footballer who has been on such a life journey.

Previously being a Nazi paratrooper Trautmann admitted during and prior the war he saw the British and Jews as enemies, however it was when he taken as a prisoner of war in England that he quickly reappraised his view of both. He was astonished at his treatment as a POW, after being invited for Christmas dinner, an unthinkable luxury in an brainwashing, dictatorial Nazi Germany. Trautmann soon warmed to England that he decided to settle in the country upon repatriation in Lancashire and even changed his name from the hard to pronounce Bernhard to a more English Bert. Having taken an interest in sport, he soon played for St Helens Town and humbled when Manchester City signed him in 1949.

The signing sparked protests; 20,000 people attended a demonstration. Furthermore there was pressure on Trautmann himself as he had to replace Frank Swift, still regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time as well as one of the most popular with his genial, gentlemanly manner. He also gained support from a Jewish rabbi who said "not only one man can be convicted representative for one country" and Trautmann should no be prejudged.

Remarkably his dissenters soon changed their tone with his stellar performances, in an often struggling Manchester City when he first joined. His bravery to claim a loose ball often at the peril of an oncoming opponent at full speed was admired by many supporters, not only City supporters. It was this technique that gave him a broken neck in the 1956 FA Cup Final and had to play the last 15 minutes as no substitutes were left. Regardless of this event, Trautmann was already seen as a hugely popular figure in English football and by the end of career with City he was lauded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time with 47,000 people attending his testimonial, with estimates at closer to 60,000.

Cup success

In the 1950s, a City team inspired by a tactical system known as the Revie Plan reached consecutive FA Cup finals for the second time in its history, and just as in the 1930s, lost the first one and won the second, in 1955 and 1956 respectively. The 1956 final, in which Manchester City beat Birmingham City 3-1, is one of the most famous finals of all-time, and is remembered for City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann continuing to play after breaking his neck.

See also

• Manchester City F.C. seasons

References

Citations

Bibliography

• James, Gary (2006). Manchester City - The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 1-85983-512-0.
• James, Gary (2002). Manchester: The Greatest City. Polar Publishing.
• Clayton, David (2002). Everything under the blue moon: the complete book of Manchester City FC - and more!. Edinburgh: Mainstream publishing. ISBN 1-84018-687-9.

External links

• Manchester City Official Website - Club History
• mcfcstats.com - Website with records of all Manchester City matches and players