1881-1887 Amateur Football in Southport
Prior to 1888 Southport had a number of amateur clubs, both association and rugby. Rugby had been played in Southport by two teams who had been known as Southport Football Club between 1872 and 1880 (see The Rugby Years).
After a one year gap, a third club carrying the name Southport Football Club was formed in 1881 and initially arranged rugby fixtures for the 1881/82 season. After only three games however, the club switched to association football.
The original association club was one of a number of amateur outfits that sprang up within the town in the first half of the 1880s as the popularity of the association game overtook rugby.
Read More: The original association club
The full story of the formation of Southport Football Club can be found in ‘The Town’s Game: The Origins of Rugby and Association Football in Southport (1872-1889)’
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Paperback: £9.99
Hardback: £14.99
Listen to part two of a two part series discussing this story on the Grains of Sand Podcast:
Part one, covering 1872-1881 can also be heard here:
