South Shields and Gateshead

Most of the clubs that founded the Northern Premier League in 1968 are still going strong today, however some of the original clubs are not quite what they seem.

Two clubs in particular, South Shields and Gateshead have a very mixed up and strange history, read on and all will be explained.

Gateshead FC actually started life as South Shields Adelaide FC. As South Shields, they were elected to the Football League 2nd Division in 1919. They played at The Horsley Hill Stadium (picture below) which had been the home of South Shields Rugby League Club. The ground was extended with new terracing and two grandstands. A crowd in excess of 18,000 were in attendance for the 1st football League match against Fulham in September 1919.

South Shields remained at Horsley Hill until relegation to the newly formed 3rd Division North in 1928. Attendances had dropped sharply and due to financial difficulties The club relocated to Gateshead in 1930 and changed their name to Gateshead AFC. A crowd of over 15,000 saw Gateshead AFC win their first game in the new Division, beating Doncaster Rovers 3-1 at the purpose built Redheugh Park. With only one club promoted in those days they remained in this Division for many seasons despite finishing runners up twice. In the 1951/52 season Gateshead reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup, beating Liverpool, Hull City, and Plymouth before losing at home to Bolton in front of a crowd of 17,692.

In 1958 the Football League was restructured again and Division 3 North and South became Divisions 3 and 4. With Gateshead having finished 14th they were placed in Division 4. They finished mid table in 1959 but the following season they finished bottom of Div 4 and were surprisingly voted out of the league to be replaced by Peterborough United. The club joined The Northern Counties League with some success. They made several unsuccessful attempts to rejoin the Football League but eventually folded due to finances in 1973.

Now this is where it gets complicated !!! Following the departure of the original South Shields Adelaide FC to Gateshead in 1930, a new South Shields FC had been formed in 1936. The club played in The North Eastern League and enjoyed considerable success, particularly in the FA Cup where they enjoyed many victories over established League clubs in including Crew Alex, Chesterfield and Oldham

South Shields remained in the North Eastern League for many years until the league folded in 1958 and they joined The Midland league. In 1960 they joined The newly formed Northern League. Six times the club applied for Football League membership during the 1960’s but failed to gain the required votes on each occasion despite average gates in excess of 7,000, So in 1968 they became founder members of the new Northern Premier League. In 1972 South Shields applied to join the Scottish Second Division along with Wigan Athletic but this was rejected.

In 1973, with gates having plummeted, and the club once again infinancial trouble, they sold their Simonside Hall Ground for housingdevelopment. This is were history repeated itself as the club uppedsticks and relocated once again to Gateshead, this time changingtheir name to Gateshead United. Another failed attempt was made tojoin the Scottish League. They lost out to Meadowbank Thistle in thevoting.

So, Gateshead FC who folded in 1973 having formerly been South Shields Adelaide FC, Where replaced in The Northern Premier League by Gateshead United, Formerly South Shields FC!!

Are you still with me? I hope so. Gateshead United remained in theNPL until 1977 when they disbanded to be replaced by a new GatesheadFC, This is the club that exists today and plays in the NationalLeague.

Now what of the South Shields FC plying their trade in the NPL today? Well, With South Shields FC having relocated to Gateshead in 1973 for a 2nd time and taking the name of their new town, A new and 3rd version was formed in 1974 and joined the Northern Alliance League. They subsequently became members of The Northern League. The club where playing at their current location of Mariners Park although it was then known as Filtrona Park. The up and down nature of the club(s) continued when in 2013 they where forced to leave their ground and relocate to Peterlee, a Town some 20 miles away. Gates fell so badly they where down to just double figures. Would this be the end of the third South Shields FC ?

Horsley Hill was the original home of South Shields FC The ground became a greyhound Stadium when the club moved to Simonside Hall. The record attendance here was 24,348 for an FA Cup Tie against Swansea Town

Not so, in 2015 Filtrona Park was bought by a local businessman andrenamed Mariners Park. He moved the club back home and a crowd of 650 turned up to watch the first friendly match at the ground against Darlington. The club has gone from strength to strength since, Taking an estimated 14,000 fans to Wembley in 2017 for the FA Vase final.

The club now look well placed to take the next step from the NorthernPremier League to the National League North.

Next time, I’ll be looking into two clubs no longer in existance: Great Harwood and South Liverpool (Edit: I know there is a local amateur side called South Liverpool)