Ballymena

Foundation and the War (1934–1946)

Following the demise of Ballymena Football Club at the end of the 1933–34 season, a number of locals set about forming a new club in Ballymena with a view to seeking admission to the Irish League as Ballymena's replacement. Crusaders were also applicants for the vacancy, but at the league's annual general meeting on 20 June 1934, the new club known as Ballymena United was chosen unanimously.

The new club took appointed a manager - which was a departure from the previous practice of team selection by committee. The club's first manager, Joe Millar, had arrived from Bournemouth & Boscombe and had previously been capped for Ireland. He used his contacts in Scotland to bring a number of Scottish players to the Showgrounds. However, despite these new players and an Irish Cup semi-final appearance, United suffered in their first season finishing tenth in the league. The 1934–35 season also saw the introduction of the reserve side.

In the 1935–36 season, the club finished tenth in the league table and failed to progress in the majority of the cup competitions. Ahead of the 1936–37 season, Jock McNinch left for Sligo Rovers. McNinch left the club after 315 games and was the last remaining link to the 'old' Ballymena side. During the summer, his contribution to the club was recognised when the club granted him a testimonial, the first such gesture by United.

Ballymena United finished bottom of the Irish League for the first time, after managing only four league wins over the course of the season. An Irish Cup run to the semi-final stage, before elimination to Belfast Celtic was the only cheer for the club. They carried this poor form into the following season when they suffered a record defeat to Derry City (1–9) and lost the next six games before the board appointed Steve Mitchell as player-manager. Mitchell turned things around as Ballymena won 14 of their next 17 games. Despite their championship form, they rose from bottom to fifth in the table, 8 points behind eventual winners Belfast Celtic. The club also made their first appearance in the final of the County Antrim Shield though lost 3–2 to Linfield.

This run of confidence ran all the way through to the following season, as Ballymena United nearly completed a double of the Irish League and Irish Cup – eventually finishing runners-up in both competitions. Finishing five points behind Belfast Celtic in the league race and a fourth Irish Cup final saw a third defeat to Linfield in the final, this time a 2–0 defeat at Solitude. However, one year on, Ballymena United went one better by lifting the 1940 Irish Cup after a 2–0 win over Glenavon. This was the last 'proper' Irish Cup before province wide football was suspended due to World War II. United did not play again until the 1946–47 season. The club withdrew from the Irish League shortly after the end of the season when the Showgrounds was taken over to assist the war effort.

Post-war United (1946–1957)

Even though World War II ended in time for the commencement of the 1945–46 season, it was not until the following term that Ballymena United made their comeback into the Irish League. Home friendlies early in 1946 were arranged against Belfast Celtic and Linfield but both were cancelled because the Showgrounds complex was not ready following the removal of the troops who were stationed there.

A new manager, Billy Reid, was appointed on 1 May but only lasted until late October, resigning after citing he could not devote enough time to the job and control of team affairs went back to committee. United made a comeback on 17 August 1946 with a 2–1 home victory in the Gold Cup against Distillery. The Braidmen joined the Irish Regional League in its final season before the return of the Irish League the following season and finished sixth. The Sky Blues did suffer their heaviest ever defeat during the Regional League campaign, losing 10–1 to Belfast Celtic. Ballymena United began the 1947–48 season with a new manager, Bob McKay, who was promoted from his role last season as chief scout and had previously been in charge of Dundee United. McKay guided Ballymena United to third place in the Irish League. Despite a first round exit to Linfield in the Irish Cup, the game attracted a record crowd of 9,067 which afterwards saw the transfer of Frankie Houghton to Newcastle United for £6,000 – which was quite a considerable sum back then.

April 1948 saw United play their first competitive game outside Northern Ireland when they travelled to Dublin to play Shelbourne in the Inter-City Cup, a game which Ballymena lost 1–0 but progressed to the quarterfinals after winning the first leg 4–1 – this set up a clash with Shamrock Rovers who won the tie 8–3 on aggregate. The season did not end trophyless as a 2–1 victory over Linfield in May 1948 brought the County Antrim Shield to the Ballymena Showgrounds for the first time in the club's history – that game saw the competitive debut of Eric Trevorrow, a 20-year-old signing from Glasgow junior club, Parkhead Juniors.

The following season began with some optimism after the success of the previous campaign. However, Ballymena finished tenth in the Irish League and failed to make headway in any of the cup competitions. This ultimately cost Bob McKay his job in May 1949 during an AGM in which McKay berated the board for interference with his team selections. Norman Kernaghan took over as player-manager and after a moderate first season he finished his second campaign as Irish Cup finalists and County Antrim Shield winners in 1950–51 – beating Cliftonville in the final.

For the second successive season, Ballymena lifted a piece of silverware – one of only two occasions this has occurred – as Ballymena United lifted the Festival of Britain Cup after beating Crusaders 3–0 in the final in May 1952. The competition took the place of the Ulster Cup for one year as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations to mark the end of the war and the revival of Britain. The Sky Blues finished sixth in the race for the Gibson Cup and defender Eric Trevorrow was given the honour of being named Ulster Footballer of the Year by the Castlereagh Glentoran Supporters Club.