Stockport County

Football League

Stockport County was formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers at McLaughlin's Cafe in Heaton Norris, by a group of pupils from Stockport Sunday School. After playing home matches in different parks in the Stockport area for several years, Rovers moved to Green Lane in 1889. This is recognised as their first official ground. The club changed its name to Stockport County in 1890, the year after Stockport became a county borough. The team played in the Lancashire League and local cup competitions until 1900, when they gained admission to the Football League Second Division.

Stockport left Green Lane in 1902 and moved to Edgeley Park, which was also home to rugby league club Stockport RFC. County finished in the bottom three for their first four seasons, and failed to gain re-election at the end of the 1903–04 season. After spending one season in the Lancashire Combination, the club was readmitted to the Football League. In October 1908, it was confirmed that Stockport County would become a 'limited liability company'. The team remained in the Second Division for seven years until the 1912–13 season, when they again had to seek re-election. Stockport gained 22 votes and retained their Football League status.

David Ashworth was appointed as the team's first manager in 1914. After the outbreak of the First World War, competitive football was suspended. Stockport did, however, compete in the Lancashire section of the Wartime Football League, which was played from 1915–16 to 1918–19. Ashworth managed County throughout the war until the end of 1919, when he joined Liverpool.

The 1920–21 campaign saw Stockport finish bottom of the Second Division; however, instead of facing re-election, they were placed in the new Third Division North. The team won their first Football League title in 1921–22, when they defeated Darlington in front of 18,500 fans at Edgeley Park. The manager Albert Williams was presented with the trophy seven days later, before the final home game against Lincoln City. The club's goalkeeper Harry Hardy was called up for the England national team in 1924, and kept a clean sheet in a 4–0 win against Belgium. Stockport remained in the Third Division North during the 1920s, with two consecutive second-place finishes but failed to gain promotion.

In the early 1930s, Stockport County played in a black and white home kit, and were briefly nicknamed the 'Lilywhites'. On 23 July 1935, Edgeley Park's wooden main stand burned down, which caused damage to neighbouring houses. The fire also destroyed the club's records until 1935. A new main stand was built in 1936 and officially opened by Charles Sutcliffe, then president of the Football League. In 1936–37, the team won the Third Division North title and promotion to the Second Division following a last-day title decider against Lincoln City which was attended by more than 27,000 fans. They finished in bottom place the following season and were relegated back to the Third Division North, remaining there until the divisions were reorganised in 1958.

During the 1939–40 season, Stockport played only two matches before the Second World War started; the Football League was suspended and did not resume until 1946. Regional league competitions were set up; the FA Cup was also suspended and was replaced with the Football League War Cup. In March 1946, Stockport hosted Doncaster Rovers in a League Three North Cup match which lasted 203 minutes, and is considered the longest professional football game.

The regional Third Divisions were combined into the national Third and Fourth Divisions after the 1957–58 campaign. County were founder member of the new Third Division, but were relegated after one season. During the 1964–65 season, Stockport chairman Vic Bernard re-introduced the royal blue strip, and hired former Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann as the club's general manager to improve its image. Bernard and Trautmann decided to move matches to Friday evenings in an attempt to increase revenue. Trautmann resigned from his position in 1966. County returned to the Third Division by winning the Fourth Division in 1966–67.

The club was relegated back to the Fourth Division at the end of the 1969–70 campaign, and remained in the fourth tier until 1991. Eric Webster managed Stockport on five occasions, four of which were as caretaker manager during the 1980s, having first joined the club in 1974 as youth coach. Following the introduction of automatic promotion and relegation between the Football League and the Football Conference at the start of the 1986–87 season, Stockport faced the prospect of non-League football, with just six points from 13 games. However, Colin Murphy was brought in for his second spell as manager, and Stockport gained 45 points from their final 31 games to remain in the division, although Murphy left shortly after the season.