Leeds City F.C.
![]() The badge of Leeds City, also the coat of arms of Leeds before 1924 | ||
Full name | Leeds City Football Club | |
---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Peacocks The Citizens City | |
Founded | 1904 | |
Dissolved | 1919 | |
Ground | Elland Road,Leeds | |
|
Leeds City Football Clubwas the leading professional club inLeeds,England, before theFirst World War.The club was highly successful in the wartime football league; however, it faced sanction for paying its players during wartime which had been made illegal. The club was dissolved in 1919 after the club's directors failed to co-operate with the subsequent FA inquiry. In 1919Leeds Unitedwas established as a replacement.
History[edit]
The club was established in 1904, taking the coat of arms ofLeedsas the club badge[1]and adopting blue, yellow and white as the club's colours.[2]They were elected tothe Football Leaguein 1905. The original secretary, a role that then also carried the modern responsibilities of manager and coach, wasGilbert Gillies(1904–1908) who was followed byFrank Scott-Walfordbefore in 1912, they appointedHerbert Chapmanwho guided the club to their highest position in the league (4th in theSecond Division).
Leeds City's whole league career was in theSecond Division.However, during the First World War the club won several wartime honours under the stewardship ofHerbert Chapman.Following the conclusion of the war a scandal ensued and the club was accused of financial irregularities, including breaking the ban on paying players during the war, that led to the club's dissolution in 1919. They were expelled from The Football League eight games into the1919–20 season.The harsh punishment was handed down mostly because of the behaviour of the club's directors, who refused to co-operate in an FA inquiry, and refused to hand over the club's financial records.[3]
Port Valetook over their remaining fixtures (as well as their results up to that point).[4]Leeds City were the first club to be expelled from the League mid-season, and one of only two to be expelled from the League due to financial irregularities, withBuryexpelled a century later in 2019. Ironically, Leeds City's successors, Port Vale, nearly lost their League status for similar reasons in 1968, although they ultimately managed to retain it in an end-of-season vote among the other clubs. On 17 October 1919, an auction was held at theMetropole Hotelin Leeds, where the playing staff was auctioned off along with other assets of the club. The 16 members of the playing squad were bought by nine clubs for a total of£9,250:[5]
Player | Destination | Bid |
---|---|---|
Billy McLeod | Notts County | £1,250 |
Harry Millership | Rotherham County | £1,000 |
John Hampson | Aston Villa | £1,000 |
Willis Walker | South Shields | £800 |
Tommy Lamph | Manchester City | £800 |
James Edmondson | Sheffield Wednesday | £800 |
Bill Hopkins | South Shields | £600 |
George Affleck | Grimsby Town | £500 |
Ernest Goodwin | Manchester City | £500 |
Billy Kirton | Aston Villa | £500 |
William Ashurst | Lincoln City | £500 |
Fred Linfoot | Lincoln City | £250 |
Herbert Lounds | Rotherham County | £250 |
Arthur Wainwright | Grimsby Town | £200 |
Billy Short | Hartlepools United | £200 |
Frank Chipperfield | Lincoln City | £100 |
In the wake of its demise,Leeds Unitedwas formed, and entered the Football League the following year. None of the players auctioned ever played for the new Leeds United, but wingerIvan Sharpe,who had scored 17 goals in 65 appearances for City between 1913 and 1915, spent 2½ years at United between 1920 and 1923 only making one appearance and right-halfHarry Sherwin,who left City just five months before its dissolution, went on to score twice in 107 games for United between 1921 and 1925.
Subsequent clubs[edit]
A second Leeds City was established in 1924 as an amateur club and joined theYorkshire League.[6]That club folded after leaving the league at the end of the 1926–27 season.
Another Leeds City was formed in 2006 and joined Division Two of theWest Yorkshire League.[7]They were Division Two runners-up in their first season, earning promotion to Division One. The following season saw them finish as runners-up in Division One, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division.[7]The club continued in the West Yorkshire league until August 2019[8]
Honours[edit]
War-time
- Midland Sub Tournament North: Winners 1915–16[9]
- Midland Section: Winners 1916–17,[10]1917–18[11]
- League Championship Cup: Winners 1917–18[11]
Ground[edit]
Having originally played at the Wellington Ground, the club moved intoElland RoadafterHolbeck Rugby Clubfolded in October 1904.[12]In their first season in the Football League their average attendance was 10,025, the third highest in the Second Division.[13]Their best season, 1913–14, saw them average 15,845.[14]
References[edit]
- ^"1905–06, Where it all began..."Dave Tomlinson.Mighty Leeds.Retrieved13 October2006.
- ^"Leeds City".Dave Moor.Historical Kits. August 2006.Retrieved13 October2006.
- ^What If There Had Been No Port in the Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories!,Witan BooksISBN978-0-9529152-8-7
- ^Butler, Bryon (1998).100 Seasons of League Football.England: Queen Anne Press. p. 392.ISBN1852915951.
- ^"Review of 1919–20 – Disaster strikes".Dave.MightyLeeds.co.uk.Retrieved16 November2006.
- ^Yorkshire League 1920–1953Non-League Matters
- ^abWest Yorkshire League 1999–2012Non-League Matters
- ^"non league matters".
- ^"1915–16 Season Final Tables".EFL Tables.Retrieved25 March2019.
- ^"1916–17 Season Final Tables".EFL Tables.Retrieved25 March2019.
- ^ab"1917–18 Season Final Tables".EFL Tables.Retrieved25 March2019.
- ^Jarred, Martin; MacDonald, Malcolm (1986).Leeds United: a complete record 1919-1986.Derby: Breedon Books Sport. p. 182.ISBN0-907969-17-8.OCLC14977257.
- ^1905–1906European Football Statistics
- ^1913–1914European Football Statistics
External links[edit]
- The complete Leeds City match statisticsWAFLL
- All Leeds City Football League results and tablesat footballsite
- The Leeds City yearsMighty Leeds
- The Leeds City ScandalMighty Leeds
- Leeds Cityat theFootball Club History Database
- Leeds City F.C.
- Defunct football clubs in England
- Defunct football clubs in West Yorkshire
- Association football clubs established in 1904
- Association football clubs disestablished in 1919
- Sport in Leeds
- 1904 establishments in England
- 1919 disestablishments in England
- English Football League clubs
- Yorkshire Football League
- West Yorkshire Association Football League
- Football clubs in England