WBA v MCFC: The Earliest Film
On this day (25th August) in 1934 West Bromwich Albion played the FA Cup holders Manchester City. Nothing particularly unusual about that I guess, but that match was filmed and this is now the earliest known surviving film of WBA v MCFC at the Hawthorns. Here’s film of the game: https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/41087 It’s a curious little…
Maine Road’s First
On this day (August 25) in 1923 Maine Road staged its first game. Two decades later it staged the first World Cup match in England and the decade after that the first European Cup game in England. It still holds the record provincial crowd and the record for a League game, and for eighty years…
Bidding War Between MCFC And Villa!
On this day (25 August) in 1981 Manchester City and Aston Villa were in a bidding war to sign Trevor Francis. I know in recent years City have been criticised by some in the media for both high spending and for not spending more than they deem a player is worth (what a crazy world…
Black shirts, White Cross
Identity is important to any aspiring football team and in 1884 the fledgling Gorton Association Football Club chose to wear a distinctive kit consisting of black shirts with a white cross pattée emblazoned across the left breast. The smart new kit set the tone for what the players hoped would be a successful period in the club’s…
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On this site you will find articles, posts and other material about football. Some of this material is free to access (select ‘Free Content’ from the menu above) while other material is available to those who subscribe to the site.
The site was launched on 1 January 2021. Since then hundreds of articles, interviews (audio & written), history talks and both my PDFs of my first book (From Maine Men To Banana Citizens, published 1989 and out of print since 1990) and the 2010 edition of Manchester A Football History book (this originally cost £24.95 and has been out of print since 2012) have been posted.
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Gary James' Football Archive 