The Oldest Manchester Club

Here’s a brief cutting from October 1912 which mentions that Manchester City FC was the ‘oldest’ Manchester club. At the time there were plenty of people around who had been involved with the establishment of both Manchester Football League Clubs and so it seems logical to me that we listen to these views. Both clubs were newly formed organisations in 1894 (City) and 1902 (Utd) though both claims roots going back decades earlier. In their earlier incarnations City’s earliest known game is in Nov 1880, as is United’s (one week later). More on this elsewhere on the site and in my book The Emergence of Footballing Cultures: Manchester 1840-1919.