On this day (17 April) in 1888 the Football League’s first meeting was held in Manchester. Despite stories that often circulate no Manchester team was invited to this meeting. If one had it would probably have been Manchester Association Football Club as they had the highest status at the time.
Author Archives: garyjamesfootballarchive
The 1940s: The 1943-44 Season
The new series on Manchester City in the 1940s continues with this feature on the 1943-44 season. The story of George Smith (pictured with United’s Johnny Carey) is included within this. George was the victim of friendly fire and his story is remarkable.
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A Women’s Football First!
On this day (16 April) in 1949 the earliest known win over a rival club by the pioneering Manchester Corinthians team was recorded. It was also recorded as ‘the best women’s football match ever seen’ according to one report! The game ended in a 4-3 victory over Ashbourne (at Ashbourne), in front of 2,000 spectators. The winning goal was a penalty. You can find out more on this game and read the facts (not the fiction!) about this incredible team in my new book. Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and consists of 356 pages.
It is illustrated throughout and you can order it now for £25 (including UK postage and packaging). I’ll sign all copies ordered direct from me below.
If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.
You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.
UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This will be published in late December 2024. This is UK only at £25 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.
£25.00
Sold Out – Manchester City Women: An Oral History
This week I distributed the last new copy of Manchester City Women: An Oral History. The book told the first 30 years or so of the City Women (formerly City Ladies) team with interviews with women from the first season of 1988-89 through to the 2018-19 season included. Amazon still claim to have a couple of copies, but other than that if you want it look out for ‘pre-loved’ copies. Here’s the Amazon link:
Thanks to everyone who bought this and supported such a groundbreaking book (and project).
My designer tried quite a few different designs but you can see there was one constant image… My father-in-law’s photo from 1989 of the team at Maine Road.
You can still find lots of interesting stuff on women’s football on my website of course. For example:
https://gjfootballarchive.com/category/womens-football-2/page/16/
The 1940s: The 1942-43 Season
The new series on Manchester City in the 1940s continues with this feature on the 1942-43 season.
This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.
The 1940s: The 1941-42 Season
The new series on Manchester City in the 1940s continues with this article on the 1941-42 season.
This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.
Tomorrow Night in Wilmslow
On Monday night (14 April) I’ll be at the Wilmslow branch of the Manchester City Supporters Club talking about the pioneering Manchester Corinthians women’s team. We’ll also have a couple of the Corinthians present to answer questions and share experiences. The event will take place at the King’s Arms, Wilmslow from 7.30pm. Copies of Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History will be available on the night for a discounted £20 (RRP £25) to those in attendance. So why not come along, listen to some footballing pioneers and grab yourself a bargain too?
You can find out more on the book here:
The 1940s: Manchester City 5 Tranmere Rovers 1
On this day (13 April) in 1940 Manchester City defeated Tranmere 5-1 in the Western Regional League. This was a first team competition played during wartime. A restricted Maine Road crowd of 3,000 watched goals from City’s Bray, Herd (see image), Currier (2), and Emptage. You can read more on this wartime season below. It’s a 1,400 word article on Manchester City’s 1939-40 season. The season started as any other but then world events intervened!
This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.
The 1940s: The 1940-41 Season
The new series on Manchester City in the 1940s continues with this article on the 1940-41 season. The season ended with Manchester United sharing Maine Road after bomb damage to United’s ground. The image shows sites where bombs damaged property close to Maine Road on that same night.
This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.
The 1940s: The 1939-40 Season
The new series on Manchester City in the 1940s starts today with this 1,400 word article on the 1939-40 season. The season started as any other but then world events intervened!
This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.
Subscribe to get access
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month or you can subscriber for the discounted annual rate of £20 per year. Each subscriber gets access to everything posted so far, including PDFs of a couple of my books.
Gary James' Football Archive 