Author Archives: garyjamesfootballarchive

Interviews and research has been continuing for Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History and one of these interviews helped confirm something that has been a bit of a ‘Holy Grail’ for my investigations. I’ll provide details in the book of course but it does mean that I can state with real accuracy that I have captured voices from every season of the club’s history from 1948-49 through to its final game. I’m really pleased with that.

Thanks to all those who have subscribed to the book – it helps enormously as the book and the years of research that have gone into this is all self-funded.

For those who haven’t subscribed or would like to know more on what the book will entail, here’s the latest information:

• The book will tell the story via the voices of those involved from beginning to end (and beyond!), backed up with detailed archival research.
• Myths, including some connected with the formation of the club, persist and still get promoted. For the first time, this Authorised History will highlight the key steps and people involved with the formation of the club, dispelling myths and properly acknowledging those who ensured the team had a life.
• Hundreds of games have been identified with official – and unofficial – match reports adding flavour and supporting the words of the women who played.
• Rare objects, cuttings, match programmes, trophies and more have been located for this book, with many of the players lending their collections to help ensure this is a wonderful record of the club’s full life.
• The Manchester Corinthians’ tours across the globe will be featured extensively within the book, while the key managers (especially the club’s manager and guiding figure from 1948-49 until his death in 1967, Percy Ashley) and other personalities will be profiled.
• Dozens of interviews have been performed for the book and include women who played in the club’s first ever game in 1948-49 and others who played in the last ever game, decades later. It’s a wonderful period of football history.
• Voices from every season of the club’s existence have been captured. There are some truly remarkable stories gathered in interviews performed across the country. These wonderful women have provided their memories of every period of the club’s development. Every season is covered.
• Over 300 players have been identified as playing for the Corinthians to date. These women come from every era of the club’s existence (but the search continues for other names – please get in touch: Gary@GJFootballArchive.com). Every player identified will be listed within the book.
• Every person ordering the book before publication will not only have the book posted to them before it appears in any shop, but they will also have their name (or another name of their choosing) published within a special roll of honour at the back of the book.
• The book will consist of over 320 pages and will include hundreds of images from every era of the Corinthians, alongside the story of the club and its players.
• As with Gary’s book on Manchester City Women this book is destined to be a landmark history on a true Manchester institution and pioneering football club. In some ways this new Corinthians’ history will be a prequel to the City Women book.
• This book is being self funded by Gary and so every pre-publication order helps the research enormously. Thanks for your support. It is appreciated.

UK readers can subscribe to the book here (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.

Here’s one of the TV reports that covered our plaque unveiling back in October. This is from ITV National News:

https://twitter.com/itvnews/status/1710420337240813717/video/1

Here are a few words from a review of the Manchester City Women book the Corinthians will be based on (this is from a review by Fiona Cosson, for the Oral History Society):

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Manchester football historian Dr Gary James has been researching and writing about football for around forty years, with his first book published in 1989. By that time Gary was a regular at women’s football games in the region and already knew several Corinthians featured in the Corinthians’ book. His connections with the team go way back, in fact his sister was taught PE in the 1980s by a prominent player with the club, while his mum once told him about an older girl being brought to the front in her school assembly during the 1950s to talk about travelling abroad as a Manchester Corinthian.

Gary was on the steering committee for the National Football Museum project Unlocking the Hidden History of Women’s Football and was the Trafford lead for the UEFA/FA project on the history of women’s football for the Women’s Euros in 2022. He has performed various talks and written many significant articles on the Manchester Corinthians throughout the last six years. He established the campaign to create a blue plaque and other tributes for the women who played for the club, working tirelessly to ensure the Corinthians’ receive the accolades they so richly deserve.

Gary’s research and writing is recognised for his quality and depth, and he has written several landmark publications on Manchester football (both men’s and women’s), as well as being historical consultant with films, such as The Keeper, and TV (including researching and producing a 6 part TV series). Gary is the founder of the International Football History Conference and in 2023 was appointed Visiting Research Professor at New York University. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at De Montfort University.

You can watch a one hour talk Gary did at the National Football Museum on the history of women’s football in the Manchester region here:

The cover is still in development but the two cover images are draft proposals which will be worked up further. If you’d like to purchase Gary James’ earlier book on Manchester City Women’s team then a limited number of copies, signed by me, are still available. You can order here:

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