Category Archives: 1895-96

Manchester City’s First Overseas Born Player

Although most Mancunians were unaware at the time, one of the players with Ardwick AFC (Manchester City’s predecessors) was actually the first overseas international to play in the Football League.  Walter Bowman was born in Canada during 1862, and arrived in the British Isles in August 1888 as a Canadian international.  

The Canadians were playing a number of friendly fixtures against sides in Ireland, Scotland and England, and they even faced Newton Heath winning 2-0 with Bowman scoring.  Whether this appearance was witnessed by any of the Ardwick officials at the time isn’t known, but Bowman returned to Canada with his team mates shortly afterwards.

A second tour followed in 1891 – including a 3-1 Ardwick victory on 12th December 1891 – and Bowman remained behind after the rest of the Canadians had returned home.  He joined Accrington, making his debut in January 1892.  That match made him the first overseas international to play in the League and on 25 August 1892 he signed for Ardwick.  He didn’t manage to make his Ardwick debut until 18 February 1893 when he scored as Crewe were defeated 3-1.

Bowman became a Manchester City player when the Club was re-established and he remained with the Blues until the close season of 1900, with one of his most significant matches being the 11-3 record victory over Lincoln on 23rd March 1895, although Bowman failed to make the scoresheet.

After City little is known of Bowman’s life.  An article in April 1929 talked of a reunion in Toronto of the touring side but Bowman did not attend.  It was believed he was living in the USA in a copper mining city in western Montana called Butte, but he was never traced.  No matter what the final resting place of Bowman, his place as the Football League’s first overseas player means his name will never be forgotten.

Record Average Crowds

I’ve not done one of these for a while but I know they always prompt a bit of debate, so here goes… a feature on Manchester City FC attendances. It is a fact that the Blues have, generation after generation, been one of the English game’s top attractions. Like all – and I do mean all – English clubs there have been some average attendance lows over the years, but when the entire history of Manchester City is reviewed and the club’s average figures are compared with the national average it is clear that the Blues have consistently been one of football’s most attractive draws.  Take a look at the following:

  • Since the beginning of the Football League in 1888 only nine sides have topped the table for average attendances.  In chronological order of their first appearance at the top of the average table they are: Everton (1888-9), Villa (1898-99), Newcastle (1904-05), Chelsea (1907-08), Tottenham (1909-10), City (1910-11), Liverpool (1922-23), Arsenal (1929-30), & Manchester United (1956-57) 
  • As early as 1895-96 City were the third best supported side in the entire League despite being a Second Division side.  Only First Division sides Everton & Aston Villa could better the Blues.  Modern day giants Arsenal were 10th; Liverpool were 19th; United were 21st and Chelsea had yet to exist.
  • In 1900-01 City were the 2nd best supported side in the entire League with only 400 people separating Villa (1st) and City 
  • The 1910-11 season saw Manchester’s Blues top the attendance charts for the first time.  City’s average was 26,000 and was the 8th highest average of all time at that point (all clubs, all seasons). 
  • Regularly amongst the best supported sides throughout the inter war period, City’s average exceeded 37,000 for the first time in 1927-28 when the Blues established a record average crowd for the Second Division.  This was also the entire League’s highest.
  • In 1947-48 City’s average crowd exceeded 42,000 for the first time.  Prior to that season only Chelsea (1919-20 & 1946-7), Arsenal (1934-5, 1936-7, 1937-8, & 1946-7) , Newcastle (1946-7), Liverpool (1946-7), United (1946-7), and Wolves (1946-7) had exceeded that figure.
  • From 1975 to relegation in 1983 City were always one of the top 4 best supported sides, usually third behind United and Liverpool.
  • Since the 1980s whenever City have played outside of the top division, they have tended to be the best supported side in that division.  
  • Since moving to their current home in 2003, the increased capacity has allowed City to re-establish itself as one of best supported clubs again. Maine Road’s capacity from 1994 onwards was extremely low compared to the club’s entire history and prevented the Blues from staging games in front of attendances of approximateley 35,000 upwards.

In general many people believe success increases support, and while that is undoubtedly true to some extent, for City it is often periods of adversity that prove the loyalty of the Club’s fans.  It is highly significant, for example, that the first time City were the best supported side in the entire League (1910-11) Manchester United (6th best supported side) won the League title for the second time in 3 seasons.

Similarly, in 1925-26 when City were the best supported side in Division One and had established a new record average, the Blues were actually relegated.  This coupled with significant poverty and hardship in Manchester at the time should have reduced support but loyalty increased!  In my book “Manchester A Football History” I explore the relationship between attendances and Manchester’s major sides and it is fair to say that City fans can feel immensely proud of their loyalty throughout the history of the game.  Something that cannot be said by all of the League’s biggest names.  

In fact, it is worth highlighting that City have never been the worst supported side in their division but, of today’s so-called giants, Arsenal (1912-13 – average = 9,100) and Manchester United (1930-31 – average = 11,685) have.  City’s worst average of the Twentieth Century came in the desperate 1964-65 season and was 14,753 (half the average of 1960-61 and a 3rd of the 1957-8 figure).  However it is significant that for every League season City’s average has always been above the divisional average and, apart from 17 seasons, has always been in the top 11 nationally.  Again, few of today’s giants can’t say that – United’s 20th Century low stands at 4,650 and Chelsea averaged 15,731 as recently as 1988-89. In fact City’s lowest League attendance is more than double United’s lowest League attendance at Old Trafford (United have several crowds of less than 4,000 at Old Trafford, including top flight games; City’s lowest in the League was a little over 8000 in the second tier).

For fans average attendances are often used as an indicator of size of club and so a number of people over the years have tried to produce a definitive ‘all-time’ attendance table.  Several years ago analysis by a member of the Association of Football Statisticians claimed that if stadium capacity was not an issue for any club City would be the fourth biggest side in terms of attendance.  That analysis compared postwar attendance detail with performance on the pitch.  

In 2002 writer Brian Tabner calculated an all-time attendance table based on each club’s average attendance position during seasons 1925-2002.  His top ten were:  Arsenal, Liverpool, United, Everton, Tottenham, Newcastle, City, Chelsea, Villa and Sunderland.  Since 2002 several clubs have increased their capacities of course and this will have a positive impact on each club’s standing in a more up to date analysis.   

Figures can be manipulated in many different ways, but City should feel proud that they have many attendance firsts that can never be matched by today’s perceived biggest clubs.  

The Seasons City Have Topped the Divisional Charts

The following figures show the seasons when City were the best supported side in their division and the Club’s highest individual crowd that season.  Those crowds marked in italics were also the highest individual crowds for the entire division that season (crowds pre-1925 are inconsistently recorded and so have not been highlighted).  It is fair to say that when an average crowd is within 4,000 of the highest then the stadium is likely to have been full for the majority of games with the size of away support varying.     

Average         Season          Highest Crowd                                  

10,000            1895-96         30,000 (Liverpool)                

10,000            1898-99         25,000 (N. Heath)    

16,000            1902-03         30,000 (United)        

18,275            1909-10         40,000 (Oldham)

26,000            1910-11         40,000 (Liverpool)    

21,000            1914-15         40,000 (Oldham)

32,000            1925-26         62,994 (United)

30,848            1926-27         49,384 (Bradford C)

37,468            1927-28         59,500 (Preston)

31,715            1928-29         61,007 (United)

35,016            1950-51         45,842 (Hull)

27,739            1965-66         47,171 (Huddersfield)

24,220            1984-85         47,285 (Charlton)

23,500            1988-89         40,070 (Chelsea)

26,753            1996-97         30,729 (Oldham)

28,273            1998-99         32,471 (York)

32,001            1999-00         33,027 (Blackburn)

33,059            2001-02         34,657 (Portsmouth)

With the increase in capacity at the Etihad coming this year it will be interesting to see how attendances develop. No doubt I’ll post more on this as the season progresses. Undoubtedly City will establish a new record average attendance in 2026-27.

St Mark’s, West Gorton, Gorton, Manchester City and Key Early Figures

It’s now almost 40 years since I first started detailed research into the history of Manchester City and its origins, and it’s an area that is still fascinating. I still keep being asked about the origins of Manchester City, particularly the period prior to 1894 and I love the fact so many are interested in the steps that led to the establishment of what has become a major, global footballing power. I’ve posted much about those early years on this site but I know it’s often in a scattered style making it difficult to find, so here for those interested, are links to past articles on key figures and moments in the St Mark’s, West Gorton, Gorton AFC, Ardwick & associated clubs’ history. Tomorrow from noon for 24 hours I’ll be giving free access to a video I did a while back on the origins (details of the video lower down this page).

Firstly, the earliest known game (note: not necessarily the first game!):

St Mark’s First

The club’s earliest known captain Walter Sumner. Here’s an article I posted in February 2023:

True Blues: William Sumner, the Earliest Captain

A couple of founding fathers:

True Blues – William Beastow and James Moores

Walter Chew, a man occasionally described as ‘The Father of Manchester City’ (though he himself tells a different story and in a 1920s interview told his eye witness story of who the actual founder was):

True Blues – Walter Chew

Ardwick’s death:

The 1890s: 1893-1894 Ardwick’s Last

The visionary who contributed so much to shape the newly created Manchester City in 1894:

True Blues – Joshua Parlby

The City launch:

The 1890s: 1894-1895 Parlby’s City

A man every Blue should know about, Lawrence Furniss. A player with Gorton, Ardwick secretary-manager, MCFC director, chairman responsible for move to Maine Road, Life President when City won the title in 1937. He saw it all and was involved from the 1880s through to 1940s when he died:

True Blues – Lawrence Furniss

The facts not the fiction…. There are so many myths, assumptions, exaggerations etc. doing the rounds so hopefully this piece I wrote a few years back helps to explain:

The Origins of Manchester City: Facts Not Fiction

If you’re interested in the wider Manchester story:

Manchester’s Football Origins

Information on the St Mark’s community leaders:

True Blues – St Mark’s Community Leaders

An example of an early match:

Broadbottom 3 Manchester City 0…

On 1 February 2023 I performed an online talk on the latest research into the origins of City, focusing on the period prior to 1887 when the club was based in the West Gorton and Gorton areas. Tomorrow from noon I’ll post this for all to see for free for 24 hours, but if you can’t wait or miss it then it is already available here for subscribers to the site:

History Talk Video: The Origins of MCFC

There are still many gaps in our knowledge even though material has been rediscovered in recent years. There are some things we won’t know but over the coming weeks I’ll post more on the early years. Some will be available to all, some to subscribers but I’m sure there’ll be lots out there to enjoy.

In the meantime why not search the website or use the tags to see articles on the period prior to 1894. Every season of the 1890s for example has a detailed article written about it while individual games, players and related stories are also included within the thousands of posts on this site. Here’s a link to the 1890-91 season for example:

The 1890s: 1890-1891 The Brewery Men

There are even features on attendances during that decade such as:

The 1890s: 1896-97 Attendances

And this one, which included stories of floodlit games:

The 1890s: 1889-1890 Illuminated Ardwick

Arthur Connell

The origins of Manchester City, like many other clubs, have been misunderstood or incorrectly reported over the years and there are many areas of ongoing research that will fill the gaps over the coming years. It takes time and effort to research at the level needed. When I first started researching there were some stories that had been passed down for years that have since been challenged and corrected but there are many other areas to reflect on. There are, of course, many other areas where further research is still needed.

For years I’ve worked with a variety of people on the origins of City (one of the key elements of my PhD research was on the origins of men’s and women’s football in Manchester and my research into this continues). In the 2010s MCFC set up a research group called Project Blue which I willingly helped and explained the myths that exist and what we still don’t know. The following slide was part of a lengthy presentation I performed on 14 December 2011 on that where I explained how we got where we were at the time and those who had worked together on uncovering the club’s early history.

One of my slides presented to the history research group Project Blue on research into Manchester City’s origins on 14 December 2011

I was always grateful to Dennis Chapman, John Maddocks and Ray Goble who welcomed me into their ‘club’ of research and others, such as Dave Masey who, like me, was a member of the Association of Football Statisticians. Dave continues to help my research. Thanks to these guys and others when I was starting out I have tried to ensure I help and support others researching. The more we research and share, the greater our collective knowledge.

There is still much to be done and sadly lots we will never know.

Whatever research is uncovered over the coming years one thing is clear and that is the history and origins of Manchester City are wrapped up in community initiatives and a desire by some to use football as a positive, community building enterprise. People like William Sumner, Walter & William Chew, Lawrence Furniss and Joshua Parlby should always be remembered for their part in the formative years of football in our city.

There is much research still to be done. If you’d like to support this research then please subscribe to the site and you’ll have access to hundreds of articles, interviews, talks etc. You could join for a month and see what you think.

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The 1890s: 1895-96 Attendances

The series of features on the 1890s continues today with a simple look at the average attendances of league clubs. I’m publishing the statistics here for season 1895-96 when Manchester City was a Second Division club. These figures are estimated based on newspaper reports of the period but are widely accepted as a good indication of support enjoyed at each club.

In the following table every team is in Division One unless (2) appears after their name. This indicates they were a Second Division club that season. Where two teams have the same average then these have been listed in alphabetic order.

Notice how Second Division Manchester City had a better average attendance than all clubs apart from the First Division’s third placed club Everton and League champions Aston Villa.

1895-96 Average Attendances

AverageTeam
16000Everton
11875Aston Villa
10000Manchester City (2)
9725Bolton
8700Sheff Wednesday
8375Derby
7600Blackburn Rovers
7250Sheff Utd
7200Newcastle (2)
6975Woolwich Arsenal (2)
6825Preston
6600Stoke
6275Wolves
6100Sunderland
6000Bury
6000Leicester Fosse (2)
5825Small Heath
5600WBA
5575Liverpool (2)
5575Nottm Forest
5500Newton Heath (2)
5475Burnley
3500Grimsby (2)
3125Notts County (2)
2775Darwen (2)
2725Crewe (2)
2625Burton Swifts (2)
2475Burton Wanderers (2)
2400Lincoln (2)
2075Loughborough (2)
1775Rotherham Town (2)
1725Burslem Port Vale (2)

This series of features covers the final years of Ardwick, the birth of Manchester City and the Club’s first national success. Why not subscribe and read every feature? Here’s a link to the story of the 1895-96 season:

The 1890s: 1895-1896 Test Match Special

Here’s an 1800 article below on Manchester City in the final months of 1899:

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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More on the 1890s tomorrow. Why not subscribe and read this and all the other subscriber features?

The 1890s: 1895-1896 Test Match Special

The series of features on Manchester City in the 1890s continues today with a 1800 word article on Manchester City in 1895-96. An interesting season and one which started to pave the way for everything that followed while reminding those who ran the club that fans’ feelings always had to be considered!

This series covers the final years of Ardwick, the birth of Manchester City and the Club’s first national success.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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More on the 1890s tomorrow. Why not subscribe and read this and all the other subscriber features?

The 1890s: Ardwick and Manchester City

A new series of features starts tomorrow. This series provides a season by season account of Ardwick AFC and Manchester City FC in the 1890s. Some are 2000+ word articles, others are a bit less, but each adds to the story of how the club evolved. So, if you’ve ever wondered how MCFC came into being and what happened to Ardwick AFC, here’s your chance to find out. This series covers the final years of Ardwick, the birth of Manchester City and Manchester’s first national title.

Watch this space tomorrow for details.

True Blues – John Chapman

Continuing the weekly series of ‘True Blue’ figures associated with the early years of Manchester City, here’s an article on the City chairman John Chapman who died in office. You can find out why this man was such an important figure in Manchester City history below:

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There will be another ‘True Blue’ featured next Monday. Use the tag ‘True Blues’ to find other profiles in this series.

True Blues – Billy Meredith

Continuing the weekly series of ‘True Blue’ figures associated with the early years of Manchester City, here’s an article on Billy Meredith who was the captain and goalscorer for Manchester’s first major trophy success. You can find out why this man was such an important figure in Manchester City history below:

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Annual subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since December 2020 for an annual subscription of £20 (works out about £1.67 per month). There’s also a monthly subscription (see below).

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Monthly subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since 1 October 2022 for a monthly subscription of £3 (cancel any time).

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There will be another ‘True Blue’ featured next Monday. Use the tag ‘True Blues’ to find other profiles in this series.

History Video: Joshua Parlby and the Launch of MCFC

As promised, here for subscribers is my presentation on Joshua Parlby and the launch of Manchester City FC. It lasts about 58 minutes and was recorded on 1 March 2023. There are lots of myths out there, but I focused on the facts and my latest research. 

The presentation is all about the visionary who promoted a new club to represent Manchester, Manchester City and about the steps taken in 1894. This talk is now only available to subscribers (see below for details of how to subscribe).

Subscribers can also see the previous history talk on St Mark’s and City’s development in the Gorton area during the 1870s and 1880s below.

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Annual subscribers get access to everything posted since December 2020 (interviews, history talks, articles, PDFs of books etc.) and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 a year (about 5p a day).

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Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £3 a month (cancel any time).

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History Talk Video: Joshua Parlby and the Launch of MCFC

Here’s my presentation on Joshua Parlby and the launch of Manchester City FC. It lasts about 58 minutes and was recorded on 1 March 2023. There are lots of myths out there, but I focused on the facts and my latest research. 

The presentation is all about the visionary who promoted a new club to represent Manchester, Manchester City and about the steps taken in 1894. This talk was free to download until this morning (9 March). Now it is available to subscribers (see below for details of how to subscribe).

Subscribers can also see the previous history talk on St Mark’s and City’s development in the Gorton area during the 1870s and 1880s below.

Subscribe to get access – Annual

Annual subscribers get access to everything posted since December 2020 (interviews, history talks, articles, PDFs of books etc.) and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £20 a year (about 5p a day).

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Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and everything to be posted during your subscription. It costs £3 a month (cancel any time).

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