As promised yesterday, here for the next 24 hours (9 February 2026 noon to 10 February 2026 noon) is a video of my presentation on the origins of Manchester City FC, focusing on St Mark’s & the club’s development prior to its re-birth as Ardwick AFC for you to enjoy. It lasts about 1 hour and was recorded on 1 February 2023. There are lots of myths out there, but I focused on the facts and my latest research:
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Discover the role William Chew (that’s right William!) played in the birth of the club and the story of Belle Vue Rangers, an often overlooked part of Manchester City history.
The presentation was filmed on 1 February 2023 and is all about the origins prior to 1887. This talk is available for 24 hours and then will be available to subscribers (see below for details of how to subscribe).
If you enjoyed that then the next one in the series is available for subscribers here:
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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!):
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):
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:
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:
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:
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 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 new series of features on Manchester City in the 1910s continues today with a 2,400 word article on the 1919-20 season. This was an important season in the history of City. If you’re a subscriber you can read all about this season below. If you’re not a subscriber then why not sign up for a month and see what you think?
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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?
The new series of features on Manchester City in the 1910s continues today with an article on the 1915-16 season. People often claim men’s football stopped in the war but it did not. Regional leagues were established and there was regular competition across the Manchester region. City found trophy success too! If you’re a subscriber you can read all about this season below. If you’re not a subscriber then why not sign up for a month and see what you think?
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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?
Last Saturday (25 October 2025) I was fortunate to be invited to the England v Brazil women’s international as a guest of the FA. My seat was in the Royal Box at the Etihad (City of Manchester Stadium as it was named on the night due to sponsorship reasons). On social media someone commented that the Royal Box was a bit of a stretch in terms of its name but the truth is that the Directors Box (as it’s more commonly known) has housed members of the British royal family, including the late Queen Elizabeth II. In fact it was originally named the Royal Box for the Commonwealth Games in 2002. Back then I remember suggesting it should retain the name and now, maybe, the original name should return?
Other royals, including the former King of Spain, have sat there for Manchester City games and other events, so the name would be quite apt. Funnily enough, the Etihad’s ‘Royal Box’ isn’t the first part of a City ground to be given that name. It’s not even the second but the third! Both Maine Road and before that Hyde Road, had visits from senior members of the British Royal Family and on each occasion the Directors Box was spruced up and renamed the Royal Box for the game. Here’s the current King’s great grandad at Hyde Road’s Royal Box in 1920:
The King with the Mayor in Hyde Road’s ‘Royal Box’. Notice Lawrence Furniss stood, behind the King. Furniss was a major figure from the 1880s to the 1940s at City.
So, City, how about renaming the Directors Box the Royal Box again?
The following subscriber article talks about all of that, but in essence the current King’s dad, grandad and great grandad have all attended City matches at one of City’s home grounds. You can read about those visits here:
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The new series on Manchester City in the 1920s continues today with a 700 word subscriber article on the 1927-28 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?
Here’s the article:
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Back in the late 1960s there was a popular Manchester City chairman whose family had been involved with the club since the very beginning of the club. That was Albert Alexander. Here’s a profile I wrote in 2012 on him. It’s about 900 words long and is free to read. Enjoy!
Albert Alexander was the second generation of the Alexander family to play a prominent role in the development and history of Manchester City. His father, also Albert, had been involved with the Club from the 1890s and had held various positions including vice-chairman, and even manager for a spell in 1925-26.
Like his father, the younger Albert dedicated his life to the Blues. Inevitably, he spent most of his boyhood watching the Club develop and, as he grew, he became more involved with behind the scenes work at the Club’s first home Hyde Road. He was a member of the Ground Committee which performed crucial activities such as stewarding and ground maintenance.
Alexander also managed the Club’s A team and provided support in whatever way necessary to ensure the Blues succeeded. He was more than happy to work through the ranks and take on any duty necessary. His son Eric, who was Chairman in the early 1970s, remembers that his father had suffered during the First World War but that didn’t stop him from putting his energies into the Blues: “He was a very good footballer and cricketer but he was gassed in the Great War and had to give it up. It affected him throughout his life, although it’s fair to say he recovered enough to fulfil a happy normal life apart from playing of course.
“He took up golf, but his love for football was such that he started the ‘A’ team at City. He started it in 1921 and ran it through until 1963. He enjoyed working with the youngsters and developing them. He gained an awful lot of satisfaction from that, particularly when players like Matt Busby developed their skills and style as part of the ‘A’ team.”
Ultimately, after many years of loyal service Alexander became a City director. This came after the Blues became aware that Manchester United were hoping he would join their board. It is highly likely Alexander would have turned the Reds down, and it was appropriate that he became a director at Maine Road. It was an honour he deserved for years of dedication to the City cause.
While director he felt the passion all fans feel for the Blues and he also felt the pain and worries during the Club’s struggles in the early Sixties. He wanted better and, in 1965 as fans demonstrated following City’s lowest attended League game, he came out to face them and talk with them about his hopes and ambitions for the Club. He apologised for City’s appalling decline. It says much about his courage and the respect fans had for him that they dispersed. It is doubtful whether any other director would have been respected in this manner at such a low point.
Understandably, Alexander who was City’s Chairman by this point wanted to see his side successful and later that summer he appointed Joe Mercer as manager. It was a brave decision as Mercer had been out of work for a year and had suffered a stroke at Aston Villa. Other names, such as former City hero Peter Doherty and Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, had been expected to be appointed by the media, so this move could easily have been seen negatively.
Alexander guided City through the successful years of the Mercer-Allison period and was probably the first Chairman to be hugely popular with fans. Everyone seemed to love ‘Little Albert’ as Mercer dubbed him.
Many of City’s achievements during these years were dedicated to Alexander by Mercer, while journalist Bill Fryer commented in 1970: “He is highly revered in the game and by the public, and I have no doubt good deals have been done for City out of Albert’s friendships because in reality the whole of football is a ‘club’.”
Sadly, despite the Chairman’s popularity, his final years saw him suffer at the hands of the 1970 takeover battle. Alexander found out about the takeover when he received a knock on his door at breakfast one day. It was a complete shock to him.
The takeover destroyed much that was good about City at this point, including the Mercer-Allison partnership. However, it is rarely mentioned how the takeover affected Alexander, the man who had guided City with distinction through some dark days when no one else wanted to know. He had taken the Club from the lowest point it had experienced since joining the League, to a position of strength with trophies galore. Those bidding for control wanted the glory, Alexander’s motives were somewhat different – like all true fans he wanted City no matter what.
Alexander stood down as Chairman and was made Life President – an honour first given to Lawrence Furniss seven decades earlier, proving the significance of this recognition. Unfortunately, Alexander’s health was deteriorating by this point and he passed away soon after.
Manchester City owes a great deal to the dedication of Albert Alexander and the other members of his family. The Alexanders helped guide the Blues from the 1890s through to the reign of Peter Swales, and in some ways on via the continuing involvement of Eric Alexander (still a regular attendee until his death in 2019). Their contribution should never be forgotten.
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year to subscribe (it works out £1.67 a month) or £3 if you’d like to sign up a month at a time. Annual subscribers get full access for as long as you subscribe (you can always try it for a month). It’s worth bearing in mind that the 2010 Manchester A Football History cost £24.95 and all subscribers will be able to access all of that for as long as they are a subscriber (plus all the other stuff of course).
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Here’s a full list of Manchester City’s chairmen since the club’s earliest known game in 1880 through to today:
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If you would like to read this and all the in-depth articles on this site (including the entire Manchester A Football History book) then please subscribe. Monthly subscription costs £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Monthly subscribers get full access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.
Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the early 1900s! Today it’s a 2200 word article telling the story of 1905-06 when the FA ban almost destroyed Manchester’s Blues. This story is one of skullduggery (by other teams too!) and powerful figures seeking to limit opposition.
All of this sound familiar? Well, get a brew and start reading below if you’re a subscriber. Maybe read yesterday’s feature first?
If you’re not a subscriber then why not sign up for a month and see what you think?
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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?
Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the early 1900s! Today it’s a 3000 word article telling the story of 1904-05 when the FA Cup holders and League runners-up were suddenly under scrutiny from the FA. Viewed as a nouveau riche club, the feeling was that City couldn’t possibly have found major success so quickly. Remember they only became MCFC in 1904. This story is one of skullduggery (by other teams too!) and powerful figures seeking to limit opposition.
All of this sound familiar? Well, get a brew and start reading below if you’re a subscriber. If not then why not sign up for a month and see what you think?
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?
Gary James' Football Archive 