Leeds City FC - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Leeds City Football Club was the leading professional football club in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, before World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The club was dissolved in 1919 due to financial irregularities. A new club using the same name was founded in 2005.

History

The club was formed in 1904, taking the crest of Leeds

Leeds

as the club badge and adopting blue, yellow and white as the club's colours. With the demise of the Holbeck Rugby Club, Leeds City moved into Elland Road

Elland Road

Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...

stadium. They were elected to the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

in 1905. The original secretary, a role that then also carried the modern responsibilities of manager and coach, was Gilbert Gillies (1904–1908) who was followed by Frank Scott-Walford

Frank Scott-Walford

Frank Scott-Walford was an English football manager.In his playing days, he had kept goal as an amateur with Tottenham Hotspur and played subsequently for Lincoln City, Small Heath and Aston Villa...

before in 1912, they appointed Herbert Chapman

Herbert Chapman

Herbert Chapman was an English association football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most successful and influential managers in early 20th century English football, before his sudden death in 1934.As a player, Chapman played for...

who guided the club to their highest position in the league (4th in the Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

).

Leeds City's whole league career was in the Second Division

Football League Second Division

. However during the 1st World War there ensued a sequence of financial irregularities, including breaking the ban on paying players during the war, that led to the club's dissolution in 1919. They were expelled from The Football League eight games into the 1919-20 season

1919-20 in English football

The 1919–1920 season was the 45th season of competitive football in England, and the first following the end of World War I.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition...

. Port Vale

Port Vale F.C.

Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

took over their remaining fixtures (as well as their results up to that point). To this day, Leeds City remain the only club to be expelled from the League mid-season, and the only ones to be expelled from the League due to financial irregularities (ironically enough their successors, Port Vale nearly lost their League status for similar reasons in 1968, although they ultimately managed to retain it in an end-of-season vote among the other clubs).

In the wake of their demise, Leeds United

Leeds United A.F.C.

Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

were formed, and entered the Football League the following year.

Player auction

On 17 October 1919, an auction was held at the Metropole Hotel in Leeds, where the playing staff was auctioned off along with other assets of the club. The 16 members of the playing squad were bought by 9 different clubs for a total of £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

9,250.

Player	Destination	Bid
Billy McLeod	Notts County Notts County F.C. Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...	£1,250
Harry Millership	Rotherham County Rotherham County F.C. Rotherham County Football Club was an English football club based in the town of Rotherham, Yorkshire. The club was founded in 1877 as Thornhill Football Club becoming Rotherham County in 1905. It joined the Midland League in 1903, and stayed in that competition until it was abandoned for World...	£1,000
John Hampson	Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...	£1,000
Willis Walker	South Shields South Shields F.C. South Shields F.C. are a football club based in South Shields, England. They have a long and complicated history, with three distinct incarnations taking the name...	£800
Tommy Lamph	Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...	£800
John Edmondson	Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...	£800
William Hopkins	South Shields	£600
George Affleck George Affleck George Affleck was a footballer who played in the Football League for Grimsby Town and Leeds City.-References:...	Grimsby Town Grimsby Town F.C. Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...	£500
Ernest Goodwin	Manchester City	£500
Billy Kirton Billy Kirton William John 'Billy' Kirton was a footballer in the early years of professional football in England, who played over 200 games for Aston Villa.-Football career:...	Aston Villa	£500
William Ashurst William Ashurst William "Bill" Ashurst was an English football player who played for Lincoln City and Notts County, as well as the English national side. He later played for Newark Town and Bestwood Colliery.-External links:**...	Lincoln City Lincoln City F.C. Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....	£500
Fred Linfoot	Lincoln City	£250
Herbert Lounds	Rotherham County	£250
Arthur Wainwright	Grimsby Town	£200
William Short William Short (footballer) William Short was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward.-References:...	Hartlepools United Hartlepool United F.C. Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...	£200
Francis Chipperfield	Lincoln City	£100

None of the players auctioned ever played for the new Leeds United, but winger Ivan Sharpe

Ivan Sharpe

Ivan Gordon Sharpe was an English amateur association football player. Although an amateur himself, he played for several professional clubs, including Watford, Derby County— with whom he won the Football League First Division in 1911–12–and later Leeds United...

, who had scored 17 goals in 65 appearances for City between 1913 and 1915, spent 2½ years at United between 1920 and 1923 (but only played once) and right-half Harry Sherwin, who left City just 5 months before their dissolution, went on to score twice in 107 games for United between 1921 and 1925.

1920s

The club did re-form in 1924 as an amateur club, taking part in the Yorkshire Football League

Yorkshire Football League

The Yorkshire Football League was a football competition founded in 1920 which existed until 1982 when it merged with the Midland League to become the Northern Counties East League.-Original League:...

. They finished 6th, 4th and 11th in the three seasons they took part. The club however dissolved in 1927.

Current situation

Currently there is a men's senior team under the name of Leeds City which formed in 2006 and admitted to West Yorkshire League Division Two. They were promoted twice in successive seasons to the West Yorkshire League Premier Division which is at tier 11 of the English football league system

English football league system

The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing...

pyramid, 9 levels below where the original club played. They play near the Adel War Memorial at Adel Memorial Recreational Ground, Church Lane in Adel

Adel, Leeds

Adel is a suburb in North Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Cookridge, Holt Park, Weetwood and Alwoodley. To the north are the villages of Arthington and Bramhope and the market town of Otley...

situated in the north of Leeds. They finished West Yorkshire League Premier Division as 2nd in 2008-2009 season. They won District Cup in 2009-10 season.

There is also a female team using the Leeds City name; Leeds City Vixens L.F.C.

Leeds City Vixens L.F.C.

Leeds City Vixens Ladies Football Club is an English women's football team founded in 1993 by Martin Cockerill, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...

, a local women's football

Women's football in England

While women's football has been played in England for over a century, it has only been in the 1990s that the game has seen a large increase in female players, as well as in female spectators, culminating in England hosting the Women's European Championships in 2005....

club. They play in the Northern Combination Women's Football League

Northern Combination Women's Football League

The Northern Combination Women's Football League, also known simply as the Northern Combination, is at the fourth level of the English women's football pyramid, along with the three other Combination Leagues - South West, South East and Midland...

, 1/4 of the women's third division

Neither the current Leeds City or Leeds City Vixens L.F.C. are recognised as an official continuation of the old club and are in fact only a continuation of the name. Neither club plays in Leeds City's traditional colours either, both playing in white shirts with a shade of blue trim along with shorts and socks in the same shade of blue.

Attendance

City's attendances were among the worst in the league, and the club was never particularly well financed. This is mainly attributed to the area being traditionally a rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

area. Until the relegation of Luton Town, however, the club were nevertheless, along with Bradford PA, the highest placed former League team in the all time average attendance figures for the Football League

The Football League

& Premier League

FA Premier League

The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...

having an average attendance of 10,234 and a total attendance of 1,944,365 for all matches played.

Former players

Evelyn Lintott

Evelyn Henry Lintott was an English international footballer, who joined the British Army and died in the First World War....

Dick Ray

Richard "Dick" Ray was a professional footballer and manager. He became a manager for Leeds United, Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City.-Playing career:...

Ivan Sharpe

Fred Spiksley

Fred Spiksley was an English footballer and coach, who played as a forward for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. and England. He also played for Gainsborough Trinity, Glossop North End, Leeds City, Watford and in 1907 became the only professional footballer to play for the Corinthians...

Tommy Hynds

Thomas "Tommy" Hynds was a Scottish footballer.Hynds started out as a centre half at Celtic, but was mainly a reserve; his time there included a loan spell at Bolton Wanderers in 1899. He left the Glasgow side to join Manchester City in September 1901. His City debut came on 5 October 1901 in a...

Billy Gillespie

Billy Gillespie was a football player for Sheffield United over a twenty year period from 1913 to 1932, scoring over 137 League and Cup goals in 492 games for the South Yorkshire side....

Billy Scott

External links

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