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:''This is a history of Blackpool Football Club from 1887 to 1962. For their history between 1962 and the present day, see History of Blackpool F.C. (1962–present). For the club's season-by-season stats, see Blackpool F.C. seasons.'' History of Blackpool Football Club between 1887 and 1962 covers the years from the club's foundation, via a split from another Blackpool-based club; the period of nine years before they gained membership to the Football League; their recovery after losing their League status after only three seasons; and finally their rise into Division One, which was then the top tier of English football. Aside from the League, Blackpool also appeared in three FA Cup Finals in six years, finding success in their third attempt, in 1953. The same year, the club supplied the England team with four players for an international game against Hungary. Between 1903 and 1962, Blackpool had nine different managers, with Joe Smith occupying the role for 23 of those 59 years. Prior to 1903, team selections were made by the board. ==Early years== Blackpool Football Club were formed on 26 July 1887, through a breakaway group from the local St. John's F.C. Mike Jackman's ''Blackburn Rovers: A Complete Record, 1875–1990'', published in 1990, makes reference to a game against "Blackpool" in December 1880, but whether this was today's club is not clear. The St. John's club had been in existence for a decade or so, risen from the ashes of the disbanded Victoria Club. Five members of the club — Revd. N.S. Jeffrey, Sam Bancroft, Dick Swanbrick, Dick Worthington and W.J. Brown — felt it was necessary for the town of Blackpool to have a football club bearing its name. After a disagreement with the other members regarding the possibility of having their name drop the denominational suffix and become a town team, the men left the meeting, went next door to the Stanley Arms Hotel, and immediately founded Blackpool Football Club. The remainder of the St. John's players eventually defected to join the new club, in turn making the former defunct. It was with these individuals that Blackpool F.C. played their first competitive game, at Dole Lane, the home of Chorley, in which they recorded a 2–1 victory.〔Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', p.8〕 Hargreaves scored Blackpool's first-ever goal with "a ponderous kick half the length of the field".〔 Corry added a second, before the hosts scored a late consolation.〔 In the club's first season, 1887–88, they won the Fylde Cup and the Lancashire Junior Cup. In the second competition, Blackpool faced Preston St. Joseph's at Preston North End's Deepdale ground, a venue that the seaside club argued was not neutral. The match took place on 24 March 1888. Blackpool went a goal down after 35 minutes, and that is how the score remained at half-time. Two minutes into the second half, Joe Nelson equalised. T. Parr scored the winner in the final minute. At the end-of-season annual general meeting on 14 May 1888, held at the Stanley Arms, club president Alderman John Bickerstaff announced a small profit of around £20, with £66 contributed in membership and subscription fees. At this point in time, Blackpool played home matches at Raikes Hall (or the Royal Palace Gardens), part of a large entertainment complex containing several attractions, including a theatre and a boating lake. This meant that average attendances hovered around the two-thousand mark, making the club's early years financially successful.〔 Profits almost trebled by the end of the following season, at which point the club became founder members of the Lancashire League. In the league's first season, 1889–90, Blackpool finished fifth out of the thirteen member clubs. The following three seasons saw them finish runners-up, to Bury in 1890–91 and 1891–92, and on goal-difference to Liverpool in 1892–93. In 1891, Blackpool faced overseas opposition for the first time when a touring Canadian side played at Raikes Hall.〔Wolstenholme, Gerry (2014). ''By Bus to Wollongong'', Red Rose Books, 2014; p. 5〕 Blackpool's debut in the first-round proper of the FA Cup occurred in 1891–92, with a visit from Sheffield United to Raikes Hall. The Yorkshiremen won 3–0. A second tie against the same opposition occurred the following season, with ''the Blades'' again victorious, this time by a 3–1 margin. On 25 February 1893, after Blackpool defeated South Shore 4–0, the contentious issue of the amalgamation of the two clubs was raised. ''The Gazette and News'' commented: "He must be a hot-headed supporter of either South Shore or Fleetwood Rangers who will not admit that the Blackpool team is the strongest in the Fylde. To our mind, the sooner the South Shore and Blackpool clubs are fused into one, the better it will be." Despite both clubs' committees being in favour, a meeting of over two hundred South Shore members on 10 April decided to carry on independently, and further talk of a merger was not discussed for another six years.〔 In 1893–94, Blackpool claimed the Lancashire League title, winning fifteen out of their 22 games to finish three points clear of the nearest competition. After returning to the runners-up berth the following season, they went on to struggle near the foot of the table. The board decided that they could make no further headway in local football and, on 13 May 1896, the club became a limited company and applied for entry to the Football League. They failed with their first attempt, but their second was successful.〔 Blackpool's third FA Cup encounter, which took place earlier in 1896, proved marginally more successful than the previous two, as they defeated Burton Swifts in the first round, only to be eliminated three weeks later at the hands of Bolton Wanderers. It was reported that the Blackpool players were on a win bonus of around ten shillings (fifty pence), whereas their opponents were paid an extra 45 shillings (£2.25) if they were the victors.〔Calley, Roy (1992). ''Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992'', p.9〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Blackpool F.C. (1887–1962)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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