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The club was first formed as Harrogate
AFC at Redcar in June 1914 securing admission to the Northern
League and were to play at the County ground in Harrogate.
The fixtures were prepared and the first match was to
be played at Bishop Auckland on the 5th September 1914.
However, two hours before kick off, a telegram stating
that Harrogate would not be arriving, was received by
Bishop Auckland. All matches were then postponed due to
the First World War.
Re-formed
on 29th May 1919, Town played their first ever game in
the West Riding League on the 30th August 1919 at Starbeck
Lane, Harrogate beating Horsforth of Leeds 1-0. They had
to move from the Starbeck Lane ground after one season
as the Corporation were to build houses on the site so
they found a six acre plot of land at Wetherby Lane, Harrogate
(now called Wetherby Road) which they bought by appealing
to the public of Harrogate to buy shares in the company
at £1 a share. They asked for 3,000 shares to be
bought. The 1920/21 season saw them join the Yorkshire
League which had just been formed.
For
the 1921/22 season they decided to join the strong Midland
League playing against the likes of Nottingham Forest,
Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley reserves. The first team
played in the Midland League but they kept membership
of the Yorkshire League where their place was taken by
the reserve side. After one season they left the Midland
League and continued in the Yorkshire League and played
football throughout the remainder of the 1920's in this
league, winning the West Riding County Cup in 1925 and
the League Championship and County Cup again in 1927,
beating Selby Town 2-1 at Elland Road, Leeds. In fact
they were the first side to win the double in the Yorkshire
League. In 1931/32 they joined the Northern League for
one season, finishing second bottom before folding and
the club was unfortunately wound up due to lack of support
and the ground was sold to a corporation.
In
1935/36 they re-formed again as Harrogate Hotspurs (the
former Y.M.C.A. team in Harrogate) playing on the famous
Harrogate (Christ Church) stray for two seasons. In fact
the Hotspurs did so well in the Harrogate & District
League, winning the League (undefeated) and winning the
League Cup and Charity Cup in their second season, that
they took the bold step of entering the West Riding County
Amateur League.
In
1937/38, Harrogate Hotspurs first season in the West Riding
County Amateur League was played at the 'Show ground',
Knaresborough Road. The first match was a 2-2 draw against
Boothtown, near Halifax on the 29th August, which drew
a crowd of 400 spectators. That season they won the Whitworth
Cup, the local senior cup final 7-0 against Knaresborough.
The
Hotspurs continued playing in the W.R.C.A.L. at the start
of the Second World War but by 1940/41 they returned to
the Harrogate & District League playing against local
and service teams because of the rationing of petrol.
In fact they played throughout the War and Wetherby Road
was still used for cup finals with many service teams
entered.
After
the War, in 1946/47, the Hotspurs joined the West Yorkshire
League and moved back permanently to the Wetherby Road
ground. They enjoyed their longest unbeaten run of 22
matches that season and also their biggest win, 11-1 against
East End Park. They continued as the Hotspurs until 1948/49
when they changed their name to Harrogate Town because
the title 'Hotspurs' gave no indication to other teams
that they were meeting the senior club in Harrogate so
the need to alter the name was apparent to all at the
A.G.M that season.
The
1949/50 season brought the largest crowd to Wetherby Road,
4,280, paid £102.5s 0d to see the Whitworth Cup
Final against Railway Athletic, which they lost 3-0. Town
continued in the West Yorkshire League through the fifties
but season 1957/58 saw them join the Yorkshire League
again. The Couty Cup Final was reached again in 1959/60
but they lost 1-0 to Farsley Celtic.
They
were getting together a very strong side in the early
sixties and were promoted from the Second Division in
1960/61. The following season they finished in a respectable
position in the First Division and they also reached the
League Cup Final losing 3-1 to Stocksbridge Works but
did beat Railway Athletic 4-1 in the Whitworth Cup Final.
Their best season was 1962/63 when they finished runners-up
to Stocksbridge Works and also won the County Cup, beating
Farsley Celtic 2-0 at Bradford Park Avenue. However, 1963/64
was their last season as a professional side as they reverted
to Amateur status the following season.
Lack
of success eventually saw them relegated in 1966/67, after
finishing bottom. They did, however, appear in the 1969/70
County Cup Final losing 2-1 to Goole Town, but they were
relegated again to the newly formed Third Division.
In
1970/71 they won the Harrogate League Cup Final 2-0 against
Tadcaster Albion and the following season they returned
to the Yorkshire League Second Division. The County Cup
was won again in 1972/73 with a 2-0 win over Leeds Carnegie.
After a narrow escape the previous season Town were relegated
to Division Three in 1977/78. This was a very low point
in the club's history, but there was hope on the horizon
by the name of Alan Smith who became the new player/manager
in season 1979/80 and by the end of 1980/81 they were
back in business and promoted to the Second Division.
It
got better in 1981/82 as they won the Second Division
Championship but the Northern Counties East League had
been formed by then with the Yorkshire and Midland Leagues
amalgamating for the 1982/83 season and Town had been
allocated a slot in Division One, there being no room
for them in the Premier Division. Floodlights were installed
in 1982 and the first match played under them, an FA Cup
replay against Accrington Stanley, which Town won 3-1,
attracted a crowd of over 2,000. ‘friendlies’
against Leeds United and Manchester United also pulled
in crowds of 1,000 plus that same season. They lost in
the 1985 County Cup to Goole Town and after striving for
promotion to the N.C.E.L. Premier Division for several
seasons they finally made it by the end of the 1985/86
campaign. Revenge was extracted on Goole the following
season when a solitary Dave Ballantyne goal was enough
to bring the County Cup back to Harrogate, and after playing
just one season in the Northern Counties Premier Division
they were invited to become founder members of the Northern
Premier League Division One for 1987/88.
In
their first season they reached their furthest ever in
the FA Cup losing 0-2 at Bishop Auckland in a 3rd Qualifying
Round replay. 1988/89 saw their highest HFS Loans League
(NPL) position of 8th and they reached the Quarter Final
of the League Challenge Cup losing 0-2 to Frickley Athletic.
The following season, the 4th Round of the FA Vase was
reached for the first time when Bridlington Town were
3-1 victors at Wetherby Road. But their first success
as a NPL side was to follow with a 5-1 aggregate win over
Congleton Town in the 1st Division Cup Final.
Throughout
the 1990's Town still remained in the, now named, UniBond
League Division One and have usually finished around mid
table in the League but have twice avoided the drop back
into the Northern Counties East (1993/94 and 1995/96)
by default being saved at the 11th hour by the demise
of rival clubs.
April
1992 saw their record NPL crowd of 768 when they met Guiseley
in a league match. Last season they reached the 3rd Round
of the FA Trophy for the first time when they played Spennymoor
United.
The
club had a disastrous start in the 2000/01 season which
saw all of their first six games end in defeat, the club
recovered to finish in a mid-table position and reach
the finals of the Chairmans Cup, having played four Premier
Division clubs on the way, without defeat. Another Premier
Division side, Barrow, provided Town's opposition in the
final and were taken to a penalty shoot out, which the
Cumbrian side won.
The
following season, however, was different. Despite losing
the very first game of the season, the club would only
lose twice more until the end of March, by which time
the championship and promotion to the Unibond Premier
Division was all but assured. Infact Harrogate afforded
to lose the final two league games against Spennymoor
and Workington and still finished ten points clear at
the top of the table. Their first Premier Division season
saw the club adapt well at the higher level as they finished
sixth in 2003 and fifth in 2004 - thus claiming a place
in the new Conference North.
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