Whitby Town

Whitby Town FC is a non-league football club from the seaside town of the same name. The club were formed in October 1880 as Streaneshalch FC, starting out life playing local friendly football.

Shortly after their formation the club was renamed Whitby Church Temperance. By late 1882 they became Whitby FC. A fierce rivalry with Scarborough was soon formed which led to one of the first football riots in 1889 as Whitby players were attacked on the pitch and then chased to the railway station by Scarborough supporters.

Whitby joined the Cleveland Amateur League before progressing to the Northern League in 1893. Their spell lasted just two seasons, but they returned in 1899 winning Division Two at the first attempt. However, the cost of travel proved prohibitive which led to the club just playing in local competition and friendlies.

Following World War One, Whitby United were formed by the amalgamation of Whitby Whitehall Swifts and Whitby Town; both of whom had played in the Scarborough & District League. In 1926 the club were elected to the Northern League, finishing as runners-up on a couple of occasions in 1927-28 and before renaming themselves as Whitby Town in 1949.

Apart from a trio of third place finishes Town had many mid placed finishes in the league before they had a remarkable run in the FA Amateur Cup in the 1964-65 season. During their march they saw off Oxford City and Harwich & Parkeston before defeating Enfield 1-0 in the semi-final at Roker Park in Sunderland.

However, the silverware was not to return to Upgang Lane as Hendon won the final at Wembley 3-1. To see coverage of the 1965 final, click here.

'The Seasiders' did win honours on occasions in the North Riding Senior Cup and Northern League Cup. They won the short-lived Rothmans National Knock Out Cup, competed for by teams playing in leagues sponsored by the cigarette manufacturers in 1976 and 1978 at a time when a young Malcolm Poskett hammered in the goals.

Town reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1983-84 where they defeated Halifax Town 3-2 before going out to Wigan Athletic at the next stage. The same season also saw a fine run in the FA Trophy as Town beat Blyth Spartans, Leytonstone/Ilford and Frickley Athletic before losing to Dagenham in the quarter finals.

In 1992-93 Whitby were crowned as champions of the Northern League but were denied promotion because of ground grading issues. In December 1995 Harry Dunn, known as Harry 'A' Dunn during his illustrious spell at Scarborough, was appointed as manager. 

In his first full season at the helm the club only lost five games all season. One of them was a remarkable FA Cup first round replay at Boothferry Park against Hull City. Town led 4-3 with a few minutes remaining but eventually lost 8-4 after extra time.

The team went from strength to strength as they went on to lift the Northern League title as well as winning the FA Vase with a 3-1 win over North Ferriby United at Wembley. Town were promoted to the Northern Premier League, where they won the First Division at the first attempt to join the Premier Division for the 1998-99 campaign.

In 2000-01 'The Blues' played Plymouth Argyle in front of the live Match of the Day cameras at the Turnbull Ground drawing 1-1 before going out in the Home Park replay at the first-round stage of the FA Cup. Another fine resulted in Town going out to Hartlepool United in 2003-04, before Radcliffe Borough defeated the side on penalties to claim a p[lace in the newly formed Conference North.

Dunn departed early in the 2004-05 season to be replaced by stalwart full back Dave Logan. His side reached the play offs but went out to Farsley Celtic in the semi-finals. A new Main Stand was erected as Whitby narrowly missed the play off places.

Logan departed the following season, with several managers giving their best before Dunn returned to the hot seat in May 2009. He resigned in October 2010 to be replaced by former Northern Ireland international Tommy Cassidy whose reign proved to be less than popular before ex Sunderland star Darren Williams took over a year later.

Williams brought back several players who departed under Cassidy including Jimmy Beadle and Ashley Lyth. He steered the side to stability in the Premier Division. He remained in charge until November 2015 when he was replaced by Chris Hardy who arrived from Guisborough Town.

Whitby finished in sixth place in 2016-17, just two points outside the play-off places as Dale Hopson led the team scoring chart. The following season saw the team end just above the drop zone while a mid-table position was accrued in 2018-19.

Town were in seventh place when the 2019-20 season was ended early by the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the contracts of Hardy and his experienced assistant Lee Bullock were extended at the Towbar Express Stadium as the Turnbull Ground was known under a sponsorship deal.  

Hardy resigned in September 2020, with Nathan Haslam becoming joint manager with Bullock, who himself moved on two years later, leaving the former experienced Northern League manager at the helm.

Whitby Town FC will play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division in the 2023-24 season.


My visits

Whitby Town 0 Scarborough 2 (Saturday 9th October 1971) FA Cup Second Qualifying Round (att: 2,829)

I had been taken to the Turnbull Ground for a FA Cup tie in 1971 in a packed record crowd. As I was only four years old I can't remember too much apart from the busy ground and being lifted to see the action.

Boro progressed with goals from future Whitby manager Tony Lee and Colin Appleton on a run that ended in a 6-1 thumping at Hartlepool United in the first round.

Whitby Town 3 Scarborough 0 (Saturday 13th March 1976) North Riding Senior Cup Semi Final (att: 1,150)

My first proper recollections came in the North Riding Senior Cup Semi Final of 1976. I went in the car with my dad and uncle Fred to watch Scarborough. Boro had beaten Tooting & Mitcham United in the quarter finals of the FA Trophy the previous week so were obvious favourites against their Northern League hosts. 

We entered through a gap in the properties behind the Upgang Lane goal. I was not immediately impressed. There was only a few feet between the gate and the goal net while a high fence stood high stopping any loose shots breaking the windows of the overlooking houses. I was used to Boro's Athletic Ground and arenas of similar standards. 

To the right stood a low covered terracing of about 30 yards in length. The far end was similar to the one I'd entered while the other side was made up of two stands that were joined together containing bench seats and the changing rooms. 

There was a big crowd in attendance as the "Seasiders" fans, who were not massively fond of Boro, let them know at every opportunity. A big rough and ready home forward called Malcolm Poskett tore the visitors apart with a first half hat trick. Comments as to how poor Enfield must be were passed by the Town fans!

Poskett went on to forge a highly successful career in the Football League with Hartlepool United, Watford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Darlington, Stockport County and Carlisle United where he faced Boro once again. Boro put in a better second half performance and gained consolation through a xx goal.

Whitby Town 1 Blyth Spartans 2 (Saturday 20th September 1980) Northern League

I ventured on my own when still at school to watch Town play against Blyth Spartans in the Northern League with the away team winning 2-1. I travelled on the bus and generally had a good time discovering the beautiful seaside town. 

At the time Town used to kick off at the strange time of 3.15 on a Saturday. After the match I had a long wait at the bus station. When the service arrived they dropped off the Teesside Gazette Sporting Pink for me to read on the ride home, with the tragic news of the death of boxer Johnny Owen featured in the "stop press".

Whitby Town 0 South Bank 5 (Friday 28th March 1986) Northern League (att: 480)

It was back in the days when I would use Bubbs and Saints bars in Scarborough with friends. Gary Griffiths, an avid groundhopper would often drive, to go and watch his beloved Cardiff City.

He gathered some of us together for a jaunt up the coast to watch this 11am kick-off with the Whitby side including both David Harvey and Peter Lorimer under manager Eddie Gray. I remember little of the game, but we obviously caught the hosts on an off day.

Whitby Town 0 West Bromwich Albion 8 (Tuesday 15^th March 1988) David Mills Testimonial Match (att: 619)

Local lad David Mills, a former Albion, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Sheffield Wednesday and Darlington star, had suffered severe injuries in a car crash. His hometown club organised a game in his honour with him receiving the proceeds.

Albion, managed by Ron Atkinson, arrived with a full-strength side with assistant Stuart Pearson also getting a run out. Don Goodman and Tony Morley both netted twice with the other goals coming from Robert Hopkins, Colin Anderson, Darren Bradley, and a triallist called Johnson.

Whitby Town 0 Barrow 2 (Saturday 11th January 1992) FA Trophy Round One (att: 739)

I blagged a lift with Barrow fans to see them lose in the FA Trophy. I was in the Commercial as usual on a Saturday lunchtime before a Scarborough home game when news came through that the game was off because of a frozen pitch. A bus load of Barrow fans came into the pub on the way to Whitby. 

They were more than happy to have me along and I had a good ride drinking beer and singing along to the punk rock tapes while learning all their team songs. I hitched a ride back with future Scarborough Chairman, John Russell. Someone introduced me and got me a ride as the driver told us how he was going to set up a rival non league team in the town. 

I liked this news at the time as Pol Pot would have made a good alternative to Geoffrey Richmond who was in control at the time. How little I knew! See the Scarborough page for the alarming adventures of John Russell. I gave the bar plentiful trade as I did on one further visit for a match.

Whitby Town 2 Consett 2 (Saturday 10th September 1994) Northern League

I went with Crusher, Bob Hall, and his dad to watch their hometown team Consett there. The Hall's met some old school and work colleagues while me and Crusher refreshed ourselves amply, so much that we missed the first two goals!

Autumn 2008

I called by to take the attached photos in 2008 on a day out in the town with my Mum and Dad. The ground was locked, hence the poor shots. A new impressive Main Stand holding 505 seats was in place.