Mexborough Town/Mexborough Athletic/Mexborough Town Athletic

Mexborough Town FC was a non-league football club based in South Yorkshire in the former mining town of Mexborough. Football and its clubs of the town are a somewhat tangled mess, with lots of alternative history available, which this article attempts to unravel.

Mexborough FC was formed in 1876, playing at the Recreation Ground, and became a founder member of the Sheffield League in 1892-93, finishing as runners-up in their debut season. In 1896-97, they joined the Midland League, being crowned champions in 1897-98.

Some accounts claim that they folded in 1900 owing to financial difficulties, while others state they added a second title in 1925-26, when they changed their name to Mexborough Athletic. To complicate matters further, some sources say that Athletic were a separate club who played at the Athletic Ground, formed as Mexborough Town in 1903 before joining the Midland League.

A new Mexborough Town was formed in 1962, playing at Hampden Road, sharing what is now the facility of Mexborough Athletic Sports Club alongside the cricket club. Town joined Division Two of the Yorkshire League, finishing as runners-up in 1962-63 to win promotion to Division One. 

Mexborough finished as league runners-up in 1963-64 and 1968-69 before being crowned as champions in 1972-73. The most likely scenario from there is that the club changed their name to Mexborough Town Athletic and entered the Midland League in 1974-75, before a young Billy Whitehurst made an impact and was bought by Hull City in 1980.

Mexborough became a founder member of the Northern Counties East League in 1982-83, when they were placed in the Premier Division. The side was relegated to Division One in 1984-85 before again changing its title, back to Mexborough Town.

After finishing bottom of the table in 1990-91, the club dropped down to the Premier North Division of the Central Midlands League, where they finished fourth in 1991-92. They left the competition at the end of the 1992-93 season, though some sources add more to the story.

While it may have been a new club or a continuation, Mexborough Athletic Oakhouse joined the Central Midlands League in 1994-95, lasting three seasons, before changing their name to Mexborough Athletic in 1997, and then to Mexborough Town Athletic in 1999 after leaving the Central Midlands League.

A club of that name played just one season, 2021-22, in the Sheffield & Hallam County Senior League. Previously, Mexborough Main Street had played in the same competition between 1988-89 and 2009-10, alongside Mexborough Northgate in 1989-90. All a bit of a mess.

Especially when considering that some information available says that Mexborough Town became AFC Sportsman Rovers in 2010, then Memories FC, and then Mexborough Town FC once again in 2012.

 

The one constant regarding Mexborough football is the Montague Cup. First played for in 1896-97 between local clubs in a knockout competition, every final has been staged at Hampden Road, which may have been previously known in this piece as the Recreation or Athletic Ground. The final is usually played on the morning of Easter Monday.

My visits

Mexborough Town Athletic 1 Scarborough 3 (Saturday 10th February 1973) FA Trophy Round Three (att: 1,850)

My Dad took myself and my brother Paul on one of several supporters coaches to this massive game for both clubs which was played at the local ground which was shared with the cricket club. It was pretty spartan with players getting changed in the corner pavilion. 

The ground was open apart from a small raised seated stand on the half way line. A nice feature were fixed stools at the edge of the fence around the pitch, the likes of which are normally associated with paddocks at racecourses.

Boro were too strong for the decent home team with a double from Mally Leask and a Colin Appleton penalty sealing the win, on the way to a first Wembley final. I remember both me and Paul moaning about being hungry but we couldn't get anything until Dad got us something before our return journey at a local shop as there was no catering facilities inside the ground.

Happy days. Little did I realise at the time I'd spend so much time over twenty years later following Boro regularly at such venues.

Wednesday 10th October 2012

I was in South Yorkshire for the majority of the day before heading to watch Scarborough Athletic play at Barton Town Old Boys that evening. I had been to a game at Doncaster Rovers the previous evening and I had just visited Oakwell in Barnsley. After changing trains at Meadowhall I alighted at Mexborough.

I was aware that the town had been through difficult times like the rest of the area since the decline of the mining industry. I also knew from reading the Wetherspoon's magazine that under age drinking and even drugs were a problem. The people who I came across were generally friendly.

I headed up the hill on Hampden Road, to the rear of the grounds brick pavilion that backed onto the street. The ground was locked, but I could easily see inside. The actual arena had hardly changed from what I remembered apart from those pitch side seats. 

There was more terracing than I'd remembered, which explained how such a large crowd had fitted in back in 1973. It was missing floodlights, but apart from that it was a decent enough venue to stage a higher grade of football.

I walked back down and grabbed some lunch at Greggs in the towns main thoroughfare; High Street. I took a stroll back down to the station to catch the train to Doncaster, ready to visit my next venue at Bentley Colliery.