Bradford (Park Avenue)

Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC is a football club from the West Yorkshire city of Bradford that was formed in 1907. The bracketed Park Avenue is a reference to its former home, which is generally used to avoid being confused with Bradford City AFC.

The Park Avenue ground was first used by Bradford FC and Bradford CC in 1880. The club joined the Northern Union following the great split in 1895 which was the forerunner to rugby league. The club also started playing football at the ground before calling it a day in April 1899.

Meanwhile, the rugby side continued to be successful winning the Challenge Cup in 1906. However, in 1907 members swayed by the success of neighbours Manningham FC who had swapped from rugby to football in 1903, decided to follow suit following a narrow vote in favour.

Those disgruntled with the decision departed to form Bradford Northern who were awarded Bradford FC’s place in the Northern Union. With ‘Association’ added to their title, Bradford applied to become a member of the Football League but were turned down.

Fulham were elected, with Bradford taking their place in the Southern League. A suggested merger with Bradford City came to nothing. Bradford started off well and attracted decent crowds before their debut season tapered off.

Meanwhile, architect Archibald Leitch was given the task of building Park Avenue into a facility fit for top-level football as it staged the games of Yorkshire CCC and Bradford CC as well as the football in a similar arrangement to Headingley in Leeds.

The club was accepted as Football League members being placed in Division Two for the 1908-09 season. Park Avenue staged the international match which saw England defeat Ireland 4-0 in 1909 in front of 28,000 fans.

Bradford reached the last eight of the FA Cup in 1912-13 before being promoted to the First Division after a runners-up spot in 1913-14. The two derby games with Bradford City attracted crowds of 30,000 at Valley Parade and 21,000 at Park Avenue as the team finished in ninth place.

‘The Avenue’ were relegated in 1920-21 and then went down to Division Three North the following season. The side scored over 100 goals in three consecutive seasons as they finished as runners-up twice before claiming the division championship in 1927-28 to go back up to Division Two.

Park Avenue in 1974 near the end

Albert Geldard made his debut at the age of 15 years and 158 days before moving on to Everton three years later. Jack Crayston was another star player of the day before he was sold to Arsenal in 1934.

Local lad Len Shackleton played for Avenue in wartime football netting an incredible 171 goals for the club before joining Newcastle United in 1946, scoring six goals on his debut for the club. Future England boss Ron Greenwood started his league playing career at Park Avenue.

Park Avenue Main Stand and Powell Avenue End

The quarter final of the FA Cup was reached again in 1945-46 while Bradford’s tie at Maine Road against Manchester United attracted a crowd of 82,771 in the 1948-49 season. The following season BPA were relegated back to Division Three North.

The side struggled in the bottom third of the table which led to a placement in Division Four for the 1958-59 campaign after league reorganisation. Player-manager Jimmy Scoular led the side to promotion in 1960-61 before they went back down in 1962-63.

Football and cricket on the go at Park Avenue

 Kevin Hector broke into the side and started scoring regularly before he left early in the 1966-67 season to join Derby County. Despite receiving a £34,000 fee his loss was a hammer blow to the team who finished bottom of the table three seasons running.

It was in the days of clubs having to seek re-election into the League. Other clubs lost their patience with Avenue in 1969-70 and voted them out to be replaced by Cambridge United. Bradford joined the Northern Premier League.

Chairman and chief benefactor Herbert Metcalfe died in October 1970 threw the future of the club into doubt. They stumbled on for a couple of seasons before finishing in fifth place in 1972-73 but without anywhere enough votes to getting close to regaining their League status.

The football ground at Park Avenue was sold to a property developer in 1973; with BPA playing out the 1973-74 season at Valley Parade. Their final home game against Great Harwood Town attracted just 698 fans before the club called it a day as a playing force.

The original company was liquidated with debts of over £57,000 while some fans registered the club name as a new company and began playing as a team in Division Four of the Bradford Amateur Sunday League.

The fence around the old pitch at Park Avenue in 2008

The side played at Bingley Road and Hope Avenue before moving to Avenue Road in late 1974 before winning promotion at the end of the season. Avenue made it consecutive promotions before becoming members of the new Bradford Sunday Alliance League in 1985.

The team played their 1987-88 season back at Park Avenue, which was now missing its stands but with overgrown terracing still in situ. However, they were forced to leave after an indoor cricket school was built on the Canterbury Avenue End of the pitch.

Fitness First replaces football at Park Avenue

While the Sunday side continued, Deputy Chairman Bob Robinson pushed through the reformation of the ‘old club’ before all efforts were put into the team that was accepted into the West Riding County Amateur League

Central Midlands League Supreme Division for the 1989-90 season while playing as tenants to Bramley RLFC at McLaren Field before joining the North West Counties League for 1990-91 and winning promotion from Division Two at the first attempt.

In 1993 Avenue moved to Mount Pleasant to share with Batley RLFC before becoming champions of the North West Counties League in 1994-95. The club moved to Horsfall Stadium on the outskirts of Bradford as members of Division One of the Northern Premier League.

Long-serving manager Trevor Storton took his side to the Division One title in 2000-01 before he resigned in March 2004 with the team near the drop zone despite enjoying a fine run in the FA Cup which ended in a 5-2 home defeat to Bristol City.

Carl Shutt came in as his replacement and led the team on an unbeaten run and into the play-offs for league reorganisation. Avenue defeated Spennymoor United at Horsfall, Ashton United away and then Burscough 2-0 at home to be rewarded with a place in the newly formed Conference North.

However, the 2004-05 season ended in relegation back to the Northern Premier League. Shutt was replaced by Gary Brook before Phil Sharpe and Clive Freeman were appointed in March 2006. The new management team couldn’t prevent relegation to Division One.

Benny Phillips took over as manager before the arrival of Dave Cameron in February 2008.

Bradford went on a fine run to clinch the Division One title with John Deacey replacing Cameron in November 2008. In 2009-10 the team finished as league runners-up and then defeated Kendal Town before losing 2-1 to Boston United in the final on home turf.

Deacey resigned to be replaced by Simon Collins before returning soon after for a second spell. The 2010-11 campaign also ended in play-off disappointment, this time with a defeat on penalties in the semi-final at Horsfall Stadium against FC United of Manchester.

The playoffs were reached again the following season. A home hammering of Hednesford Town was followed up by a 1-0 win at the same venue as revenge was gained against FC United of Manchester thanks to a Tom Greaves goal in extra time.

The team had also reached the first round of the FA Cup before somehow getting beat 8-1 away to AFC Totton before securing a spot at the same stage the following season where they went down 3-1 to Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium.

The Dallas-based Bradford-born businessman Gareth Roberts took over the club with Deacey being replaced by his young assistant Martin Drury in the summer of 2015, who in turn departed the following March with Darren Edmondson coming in as new manager.

Alex Meechan took over in the summer of 2016 as the club became Bradford Park Avenue Community Football Club as a Community Benefit Society. Meechan was dismissed after a poor start as former Bradford City defender Mark Bower took over team affairs.

The side avoided relegation with a great run of form and then finished in seventh place in National League North in 2017-18 before losing in the play-offs to Brackley Town. In 2018-19 the team finished in the same position before losing in the play-offs to Spennymoor United.

Bower departed after the loss to be replaced by former Bradford City player Garry Thompson as the squad was overhauled. Thompson lasted just two games; both 5-0 defeats before Marcus Law and Lee Fowler came in for a short spell to try and sort things out.

The management team of Mark Bower and Danny Boshell returned in September 2019, less than five months after leaving the club. After a couple of seasons of struggle sandwiching the abandoned campaign through the pandemic, the Green Army were relegated in 2022-23.

Worse was to follow, as Bower and Boshell departed to be replaced by Danny Whitaker who couldn’t prevent his side from being relegation from the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League. Craig Elliott was appointed as head coach in August 2024.

Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC will play in the Northern Premier League Division One East in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Wednesday 17th September 2008

It was a pleasant day as I headed around various West Yorkshire football venues after I’d been to watch Scarborough Athletic go top of Division One of the Northern Counties East League with a win at Glasshoughton Welfare the previous evening.

The train had dropped me at Forster Square station from Leeds from where I took a walk through the city centre by the Alhambra Theatre and National Science and Media Museum and then The Sir Titus Salt; a Wetherspoons pub.

That would lead to an education that would help me later in the day when I visited the town of Saltaire. I soon realised that Bradford was a hilly city as I climbed Morley Street and then Easby Road before heading even further uphill along Laisteridge Lane.

Park Avenue from where the cricket pavilion once stood

Unfortunately, the gates to Park Avenue were locked but I managed to see inside where the pitch was with the perimeter wall still in place along with overgrown areas of terracing. The Main Stand and Doll's House changing rooms were long gone, which divided the football and cricket grounds.

As was the old pavilion from the top end of the cricket ground, though much of the banking and some benches were still in place. It really must have been some complex when both were at their peak in the 1950’s.

Park Avenue, looking across the cricket ground to where the football ground once stood

With an unlimited bus and rail pass at my disposal and all day to fill it I decided that I’d continue to Halifax but get out at Horsfall Stadium on the way. I took a ten-minute wander to Manchester Road from where a bus took me up the dual carriageway.

At the top of the hill, we went past Odsal Stadium and onwards along Halifax Road before alighting at the Cemetery Road stop. It was a short walk down the road where I found the entrance to the ground open.

Looking towards the old Powell Avenue End at Park Avenue

The pitch had a running track surrounding it with minimal spectator facilities around three sides apart from a small cover further down on the right. A large Main Stand dominated the scene built into the bank with lots of tip-up seating.

Several portacabins and small buildings offered facilities for the football club including a clubhouse. Once I’d finished taking a few photos I returned to the same bus stop and took a ride into Halifax where my visit included getting access to The Shay.