Birth Of Newton Heath

The team that was eventually to become Manchester United was formed in 1878 and was made up of railway workers from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways company. Known as Newton Heath they played at a small ground called North Road on Monsall Road, Moston.

The North Road ground had a terrible pitch and no facilities and in those days teams used the Three Crowns pub near the ground as changing rooms.

Even in those days the club, as it was, was a successful one and they were given the nickname "The Heathens" by their supporters.

The club turned professional in 1885 and only three years later were admitted to the Football Alliance. Newton Heath had tried to join the Football League but were turned down at that stage.

For three seasons Newton Heath plied their trade in the Alliance, finishing eighth, ninth and second respectively. In that third season they lost only three of 22 games, scoring 69 goals in the process.

League Status

The Heathens were then admitted to the Football League after the First Division was expanded to 16 clubs and a Second Division added.

To mark the occassion Newton Heath appointed their first paid secretary, A. H. Albut. Not strictly the manager, Albut was nevertheless in charge of the first team.

The club's first ever League game was played away against Blackburn Rovers. A crowd of 8000 watched The Heathens succumb to a hard fought 4-3 defeat. The scorer of the club's first ever League goal was Scotsman Robert Donaldson.

The season continued as it began. A 1-1 draw in the club's first ever League game against Burnley was followed by heavy defeats to Everton (6-0), Burnley (4-0) and West Bromwich Albion (4-0).

A brief moment of joy was provided with a superb 10-1 win over Wolves but it was only a moment and The Heathens finished in last place with only 18 points and a disastrous 85 goals conceded.

First Division status was retained, however, with a 5-2 victory over Stoke City in a replay at North Road after the first match ended 1-1. The attendance on that day was 4000.

The second season in the League proved worse than the first as the club again finished bottom, this time with only six wins out of 30 games. A play-off place with the winners of the Second Division again beckoned.

Liverpool, only in existence for two years, had won the Second Division without a loss and their form continued as The Heathens went down 2-0 and were relegated.

Bank Street

Visiting teams to North Street always complained about the state of the pitch and so Newton Heath moved to a new ground in Bank Street, Clayton at the end of the 1883 season. This was little improvement.

Visiting teams continued to complain and conditions were made worse by the Clayton Aniline chemical and dye factory next to the ground, from which toxic fumes would drift across the pitch. Interestingly, the dye plant still exists, now owned by Clayton Ciba, part of the Ciba Network.

Ciba Speciality Chemicals make the dyes and finishing chemicals for Manchester United's kit and the textile now used for the shirts, SPORTWOOL, was developed in partnership with Ciba's Textile Effects Segment!

The state of Bank Street is best illustrated by events in 1895. Walsall Town were the visitors and upon inspection of the pitch lodged a complaint with the League. Newton Heath applied sand to the pitch and the match went ahead, The Heathens racking up a 14-0 scoreline.

The Football League, however, were still unhappy with the pitch and Walsall continued to complain, backed by the referee.

The League ordered a replay a week later and the pitch was worked on constantly. The rescheduled match went ahead and the club again won, this time 9-0.

The First Manchester Derby

On November 3rd 1894 Newton Heath and Manchester City met for the first time in the League at City's Ardwick ground. The teams had faced each other before in the Football Alliance and Manchester and FA Cups but the first League meeting was a big event.

Some 15,000 fans showed up for the fixture in terrible weather. Newton Heath ran out 5-2 winners in a match where a certain Billy Meredith made his debut for Manchester City. The corresponding fixture at Newton Heath's Bank Street ground was also a victory for The Heathens, this time 4-1.

That first season in the Second Division ended in disappointment as Newton Heath finished in third place and missed out on promotion, despite sitting in second place for much of the season.

Battle For Promotion

Over the next five seasons Newton Heath battled hard to regain First Division status. In the 1896/97 season they came closest, finishing second behind Notts County.

That position meant they faced play-off matches against Sunderland, relegated from the First Division, Notts County and Burnley, who presumably finished third in the Second Division.

A 2-0 victory and defeat against Burnley saw Sunderland visit Bank Street. 18,000 turned out for the 1-1 draw which meant a match at Sunderland's Roker Park. They lost that match but needed only a draw at Notts County to gain promotion.

Newton Heath lost again and were condemned to another season in the lower division.

The Heathens again came close in the 1897/98 season. As the season drew to a close they lay second behind Manchester City. On Boxing Day the clubs faced each other, both coming off big victories (Newton Heath 9-0 Darwen; Man City 4-2 Blackpool). Unfortunately for Newton Heath, Manchester City brushed them aside 4-0 and the club never recovered, eventually finishing third behind Glossop North End in second and City in first.

In 1898/99 Newton Heath were hit with their first 'scandal'. Two players, Boyd and Cunningham, were suspended by the club for drinking. A report in Athletic News read: "If men who are paid good wages don't think it worth their while to keep themselves in condition they are better out of the team."

The following week the club were again rocked, this time by a section of fans. Following a 2-1 defeat at Brighton New Tower a group of Newton Heath fans accosted the referee at the end of the game, convinced he had made several bad decisions leading to the defeat. Had it not been for club officials and policemen the incident could have been a lot worse.

The events did the club no good and they again missed out on promotion.

The 1899/00 season provided much of the same as Newton Heath again finished just off the pace in fourth, despite having a team packed with Welsh internationals after the club had forged links with Wales.

1895: Kit changed from green and gold to white with blue shorts