A Look Into Histories

A LOOK INTO HISTORY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY FOUR

SOUTH BANK AFC

South Bank AFC were formed in 1868 in a former industrial town 3 miles from Middlesbrough on the banks of the River Tees.

Success at National level came when they finished runners-up in the FA Amateur Cup of 1909–10 (losing 2–1 to Royal Marines Light Infantry Gosport) at Bishop Auckland FC before winning the same trophy in 1912–13 with wins over Eston United, Crook Town, Rotherham Amateurs, Catford Southend and Bromley. They beat Oxford City 1–0 in a replay at Bishop Auckland after a 1-1 draw at Reading FC.
The 1921–22 season proved to be one of the most eventful. Leading 2–1 in the FA Amateur Cup Final against local rivals Bishop Auckland with one two minutes remaining, the Bankers conceded a late equaliser and then had a last minute penalty saved. Bishop went on to win 5–2. In the semi-final they beat Barking Town 4 1 at Darlington FC. In Round Two, Barking Town had beaten Ipswich Town 5-0 !  They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup in 1926–27, losing to 2–1 to Barking Town.
Without much success in the Northern League since 1945, our Match Programme is for a League match with Spennymoor United ( The forerunner of the present Spennymoor Town) It was a small folded edition on January 10th 1976 in yet another poor season in which they finished nineteenth of twenty clubs just above West Auckland Town both of whom were saved relegation to the Wearside League and, in 1976-77, a much better season saw them finish 10th. Champions in 1977 were Blyth Spartans ahead of Willington and Spennymoor United. Kick off was at 2.15 as floodlights never came until 1980. They played in Red and White Stripes with Black “Pants”. Very heavy advertising just about made room for the two team line-ups and Secretary’s Notes which besides having very little to enthuse about the loss at Penrith in the previous week, commented on the tragedy of the Empire Buildings at Xmas totally lost through fire.
Finishing third on three occasion in the early 1980s. The Bankers also enjoyed some cup success, just missing out on reaching the First Round Proper of the FA Cup in 1985–86 and reaching the Quarter Finals of the FA Trophy, losing 2–0 to Enfield in front of a crowd of over 3,000.
Disaster struck the club in 1991, when an arson attack gutted the main stand and dressing rooms. Worse was to come at the turn of the year as the thriving social club at Normanby Road was destroyed in a further arson attack.
In 1992–93, the club were unable to play at Normanby Road, playing their home fixtures first at Guisborough and then Darlington Road (Ferryhill Athletic). They finished bottom of the league with their last game in the Northern League a 0–7 trouncing by champions Whitby Town.
In the summer of 1993 the Football Association announced that the club would not be allowed to enter either the F A Cup or F A Trophy as the ground was lacking in basic facilities and was considered to be in a dangerous condition. At the same time the Northern League reluctantly suspended the club’s membership, having done their utmost to keep the club in the competition.
The club name was kept alive and in 1995 they joined Wearside League Division Two, playing their games at Mannion Park. The club were unable to attract the hard core of support which South Bank had enjoyed, mainly due to the fact that they were unable to secure a permanent base within the town. Following the sale of Mannion Park the club again found themselves without a base and resigned from the league in 1999, spelling the end for arguably the sixth oldest football league club in the country.