South Durham and Cleveland Mercury, 26 May 1899.
FOOTBALL LEAGUE
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SECOND DIVISION APPLICANTS
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MIDDLESBROUGH SUCCESSFUL
The annual meeting of the Football League was held in Manchester on Friday. Prior
to the ordinary meeting the Management Committee sat and decided that the inter-league
match, England and Scotland, should be played at the Crystal Palace on March 31,
1900. Applications for three places in the second division were received from Ashton
North End, Chesterfield, Blackpool, Chorley, Coventry City, Loughborough, Wigan County;
and Middlesbrough. The Darwen club, which has belonged to the second division for
many years, did not apply for readmission. The ballot resulted in Loughborough, Chesterfield,
and Middlesbrough being appointed to fill the vacancies in the second division.
It was agreed that the players whom clubs refuse to re-engage must be placed
on the open-to-transfer list, and that the Management Committee shall cancel the
registration forms of all players who are not played or paid within six months of
their being registered.
Our Middlesbrough representative says: The Middlesbrough Club were represented
by Messrs Walker and Robson. The success of their application fr admission into the
second division of the League next season, though not unexpected, is none the less
gratifying to the club’s supporters and to the promoters of the new professional
team. If the executive are well-advised and get together a first-class team there
is no reason why Middlesbrough should not resume its old standing in football circles.
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North Eastern Daily Gazette, 25 August 1899.
FOOTBALL
THE MIDDLESBROUGH PLAYERS AT PRACTICE.
A BIG ATTENDANCE AND SOME SMART PLAY
The first practice match in connection with the Middlesbrough Football Club
was held last night, when the Stripes met the Whites in an exciting encounter, over
7,000 being present. The two teams appeared punctually, and both seemed in splendid
form, promising a tough and exciting game. The respective teams were :--
Whites -- Goal, Hughes; backs, Higgens, Jones; half-backs, Pierce, McNally,
Redfern; forwards, Longstaffe, Wanless, Pratt, Page, Pugh.
Stripes -- Goal, Smith; backs, Ramsay, Shaw; half-backs, Allport, Dargue, Todd;
forwards, Buckley, Bell, Osborne, Eglington, Bishop.
It was some time before any scoring took place, and play was pretty equal. There
was a good deal of running about after the ball before play commenced in earnest.
The teams both showed that their training and practice had not been in vain, and
the spectators became intensely excited. For the Stripes Bell scored first, and play
became very exciting. Page soon scored for the Whites, and the two teams were on
an equal footing. Both goalkeepers had a busy time of it, and they particularly seemed
to be in good form. The Whites forwards had very little rest for a short period before
half time, but play was quite of an equal character. The mass of eager spectators
could not rest whilst the players were having their half-time, and were not content
until they were again on the field. Smith, Ramsay, and Allport did some good work
on resuming play for the Stripes. All of the players shaped well, particularly Todd,
Page, and Pugh. For the Whites Huges played extremely well, stopping some splendid
shots from the front rank. Jones, Piercy, Bell, and Osborne were continually applauded
for their play. Page from the commencement gave all present to understand yhat he
meant doing something, and he did. He scored teo successive goals -- the two which
the Whites got -- and each time he was near the ball the spectators gave round after
round of applause. Bell played a more careful game than Page, but seemed to weigh
every chance over in his mind before grasping it, thus losing one or two good shots.
He however, did remarkably well, and will no doubt be a very useful member of the
club. He scored two goals for the Stripes in a very clever manner. Altogether the
players seemed in perfect form. The ground needs rain. The game last night is not
only very encouraging to the players themselves and officials of the club, but also
to all those who are interested in the welfare of the club.
It has been decided to have another match to-morrow night, kick-off at 6 o’clock.
The teams will be chosen from the following:--
Whites-- Goal, Hughes or Ridgway; backs, Jones, Higgins; half-backs, Piercy,
McNally (capt.), Redfearn; forwards, Bell, Buckley, Callaghan, Osborne, Eglington,
Bishop.
Stripes-- Goal, Smith; backs, Shaw, Ramsay; half-backs, Allport, Dargue, Todd,
McCracken (capt.); forwards, Longstaff, Wanless, Pratt, Page, Pugh, Murphy.
Our old friend Joe Gettins is expected home today, and he may turn out to-morrow
or Tuesday. Redfearn and Jones have been signed on. The game is going to boom in
Middlesbrough, or Old Bird is very much mistaken. The applications for season tickets
are coming in very satisfactorily, and things are going well all round.
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