SILVERWOOD COLLIERY F. C.

A presentation by Alan Hodgson of Huddersfield Town F. C.

FOREWORD

On Silverwood Colliery FC, all I have so far is that they were members of the prestigious Midland League for one season in 1919/20, but finished 17th of 18 clubs and were not re-elected for the following season.  Their record was played 34, won 6, drawn 7, lost 21, goals for 38, goals against 89, points 19.  Maybe they'd have done better if they had kept more of their best players!  It was a tough league to be in for an amateur side as it contained the reserve teams of 7 Football League clubs, plus 5 more clubs who would eventually become Football League members.  I have a reference book that tells me S.C.F.C. also played in the FA Cup between 1910 and 1936, a total of 35 games, although they never made it past the qualifying rounds.

SILVERWOOD COLLIERY FC

The FA Cup

In common with other minor clubs Silverwood Colliery FC had to try and negotiate several qualifying stages in order to secure a coveted place in the draw for the FA Cup 1^st round proper.  This was the point where, as today, Football League clubs enter the competition.  Depending on the number of minor clubs entering each season however the normal four qualifying rounds were often preceded by two further preliminary rounds.  All these were played from September to December with the main rounds of the tournament beginning the following January.  In order to cut down on travelling expenses clubs were placed in regional groupings in these early stages, and as a result tended to meet similar opponents from year to year.  As can be seen from Silverwood’s FA Cup record, they usually played against teams from nearby mining villages as well as other collieries.

Despite entering the FA Cup on 15 occasions over a 26 year period Silverwood’s footballers were unfortunately destined never to quite make it to the 1^st round proper.  Their best efforts saw them beaten at the 3^rd Qualifying round stage on two occasions, in 1913/14 and 1933/34, and in the latter season they were just one tantalising step away from earning a chance of testing themselves against a professional side.  Their conquerors Dinnington Athletic were to lose 3-4 at home to Newark Town in the 4^th Qualifying round, and so Newark made in into Round One where they were thrashed 0-7 at Tranmere Rovers.  Could the Colliers have beaten Newark, and if so would they have put up a better showing against Tranmere?  We will never know!
Overall Silverwood Colliery played in 34 FA Cup-ties winning 13, drawing 6 and losing 15, whilst both scoring and conceding 55 goals.  They were also awarded a walk-over in one other tie in 1930 when their scheduled opponents, Worksop Town, scratched perhaps due to not being able to raise a team.  Their biggest victory proved to be a 6-0 beating of Doncaster Plant Works in 1919 whilst their heaviest defeat was a 0-6 drubbing at Rotherham County in 1913
The Midland League – 1919/20

Away from cup competition the highest level Silverwood Colliery FC ever played at was in the Midland League in the first normal season following the Great War.  Having won the Midland title four years in a row prior to the War, Silverwood’s neighbours Rotherham County had been elected to the Football League Division Two for the start of this season.  Perhaps on the strength of this, the Colliers were one of five new clubs elected to what was a strong Midland League competition in 1919.  County’s reserve side took the place of their first team, and there were also seven other reserve sides of Football League clubs playing in what was initially a 16-club section.
Shortly after the season started Hull City’s reserves were belatedly admitted, and on October 31^st the brand new Leeds United FC were voted in to become the 18^th member club.  United had only been formed in the previous few weeks following the disbandment of the disgraced Leeds City club who had been thrown out of the Football League for financial irregularities during the war years.  The only scores we have related to Silverwood at this period come from Leeds United’s club history.  This states that the Colliers were beaten 4-1 by Leeds in a game played at Millmoor, Rotherham, on April 3^rd 1920 and then lost the return match 1-3 at Elland Road eleven days later.
Silverwood, who were after all still basically an amateur ‘works team’, inevitably found the going tough and it was little surprise when they finished next to bottom of the table.  They had won only 6 of their 34 fixtures but could still proudly say that they had finished above former Football League outfit Gainsborough Trinity (who had spent 16 seasons in Division Two up to 1912)!  At the season’s end however the Colliers failed re-election to the Midland League, possibly due to problems staging home matches, and returned to minor league football.

© Alan Hodgson

Many thanks to Alan for his much appreciated contributions to this site.