Wigan County F.C.
| Full name | Wigan County Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | County |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Dissolved | 1900 |
| Ground | Springfield Park |
| Capacity | 30,000 (approx) |
| League | Lancashire League |
Wigan County F.C. was the first attempt to establish a football club to represent Wigan at national level. They were the first football team to play their games at Springfield Park and would be followed by Wigan United, Wigan Town, Wigan Borough and Wigan Athletic.
Wigan County were formed in May 1897, and were accepted into the Lancashire League. The club pulled off something of a coup, signing former Everton goalkeeper Robert Menham, and announced their ambitions to play in the Football League.
The first match was played on 25 August 1897, with the club letting the supporters in for free, the intention being to raise the club's profile. The second game was played in atrocious weather conditions, but still attracted a crowd of over 3,000.
The first recorded game was on Wednesday, 1 September 1897, at Springfield Park. About 1,500 people braved the awful conditions that had persisted in Wigan for the last month or so, to see County draw 1–1 with Burton Swifts in a friendly game. The club's first Lancashire League game was against Southport Central, on 11 September 1897, a game in which they won 5–1 in front of a crowd of 4000. Paddy Gordon scored County's first League goal during the first half of this match. Admission prices were considered to be steep, costing 4d and 8d.
County made a bid to join the football league in 1898, not expecting to be accepted. They weren't, but they managed to receive seven votes whereas Coventry City, a club much bigger than County, received none.
In County's first F.A. Cup run, they qualified for the first round proper by beating Fleetwood Rangers 1–0, Hurst Ramblers 4–3, Blackburn Park Road 2–1 and Nelson 3–1. In the fifth qualifying round they played Division 2 Darwen, drawing 1–1. They won the replay on 15 December 1897 by four goals to nil. County drew Manchester City, who at the time played in the old Football League Division Two, at Ardwick. The game took place on 29 January 1898 and Manchester City won 1–0, courtesy of a goalkeeping error. Playing for County that day was Jack Gordon, who scored the first ever football league goal for Preston North End against Burnley in 1888. He also played in the match that saw the highest recorded number of goals in an F.A cup game, as Preston North End dispatched Hyde United 26–0 in 1887.
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