Newton Heath LYR
Why were Manchester United Originally Known as Newton Heath LYR? Newton Heath were eventually established in 1878 by the Dining Room Committee of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company after they responded to the request from the workers of the Carriage and Wagon works for funding to establish a football team.The men called the team Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway) and the rest, they say is history. Birth of a Legend In 1885 a Manchester Cup was set up for all the teams in the local area, so Newton Heath entered and made it to the final. The second year they entered and won it. It was at this point that the corporation's executives realised that the success of the football team was heaping prestige on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, so made allowances for the players to take time off work to prepare for big matches. The establishment of the Football League In 1889 Newton Heath and a handful of clubs who were not quite good enough to compete with the elite clubs of the Football League formed the Football Alliance along with Sunderland, Darwen, Crewe, Bootle, Grimsby Town, Birmingham St. Georges, Walsall Town Swifts, Nottingham Forest and Long Eaton. In their first season of the Alliance Newton Heath finished a disappointing eighth. Severing ties with the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company The original stars of the tea, were Welsh brother Jack & Roger Doughty, who were so good that they earned International honours; goalkeeperTom Hay and hardy Scot, Pat McDonnell, whose search for work led him to him walking from Glasgow to Manchester. At the end of the 1889-90 season a link was formed between the Football League and the Football Alliance after Stoke ran into financial difficulties and were replaced by Sunderland. On 3 October 1891 the first Manchester Derby took place - as it is know today - between Newton Heath and Ardwick F.C. (latterly known as Manchester City with the 'Heathens' running out 5-2 winners. In 1892 the Football League expanded and was divided into two Divisions. The second division was made up of the Alliance teams Northwich Victoria, Rotherham and Woolwich Arsenal. However things for Newton Heath would never be the same again; they were invited to join Division one along with Nottingham Forest.
In 1893 Newton Heath finished bottom of division one with just 18 points from a possible 60. Newton Heat had to play a play-off match with Small Heath - who later become Birmingham - who finished top of Division two, so on the 22 April 1893the teams met at Stoke. The game ended in a 1-1 draw and a reply would have to be played at Bramall Lane, home of Sheffield Wednesday. The match ended in a 5-2 victory for the Heathens with 3 goals from the brilliant Farnham and one each from Cassidy and Coupar, which meant they'd get to fight another day in the first division. Change of grounds and the birth of a fierce rivalry After relegation to the second division Newton Heath would stay there for twelve years and it was this that led to the club running up massive debts and receiving a courts summons which change the face of Manchester United and English football forever. Manchester United saved by a St. Bernard dog? It was at this point the club decided to organize money making four day grand bazaar in St James’ hall in Oxford Street. One of the attractions at the event was a St Bernard dog, with a barrel fastened around its collar. On the third night the St Bernard broke loose and escaped through one of Hall’s side entrances. The dog was eventually found by a friend of Mr James Taylor and was seen by Mr John Henry Davies, who took an instant shine to the animal. This episode led to a meeting between Mr Davies and club captain Harry Stafford, with the latter asking Mr Davies for a contribution to help in Newton Heath’s fight for financial stability. A few month’s later in early 1902 the clubs creditors became increasingly impatient with the clubs plight; debts has risen to £2,670 and they were on the verge of bankruptcy. Newton Heath were issued with a winding-up order, which led to a creditors meeting which took place at New Islington Hall and it was found that the club needed a cash boost of £2,000 in order to make it solvent again. It was at this point that Harry Stafford told the meeting that he knew how to get hold of the money the club needed to survive. Stafford declared that he had met four wealthy business men who were willing to invest £500 each in the club in return for full control of its running. Newton Heath’s directors agreed to this. The four ‘knight’s in shining armour were, J Brown, W Deakin, James Taylor and John Henry Davies (who would become the first ever chairman of Manchester United). On 28 April 1902 Newton Heath ceased to be. It was finally replaced by Manchester United Football Club – the greatest sporting club on the planet. Want to know more? visit our History of Manchester United 1903-39 pages Manchester United Fans Site home |
