Burnley Union Star F.C. was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club from

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, active in the 1880s.

History

The club was founded in 1881 by cotton mill workers in the north of Burnley. Despite starting out as an amateur side in the shadow of the ''sub rosa'' professionals of

Burnley F.C. Burnley Football Club () is a professional football club based in Burnley, Lancashire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1882, Burnley were one of the first to be ...

, the club was one of the many in Lancashire which joined the nascent British Football Association in order to put pressure on the F.A. to legalize professionalism. Union Star never entered the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, but did enter the

Lancashire Senior Cup The Lancashire County Football Association Cup (commonly known as the Lancashire Senior Cup) is an association football knockout tournament involving teams from Lancashire, England. It is a County Cup competition of the Lancashire County Footbal ...

from 1884–85 to 1890–91. It reached the quarter finals in 1887–88, losing 6–2 to Darwen Old Wanderers, and 1888–89, being edged 2–1 at

Haydock Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward. Haydo ...

. Its most controversial tie came in the first round in 1886–87, when it held

to a 2–2 draw, after extra time; Burnley had been forced to play an under-strength side as some of its professional players were ineligible for the tie. However, the

Lancashire Football Association The Lancashire County Football Association, also known simply as the Lancashire FA, is the governing body of football within the historical county boundaries of Lancashire, England. They are responsible for the governance and development of foot ...

expelled the Stars from the competition before a replay could take place, ruling that Westhead (signed from Blackpool South Shore) had not been registered properly, suspending the club for a month and Westhead until further notice.This exacerbated the enmity between the supporters of the two clubs, with Union Star supporters occasionally causing trouble at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

by supporting the opposition. The Stars' greatest triumph was winning the Burnley Hospital Challenge Cup in 1885, beating Haggate 3–0 in the final at Turf Moor, before a crowd of over 12,000. The club started to pay players from 1887–88, with 13 registered professionals; half as many as Burnley, and all of whom were part-time players. Union Star was one of the founder members of the North-East Lancashire League in 1889–90, and finished the season third, after losing to champions Brierfield in the final match. Off the back of that success, the club applied to join the Lancashire League in 1890, but failed in its application; after Blackburn Park Road withdrew, Union Star was successful at the second time of asking However, by that time, the Stars had released most of its players, and the hurriedly-assembled squad was outgunned. At the end of the season, the club, having only won 4 games in 24, was insolvent, and was wound up before the next season.

Colours

The club wore red and white halved shirts, with a red star badge.

Ground

The club played for most of its existence at Rake Head. In April 1890, it moved to Daneshouse, nearer to Burnley town centre. After the club was wound up, Burnley F.C. bought and transported the main stand to

, and it was known as the Star Side for some decades afterwards.

Notable players

John Macaulay John Alexander MacAulay, (May 29, 1892 – November 6, 1978) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and community volunteer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was a member of the Canadian Red Cross Society, as well as the International Red Cross and R ...

, who joined the club from

Arthurlie Arthurlie is an area of the town of Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. History of Arthurlie The lands of Arthurlie were held in medieval times by the Stewart family, a branch of the noble Stewarts of Darnley. Later the lands became the prop ...

in 1885 * Jack Abrahams and Robert Kay, who both joined the Stars from Burnley in 1889 * Robert Spencer, who emigrated to the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

and won three

American Cup The American Football Association Challenge Cup (also known as the American Association Cup or simply American Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1884, and organised by t ...

winners' medals in the 1890s

References

{{reflist Defunct football clubs in England Defunct football clubs in Lancashire Sport in Burnley Association football clubs established in 1881 Association football clubs disestablished in 1891 1891 disestablishments in England Burnley 1881 establishments in England Lancashire League (football)

History

Colours

Ground

Notable players

Further reading

References