Cockfield Football Club 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 ...

team from the village of

Cockfield, County Durham Cockfield is a village on the edge of Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is situated 8 miles to the south-west of Bishop Auckland, north-west of Darlington and south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. Remains found on Cockfield Fell suggest ther ...

in the north of England which was dubbed the "Village Wonder Team" in the 1920s after achieving success in the national

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footb ...

. The club's fortunes later declined significantly and it folded in 2010.

History

The club was formed in 1884, and its first notable success was taking the championship of the Wear Valley League in the 1907–08 season. Cockfield joined the Northern League, at the time the leading amateur league in northern England, in 1921 and finished in the top half of the table for five consecutive seasons. In the 1922–23 season, the club reached the semi-finals of the

, losing to Evesham Town. This achievement by a team from a "two-street pit village" led to the club gaining the epithet the "Village Wonder Team" in football circles. The following season, the club won the first edition of the Northern League Challenge Cup, with a 3–1 win over

Ferryhill Ferryhill is a towns in England, town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, England, with an estimated population in 2018 of 9,362. The town grew in the 1900s around the coal mining industry. The last mine officially clo ...

Feethams Feethams is a cricket and former football grounds in Darlington, England. The cricket ground has hosted Durham CCC matches. The football ground was the home of Darlington F.C. for from 1883 to 2003 until the club moved into another ground, no ...

. In the 1927–28 season the village side, consisting entirely of unemployed coalminers, again reached the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup and this time defeated Willington to reach the final. The final was played at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in the Ayresome area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, where Cockfield twice took the lead but eventually lost 3–2 to the holders

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

in front of over 12,000 spectators. Due to replays, the club required 14 ties to reach the final, and the run included a 1–0 win at St Albans City having sold home advantage for £100. Cockfield played in the Northern League until 29 November 1939, when the club resigned its place in the league; it had lost £44 over the previous season and only 10 people had attended its annual general meeting. The club continued to compete after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and in the early 1950s played in the Durham Central League and scored a surprise Amateur Cup win over

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

of the Northern League. Cockfield also played in the qualifying rounds of 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 ...

, with minimal success, until at least the 1958–59 season. The club continued to compete in local leagues into the 21st century, being re-founded in 1985 after years in abeyance, FIFA referee

Pat Partridge Patrick Partridge (30 June 1933 – 31 October 2014) was an English football referee, and former President of the Association of Football League Referees and Linesmen. His occupation outside football was as a farmer.2002–03 season the club competed in the Durham Alliance. By 2006 the club was playing in the very minor Crook and District League and its home ground at Hazel Grove was in an extreme state of dereliction. Although there had once been a grandstand and pavilion, there was little left except for a rail around the pitch and the

dugouts Dugout may refer to: * Dugout (shelter), an underground shelter * Dugout (boat), a logboat * Dugout (smoking), a marijuana container Sports * In bat-and-ball sports, a dugout is one of two areas where players of the home or opposing teams sit whe ...

. Lack of funding from the parish council for repairs to the changing rooms at Hazel Grove ultimately led to the club folding in 2010.

Colours

The club wore various combinations of colours, including halved jerseys, jerseys with white sleeves, and dark blue jerseys during its existence, but by the 1990s had settled into green shirts and white shorts and socks.

Ground

The club's ground was at Hazel Grove, sometimes rendered as Hazelgrove.

Former players

* Jack Holliday Five players from the 1923–24 Northern League Cup-winning side alone turned professional; Don Ashman with

Jake Iceton Jacob Iceton (22 October 1903 – 1981) was an English professional association football, footballer who played in the Football League for Fulham F.C., Fulham, Clapton Orient F.C., Clapton Orient and Aldershot F.C., Aldershot as a Goalkeeper (a ...

with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, Billy Roe with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, Mark Hooper with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

, and Cud Robson with

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

References

{{Reflist Defunct football clubs in England Defunct football clubs in County Durham Association football clubs disestablished in 2010 2010 disestablishments in England Cockfield, County Durham Association football clubs established in 1994 1884 establishments in England