Haslingden Association FC was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 based in

Haslingden Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,9 ...

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 ...

History

The club was founded in 1876, by youngsters who did not stick to any particular code, but played both association and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

; in 1878, with the association game grew, they abandoned rugby, and added the Association epithet to distinguish it from neighbours Haslingden Grane. The club was an original member of 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 ...

, taking part in the first

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 ...

in 1879–80. The club beat

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Calder, Lancashire, River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north ea ...

in the first round - indeed, the first tie in the competition to be played, in front of 1,400 spectators at Padiham - but was beaten 12–1 by

Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road, A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to ...

in the second. The scoreline would have been worse but Darwen agreed for three disputed goals not to be counted. The club did not enter the competition again until 1882, losing in the first round to Greenwood's Millers, but, despite the club's low-key presence, it 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 ...

in the same season. Thanks to the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

forgetting to include the club in the first round draw, Association was given a bye to the second round. The club was drawn to play Darwen Ramblers away, and, after the referee refused a Haslingden claim of offside for a late winning goal for the Ramblers, the club walked off the pitch. The club's FA membership lapsed from the 1883–84 season; the club remained a member of the Lancashire Association, but entered the junior rather than the senior cup. The club was a founder member of the

North-East Lancashire League The North-East Lancashire League was an association football competition for clubs in Lancashire, which ran from 1889 to 1894. History The League was founded on 2 May 1889 at a meeting at the Bridge Inn, Accrington, with 12 original members: * ...

in 1889; it was however £20 in debt, and spending £50 on wages against gate income of under £120. The club appears to have dissolved after finishing near the bottom of the League in 1892–93, the season including a 13–0 defeat by

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 ...

's reserve side Burnley Swifts, and having been excluded from the competition after the league cut down from 12 clubs to 10. A

club lost in the first round of the Lancashire Junior Cup in 1897 but this was a re-named Haslingden Red Star.

Colours

The earliest cited colours for the club, from the 1878–79 season, are maroon and white shirts, white knickerbockers and socks. The following season the club changed to navy blue shirts, knickers, and socks.

Ground

The club originally played at Rye Hill, but from 1880–81 moved to the Show Ground, Flaxmoss.

Notable player

* Jonty Entwistle, who later played for

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

and

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

References

{{Reflist Defunct football clubs in England Sport in Lancashire Defunct football clubs in Lancashire Haslingden Association football clubs established in 1876 Association football clubs disestablished in 1893