Linthorpe Road was a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

ground in

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 ...

in England. It was the home ground of

Middlesbrough Cricket Club Middlesbrough Cricket Club plays at Acklam Park in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. The club currently plays in the North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League (NYSD). It currently has multiple teams: 1st XI, 2nd XI, 3 XI, under 19, ...

and

Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Nicknamed the Boro, they were fo ...

History

Linthorpe Road opened as a cricket ground in 1875, and football began to be played there in 1880, with the football pitch at the northern end of the ground. In July 1882 a first class match was played at the ground, with

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

lost to the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

.Yorkshire v Australians
Cricket Archive Middlesbrough Cricket Club left the ground in 1893. Middlesbrough F.C. were elected to the Second Division of the

English 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 ...

in 1899. By this time the ground consisted of a grandstand on the northern touchline and narrow seated stands around the remainder of the pitch.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p77, The first Football League game was played at Linthorpe Road on 9 September 1899, with Middlesbrough losing 3–1 to Small Heath in front of 10,000 spectators. The ground's record League attendance was set on 6 September 1902 when 17,000 saw Middlesbrough defeat Everton 1–0. The club left Linthorpe Road at the end of the 1902–03 season to move to

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 ...

, taking the grandstand with them. The final League match played at the ground was on 25 April 1903, with 8,000 spectators watching a 1–1 draw with Stoke. The site was initially used to build St Aidan's church, but was later converted into housing.

References

{{Middlesbrough Defunct cricket grounds in England Sports venues in Middlesbrough Cricket grounds in North Yorkshire Defunct football venues in England Middlesbrough F.C. facilities Defunct sports venues in North Yorkshire Sports venues completed in 1875 English Football League venues 1875 establishments in England 1903 disestablishments in England