Rotherham County F.C. was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

football club based in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. I ...

. They spent a number of years in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

before merging with rivals Rotherham Town in 1925 to form

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around ...

History

The club was founded in 1877, as Thornhill Football Club (later 'Thornhill United'), before, in 1905, changing to Rotherham County. It joined the

Midland League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History ...

in 1903, and stayed in that competition until it was abandoned for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. They won the Midland League title for four consecutive seasons, from 1911–12 to 1914–15 inclusive. After the War, they were elected to

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

when the league expanded from 40 clubs to 44 in 1919. In 1925 they merged with local rivals Rotherham Town to form

who are still members of the Football League.

Notable former players

Players that played in the

with Rotherham County – * John Ackroyd * Arthur Beachill * George Bertram *

Jackie Bestall John Gilbert Bestall, (24 June 1900 – 11 April 1985) was an English international footballer, he also played top-division football and captained Grimsby Town, and later managed Doncaster Rovers and Blackburn Rovers. Rotherham County and R ...

* William Birch * Thomas Birtles *

John Bramley John Bramley (1898 – after 1927), also known as Jack Bramley, was an English professional footballer who played as a right half, centre half or right back. He made 29 appearances in the Football League without scoring. Career Born in East Kir ...

* Philip Bratley *

Jimmy Broadhead James Edward Broadhead (25 August 1894 – 4 May 1955) was an English professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in Rotherham, he started his career with Rotherham County in 1913, and then joined Norwich City in 1919. He later had sp ...

* Frank Brown *

Robert George Brown Robert George Brown was a footballer who played in the Football League for Accrington Stanley, Rotherham County and Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorksh ...

Billy Clarkson William Clarkson (22 September 1891 – 11 December 1954) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside forward in the Football League for Rotherham County, Luton Town, Southport and Burnley Burnley () is a town and the ad ...

* George Cook *

Harry Draper Harry Draper (1887 – after 1910) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Birmingham. Draper was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. He played local football in Rotherham and spent a season in the Midland Lea ...

Billy Easton William Easton (10 March 1904 – c.1982) was an English footballer who played at inside-forward for Blyth Spartans, Rotherham County, Montreal Maroons (Canada), Everton, Swansea Town, Port Vale, Aldershot, and Workington. Career Easton play ...

* Charles Elliott *

Reuben Grice Reuben Grice (1886–1967) was an English professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, ...

Tommy Hakin John Thomas Hakin (17 October 1882 – 1950) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Grimsby Town between 1906 and 1908. An inside left, he joined Grimsby from Midland League club Mexborough Town. On leaving ...

* John Hammerton *

Howard Humphries William Howard Humphries (19 May 1891 – 1954) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa and Rotherham County. He was born in Aston. He also was a wartime guest player for Stoke Stoke is a common place name in ...

* Richard Jackson * Jack Lambert *

Joe Lees Joseph William D. Lees (q1 1892 – 26 July 1933) was an English footballer who scored 31 goals from 92 appearances in the Football League playing for Barnsley, Rotherham County, Lincoln City and Halifax Town. He was a member of Rotherham Cou ...

* James Lofthouse * Percy Mackrill * Jack Manning *

Ernest Milton Ernest Milton (7 August 1897 – 2 September 1984) was an English footballer who played as a left or right back for Sheffield United in The Football League. Born in Kimberworth near Rotherham, he also had a spell for Kilnhurst Town as well a ...

* John Murphy *

Billy Palmer William Palmer (1887–1955) was a professional association footballer who played for eight different clubs in over a seventeen-year span that was interrupted by the First World War. Originally from Barnsley, Palmer joined his home town club ...

Albert Pape Albert Arthur Pape (13 June 1897 – 18 November 1955) was an English footballer. His regular position was as a forward. Born in Elsecar, West Riding of Yorkshire, he played for several clubs in The Football League, including Notts County, Clapt ...

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales f ...

Archie Roe Archibald Roe (9 December 1893 – 17 October 1947) was an English professional footballer who scored 19 goals in 59 appearances in the Football League playing for South Shields, Birmingham, Gillingham, Arsenal, Lincoln City and Rotherham Cou ...

* Joe Scott * George Simpson * George Stacey * George Thompson *

Joey Williams Joseph Joshua Williams (4 June 1902 – 1978) was an English footballer. Williams featured for clubs Arsenal, Carlisle United, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough, Rotherham County and Stoke City in his playing career. Career Williams was an ou ...

League and cup history

Honours

League

**Champions: 1911–12, 1912–13 1913–14, 1914–15

Cup

Sheffield & Hallamshire County Cup The Sheffield & Hallamshire County Cup was a county cup competition involving the professional sides within the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association. It ran from 1920/21 to the mid-1990s, with several gaps between tournaments. ...

**Winners: 1922–23 **Runners-up: 1924–25 *

Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup The Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup is a county cup competition involving teams within the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association. Originally named the Sheffield Challenge Cup, it is the 5th oldest surviving cup competition i ...

**Winners: 1912–13, 1913–14 **Runners-up: 1908–09

Records

*Best league performance: 16th,

Football League Division 2 The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

, 1921–22 *Best

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

performance: 1st Round, 1922–23

References

{{former football league members Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1870 Association football clubs disestablished in 1925 Defunct English Football League clubs Sport in Rotherham Defunct football clubs in South Yorkshire 1870 establishments in England 1925 disestablishments in England Midland Football League (1889) Sheffield Association League Hatchard League