Upton Colliery Football Club was an English

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

Upton, West Yorkshire Upton is a village in the civil parish of Upton and North Elmsall, in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 3,541 in the 2001 census. It is situated south of Badsworth and north of North Elmsall and is ...

. From 1933 to 1947 it was a prominent member of the

Yorkshire Football League The Yorkshire Football League was the name of two football competitions. The first lasted three seasons in the late 19th century and the second lasted 62 years until merging with the Midland League in 1982 to become the Northern Counties East Lea ...

Stadium

The club played at the Colliery Ground, located near to the

Upton Colliery Upton Colliery was a coal mine near to the village of Upton in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The site was north west of Doncaster and north east of Barnsley. Coal was transhipped from the colliery by the former Hull and Barnsley Rail ...

site. In 1949 the stadium facilities were apparently deemed not sufficient for the club to gain re-election to the

. The ground is still used for local football today, little of the original colliery buildings or stadium facilities remain.

History

Upton Colliery was formed in 1931 as the colliery works team of Upton Colliery, and initially competed in the

South Kirkby South Kirkby is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England which is governed locally by South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council. The town forms half of the civil parish of South Kirkby and Moorthorpe. The parish has a populatio ...

and District League and

Doncaster & District Senior League The Doncaster Saturday Football League is a football competition for clubs in the Doncaster area of England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Br ...

before joining the Yorkshire Football League in 1933. In the 1934–1935 season the club missed out on being league champions by goal difference alone. After the break in

football for the Second World War the club re-joined the Yorkshire Football League, before dropping down into the

Sheffield Association League The Sheffield Association League was an English association football league based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. History The league was founded in 1897 to fill the void left by the disbandment of the Sheffield & District Football League, which ...

after the 1946–1947 season. The club ceased to operate sometime around 1964, when the colliery itself was closed.

FA Cup history

Upton first competed in 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 1939–1940 season and competed in the competition every season between 1945 and 1960. The club reached the third qualifying round on three occasions.Football Club History Database – Upton Colliery
/ref>

Other cup competitions

The club is known to have competed in the

Sheffield and 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 ...

, winning the cup on two occasions. They also competed in the

Wharncliffe Charity Cup The Wharncliffe Charity Cup was an invitational cup competition organised by the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association from 1878 to 1984. The competition took its name from the Earl of Wharncliffe, who sponsored the event, and ...

and the Castleford & District FA Embleton Cup.

Notable players

Clarrie Jordan Clarrie Jordan (20 June 1922 – 24 February 1992) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward for Upton Colliery, Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday. He holds the Doncaster record of 42 league goals scored in on ...

who jointly holds the record of scoring in 10 consecutive games 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 ...

began his career with Upton Colliery. * Joe Shaw, who holds a number of club records for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, began his career at the club. * Charlie Williams, who was a pioneer of post-war black professional footballers in England and was later a successful comedian, also began his career at Upton.

Honours

**Runners-up 1934/35 *

**Winners 1936/37, 1949/50 *

**Winners 1953/54, 1955/56, 1956/57, 1958/59

Records

**Third qualifying round, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1954–55

References

External links

* Defunct football clubs in England Doncaster & District Senior League Yorkshire Football League Sheffield Association League Mining association football teams in England Defunct football clubs in West Yorkshire Association football clubs disestablished in 1964 Association football clubs established in 1964 {{England-footyclub-defunct-stub