BURY FOOTBALL CLUB1885-PRESENT

Forever Bury Memorial Board

Back in 1885 the idea of forming a professional football club in Bury started to gain momentum amongst the local populace so a public meeting was arranged at the Waggon and Horses public house on Walmersley Road to measure the interest and, hopefully, start the ball rolling.

How It all Began…

Bury Football Club was eventually founded on 24th April 1885 at the White Horse Hotel. A committee was elected and the club very soon became sub-tenants of a field on Gigg Lane. They used the nearby Pack Horse Hotel as changing rooms. The same field has remained the club's home ever since.

The Pack Horse Hotel

Today

As Forever Bury helps to play its part in building on

the rich history of Bury FC we’d like to pay tribute to some

of the people no longer with us who have played such a major role

in the history of our club.

Colonel John Hall

Colonel John HallColonel John Hall was Bury Football Club’s first ever president

He was appointed to lead a twelve man committee along with Mr Barrett, who acted as treasurer, and Mr Turner, who acted as secretary.

A bluff Lancastrian army man Colonel John Hall was appointed to lead a twelve man committee along with Mr Barrett, who acted as treasurer, and Mr Turner, who acted as secretary.

One of the committee’s first acts was to enter into negotiations for the use of a field on Thomas Barlow’s Bank field farm on Gigg Lane, the land itself being owned by the Earl of Derby. Rent was set at £25 per year and the committee had a home for their new team.

Following recruitment of mainly local players the club played its first friendly match drawing a goalless encounter with Little Lever on 5th September 1885. The same day the reserves played Little Lever reserves in the first match at their Gigg Lane home.

The construction of the first stand on the south side of the ground was overseen by the committee at a cost of just over £50 in 1887. Despite having to manage worrying debts of £100 in the initial seasons the club would go on to be one of the founder members, and early winners, of the Lancashire league. Bury Football Club were on their way.

George Ross

Signed from local club Bury Unitarians, Ross played as a defender and left half for the Shakers for twenty years clocking up 366 league appearances.

A highly respected and honest player Ross played a significant role in helping Bury move from obscurity into one of the most successful clubs in the country.

His honesty being tested on one occasion when he gave up his position in the side to replace a missing linesman - the Shakers still lost! By the time he played his last match for the club against Sunderland in 1905 he had won 17 medals including a division two championship medal, and two FA Cup medals.

Had the Scottish selectors considered players playing in England he would undoubtedly have been capped by his country. George sadly died in Rochdale in April 1928 after a short illness.

1894 - 1899The 1894/95 season was a memorable one as the Shakers took to the league with a relish, beating Manchester City 4 – 2 in the first ever league match at Gigg Lane. They went on to win all 15 home games and 8 away games to win the league by a massive 9 points. With no automatic promotion in those days Bury had to play a test match against the team that had finished bottom of League 1, Liverpool. This was played on April 27th 1895 at Blackburn Rovers ground with Bury winning 1 – 0 in front of 8,000 fans.

Playing against the ‘Big Guns’ the Shakers managed to finish a creditable 11th in their first season in League 1, with over 10,000 packing into Gigg Lane to see a thrilling 5 – 3 win over Aston Villa. They also won the Manchester Senior Cup beating Manchester City in the final 2 – 1.

In 1896/97 they yet again won the Manchester Senior Cup and finished 9th in the league completing the double over both Everton and Blackburn Rovers

Jack Plant

After joining the Shakers from Heaton Norris in Stockport in 1894 Jack Plant played 12 seasons for Bury and contributed to some of the finest moments in the club’s history.

His consistency and form for the Shakers also earned him an international call –up for England against Scotland in Glasgow in April 1900. Jack was a member of the victorious FA Cup final teams of 1900 against Southampton and 1903 against Derby scoring in both matches.

Before retiring in 1906 Jack clocked up 319 League and 31 FA Cup appearances netting 66 goals in the process.

Already a member of the committee that was controlling Bury Football Club in the 1890s, Albert Duckworth took up the positions of Chairman and Team Manager for the 1892/3 season. Thus began more than a decade in various managerial roles with Bury Football Club and almost 30 years on the Board of Directors.

During this time the amateur reserves were replaced by professionals and first team players started to be employed on the condition that they would be required to play in both first and reserve team matches.

Under Albert’s leadership Bury were elected to the Football league in 1894 along with newly formed Manchester City who became the Shakers first Football League opponents in front of over 4970 paying customers.

He took on the Chairman’s role again in 1895 and was a Board member when the club became a limited company two years later.

His suggestion to dispense with the team selection committee and replace it with a team managing committee was taken up and proved to be a successful arrangement, which continued until 1907 when the club’s first manager was appointed.

Duckworth’s work alongside Alfred Wardle and Fred Bradley, therefore, involved Bury’s two FA Cup victories including the record 6-0 win over Derby County in 1903. As one of the three men in charge of team affairs, he holds a rightful place as one of the masterminds of the largest winning margin in a cup final.

Herbert Duckworth

Herbert Duckworth was always going to be involved with Bury Football Club.His father, Albert, had been chairman of the club and one of the three-man team managing committee, which selected the side for both of Bury’s FA Cup final victories.

When his father died in September 1918, negotiations began to co-opt Herbert Duckworth to the board of directors. His appointment in January 1919 began a 35-year association with the club.

He was appointed chairman in 1923, which coincided with the club becoming owners of Gigg Lane after 37 years tenancy. Along with his fellow Directors Duckworth took the decision to modernise the ground allowing 33,523 supporters to watch the match against Manchester City in a ground “built for comfort and …one of the finest in the country.”

It was also under Herbert Duckworth’s chairmanship that Bury finished in their highest ever league position of 4th in the top flight in 1926.

Teddy Bullen

Teddy Bullen’s Memorial

The outbreak of the First World War split opinions on whether professional football should continue to be played. The decision initially came down in favour of fulfilling the fixtures but Chairman John Hall had already made his decision and resumed his military service.

The league was finally suspended in July 1915 and clubs were left to decide how best to carry on. Some professional footballers enlisted voluntarily whilst others were called up to serve following the introduction of compulsory military service in 1916.

Gunner Teddy Bullen had already enlisted in the army and, sadly, became the first Bury player to be killed in action on 11th August 1917 whilst serving his country on the battlefields of France. Teddy had joined the club in 1906 and made just over 200 appearances for the Shakers.

Jamie Settle

In only 3 seasons with the Shakers Jamie Settle was to become Bury’s first international player and set an unfortunate pattern for future rising stars.Signed jointly from Bolton and Halliwell Rovers in January 1897, Jamie Settle was a livewire inside forward who made an immediate scoring impact that helped keep Bury in the top flight of English football.

Despite missing much of the opening months of the following 1897/98 season through injury Settle finished top scorer in a relegation threatened season which also saw the first signs of heavy financial worries.

Jamie’s eye-catching form in the following season was rewarded with a call up to the England team to play Ireland and he netted a hat trick in the 13-2 victory. Two more international games against Scotland (scoring again) and Wales were to follow before the season ended with a comfortable mid table finish for the Shakers.

Despite relative on field success falling crowds put substantial financial pressure on the board and reluctantly they were forced to offer their star for transfer. Within days Jamie was snapped up for £400 and moved to Everton

John Brandwood

Thanks to the generosity of Lord Derby and “a gentleman who wished to remain anonymous” the club acquired the ownership of the Gigg Lane ground in February 1922.

After 37 years as tenants the club had secured -at no cost to the club- Gigg Lane for the future. Herbert Duckworth announced the arrangement and it’s only in recent times that the identity of the mystery man came to light, when it was learned that it was none other than his close friend John Brandwood.

John Brandwood was a very successful businessman who owned the Elton Cop Dye Works on Walshaw Road. During his lifetime he had developed many new techniques in the dying industry. As he neared retirement he was keen to put some of his wealth back into the community and many anonymous donations were made to good causes.

As many of his workers were keen Bury fans he wanted to do something for the club. After discussing things with the Chairman, Herbert Duckworth, he entered into negotiation with Lord Derby and secured the ownership of Gigg Lane for £25,000, a considerable sum in the early 20’s. He then had the deeds transferred into the club’s name.

Sam Wynne

Signed for £2250 from Oldham Athletic as a replacement for injured right back Fred Heap in December 1926. Sam was to play only 18 games for Bury before tragedy struck in the match at Sheffield United on 30th April 1927.

After placing the ball for a free kick he collapsed and was stretchered to the changing room where he was found to have died probably after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage. The game was, understandably, abandoned.

The blades donated the whole of the takings from the rearranged match to his widow, and with Bury also setting up a trust fund, around £1,400 was raised for his dependents.

Norman BullockNorman joined Bury in the 1920/1 season as a promising forward from the local Manchester league. A series of Injuries to key players brought about his first appearance on 23rd October against Nottingham Forest and he duly netted twice and ended the season as top scorer. He was rewarded with a £5 a week contract and £1 appearance bonus to supplement his off pitch employment.

A prolific scorer Norman’s record earned him an England cap against Belgium at Highbury on 19th March 1920 where he again scored on his debut.

The 1925/6 season saw Norman awarded his second England cap against Wales at Selhurst Park and also net 31 league goals beating the previous best in a season and setting a record that was to stand for 56 years.

Norman’s final England cap came in the match against Ireland at Liverpool in the 1926/7 season.

The versatile Bullock played out his last few seasons as a central defender clocking up 505 appearances before retiring and taking over as team manager in 1935.

Les HartLes Hart can simply be called ‘Mr Bury Football Club.’Born in Ashton-in-Makerfield on 28th February 1917, he signed for Bury as a player in 1938 and would make his debut against Tottenham Hotspur in a Division Two fixture that year. It was the start of a remarkable journey with the club.

The records show a playing career spanning 16 years, in which Hart made 291 appearances in the league and cup, scoring two goals from his right back position. But for the Second World War, these figures would almost certainly have been much, much more as starts in the War League numbered more than 200.

On retirement in 1954, Hart put the coaching and physiotherapy qualifications gained at Lilleshall to good use as he acted as first team coach and trainer at Gigg Lane.

In 1970 he was asked to become manager and it was in this position that he oversaw Bury’s record league victory as they flattened Tranmere Rovers 8-0.

After reverting to the role of physiotherapist in 1971, Hart retired in 1980, bringing the curtain down on a 44-year association with the club.

The South Stand was renamed the Les Hart Stand in January 2010 in his honour.

Bob Stokoe

Bob joined the Shakers record-breaking promotion team as a central defender and captain in February 1961 and was an immediate hit as the team went on to win the third division championship, scoring 108 goals and creating a new record for unbeaten games in the process. The following season saw him appointed Player /Manager –and in the process becoming, at that time, Bury’s youngest ever Manager. He also led the Shakers to the semi-finals of the League Cup in 1963.

Bob became the full time Manager for one season before moving on to manage Charlton, Blackpool, and Sunderland amongst others.

Stokoe returned as Manager in November 1977 and helped turn around a slump in form and continue a League Cup run that saw the last 20,000 plus crowd at Gigg Lane for the visit of Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. In May 1979 Bob moved again to take the manager’s position at Blackpool.

George Horridge

Continuing in the club’s military tradition from its first president, Colonel John Hall was Major George Horridge.

The son of a major shareholder, he was renowned as a terrific all-round sportsman but one who would only ever compete strictly as an amateur to the point where he even refused expenses for his two appearances for the Shakers in 1919.He would go on to be a successful businessman who joined the board of directors in 1930 and subsequently became chairman of the club for four separate spells in 1937 to 1938, 1943 to 1955, 1958 to 1964 and 1969 to 1971.

Major Horridge’s final season as chairman ended in relegation to Division Four. He tendered his resignation on the morning of the final game which Bury needed to win – but didn’t - and, as Peter Cullen writes in Bury FC – the Official History: “For a man who was able to recall the FA Cup wins and the days when the club was a bread and butter First Division club, it was indeed a very sad day.”

The Major passed away in 1987 aged 93.

• Factual research by Brian Little• Presentation and image research by Matthew

Ferns• Image research and memorial board by Dave

Giffard