It is doubtful whether there are many clubs in Wales which can boast a history like Bangor. Established as far back as 1876, the Club cab certainly claim to be among the oldest in North Wales, and older than the majority of English Premier League Clubs.
The Club was born on 18 December 1876 at a public meeting held in the Magistrates’ Room, presided over by George Tolson, a notable Bangor cricketer. R H Pritchard, The Magistrate’s Clerk, was appointed Secretary with John Jones of the NP Bank as treasurer. The rules were relatively simple, with management vested in a committee of seven playing members. Blue and red were adopted as the official club colours and subscriptions were fixed at five shillings (£0.25).
The problem of finding suitable accommodation was easily solved when a field adjoining the old Friars School at the lower end of the High Street, now built upon by the Maes y Dre homes, was rented from a Thomas Williams.
It will come as a surprise to most football followers in Bangor to learn that it was the handling code which was first played in the City as the following minute shows” that the game be played according to the rules of the Rugby Union”. Is was played during the first season, and from all accounts it was played too enthusiastically as several players were badly injured. At a general meeting held on 10 September 1877 it was decided to abandon rugby to become an Association club, and to join the Welsh association.
The club evidently had its eye on the balance sheet in those far-off days as "no dinners were to be given to visiting sides". It was not very generous to the police either, for it was resolved to pay a policeman one shilling (5p) to keep the field clear during a match. A fee of 3d was charged for admission to the ground in order to "keep out the roughs" whom, we are told, "did more damage to the field than the players". Bad language was not tolerated, and offenders were not only ejected but prevented from attending any future matches. Apparently this was quite a common occurrence for there were quite a number "on the black list".
The committee exercised a good deal of wisdom in their 1reatment of the players, and clearly showed that they would stand no nonsense. If, for instance, any player became recalcitrant and showed a disposition to kick over the boundary wall he was quietly dropped. Furthermore, if a player, after promising to play, failed to turn up for a match without reasonable cause, he was liable for a fine of two shillings and was not eligible to play in any subsequent game until this sum was paid. Players had to pay their own expenses for away games, but for a match at Caernarfon in 1879 it was agreed to pay "one-half of the travelling expenses of the team and umpire [referee]".
A Welsh cup-tie against Newtown White Star created a great deal of bad feeling, and as a result Bangor withdrew from the Welsh Association and in October 1880 joined the newly-formed Northern Welsh Football Association. Bangor's first season in the NWF A proved to be a huge success, winning the "challenge cup and badges". All 11 matches were won with 31 goals scored and only 2 against.
The committee certainly did not suffer from a lack of courage in those days as they accepted a challenge from the mighty Blackburn Rovers on Easter Monday 1880. Bangor lost 2-1 but they gave a good account of themselves against much superior opposition.
Bangor's biggest rivals at this time were Mountain Rangers, a local side which played on the mountain. A prolonged feud existed between the two teams, and the town club continually refused to play against them. Feeling must have been running high as five of the Rangers' star players applied to join the Bangor club, but were refused. Eventually the two sides were drawn together in a challenge cup-tie in 1880 which only increased the bitterness between them. Bangor managed to 'score~ a disallowed goal as one of their players held the goalkeeper by the hands and prevented him from getting to the ball, while the behaviour of the Rangers players and supporters was described as "disgraceful".
An effort was made by Dr Grey Edwards to revive rugby in Bangor in 1882, and he was allowed the use of the football field for a match against Denbigh for a fee of ten shillings (50p). But rugby had few supporters in the city, so popular had become the exciting game of "leather-kicking".
Bangor had a formidable side, and the 1882-83 season saw only one defeat out of 14 games played. Its reputation must have travelled far beyond the confines of Wales, and among many English clubs anxious to challenge them were Aston Villa. This famous club offered to play at Bangor on Easter Monday 1883 for £10, but it was decided to only offer them just over £7.
(to be continued ...)
This article originally appeared in our matchday programme for the game v Total Network Solutions 22 January 2006
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