Gorton FC 1884 (Manchester City)

Manchester City are a world famous club with a devoted fan base. What is less well known is that the modern club owes its existence to a woman. In 1879 Arthur Connell was appointed curate of St Mark's church in the working class West Gorton district of Manchester. Like most of the rapidly growing industrial areas of the north and midlands, West Gorton had no social facilities apart from public houses. Arthur's young wife, Anna Connell, decided to form an association to encourage young working men to spend more of their time on physical pursuits and less of their wages on beer. Anna persisted in the face of initial indifference and over the summer the members formed a cricket team, which was so successful that in 1880 the members formed St. Mark's (West Gorton) FC. The club became West Gorton in 1882 and then Gorton AFC in 1884. In 1887, they moved to Hyde Road, Manchester and became Ardwick FC. In 1891, Ardwick joined the Football Alliance and a year later were in the Football League when the Alliance was incorporated as Division Two. In 1894, the club became a limited company and adopted the rather less parochial name of Manchester City when they adopted Cambridge Blue and white as their colours.