Chapter 3: Valley Parade's first season (1886-87)

The Origins of Bradford City

By David Pendleton

Chapter Three: Valley Parade's first season

1886-87

Valley Parade was constructed from a bare hillside in the summer of 1886. It was developed at a cost of around £1,600. Manningham obtained a seven-year lease of the four acre Valley Parade site from the Midland Railway Company, the annual rent being a princely £20 10s. The club's landlord had purchased the land at the time of the construction of the railway (opened in 1846) which ran into Forster Square along the valley floor below the Midland Road side of the site. Describing the new ground to the club's members it was said to be in an excellent central position and near the Valley Parade skating rink!

The ground was hacked out of the hillside in less than three months, which was a notable achievement in itself. Having said that the ground was fairly basic with three sides being little more than open, ash covered slopes. The capacity of the new Valley Parade ground was around 18,000. The one construction of note was Manningham's wooden stand which was transferred from the former Carlisle Road ground and re-erected on South Parade (the site of City's present main stand). The stand stood at the rear of the bank behind a stepped enclosure , it accommodated 2,000, but ran less than half the length of the pitch. The open ash bank of the Midland Road held 6,000, a similar number could watch from behind the posts, the remainder from either side of the Main Stand. Underneath the stand rudimentary dressing rooms with a bath and lavatory were provided for the players.

The ground had three entrances, two in South Parade and one on the Midland Road. To aid access to the latter, Holy Well Ash Lane had been extended to a junction with Midland Road. The ground was surrounded by stone boundary walls, constructed from stone quarried from the site.

The pitch was laid on layers of ballast, ashes and soil and covered with turf. The ground was built on such a steep slope, and on stony ground, that drainage was minimal as water was expected to drain away naturally - an assumption that was to plague Valley Parade for decades. The pitch was small by modern standards – 100 yards by 70. However, there was a pitchside cinder track, some 3 yards wide and 100 yards long, running in front of the South Parade side, for athletics.

Manningham’s opened the 1886/87 season with victory at Leeds St John’s. However, all eyes were on the opening of the new ground at Valley Parade the following week. Although the move had been forced on the club, the manner in which they had met the challenge had hugely raised expectations. The opening game at Valley Parade was on 25 September, 1886 when visitors Wakefield Trinity narrowly defeated Manningham in front of a near capacity crowd.

The disappointment of losing the opening game was tempered by the knowledge that Trinity were one of the foremost teams in the game. It was a different story the following Saturday when Huddersfield were the visitors. The game was lost by a narrow margin, to make matters worse the drop goal that separated the sides was ‘from the foot of despised ex-Manninghamite H. Archer’. However, the first home victory wasn’t long coming, Barrow were the first side to taste defeat at Valley Parade on 9 October.

The following Saturday Manningham made the short hop to Dewsbury where they scrapped for a very creditable draw. The visitors tactics infuriated the locals, amid accusations of repeated offsides, the visitors left the arena to a hail of sods and stones. The authorities were alarmed by the disorder - as punishment they withdrew a forthcoming representative game between Yorkshire and Northumberland from Dewsbury’s ground.

Manningham’s form proved to be indifferent. The Bradford Observer lamented the fact, but admitted ‘the fixture list is much stiffer than formerly’. The weather came to the Paraders rescue, on 4 December the home game against Batley was deemed an ‘exhibition’ fixture after a pitch inspection. Several other games were deemed exhibitions that day, as a heavy frost took its toll on the fixture list. It was a widespread policy, mainly employed to ensure gate receipts when weather conditions made a competitive match impossible.

Leeds St John’s were defeated at Valley Parade on 11 December, the game was abandoned in the closing stages due to darkness, but the result stood. The weather tightened its grip and no games were played until late January when Horbury were easily defeated at Valley Parade. Throughout January and February Manningham’s form improved and they were unbeaten in the run up to the prestigious Yorkshire Cup. In the first round Bowling were defeated away, though the performance against weak opposition was disappointing. The second round brought Cup holders Halifax to Valley Parade. Around 15,000 gave record receipts of £256, many arrived early to gain a good vantage point. Pre-match entertainment was staged for the waiting crowd - a 3 mile steeplechase staged by the Airedale Harriers. As to the match, the Bradford Observer noted, ‘there was little to choose between the sides. Manningham have in F Richmond an expert drop, and he won the match for them with one of his shots’. The victory set up what was to prove to be one of the most controversial sporting episodes in the Worstedopolis’ history.

The third round paired Manningham with their cross town rivals, Park Avenue based Bradford RFC. The day of the tie dawned with several inches of snow lying on the Park Avenue field. No attempt was made to clear it, which lead to the games inevitable postponement. Many other ties in the locality went ahead after snow was cleared, Bradford’s inaction attracted much comment, indeed the Bradford Observer went so far as to suggest that the pitch wasn’t cleared because the home team ‘cannot act as well on a soft and slippery surface’. The Yorkshire County Football Committee condemned the inaction and ordered the tie to be played at the ground of Leeds St John’s as punishment. Bradford strenuously objected, stating it would have cost £30 to have the pitch cleared and that there was no rule compelling them to clear the field. However, the County Committee was adamant - the game was to be played in Leeds.

A meeting of Bradford members endorsed the clubs objections. They offered to play Manningham at Park Avenue on a date of their choosing. However, if they received no reply from the Manningham club, they would take the field at 3.30 on 16 March to await the visitors. Manningham said whilst they would be happy to meet Bradford at Park Avenue, it would have to be with the County Committee’s blessing. If the Committee insisted that the game be played at Leeds, then the Manningham team would have no option but to comply and they would take the field in Leeds at 3pm as instructed. A further packed meeting of Bradford members took place at the Mechanics Institute. They again backed the club. In a bizarre twist of logic Manningham were lambasted as being ‘to blame for the whole fiasco’.

On the day of the match Manningham left Bradford at 2.10pm, their departure was viewed by a large crowd, some of who ‘hooted’ their displeasure. Manningham’s express train was specially stopped at Armley for the team to make their way to the Cardigan Fields ground of Leeds St John’s. At the appointed hour the Manningham captain kicked a goal, at Park Avenue the Bradford captain did likewise. The County Committee awarded the game to Manningham and the Paraders went into the fourth round. Bradford took the issue to Court to halt Manningham’s fourth round tie at Ossett. The judge was bemused that a dispute over a football match had ended up in court. He sided with the County Committee and rejected Bradford’s plea. Perhaps inevitably, Manningham lost at Ossett.

The dispute rumbled on into April, attracting comment from the London press, all of which was hostile to the high handed attitude of the Park Avenue club. Perhaps it was during those fraught days that the intense City-Avenue rivalry of the 20th Century was born?

Manningham closed 1886/87 in indifferent form. However, the season was considered a huge success. At the clubs annual dinner, held at the Belle Vue on 3 May 1887, the Chairman W. Lister noted that the membership was ‘three times larger than the previous season’ and that the club had taken ‘more money at the gates than ever before’. There was some concern that ‘the field had not proved altogether a success, but that could scarcely be expected’. However, he did promise that ‘before next season they would have one of the best turfs in the district’. Of the facilities the chairman said ‘he knew no field where there were better means for leaving’. Despite the success, the club hadn’t forgotten its roots. A gold watch was presented to Mr A McWeeny for services to the club as secretary of over six years. The watch, from the stock of Fattorini’s, was inscribed ‘presented to Mr AW McWeeny by the Manningham Football Club, for his valuable services as honorary secretary, May 3rd 1887’.

The clubs annual meeting was held on 20 May at the adjacent Valley Parade Skating Rink. Around 500 members were present to hear the clubs seventh annual report. On the field the team had won 16 of the 28 games played, 4 were drawn and just 8 ending in defeat. For the first time in the clubs history two players - WI Fawcett and E Holmes - had been picked to pay for Yorkshire. Off the field membership had risen to 1,146. Income was a healthy £1,907, after expenses a balance of £137 remained. It was remarkable given that Valley Parade had been developed from a steep field in the summer. Indeed, the chairman revealed that the contract for construction of the ground was signed on 11th June and the first game played on 25th September. The estimated cost had been £1200, but since the original plans were drawn up, it had been deemed advisable to construct changing rooms and stone walls around the ground (one of which collapsed costing the club £15 to repair) - the eventual total cost being something in the region of £1,600.

The mood of the club was upbeat; they had undertaken the huge task of developing a new ground and had held their own against superior opposition. Valley Parade’s first season had been an undoubted success.

Chapter One: Genesis (1872-80)

Chapter Two: Carlisle Road (1880-86)

Chapter Four: Death On The Midland Road (1887-9)

Chapter Five: For Club and Country (1889-90)

Chapter Six: Trouble At The Mill (1890-91)

Chapter Seven: Football Begins to Cast Its Shadow (1891-92)

Chapter Eight: Semi-Finalists and League Pioneers (1892-93)

Chapter Nine: Champions! (1893-94)

Chapter Ten: The Last Season of Rugby Union (1894-95)

Chapter Eleven: Champions of the Rugby League (1895-96)

Chapter Twelve: Death of a Hero (1896-97)

Chapter Thirteen: Dark Clouds Gather (1897-98)