# Cockfield F.C.

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{{Short description|Football club in England}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname      = Cockfield F.C.
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| fullname      = Cockfield Football Club
| nickname      = the Fellmen
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| founded       = 1884
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| dissolved     = 2010
| ground        = Hazel Grove
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'''Cockfield Football Club''' was an [association football](/source/association_football) team from the village of [Cockfield, County Durham](/source/Cockfield%2C_County_Durham) in the north of England which was dubbed the "Village Wonder Team" in the 1920s after achieving success in the national [FA Amateur Cup](/source/FA_Amateur_Cup).  The club's fortunes later declined significantly and it folded in 2010.

==History==
The club was formed in 1884,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Phelan |first1=John |title=The Wonder Village |journal=Northern Echo |date=18 January 2020 |page=58}}</ref> and its first notable success was taking the championship of the Wear Valley League in the [1907–08](/source/1907%E2%80%9308_in_English_football) season.  Cockfield joined the [Northern League](/source/Northern_League_(football)), at the time the leading amateur league in northern England, in 1921 and finished in the top half of the table for five consecutive seasons.<ref name="FCHD" /> In the [1922–23](/source/1922%E2%80%9323_in_English_football) season, the club reached the semi-finals of the [FA Amateur Cup](/source/FA_Amateur_Cup), losing to [Evesham Town](/source/Evesham_United_F.C.).<ref name="FCHD" /> This achievement by a team from a "two-street pit village"<ref name="LCCC">{{cite web|url=http://www.lccc.co.uk/index.php?p=news&id=3747|title=Riverside Reflections|publisher=[Lancashire County Cricket Club](/source/Lancashire_County_Cricket_Club)|accessdate=4 November 2010}}</ref> led to the club gaining the epithet the "Village Wonder Team" in football circles.<ref name="bauck">{{cite book |   author=Bauckham, David |   title=Dugouts|   publisher=New Holland |   year=2006|   isbn=1-84537-478-9|page=31}}</ref> The following season, the club won the first edition of the Northern League Challenge Cup, with a 3–1 win over [Ferryhill](/source/Ferryhill_Athletic_F.C.) at [Feethams](/source/Feethams). 

In the [1927–28](/source/1927%E2%80%9328_in_English_football) season, the village side, consisting entirely of unemployed coalminers,<ref name="LCCC" /> again reached the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup and this time defeated [Willington](/source/Willington_F.C.) to reach the final. The final was played at [Ayresome Park](/source/Ayresome_Park), [Middlesbrough](/source/Middlesbrough), where Cockfield twice took the lead but eventually lost 3–2 to the holders [Leyton](/source/Leyton_F.C.) in front of over 12,000 spectators.<ref name="bauck" /><ref name="ayres">{{cite web|title=The FA Amateur Cup |url=http://www.ayresomepark.co.uk/matchhistory/amateurcup.htm |publisher=ayresomepark.co.uk |accessdate=10 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810031549/http://www.ayresomepark.co.uk/matchhistory/amateurcup.htm |archivedate=10 August 2011 }}</ref>  Due to replays, the club required 14 ties to reach the final, and the run included a 1–0 win at [St Albans City](/source/St_Albans_City_F.C.) having sold home advantage for £100.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Amos |first1=Mike |title=A little club revives a romantic past |journal=Northern Echo |date=9 February 1988 |page=12}}</ref>

Cockfield played in the Northern League until 29 November 1939, when the club resigned its place in the league; it had lost £44 over the previous season and only 10 people had attended its annual general meeting.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cockfield soccer apathy |journal=Evening Gazette |date=13 June 1939 |page=3}}</ref> The club continued to compete after the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War) and, in the early 1950s, played in the Durham Central League and scored a surprise Amateur Cup win over [South Bank](/source/South_Bank_F.C.) of the Northern League.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/elliscupfounded1889/page12.phtml |title=Established 1868 founder members of the Northern League |work=This is the North East |accessdate=4 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612195102/http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/elliscupfounded1889/page12.phtml |archivedate=12 June 2011 }}</ref> Cockfield also played in the qualifying rounds of the [FA Cup](/source/FA_Cup), with minimal success, until at least the [1958–59](/source/1958%E2%80%9359_in_English_football) season.<ref name="FCHD">{{cite web|url=https://www.fchd.info/COCKFIEL.HTM|title=Cockfield|work=The Football Club History Database|access-date=4 November 2010}}</ref>

The club continued to compete in local leagues into the 21st century, being re-founded in 1985 after years in abeyance, [FIFA referee](/source/FIFA_referee) [Pat Partridge](/source/Pat_Partridge) becoming club President.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Young braves aim for past glories |journal=Sunday Sun |date=26 May 1985 |page=26}}</ref> In the [2002–03](/source/2002%E2%80%9303_in_English_football) season, the club competed in the Durham Alliance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk/0200sport/grassroots/2003/05/04/wearside-league-50081-12920603/|title=Wearside league|work=icTeesside|date=4 May 2003|accessdate=4 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716234734/http://icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk/0200sport/grassroots/2003/05/04/wearside-league-50081-12920603/|archive-date=16 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> By 2006, the club was playing in the very minor Crook and District League and its home ground at Hazel Grove was in an extreme state of dereliction. Although there had once been a grandstand and pavilion, there was little left except for a rail around the pitch and the [dugouts](/source/Dugout_(football)).<ref name="bauck" /> Lack of funding from the parish council for repairs to the changing rooms at Hazel Grove ultimately led to the club folding in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/blogs/reader/cockfield/8402767.A_New_Community_Centre___/|title=A New Community Centre???|work=The Northern Echo|first=Nigel|last=Dowson|date=20 September 2010|accessdate=4 November 2010}}</ref>

==Colours==

The club wore various combinations of colours, including halved jerseys, jerseys with white sleeves, and dark blue jerseys during its existence, but by the 1990s, had settled into green shirts and white shorts and socks.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Phelan |first1=John |title=The Wonder Village |journal=Northern Echo |date=18 January 2020 |page=58}}</ref>

==Ground==

The club's ground was at Hazel Grove, sometimes rendered as Hazelgrove.

==Former players==
* {{flagicon|England}} [Jack Holliday](/source/Jack_Holliday)

Five players from the 1923–24 Northern League Cup-winning side alone turned professional; [Don Ashman](/source/Don_Ashman) with [Middlesbrough](/source/Middlesbrough_F.C.), [Jake Iceton](/source/Jake_Iceton) with [Fulham](/source/Fulham_F.C.), Billy Roe with [Tottenham Hotspur](/source/Tottenham_Hotspur), [Mark Hooper](/source/Mark_Hooper) with [Sheffield Wednesday](/source/Sheffield_Wednesday), and [Cud Robson](/source/Cud_Robson) with [Leeds United](/source/Leeds_United).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Phelan |first1=John|title=Rise of the Fellmen |journal=Northern Echo |date=12 May 2018 |page=58}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Defunct football clubs in England
Category:Defunct football clubs in County Durham
Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 2010
Category:2010 disestablishments in England
Category:Cockfield, County Durham
Category:Association football clubs established in 1994
Category:1884 establishments in England

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cockfield F.C.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockfield_F.C.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockfield_F.C.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.